Wave Feature Consensus

EliteBlades

EliteBlades

Joined
Nov 16, 2016
Messages
289
I have a question for those of you who cycle a wave featured blade in and out of your EDC! For a long time I was in love with my Spyderco Bob Lum Tanto and it held up to my standards of what I need an EDC for just fine. Then I started carrying an Emerson and and their wave feature got me hooked... literally. Do you guys find yourself relying on the Wave feature too much, to where it impacts your muscle memory? And in your opinion is that a bad thing?

I think the Wave feature is a really convenient attribute on any folding knife!
Do you guys think more knives should feature the Wave??
 
I actually do not like the wave. My problem with it is that it will sometimes catch and partially open your knife when you don't want it to. I do think it is an ingenious feature though.
 
johnnytoxin said:
I actually do not like the wave. My problem with it is that it will sometimes catch and partially open your knife when you don't want it to. I do think it is an ingenious feature though.
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When I first started carrying the wave that used to always happen to me. It was pretty annoying. You do get used to taking it out of your pocket without it catching though. But that's a very good point and I can't think of any way to remedy that from happening other than just getting the feel of it.
 
I took out my knife today and was wondering why it didnt open. Then i remembered it was my zt 0562. I think the wave is spoiling me.
 
115Italian said:
I took out my knife today and was wondering why it didnt open. Then i remembered it was my zt 0562. I think the wave is spoiling me.
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Haha that happens to me everytime I pull a knife out of my pocket without the wave.... Even if its 6pm and ive been carrying it all day lol.
 
I didn't understand Emerson knives at all, until I got one.

The wave is one of those features that most of us do not need. And from that perspective, it is easy to see it as a problem looking for a solution. I freely admit that I will never be in a situation where I need my folder to be ready for action that fast.

This also invokes the idea of "folder as self-defense tool". I'm not going to go there, but the idea that you would want/need to deploy the blade as rapidly as possible asks the question: "why?"

But

The place where the wave does shine is when you're wearing gloves. I've had otherwise excellent knives that I stopped carrying because I just could not get the blade open while wearing a pair of Mechanix.

It's going to be pretty hard to get consensus on the Internet, so consider this my two cents: the wave may be a way to get your knife into business fast, but it's more practical as a way to get your knife into business when you're trying to keep your hands clean.
 
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I really enjoy the wave feature, its a convenient and clever design. Like a flipper tab, I just enjoy those deployment systems!
 
Shorttime said:
I didn't understand Emerson knives at all, until I got one.

The wave is one of those features that most of us do not need. And from that perspective, it is easy to see it as a problem looking for a solution. I freely admit that I will never be in a situation where I need my folder to be ready for action that fast.

This also invokes the idea of "folder as self-defense tool". I'm not going to go there, but the idea that you would want/need to deploy the blade as rapidly as possible asks the question: "why?"

But

The place where the wave does shine is when you're wearing gloves. I've had otherwise excellent knives that I stopped carrying because I just could not get the blade open while wearing a pair of Mechanix.

It's going to be pretty hard to get consensus on the Internet, so consider this my two cents: the wave may be a way to get your knife into business fast, but it's more practical as a way to get your knife into business when you're trying to keep your hands clean.
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When it comes to fast deployment, the first thing that comes to my mind is functionality and not self defense. Although a fast deploying knife would also be very beneficial in that given circumstance, if your feet don't move that fast.
Whatever the task may be, whenever I need to use my knife it makes it that much easier to have a ready blade.
 
stonproject said:
I really enjoy the wave feature, its a convenient and clever design. Like a flipper tab, I just enjoy those deployment systems!
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I am also a fan of the flipper tabs! I love aided opening systems on folding knives, it is a pretty big deciding factor for me if I will carry the knife or not.
 
I liked the wave feature for a while, back when it first appeared. As time passed though, I found myself utilizing it less and less. Eventually (1-1.5 yrs, max), I stopped carrying waved knives...and now, I don't even look at them. (When I pulled my 2000 Emerson Commander out of storage, I did play with it briefly; it was nice to reminisce...but it didn't rekindle my interest.)
 
The wave is a really handy feature. Especially when working on ladders and other not so ideal situations where speed and ease of deployment are critical. When I'm climbing on scaffold and a tag line wraps itself it must be dislodged before the crane rips whatever the rope is wrapped on apart. Just one example of many non self defense applications.
 
hhmoore said:
I liked the wave feature for a while, back when it first appeared. As time passed though, I found myself utilizing it less and less. Eventually (1-1.5 yrs, max), I stopped carrying waved knives...and now, I don't even look at them. (When I pulled my 2000 Emerson Commander out of storage, I did play with it briefly; it was nice to reminisce...but it didn't rekindle my interest.)
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This, it was a very innovative design in it's time and has its place in the knife world but i think its time has passed it by unless you're working with gloves and need an open knife for work, i.e. my dad worked cattle for years and I think he would have liked it while opening hay bales, etc. with gloves but Speedsafe and flippers give you so much more control over the knife opening that its time my have passed.

OT, I really dislike the chisel grind on most Emerson's.
 
Sosa said:
The wave is a really handy feature. Especially when working on ladders and other not so ideal situations where speed and ease of deployment are critical. When I'm climbing on scaffold and a tag line wraps itself it must be dislodged before the crane rips whatever the rope is wrapped on apart. Just one example of many non self defense applications.
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That's a really great example! What kind of knife do you use on the job??
 
stonproject said:
Hey now I'm curious, when do you pull your knife out of your pocket but need it to be closed :p
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When I'm setting it on my dresser or back in the safe. Also when I'm at work I'll pull my knife out before I sit down at my desk and leave it closed and on my desk until I'm ready to start opening packages. It's ok if you fell in love with a gimmicky feature, nobody is here to judge you.
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