Who opens their slippie goofy-handed

T

tomcrx

Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
953
I bring this up because someone commented on how I open the knife.

I am right-handed but I grasp the knife in my left-hand, upside down, and open the blade with my right hand. It looks like a V and the sharp edge is always away from my body.

----------* ----------|
-----------*---------|
handle----->*-------| <--blade
--------------*-----|
left hand-------*---| right hand
-----------------*|

I remember my Dad and Grandfather both doing it this way. The reason
was, "You'll never shave your pinky or stick your toe"

Anyone else open it this way?
 
I do that. I am right-handed with a knife (usually), but I hold it in my left hand and open the blade with my right thumb.

I think I mostly do this because my left thumbnail is too stubby after an old injury.
 
I do it the same way you do. Always have. That's they way my grandfather did it too.

I just tried holding it in my right hand and opening it with my left. Didn't feel right at all.

Leo
 
I've never known anyone to open a slipjoint with their left thumb. I thought that was the way you were supposed to open them, at least that's the way my dad and grandfather do it.
 
This is odd, but perhaps it's because I'm ambidextrous..

I have ALWAYS held a pocket knife in my right hand and opened it with the left thumb.You keep your fingers out of harms way as a matter of precaution! If you are right handed, why open it in the left hand and then have to transfer it to your right? Time consuming...This also makes me wonder why many Jack Knives have nail nicks on both sides? I prefer when they have them on the same side.
 
yeah...that's weird. I'm with willgoy on that hand switching business. Since I'm right handed, I tend to hold the knife with my right hand and pull the blades open with my left so that I am ready to use the knife once the blade is locked open.

One thing you might think about....if you are right handed and goof up while opening a knife the way described above, you are most likely going to poke your right hand or cut a finger on dominate hand.
 
I also hold the knife in my right hand and pull the blades open with my left. I'm right handed. It just seems more natural, you don't have to switch hands once the knife is open.
 
Righty here - hold handle with the left and pull blade with my right. I also stir my tea/coffee anti-clockwise which just looks wrong to some folks.
 
I always opened the knife with my left thumb. Like was said by willgoy, I'm right handed, so I reach into my right hand pocket and take my knife out with that hand. I grab the nail nick with my left thumb and left index fingeron the backside, and pull open. My dad aways did it that way, and I remember my grandad and Mr. Van doing it like that. Since I'm going to be using the knife with my right hand, why bother adding extra motion and juggling an open knife between hands?

But then I have a buddy who shoots a handgun right handed, but uses his left eye, but then shoots a rifle left handed. Go figure. We humans are a strange breed.
 
For me it depends entirely which side the nail nick is on the blade. I am entirely ambidextrous in such matters but if the nick is on the left side of the blade I open it with my right thumb. If it is on the right I open it with my left thumb.
As a matter of fact one of the reasons I do not like BUCK pocketknives is all the nail nicks are bassackwards on the BUCK blades. That is to say for decades most stockman knives had the main blade set up to open with the right thumb, the sheepfoot with the left thumb, and the spey with the right thumb. NOT BUCK, thanks CHUCK !!! LOL !!
The other thing I have noticed over the years is some fellows open the pocketknife UPSIDE DOWN; now this is bizarre to me.
 
I'm right handed and I open my knives the same way as the original poster. For me, this is the most comfortable way to open a knife with a nail nick. It bothers me when a nail nick is on the "wrong" side to facilitate this type of opening. On those knives, I hold the knife like an "A" instead of a "V".

Also, I keep my knife in my left front pocket. My wallet and keys are in the right front and they get pulled out more often so I keep them on my dominant side. Phone and knife are not pulled as often so they stay on my weak side.
 
It's in my left pocket, so I hold it in my left hand and open it with my right hand. Just logistics I guess.
 
BarberFobic1992 said:
I hold it in my left, then open it with my right with the knfe oriented in an upward-facing V.
Click to expand...

That's how I do it. What you are really doing is grabbing the knife by the blade, and rotating the handle out of the way with your left hand. This way, the blade is already positioned the way you are going to use it, before it is even opened.
 
This is an interesting subject. I open my slippie by holding it in my right hand and using left thumb/hand to open blade. This is the way my Father, Grandfather and Uncles opened there pocket knife. I have tried it the other way but does feel as natural or comfortable as the other way. Probably to many 50 plus years of opening the other way. I say open the way you like and feel comfortable with.

RKH
 
I do it the common way hold it right hand and pull with left thumb and forefinger. I'm glade too, do to author being in my right most days! My left hand and arm are much stronger even though I write right handed.
 
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