The future of assisted opening knives?

M

mtrialsm

Joined
Aug 23, 2002
Messages
71
Are these new 'assisted' opening knives going to be 'the' thing from
now on are they going to fade away? Will they be 'banned' in
certain states if not already.
I've got a new CUDA Dominator, very nice knife. Kinda large for my EDC. The few people that I've showed it to in the office, first impression was "is that thing legal?" My reply was "yes" and tried
to explain. But it is a large knife for office work! That's why my
real EDC is a Sypderco Dragon, hidden in my pocket. My other long
term knife is a BM722. I'll have to say, the BM axis lock is very hard
to beat!!! It opens so smooth and quick!!!
Assisted opening,,,,don't think I need it. My next knife will be a
new BM-520. And my next knife will be,,,,,,,,????:)
Mick
 
I think assisted opener type knives have limited appeal and will fade in popularity somewhat but never really dissappear.
 
It was probably illegal in California before it was even invented. Some of the northeastern states will ban it soon. Maryland will ban assisted opening toy knives.

Not much is illegal to own or carry here in Georgia, but if you ever actually use it for self-defense - especially if it is in a liberal jurisdiction like Atlanta - the prosecutor and lawyers will definitely use the design to paint you as the bad guy.
 
They appeal to the wow, gee whiz guys who think there cool. While not really useful there will always be a market for them from now on.
 
My Dominator is the first knife I have purchased with an assisted opening mechanism. It's fun to play with and works great, but I don't think it makes the knife any more or less functional then a traditional one. I think we'll see more designs come with some sort of assisted opening, but I don't think they are going to take over the market or anything. They will coexist with traditional opening knives. Some states will probably ban them for who knows what reasons (they always come up with something that makes no sense to fit there needs though)

I would like to see some knives offered in both versions. From what I understand AG Russell is supposed to be getting in some manual action Dominators with anodized blue handles...I will probably have to pick one of those up.
 
I ordered a random task as soon as I could find a vendor with one to sell, now I really don't even give assisted openers a second look. The effort saved is minimal, and it doesn't seem appreciably faster.
 
Originally posted by W.T. Beck
It was probably illegal in California before it was even invented.
Click to expand...

somehow, it's not. they're sold just about everywhere, and they are indeed legal, thanks to a change in the law back in 2000. yay!

abe m.
 
I find a well designed assisted opening knife to be very handy, especially when working in gloves. One handers, autos, AAs, they are all here to stay in one form or another.
 
They're quite legal. There is case law in some places against knives that can be quickly flicked open. Otherwise, they are not switchblades because switchblades are defined in every place I've read so far as automatically opening by hand pressure to a button or spring or other device in the handle of the folder. Since the assisted opening depends on a knub protruding from the actual blade piece, it doesn't count.

Though it is somewhat interesting for opening the knife, the best reason I like the flipper design is when it's designed to act as a finger choil/guard.
 
I ordered the Dominator first because it looks so great. The blade
shape and size mainly. I wanted a larger 'weekend' EDC. Being an
assisted opener,,was a feature I wasn't so sure about?
I guess a future manual model would be better for me?
Bottom line, I like my BM axis lock the best,,for now.
Mick
 
I expect assisted-openers to gradually fade from the scene...just like those new-fangled one-handed tacticals and those ridiculous 4+ inch folders.

;)

:D

--Bob Q
 
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