The fastest (Sal's) way to open a Military

I keep hearing about how quickly Sal opens his Military. Can anyone describe the technique?
 
B

Blilious

Joined
Dec 30, 1999
Messages
1,587
If I understand correctly - he puts his thumb into the round shape in the handle- sometimes refereed to as "the spyder hole" and applies pressure in the desired direction.

Repeat this process in excess of 200,000 times, and you too, will develop what it takes.

I used to compete with friends that carry all kinds of shi*ty autos - and always came on top using my police, Starmate or Military...



[This message has been edited by Blilious (edited 04-20-2001).]
 
Gotcha. I'm all too familiar with the Spydie hole (I've got three of my own currently). I thought there might be something more to it because it's (1) Sal; (2) the Military; and (3) kind of infamous, somehow.
I figured it might have to do with a Spydie drop or flick or what-have-you.
 
Sorry if I was too sarcastic...
wink.gif


However, some of the models are much faster than the others - I believe this is due to the length of the "arc" in which the hole is traveling.

To understand that - compare the opening process on a lightweight Goddard - to the Police - for instance.

The shorter the arc - the less way the hole has to travel - (and your finger with it) hence the faster the knife opens up.

Practice - but make sure you don't scare the sheeple...



[This message has been edited by Blilious (edited 04-21-2001).]
 
I mostly use my index finger at the hole to push the blade out. The rest is a flick of the wrist.
Much faster than using the thumb!
Works pretty good on the military.
Sal! Is this your secret?

greetings
Dirk
 
Hey Guys..

One of the fastest ways I know how to deploy a Spyderco is in one of Sastre's neck rigs...

It's Definately a quick rig..

ttyle

Eric..

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On/Scene Tactical
Leading The Way In Quality Synthetic Sheathing
 
I believe Sal (and many others
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) use the "drop" method to open the Military (and any other knife with a "Spydie hole"). As the knife is drawn, the "hole" is pinched between the thumb and forefinger and the knife opened by flicking the handle downwards with the wrist. The rest is practice, practice, practice....

This method is very fast and places less stress on the knife than flicking the blade. As Eric pointed out, it is also the method used with Mike's neck sheaths.

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Clay

Don't worry that the world might end tomorrow....in Australia it's tomorrow already.
 
clay,
you're right, it's somehow like the drop method 8hole between thumb and index finger.
with a little bit of practice this is pretty easy with all of the bigger, not too lightweight-handled models.
BUT: sal is so damn fast the knif seems to be open the very moment it has left the pocket!
eek.gif
eek.gif

I've seen it on the IWA in nürnberg...
I always thought I was something like fast but that was awesome speed!
I dunno HOW in the world he does it because I think you need some room to drop the handle, but sal somehow doesn't.
cool.gif



dcjs

[This message has been edited by dcjs (edited 04-21-2001).]
 
The only problem with the pinching technique - you end up with a very non -combat way of holding the knife...

If you wanna deploy it in a "fighting" way - you need to practice the best opening method that will render you in a favorable combat position. Bram calls it the fencing grip - sharp side up - and you kinda fence with it...if you fade back and fence up - there is a good chance that you’ll catch the bad guys hand - and render 9t useless. This usually means - end of fight..
 
Blilious, Good Point! It is also a problem when you use the flicking method, all too often people use a rather large motion to flick the knife open. This makes it easy for the bad guy to trap, push away, and or lock up your knife hand. It also kind of says HEY LOOK AT ME OPEN MY KNIFE, which will eliminate all chances of a surprise and give the bad guy a second or two, to prepare..
 
Guntaholic!

Not only that - but in a fight - as the fine motor skills are going away - a flick of the wrist will many times mean -loosing the knife...it happened before – and sure as Murphy – it will happen to you…

When in great stress - you want to open the knife in the most controllable and secure way - hence - the fencing way..


 
Hey,

not to seem like a newbie or anything, but does anyone use a straight wrist flick from the closed position?

i grip the my viele, starmate, (pinnacle, striker), my buddy's mil, etc, like a pen, point down, then i snap down and up quickly. the first snap releases the blade from the bearing holder, then the up flick locks it with a nice click. with enough practice, you can get a nice touch that will prevent you from over flicking the blade and causing excess wear on the stop. it's more like a wrist turn that combines both movements into a smooth action. release on the blade is literally instantaneous. you can use this on practically any smooth working folder.

i hope i wasn't missing anything on the post. the reliance of the thumb hole seems a little gdangerous and doesn't set up well for a good grip on the handle. the flick grip transitions almost instantaneoulsy to the correct holding grip fo rthe knife too. hope this helps. please post any comments....

toast
 
Hi Shmackey. I believe the reference is to overall deployment rather that "knife already in hand" opening.

I remove the knife from the pocket, open and strike a given target in a poke or slash.

It's a practiced move. How useful it would be is arguable.

Hi Blilious. It's not a strong "fighting" position in the hand, but it is a very effective "1st strike" position and quite secure for that strike. It takes about 1/2 second from the pocket.

However, it is a "move" that is part of an art form like fencing. I would not expect to have to use it. Also, The Military has a "proper" balance for the move. I cannot do the same with all models.

sal
 
Sal,

do you actually use the thumb hole for opening, or do you flick your wrist to open the blade? how would you get a good purchase on the thumbhole so quickly?

toast
 
I've seen Sal do it..He's open and in a regular grip before anyone even realizes the Military is out of his pocket..
Its only pinched for the slightest moment, then its in his hand and open..
someone else might lose it but I think if its Sal himself the BG will be very very unhappy with the point of a Military stuck into whatever is closest to the blade..

The rebound from the pinch drop opening puts the handle squarley into hiis hand...


Guess you need to go to Israel next year and demo it Sal...
 
Hi Toast. Welcome to the Spyderco forum.

I grab the hole between my thumb and index finger and "clear" (drop) the handle as ity's leaving the pocket. Immediately after the handle drops, my three unused fingers, (middle, ring & pinky) grasp the handle.

Hi Bram. pick a date when I'm not at a show.

I'd love to play with you guys in Ceasaria.

sal
 
Thanks for the welcome, Sal. I appreciate the info.
Must be a fast draw, i guess the high profile on the military's thumb hole facilitates this. my starmate doesn't want to play that way.

toast

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"One must practice ceaselessly." -Miyamoto Musashi
 
Sal,

You are a bad man
smile.gif
.....My employees just went through the store testing every blade to see which would open "Sal's way".

Toast, you're right the knife has to have a high profile to open this way.

Thanks for the entertainment.

Pam


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Want to meet interesting women...hang out at your local knife store.
 
Hey Sal,
your room is waiting for you in ceasaria.you tell us when you don't have a show and we'll take it from there, it has been too long since you've been here.
scorpio.
 
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