Thumb stud or hole

Addressing the Benchmade Griptilian portion of your question: I prefer the hole for the large Griptilian, and the stud for the mini-Griptilian. I recently took possession of a mini-Griptilian with the hole, and find that the beveled edge combined with the smaller hole makes it hard for me to open the knife without my thumb slipping out. Of course, the Griptilians also have the Axis lock, and so one doesn't normally use the hole or the stud.

Now for knives in general, I prefer the Spyderco Round Hole! :)

Matthew
 
I know it has been discussed before but I don't mind posting again. I am a thumb stud fan, I carry a Benchmade 943 and the stud is ideal for opening this knife. I do however like the oval on my Benchmade 806D2, I guess it just depends on the knife. Overall I would say thumb stud.
 
Button.:D. (I recently got my 1st "automatic" knife, and THAT is the way to go.).

That being said, I actually like thumb-studs (as on my Al Mar SERE 2000) a little better than even the excellent Spyderhole.
 
I've decided it depends on the knife. I've had hole openers that were hard to open because of the placement of the hole, same with thumbstuds. Every Spyderco knife I have tried out has been very easy to open, the hole works great and they know exactly were to put it.


Thumbstuds vary on placement and the shape of the thumbstud. I like the fact that since you can use a smaller diameter stud then hole you don't have to disrupt the natural lines of the blade as much. My favorite thumb stud opener is the one on the Sebenza's. It's small but pointy so it grips the finger well and is positioned perfectly for opening ease. Others arn't so great. The Buck/Strider thumbstud is bit and flat so it doesn't grap the finger as much and you have to make sure you hit it just right so the finger doesn't slip right off. It's position well, but the shape isn't the best. I have a BM CQC7 with a disk opener. The disk is nice and grabby, but I'm not a fan of the position of it, makes it a little harder to open and not as smooth of a motion.

So many variables it just depends on the knife, I like my Spyderco's and I like my Sebenza....wouldn't change either one.
 
I am digging thumbdisks myself, as I find them to be a safe method over studs. If you slip up, you thumb is already higher on the blade, avoiding a nasty run-in with the blade edge. That being said, it also has to do with the knife model and where the disk is placed. Some are not so great in that regard. An example of a thumbdisk that for me is in perfect alignment is RJ Martin's Avenger. It has plenty of access from both right and left hand and swings the blade open fast and sure.

For studs, I am digging the ones provided by Johnny Stout. They have rubber inserts that are real grabby and, coupled with smooth action and the arc of opening, makes for a fast and safe opener.
 
I really like the thumb-hole, particularly the larger hole of the Spyderco Military.

I just ordered a BM 806D2 with the thumb-hole.
 
I like the hole better. But I can deal with a stud just as well. And like Starfish said - with an AXIS lock it doesnt matter. I like the AXIS lock the best.
 
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