Why do you hate Assisted Opening?

Not very safe to play with opening an assisted knife slowly and I'm surprised people actually do it - people get accidental cuts enough with opening and closing basic folders without spring assistance.

I do think AO's are cool and give people the switchblade kick that they are looking for (be honest), but definitely not for me. I like to use inertia to open folders and very safely open the knife to the locked position in a room full of people without any sound at all to attract annoying, unwanted attention. If I loved everything about a knife besides the AO mechanism I would still get it, carry it, and enjoy the heck out of it.
 
Because of police ignorant to the law, I have had two assisted openers taken from me so I now carry a copy of Maryland's knife law's in my pocket wherever I go

Jesse B. said:
Hate is a strong word, but the main reason I dislike assisted opening knives has little to do with the knives themselves and everything to do with the perception of them. They are commonly seen as and associated with switchblades/automatics, which are seen as weapons. Automatics are also highly restricted in the US, and the legal language defining the differences between autos and AOs is technical. I don't want people to react to my knife use as if I'm carrying a weapon, and there's also the hypothetical but not entirely implausible scenario of interacting with a police officer not familiar with the differences between AOs and switchblades.
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IKBS flippers are just as fast, if built properly. For me:

- they're illegal where I live and even if they were not, I do not like to have to explain myself - the whole idea is to be invisible;
- perception that it's an automatic;
- I like my knives to open silently/minimum noise in order not to draw attention;
- I don't like the idea of the 'paper' clip spring and the hollow area in the handle - mud etc will be lodged there if my folder takes a dive in the mangrove;
- I just like manual openers or non-assisted flippers better..... :)
 
For me and well...this is my logic....just something more to break. Less parts the better.
 
I like assisted opening, I think it's a neat feature; although not very practical, it adds to the coolness factor.
These being said, I only have a couple AOs (a Kershaw Chive and a Scallion) and both had the springs broken after a while. Those Kershaw guys were super kind and eager to provide me spare springs, but I remained somehow reluctant when it comes to AO. :(
 
because when they first got the knife they were playing with it and it jumped in their hand and bite them
 
I like AO knives, with flippers or without, makes no difference to me as long as its well-made. They're easy to open, even with gloves on.
As far as being harder to close with one hand, while there might be some resistance, it is really nothing to make a big deal out of, certainly not anything to make me "hate" it. I have only been cut by unassisted folders while closing them (especially my Manix2, the blade just falls shut), and I find that the AO ones actually keep me from getting into any mishaps while closing them by offering that bit of resistance and slowing me down, making me more careful even if just for a split second.
Too many moving parts? that's crap. There's one more moving part, a spring. that's it. If it breaks, it can easily be replaced or removed.
As far as deploying while in my pocket, an AO knife is actually helped by the action to stay closed unless the blade is brought out past a certain angle. I've never had one open up while in my pocket.
I have non-assisted folders that make an authoritative snap when flicked open like the Kershaw Barrage and Spyderco Milie, to name a couple from what I have. The Milie is actually the loudest opening of all my folders, even over the ZTs.
Despite all that being said though, my favorites among the folders I have are non-assisted ones. Not because they are non-assisted, but they just happen to be that way.
 
I don't care if my knives are assisted or not. I like my Benchmade Nitrous and Torrent-The spring keeps the blade shut very securely and it won't open accidently. However i don't like my CRKT Heiho as much because the spring makes the knife harder to open. It's not the spring, but the design of the handle... however, the spring makes it worse.
 
I dislike assisted-opening on smaller knives as unnecessary -- especially on flipper knives that open about as fast without the assist as with it.

I only hate assisted-opening on larger knives (like the Kershaw Tremor) because the momentum of the bigger blade and the position of my hand on the handle makes it feel like the knife is going to jump out of my hand. And it's still unnecessary.
 
I've had AO's and autos (Microtechs). Can't carry autos in MD, if I can't carry it, I'm not going to keep it. Buck, SOG, Kershaw, Benchmade, (another brand I can't think of) AO's, the fun just wore off. Lost the cool factor after a while.

I traded for a Zero Tolerance 301. You would think such a big knife would not be the best for AO. I love it. One of my favorite knives.

I think most knife buyers are so fickle they can't see the forest for the trees.

At least I probably am...
 
I don't mind AO mechanisms on folders that can maintain blade tension when the AO mech breaks. Models like the leek have no blade retention if the AO is broken. That being said kershaw is quick to send out replacement springs and they are very easy to install. I have heard the the Zt models work as AO or manual.
 
I like AO knives, especially when carrying a knife on my weak (left) side. I have three and they all come out fast and sure.
 
zrfunited said:
I don't mind AO mechanisms on folders that can maintain blade tension when the AO mech breaks. Models like the leek have no blade retention if the AO is broken. That being said kershaw is quick to send out replacement springs and they are very easy to install. I have heard the the Zt models work as AO or manual.
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That would make sense - the thumblugs are blade stops right? Stops it from swing around over the top.
 
I like assisted openers as a flipper, but I've cut myself numerous times using the thumb stud on assisted openers...usually a Benchmade. The problem is that I put pressure on the stud to open the blade, and then the assistance flips the blade out, but my thumb keep going and ends up getting sliced on the blade. :o This is why I do not appreciate non-flipper assisted openers.
 
Main reason I prefer Manual to AO is that the AO ones are harder to close, since you have to close against tension. I do like the AO knives I have though.
 
I've had some that just weren't smooth and didn't open as I would've liked, and it was the only way to open them. For example, on a flipper I had, the knife wouldn't fully deploy. I prefer to be able to control speed, as others have said.
 
Because of police ignorant to the law, I have had two assisted openers taken from me so I now carry a copy of Maryland's knife law's in my pocket wherever I go
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Several people have said something along these lines and I'll agree. I do have several AOs but I'm never carry them if I feel I'm in a location where they might get negative attention.
 
I have several A/Os and I like them as I do the many manual folders I own.They can come in handy when you have you're hands are full.I never was one to worry about what other people think.
 
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