Why doesn't every knife have a flipper?

H

Hadji Flip Me Over

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Mar 1, 2010
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I'll start by saying I have three knives with flippers (SOG Vulcan, ZT 0200, HTM M390 Gunhammer) and they are all the fastest, most convenient folders I own. The reason: they have flippers, whereas the others don't.

I recently bought Spyderco's folder collaboration with Laci Szabo and noticed that there is a space between the liners where a flipper would fit perfectly. In fact, there is a small guard protrusion on the lower portion of the blade that would easily double as a flipper if it was extended just a quarter of an inch further.

So, my question is: Why would a designer not put a flipper on designs that permit their usage? Are there any serious drawbacks to flippers that I'm not aware of, or is it just a stylistic thing?
 
I don't trust flippers on some knives. I had one that had a habit of opening up in my pocket.
 
I've got a lot of flippers, but my fastest opening knife is a Kershaw Salvo/Barrage which is a non-flipper and a manual with very small thumbstuds. I can flick it open fster than my next-fastest folder, which is a Kershaw Avalanche (assisted) and also a non-flipper. That said, I find that a couple of my Spydercos (PPT & Cat) are also among my fastest-opening folders which makes me think that deployment speed needs a right combination of blade weight, detent pressure, and technique, rather than method of deployment. Spyderco just released their first flipper, so it's probably just a matter of preference.
 
It's a design thing. Not everyone would agree on the optimality of specific features nor would a designer necessarily incorporate a design aspect into every knife they made due to the perception of optimality.
 
I have a few flippers but I do better with thumbstuds, or the big thumb holes like in the Paramilitary 2. I am interested in getting a ZT 200 or 560 so those might give me a different experience with flippers.
 
Not everything is for everyone. That said, I think some knives are better without being flippers, and some are better with the flipper. It depends on the use of the knife, I guess.
 
Well, flippers might be illegal in some areas, so people might not want to risk being hassled for it. Not everyone likes them for various other reasons, and a lot of knife companies like to get a broader range of customers with different tastes. I like them, but I wouldn't like a flipper on my Buck 110. Well, actually, that might be pretty cool if they could pull it off :p. But still I still like knives that don't have them and don't see them as being much better than a thumb opener. They're different, but not necessarily better.

Besides, what use would a flipper be on a butter knife? :p
 
Another reason why manufacturers might not put flippers on their knives is the cost of materials. Production knives are usually laser-cut or stamped from large sheets of steel. The manufacturers try to cut as many blades out of a sheet of steel as possible to minimize costs. Even a slight enlargement of the blade could significantly reduce the number of blades that can be cut from a single sheet of steel. And if their knives are selling just fine without flippers, why would they want to increase their production costs. Also, such an increase in cost might reduce sales, which is a risk they may not want to take.

If you've never seen a sheet of knife steel after all the blades have been cut from it, it looks like someone took a blade-shaped cookie-cutter to it leaving a minimal amount of steel in between each cut-out.

Personally, I find that thumb-holes, thumb-studs, and thumb-discs, work just fine and will allow me to open a folder as fast as I can imagine a folder being opened.
 
Simple: because not everyone wants it. Personal choice.

Not everyone wants a 'altra fast' deploying knife. That's why many are happy with a Traditional folder.

Different strokes for different folks.
 
I used to love flippers until one accidently open up in my pocket twice..The second time it ripped my blue jeans and I got lucky it didn't cut into my truck seat..I carry back pocket and sitting down on a open knife isn't to cool..
 
I have a waved Delica. It's faster than your flipper. Also, flippers seem to be pretty hard to pull off in a design unless you plan on making the knife a linerlock or frame lock and everyone else(ie: not us) seems to think that your knife is a switchblade when you open it with a flipper, which is why I prefer "slow opening" my knives via Spyderhole/thumbstubs.
 
Hadji Flip Me Over said:
I'll start by saying I have three knives with flippers (SOG Vulcan, ZT 0200, HTM M390 Gunhammer) and they are all the fastest, most convenient folders I own. The reason: they have flippers, whereas the others don't.

I recently bought Spyderco's folder collaboration with Laci Szabo and noticed that there is a space between the liners where a flipper would fit perfectly. In fact, there is a small guard protrusion on the lower portion of the blade that would easily double as a flipper if it was extended just a quarter of an inch further.

So, my question is: Why would a designer not put a flipper on designs that permit their usage? Are there any serious drawbacks to flippers that I'm not aware of, or is it just a stylistic thing?
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Flippers are great, but like most folks are saying, not everything needs a flipper. I have a few knives that honestly could have done without a flipper. One example would be the Buck Vantage. I love the knife, but the flipper really is kind of useless to me.
 
A well designed flipper (ZT 301, CRKT Eros/Ripple), is my favorite opening method. A weak flipper or one that makes you drag your fingers across sharp jimping is my least favorite. Flippers can be super fast, on some knives they mean no thumbstuds for full blade access when cutting an sharpening, and they don't add huge humps to the tops of knives like Spyderholes. They also can act as a guard as well. They do make it harder to deploy a knife slowly, which can make them seem more threatening however.
 
I think the main reason is because if every knife had a flipper, some companies would lose a lot of sales. Not everyone prefers a flipper. While I like flippers on some knives(ZT 0560, Hinderer) I really would dislike them on others(Sebenza, Curtiss Nano).
This being said, I prefer to open a knife manually with my thumb. To me it's just as fast and it's my preference. I like guiding the knife open. I'm sure there are other reasons I prefer a non-flipper but I can't think of a whole lot. I just like them that way.

Also it's illegal in some areas. And it would look ridiculous on some models.
Example: The Spyderco P'kal would look ridiculous with a flipper.

We would likely not have all the fancy locking mechanisms with flippers either.

There are several reasons as to why companies don't put a flipper on every knife. The main reason I believe though, is personal preference for a lot of people.
 
I love flippers, but sometimes you don't want one. If you're doing really fine slow work like whittling, you sometimes need to be able to get your fingers very close to the edge to get the leverage and control you need. That's where knives like traditionals and the Kershaw OD-1 come in.
 
arty said:
I wouldn't buy one, because of concerns about it opening in my pocket.
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I always carry with the spine of the knife against the seam of the pocket to prevent that. I haven't had a single problem with a knife opening in my pocket since I started doing that about a decade ago.

Ironically, the knives which did open in my pocket were tip-down only designs made by manufacturers/designers who consider tip down to be "safer" in the pocket.
 
I don't care for them all that much because of the flipper sticking out of the back of the knife when closed. Not the best for pocket carry(for me).

Your question is about like asking why isn't every knife a frame lock, or a lockback, or a recurve, or have a swedge, or a slipjont, etc..., etc...

We don't all like the same stuff, and most of us want some variety in our knives.
 
ZT 560,561 are really fast flippers, faster than xm-24 or 18. My favorites are the Hinderer's, the ZT's are up there but no my best. I enjoy the flippers, and think that they are really cool looking as well, which is most important as far as collecting.
 
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