Why Are Lefties Forgotten By Most Makers?

I have been making folders for 18-20 years and have had three requests for lefties. My guess is that most lefties long ago saw the need to become ambidextrous when it comes to knives.
I just finished a tactical for a good friend and it was difficult at best.
 
Bigfattyt said:
Because Lefties are genetic aberrations, born without souls, and as conduits for pure evil?



???





I don't know, probably because the tooling would cost some money to make.
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You were supposed keep the soulless evilness a secret. We now must kill you, which might take a while, because we are also better at hurting ourselves than others because we live in a righty world. BUT we will figure it out and get you in a few years.

I've tried to use the lefty knives out there, but can't get used to them. Got to used to using rightys for too many years.


BTW, BFT, I'm stealing your quote for my sig line. It's perfect!
 
jimh0220 said:
You were supposed keep the soulless evilness a secret. We now must kill you, which might take a while, because we are also better at hurting ourselves than others because we live in a righty world. BUT we will figure it out and get you in a few years.

I've tried to use the lefty knives out there, but can't get used to them. Got to used to using rightys for too many years.


BTW, BFT, I'm stealing your quote for my sig line. It's perfect!
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I can't call that a Troll it was too well executed and made me laugh.

As for lefties a lot of them seem to have adapted to being able to use right handed tools, I imagine that at this pace the "pure" lefties will be bred out of the gene pool within the next couple hundred years and be extinct. Were already down to less than 10% of the population it seems so were almost there. :rolleyes:

But in all honesty it seems that there is a big up front cost to market to a small population that has an habit of adapting, so it makes no sense from a business standpoint.
 
blame it on god said:
I understand that lefties are 10% or less of the total population, But when I see threads like this it seems lefties are quite common in the knife nut community. It makes me wonder what percentage of knife buyers are left handed?

As others have stated, As a lefty I have adapted to right hand knives. So much so that true left hand designs are a little awkward. Having said that, Adding a few extra holes to the other scale for left hand carry would do almost nothing to production time or tooling. (in most cases)
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I think you get this impression because you hear lefties bring up the issue whereas a righty just dosnt touch on the subject
 
I just carry folders in my right rear pocket, my wallet is in my left anyway. The only thing that ever annoys me is not being able to get an affordable production fixed blade without a crappy righty sheath.(and circular saws) I'd rather have no sheath in the package than have one I can't use. The nylon one's with a plastic insert I just flip inside out and they become lefty.

btw I've never met anyone ambidextrous, we get good at using things with our off hands out of necessity but ambidexterity with the root ambi- the same as in ambivalent meaning the direction you take you could care less about or 'whatever's clever' means you could pick up anything with either hand and be equally as proficient or bad at using it. I find that most lefties come close with one thing, usually something they have a lot of practice with, like a common tool in their line of work. I come close with a hammer but I still find myself switching back to my left for framing spikes with no angle and finish nails at any angle.
 
Take a look at the Victorinox OHT. It's the only knife I know of that's available in a LH model but not RH.
 
michaelm466 said:
My guess: since only 10% of the population is left handed, spending as much money, time, and tooling on something you can only sell to 9x less people doesn't make much business sense.
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Hey, we lefties are up to 12% populous last time I checked haha



Being a southpaw I find no difference with left or right carry. He'll, lately I have been left pocketing a tip up right pocket clipped knife just because I can snap it out of my pocked wickedly fast
 
There are a few Kershaw knives that I'd like to pick up, but since they only seem to make knives with right handed locks, I haven't bought anything by them yet.

I think that, like other products, manufacturers aren't going to make true left handed knives (ambidextrous knives aren't left handed) until it becomes economically feasible for them to do so. Perhaps when the market for right handed frame locks gets saturated, a few more manufacturers other than CRK (and Lionsteel for one model) will start to make them.

I also always have to scratch my head when right handed people comment and say that we should just adapt. I can typically find true left handed knives for the same, and sometimes cheaper, than right handed knives of the same model. Left handed CRK's seem to go for about $50 less than the exact same right handed model in the Exchange, and the discontinued left handed Military can probably still be found for around $100--why don't more right handed people pick one up? Surely it can't be that hard for a right handed person to adapt to use a knife.
 
It's easier for lefties to use right hand liner and framelocks- just sweep the lock to the outside, which also clears your thumb from the blade path for a quicker, safer close. (I am left handed, which simply makes me mostly ambidextrous, which is an advantage, not a handicap)
 
I've run this question through my head being a lefty myself. However, it makes sense when you think about how rare being left handed is (though there seem to a lot of us around here). I'd love to see more makers offer options for us lefties or offer to drill and tap the pocket clip screws for you when you purchase a knife from them for a small fee (looks at Emerson for an example of this).
 
The thing for me is that lefty knives aren't just for lefties. I carry a LH knife so that I have something to go to if my right hand and the weapons on that side go down. I would love to see more options. I had to have my Emerson custom tap and drilled to accommodate LH carry.
 
I can tell you that my dad's a lefty, but has never liked lefty knives. He's used right handed knives his whole life and find lefty knives strange and foreign
 
I know a left handed sushi chef and he has to pay extra for left handed model.

but I agree, its probably not worth it business wise.
 
All of the fixed blades I make are ambidextrous. :D
 
I kid, some of my stag handle knives fit a left or right hand better.
I think fixed blades are a good example of makers catering to both left and right handed users though. If you think about it, a molded pistol grip is designed for either a right or left handed user. I think the same could apply to fixed blade knife handles, but is rarely seen.
 
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