Spyder flipper!

harkamus

harkamus

Joined
Apr 23, 2007
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I was just thinking about this the other day, and I'm sure a few of you if not more, have also thought about it. But, what if Spyderco made a flipper? They wouldn't even have to do away with their trademark Spyderhole. Whereas many flippers have a thumbstud so you can open it both ways, a flipper from Spyderco could still utilize the beloved Spydy-hole. I think they could make it work.

Manix flipper maybe? How about a Stretch flipper or even a resurrected and updated Lum folding tanto?

What do you guys think?
 
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I think by flipper harkmus is meaning a feature where the tang of the knife extends beyond the handles when closed and functions as a lever to propel the blade from the handle. Think of a Kershaw assisted opening knife minus the spring to assist in opening. I believe the Spyderco Gunting could function as a flipper if I am not mistaken.

Personally I am not particularly interested in flipper opening mechanisms because I see nothing wrong with the thumb hole opener. Thumb stud/hole mechanisms are much more common than flippers so I am use to using a stud or hole. There are also some downsides to flippers in that the extended tang can interfere when cutting because it can bottom out the knife when you are cutting on a flat surface. Also some people get scared when you flick open a knife in that manner.

If I had a choice between a model of knife with a flipper and an identical version without I would choose the non flipper version every time but that is just me.
 
Nice thought but I'm not into the flipper thing (yet). I like a good, smooth, thumb opening knife the longer I'm into knives. Not only that but if you look at the side profile of Spydercos, adding a flipper that protrudes even slightly when closed may make them too wide for many tastes.

Spyderco is welcome to try anyting they want since I'm not their only customer but I hope they stick with what has put them on the map.
 
tinwiskers said:
I guess I'm not sure what you mean by 'flipper'?
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Not to be confused with balisong, a flipper is a knife where you can open it using a thumb protrusion like the Zero Tolerance knives, Hinderers, DDRs, Tighes, etc.
 
Frankly, I hate the Carson flipper. When I bought a CRKT that had one, I whacked it with a Dremel tool as soon as I got home with the knife.

It won't work with the back lock of the Stretch or first gen Manix, or the ball lock of the new Manix 2.
 
I love my ZT it feels like a switch blade almost. A spydie flipper would be great! I am not sure with current knife laws how long flippers will be legal to carry though!!???? The flipper design is the quickest one hand opening method in my mind, though some my disagree. The wave would be the next quickest though it use some skill when drawing to present the blade correctly.....
 
ARMYOf1 said:
I love my ZT it feels like a switch blade almost. A spydie flipper would be great! I am not sure with current knife laws how long flippers will be legal to carry though!!???? The flipper design is the quickest one hand opening method in my mind, though some my disagree. The wave would be the next quickest though it use some skill when drawing to present the blade correctly.....
Click to expand...

I'd say for non A/O and actual autos, the Axis style lock is probably the fastest - to me.
 
yablanowitz said:
Frankly, I hate the Carson flipper. When I bought a CRKT that had one, I whacked it with a Dremel tool as soon as I got home with the knife.

It won't work with the back lock of the Stretch or first gen Manix, or the ball lock of the new Manix 2.
Click to expand...

There are other effective designs for a manual flipper that won't leave you with protruding part of the tang.

That aside, I may be interested to see what Spyderco would do with a flipper if it's different and innovative.
 
Spyderco could always pay homage to the RAM and do a flipper like that. Something small and unobtrusive. If you ask me, I like the way flippers look. I wouldn't mind something like the DDR style flippers. I also like the way the flippers from Brian Tighe look. ZT of course, is also quite nice.

EDIT: I went ahead and posted this on the spyderco forums as well to see what kind of steam, if any, it would generate.
 
Spydercos are all ready pretty wide as they are due to the thumb hole, putting a flipper on it would only make the knife wider and more noticeable in the pocket.
 
I like the hole over a flipper any day. Buck seems to please both crowds with their Vantage line however.
 
Well, a flipper Stretch is out, since the flipper doesn't go with the lockback (unless you use the SOG pass through lockbar, but I never liked that one) and doing it with a ball lock is even harder I think. It's usually done with liner or frame locks. Maybe it would work with the compression lock.
 
Not something I'd really be interested in.

What turns me off from the majority of the Kershaw lineup is flippers and A/O knives.
 
harkamus said:
It wouldn't have to have an a/o.
Click to expand...

Let me rephrase: Flippers and/or A/O knives.

I'm not saying it wouldn't be interesting, Spyderco takes a unique look at everything, but it's not likely I'd be very interested. It already has the best opening method known. :p :)
 
No thanks. Spyderhole opener works fine for me, I have no need or desire for alternate/redundant systems. Plus, I carry my knives loose in the pocket, so a flipper can cause the blade to partially open at "inconvenient" times. Finally, they can't be combined with a mid lock, and that's the only locking system I really like.

Paul
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