Why do you need a knife that opens with one hand?

not being sarcastic but this is an answer looking for a question. although i have over 200 traditional folders i'm not quitting my one handers.--incidentally one wonders why this one handed knife was developed well over 120 years in the past.---dennis certainly all opinions are welcome but some cognition is welcome also.
 
I live in the Netherlands so (one hand opening) knives are a very rare sight.
I worked in a storage facility were I had to open up boxes a lot.
I used a box cutter for that and especially choose a brand which is easy to open and close with one hand.
I can imagine being in America where knives are not frowned upon (understatement) someone using a normal one hand opening knive for the same task.

If you have to use a knife once every few minutes it's very handy you can open and close it easily with one hand.
 
Do some real hard work for a day or maybe get your self certified or employed in a way which makes you responsible for saving the lives of others should "stuff" happen for a day and you'll see how absolutely stupid a question like this is. Try opening a slippie when its cover in silt to cut the rope thats got the dock you're standing on pinched its anchors in 40 degree water with a rushing angry river, very very bad idea.

How a knife opens makes it no more dangerous to anyone, so the mere idea of "why do you need X type of knife" is ridiculous right off the bat. If you wanted less irritated answers all around a better phrasing would have been, "why do you want X type of knife" not that the question is any less silly in my mind and still points to the person asking it having a very sheltered (in a literal sense, as in a roof over one's head most of the time) life.


^The nice version of my reply. :D
 
The question should be: Is there any real reason to settle for a knife which I have to use both hands to open. The answer is "No".
 
I fish a lot and often only have one hand free. I use a leatherman charge. I can open the pliers or the blade with one hand.
 
I don't need one. But since they are available, and since I like several of the designs, why not.
 
I carry a fixed blade when I fly. It is often on my belt or strapped to my leg. This would be my primary extraction and survival tool, however I also carry a folder in my pants pocket as a back up should I lose the fixed blade in a forced landing. If one arm is injured or caught in something, I need the ability to open the knife with one hand to cut the seat belts and do whatever else to get out fast.
 
They are more efficient tools and save me time 20-30 times a day. One hand open one hand close. I always carry a small slippy in my left pocket as back up, but my main tool is a medium sized pocket knife in the right hand pocket.
 
I believe knives can be tools and weapons. Folders specifically are tools first to me, but I want one that's as efficient as possible if needed as a weapon. IFWA is really tough with folders to begin with. Requiring two hands to open would be even harder.
 
Well, I hope that with the different smileys I used that you guys understood my "jest." I just thought some of the traditional guys might get a kick out of the two hand finisher bit. :D

I carry modern folders too, and it is really impossible to argue that they are not the most usefull, comparably. Although I do like having different bladeshapes in one knife, but thats a different story.

I had to try, right?:D
 
LedZep13k7 said:
Let me first say I'm an American, Conservative at that. But I am also firm in saying that knives are tools, not weapons. I've only ever carried fixed blades, slip joints, and traditional lock backs(I'm a traditionalist). I'm not trying start an argument, just curious of all your answers of why you need to have a knife that deploys faster than the speed of sound. :)
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Political stances aside, my preference in knives happens to be one handed openers - but I do like certain traditional patterns a lot. This would include manual, AO, or DA autos. It's preference with most people. There are a lot of cutting tasks that require nothing more than a small trapper, other times you need a fixed blade, yet on other occassions a folding knife with a lock is needed. In adition, more of the exotic steels are available on the modern locking folders, this would be again where my main interest lies. ;)

Just need the right tool for the right job.

Edit:
I also like EricV's reply, nicely stated.
 
The Government said:
In the bizzaro world that I live in, the speed of a pocketknife is measured by how fast you can close it and put it back into your pocket, rather than how fast you can take it out and open it. :p

The job isn't done until you have your knife back in your pocket, right?
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I agree with your statement that the job isn't done until the knife is back in your pocket, BUT (along with everything everyone else has said about not being about speed and the convenience of one handed opening) the job isn't started until the knife is out of your pocket and open.
Shouldn't a measure of the speed of a knife be how quickly it completes the entire task?
One handed opening isn't about speed, it's about convenience, but the concept that it takes 2 hands to put up a 1 hand opening knife is a little silly; a lot of my 1 hand openers end up in my watch pocket at work because they are in and out constantly, and they're not clipped, just held in the change pocket, you don't have to clip a knife just because it's an option.
I can almost guarantee if you want to talk about the speed of completing a task and putting your knife away, I can open my pocketknife, make a quick cut, and put it back away by the time almost anyone could pull out and open a 2 handed opener. I open and close the knives I work with with 1 hand and the side of my leg because it's convenient and fast and have never owned a 1 handed opener I couldn't close 2 handed with ease (even lockbacks) because the point of a 1 handed opening is that it's easy to use, if it's not easy to open and put away then it's not what I'd consider a good knife. Don't take this wrong, I love 2 handed openers, fixed blades, and balisongs. I'm talking specifically about the qualities I look for in a 1 handed knife

Have you looked at the slipits by spyderco like the urban or something? You might really enjoy them if the lock and closing the knife is something you have a problem with. I really don't understand the pocket clip thing personally because I've never had a problem with it, honestly if it takes you 2 hands to clip it on your pants... take the clip off.
 
LedZep13k7 said:
Let me first say I'm an American, Conservative at that. But I am also firm in saying that knives are tools, not weapons. I've only ever carried fixed blades, slip joints, and traditional lock backs(I'm a traditionalist). I'm not trying start an argument, just curious of all your answers of why you need to have a knife that deploys faster than the speed of sound. :)
Click to expand...

It's not about speed, at least for me. It's about convenience and usefulness. Half the time that I need a knife, I have one hand occupied and only one hand left to retrieve and use my knife. Granted, most of my users are FBs, but when I carry a folder, it's always one that opens & closes with one hand, and one that locks open.
 
LedZep13k7 said:
Let me first say I'm an American, Conservative at that. But I am also firm in saying that knives are tools, not weapons. I've only ever carried fixed blades, slip joints, and traditional lock backs(I'm a traditionalist). I'm not trying start an argument, just curious of all your answers of why you need to have a knife that deploys faster than the speed of sound. :)
Click to expand...

A Liberal question asked by a professed Conservative.

Knives can be tools but they are also weapons.

For some, a one hand opener is a matter of need -- the guy on the ladder for instance. For some, a one hand opener is a matter of want -- a lot of us. For some, a one hand opener is a matter of need and want -- me.

Getting tired of answering questions by those who think they have a right to ask me to justify my needs, wants, and rights.
 
LedZep13k7 said:
I'm not trying start an argument, just curious of all your answers of why you need to have a knife that deploys faster than the speed of sound. :)
Click to expand...

So I can access my knife quickly.

Why would anyone not want a knife that opened efficiently?

Why do you need a car that travels faster than 45 MPH?
 
I'm a registered independent and yes, I NEED a one handed opener. If I had one of my slippies on me instead of a flipper I would have brought down the chandelier in my living room when the xmas tree webbing snagged it as I was carrying it on my shoulder. My Kershaw Lahar was in my pocket so I was able to quickly open it with my free arm and cut the webbing. I would have been opening my slippies with my teeth that day I guess.
 
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