What's with the jimping on the wrong side of the flipper tab?!

Scrim

Scrim

Joined
Sep 26, 2014
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There are some knife models that have jimping on the opposite side of the flipper tab, not the (front) side your finger makes (the most) contact with to flip (lightswitch) the knife open. These knives can't (practically speaking) be opened better via pushbuttoning from the top or backside of the flipper tab, so that can't be the logic. Does anyone know why this is done? I'm posting pics showing jimping in this (what seems to be) illogical location: the Kershaw Shield and the ZT0392. I'm sure there are others. If there's a good reason and anyone knows it, please share. There MUST be one, right?.:confused:





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Seems like this the obvious, logical location for jimping on the tab. Better friction for your finger on the tab when opening AND better friction when the tab is acting as a finger guard once the knife is open.



 
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Scrim said:
There are some knife models that have jimping on the opposite side of the flipper tab, not the (front) side your finger makes (the most) contact with to flip the knife open. These knives can't (practically speaking) be opened better via pushbuttoning from the top or backside of the flipper tab, so that can't be the logic. Does anyone know why this is done?.........
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I noticed that a long time ago on my ZT 561. I posted something about it here and someone gave an answer I never understood nor followed up on. It was something like, "The real way to open a flipper is from the bottom where the jimping is by flicking it with your finger in the opposite".....blah blah blah.

Hope the guy comes back and explains it further. I'm still stumped as to why they jimped it there too.
 
That jimping allows for some extra grip when using the forward choil when open?
I never gave it too much thought either.
 
The Rick Hinderer xms have it in the same spot but it's actually useful on them. I'm pretty sure it's just a design carry over to keep it asceticly similar to ricks original line.

I thought the same thing when I got my 392! My finger hurt for a couple o days until I got used to it. Doesn't bother me now.
 
On a Hinderer it's the makers way of telling you how to flip the knife. Gen 1,2, and 3 had weak detent so you had to build pressure with your finger then quickly reverse direction to get it to reliably flip.
 
On any good flipper it's useless. Hinderer just did it on his XM knives because the flipper was so far back and the detent was so weak that you had to build up pressure going forward and then roll your finger back to get the knife to deploy fully. My 0560 has a very weak detent and that's the only way I can get it to come out without lightswithing it and killing my finger on the handle gimping.
 
it almost looks like an attempt to ease a pocket draw flip like a wave.....but its not set up right for that to be a useful feature as is...

/shrug, just thinking out loud...
 
I my opinion jimping is much better on the top of the flipper where it provides a nice solid grip on the flipper tab. I own a LOT of flippers and I find myself wondering what the heck the maker was thinking on some of the designs. My personal favorite design is the no jimping push button style like rj Martin. But Shirogorov is equally good but designed to lightswitch. Either way can be great. My least favorite design is on my hinderers. The edges are kinda sharp and there is that useless jimping
 
I absolutely love those 0392s... they got me to sign up to this board in hopes of finding one in a special color
 
I have thought about it every possible way, and cannot for the life of me figure out the purpose of the jimping being on the wrong side. Pushing on the wrong side just makes the knife more closed. The only thing I can possibly think of is an imbecillic design of using the front of the flipper as a jerry rigged choil, which puts your finger precariously close with little design features to stop you from a hospital trip with a slight grip adjustment. Only thing I can think of is that Hinderer was not sober when he designed that flipper, or he just let it slip that he knows nothing about knives.
 
Basp2005 said:
On a Hinderer it's the makers way of telling you how to flip the knife. Gen 1,2, and 3 had weak detent so you had to build pressure with your finger then quickly reverse direction to get it to reliably flip.
Click to expand...

I agree with this conclusion. It is for "pre-loading" the flipper so your finger doesn't slip when you apply pressure on the blade before you release and break the detent. At least that is the best reason I can think of.
 
It actually creates purchase when you are opening the knife it is just designed differen you apply pressue from the bottom of the flipper forward towards the pivot. It actually works well its just different so most people hate it. It made me change the way i open a flipper that has that style of jimping. It does give the opening more zest but you gotta get used to it.
 
You are supposed to more push DOWN on the flipper tab than FLIP it forward on some flippers.
 
Will Batayte said:
I my opinion jimping is much better on the top of the flipper where it provides a nice solid grip on the flipper tab. I own a LOT of flippers and I find myself wondering what the heck the maker was thinking on some of the designs. My personal favorite design is the no jimping push button style like rj Martin. But Shirogorov is equally good but designed to lightswitch. Either way can be great. My least favorite design is on my hinderers. The edges are kinda sharp and there is that useless jimping
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Actually, The RJ Martin has a smooth even polished, smaller tab because you don't need to push button it. No force pre-load necessary so no jumping required. It flips much better with your finger sliding down the scales and hitting the tab totally light switching it....try it, you'll like it!!

And the jimping on the Hinderers is not useless...just the opposite. It shows where you should put your finger and push....on the Hinderers you are actually pushing slightly forward to build pressure then the jimping gives you grip to flip down suddenly. The way to build force is to push directly in line with the pivot so there is no rotation, until you give it that rotation by pulling down. Look at the relationship between the tab and the pivot center and you will see the jimping lines with the pivot center. If you begin a Hinderer flip with any downward force, it will start the rotation immediately, breaking the detent (which is on the weaker side) before enough force is built to carry the blade into lock up.

In the photo of the 0392 you will see how the entire tab is below the pivot center. Draw a line from pivot center to middle of jimping and you'll see that's how to push to do initial potential energy build.
On the 0220 you will notice the tab is totally centered on the pivot.
 
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Sonnydaze said:
If you design the knife correctly, you don't see this.
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Here is a Custom Andre van Heerden M44 close up.......are you actually saying he has designed this knife incorrectly? When Sonnydaze flippers start selling for over a grand, then maybe I'll come back to this post. We cannot talk about these professional knife makers so flippantly! (excuse the pun).....from Spies Like Us: "We mock what we do not understand!"

View attachment 655038
 
dkb45 said:
I have thought about it every possible way, and cannot for the life of me figure out the purpose of the jimping being on the wrong side. Pushing on the wrong side just makes the knife more closed. The only thing I can possibly think of is an imbecillic design of using the front of the flipper as a jerry rigged choil, which puts your finger precariously close with little design features to stop you from a hospital trip with a slight grip adjustment. Only thing I can think of is that Hinderer was not sober when he designed that flipper, or he just let it slip that he knows nothing about knives.
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Ahhhh thank the Lord for the experts on the Forum!!! I'm sure that newbie RH will be out of business soon....people will catch on after he sells his 10th, or 11th knife! After all, he's out there creating, building knives......but here is the food critic telling the master Chef about cooking! Of course the discussion is all fine and opinions are what the forum is all about.....but, Gentlemen, a little humble respect for these guys! THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING! I exhaustingly question myself, first, before I assume to know better than they.

Scrim shows the proper attitude in his OP!
 
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It's simply a different school of thought and design. You preload the flipper then push through the pivot to flip, where others you pull through to flip. Both work equally well when properly designed, executed and used properly by the end user. It's not wrong just different.

[video]https://youtu.be/LLkoqlgbiI4[/video]
 
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