Why assisted opening?

It's fun, that's enough for me. I own several AO Kershaws and thoroughly enjoy playing with them. :)

I don't find them any more useful than my regular folders, but sometimes I'm in the mood for a little AO action.
 
I want to help with the confusion ;)

Half the fun of any folder is opening it in a smooth cool movement, the other half is close it in a equaly smooth movement.

I had just one AO, the SOG Trident, and the novelty wears off fast because it opens always fast, and is slow to close. My axis or compression locks gives me more satisfaction.

That's it :)


BETO
====================
Sorry for my english :o
 
Some may need an AO because they have weak hands(fingers)-LOL I d plan to get one eventually just because I want to have at least one of every type folder and lock!:p
 
Yeah, I really don't care for AO either. At first I thought it was cool, but I have had them open in my pocket too many times. The locks seem to work most of the time, but once in a while I get poked in the thigh or butt.

Other than that, I really don't care for flicking open a knife so quickly. Just a personal preference.

Take care,
Brett
 
Love my little Kershaw with ao,but the lock is a pain and defeats the purpose and I don't use it,has never opened in my pocket- use the pocket clip and it won't--Butch
 
I liked ao for awhile, but then that coolness wore off... too closely confused with an "automatic" knife... to many parts to break/wear down/ need to be replaced... thats my 2 cents...
 
I love my Buck Tempest. Springs work fine, no do-dads breaking here ;) (lifetime warranty anyway)
and the lock works just fine (if you wanna use it) it has never opened in my pocket with/without the lock engaged.

Its not really about coolness, but sometimes a knife that opens easily is very handy! Is it absolutely necessary? Maybe, maybe not, but I find it is alot nicer (for me) especially at work.
To each his own I guess...
 
darthsoaker said:
I don't really get it, tried it a few times, and I guess its sorta cool, but it seems like the coolness level would wear off after a bit.
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Um, no....the coolness does NOT wear off. I have knives with everything you mentioned..waves, studs, holes, nail nicks, etc. I love em all, but AO is just plain fun.:D
 
MSgt said:
Some may need an AO because they have weak hands(fingers)-LOL I d plan to get one eventually just because I want to have at least one of every type folder and lock!:p
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That how my Dad is. he doesnt have arthritis or anything, but he does have gigantic sausage fingers, and its hard for him to open them. ( i think he is pushing on them wrong. Iv tried to explain it, but hes stubborn. AO is cooler anyway. :D )
 
In my opinion, AO is a ton of fun, but for someone who lives in NYC or any other big city with "silly" knife laws, it just spells trouble. I've been eyeing a Chive or Scallion, though. Handled a Chive a few times -- great little knife and despite its size, reasonably easy to manipulate.
 
Thomas W said:
GronK,
A safety is not always necessary with AO's, we have many that do not require one, and have had no issues with "family jewels"
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Hold on there, boys. No need to go all defensive. The fellow asked "why not" so I told him some downsides to A/O knives.
 
The way I see it, the speed at which a knife opens depends on the user. I know people that can open non-AO knives faster than people with AO, and vice versa. It's just that AO helps the user reach their "speed potential" for opening a knife.

As for me, I prefer AO because I can open it faster than most normal knives. And if you think AO is for people with "weak thumbs/fingers" try opening a CRKT Hissatsu Folder and that'll make you think twice ;). But in the end, it really comes down to what knife you're using, and how comfortable you are with the knife, AO or not.
 
I like A/Os, I bought a Scallion on a whim from a gun dealer who got a good deal on a few. It was the first non-boxcutter knife that I started EDCing, from there I upgraded to a Leek which I carried for a good long while till it was replaced by my Endura Wave. I still pull the leek out from time to time just for fondling reasons.

btw I never used the safety on them and never had them open unexpectedly on me, just my experience though.
 
I like a/o's if they are kershaw a/o's ....have considered the new sog vulcan but apart from that I will only buy kershaw/zt a/o's.
 
A/O.... I can take it or leave it. I choose my knives by their lock type, bladetype, and steel. I recently got a mini Cyclone TiZDP in a trade, because I wanted a framelock with ZDP steel. The added bonus is that the Mini has a switch that toggles the A/O on and off....so far the knife is left with the A/O on more than it's left off :D
Got a Blur SG2 on it's way as well not because of the A/O but because of the brown anodizing and SG2 steel.:thumbup:
If ever I were to tire of the A/O, or laws change making them illegal, it seems like it would be a simple task to remove the A/O bits, and make it regular knife.

Dave
 
I've got a Chive and the AO is fun, but I can open my Boker Trance or Subcom just as fast. The Chive is small and non-threatening, but fits well in the hand, seems well made and is damn sharp. That's more important to me than the AO. BTW, if I clip the Chive in my pocket with the spine of the blade against the edge of my pocket, there's no real chance of opening in the pocket.
 
The flipper style AO like Kershaw uses makes the knife extremely easy to open. By easy, I mean convenient - never had one accidentally open while in a pocket. So there is a practical side to it.
 
After 3 years of sitting on my desk constantly opening and closing, the torsion bar on my Kershaw Chive broke. I simply removed the old torsion bar, which gave me a nice folder until Kershaw mailed me a new bar (only took 2 days). So overall even if the bar does break it is an easy fix and doesn't ruin the knife.
 
Alberto Salas said:
I want to help with the confusion ;)

Half the fun of any folder is opening it in a smooth cool movement, the other half is close it in a equaly smooth movement.

........:)

Well said. Autos and Assisted Openers take the fun out of opening and closing a well-made folding knife. To me, they're like perfume - a woman needn't take a bath as long as she has lots of perfume to mask the odor ((( :D )))
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