Why don’t you like flippers?

Flipper knives are fine. Some obsessive flipper fans/boosters can be annoying.

They're usually pretty green and this is the first nice knife so all the buzz they generate isn't as valid as it could be.
 
halden.doerge said:
Well, I like them when they are executed well and purposefully. Usually I only tend to find them annoying if they are way too long or something, making the knife into a pocket hog. Or if the ergos of the knife would work substantially better without a flipper.

I think some people get salty about flippers and ball bearings because they are "new" and "trendy" or something. But I really never understood why it provokes that kind of ire. There's plenty of thumbstuds, nail nicks, and spydieholes out there. Plenty for all, it seems to me.
Click to expand...

Well said, man. As long as the materials/ fit-n-finish/ intended function are there, the rest is preference and whatever floats your aesthetic "boat". Thanks for the comment. People need to realize that there was once a time where slip joints were "new" and "trendy" lol
 
hq720.jpg


ken-onion-crkt-ripple-survival-blog-review.gif


A flipper is simply the adult version of a fidget spinner :D:p

Not-That-Theres-Anything-Wrong-With-That-Reaction-Gif-On-Seinfeld.gif
 
  • Like
Reactions: BBW
The first flipper I liked was the Kershaw Boa. Unfortunately, that tab was a bit on the sharp side, and needed some of the aforementioned Dremel love.

I find the ZT350 to be everything the Boa should have been, from the size to the slightly melded flipper tab.

I don't see the flipper as a be-all-end-all, but for a serious use knife, I appreciate the extra choil keeping my fingers away from sharpness. I definitely agree there is a sweet-spot between too much and too little tab surface.
 
I had written post 49, but wanted to add pics for clarity...
Yeah, I like flippers as long as they do their job WITHOUT being
obtuse about it.
I see a flipper as a mechanical device...but not as a design element. The minimum that works is fine...
Note: I would probably buy one of those on the left...if NOT for that FLIPPER!
flipper tab1.jpg flipper tab4.jpg
 
Last edited:
SteelJunkee said:
Yes, he was using the people who made it popular and I also agree with you for the Ball bearing, I don't own any, but I struggle with the idea that it can have less blade play.
Click to expand...

While it is possible for bz washer knives to have quite free actions it is not as common. That often means if you want a really free action you often have to leave a tiny bit of slack in thr pivot.

Ball bearings can continue to have quite a free action even when the pivot is quite tight. This is what I imagine he means by bearing pivot can be tight without blade play and still allow for a fairly free action.
 
Lapedog said:
While it is possible for bz washer knives to have quite free actions it is not as common. That often means if you want a really free action you often have to leave a tiny bit of slack in thr pivot.

Ball bearings can continue to have quite a free action even when the pivot is quite tight. This is what I imagine he means by bearing pivot can be tight without blade play and still allow for a fairly free action.
Click to expand...

Thanks for explaining that. But I was rather thinking at the ball bearing itself, is it one central bearing or there is two bearings, one on each side of the blade ? or they use thrust cylindrical roller ? because I can't help thinking that a bearing need some loose to work and that can end in a lot of play at the tip of the knife, but I assume if they exist, there is surely not that much play as they would have been rejected by users.
 
SteelJunkee said:
Thanks for explaining that. But I was rather thinking at the ball bearing itself, is it one central bearing or there is two bearings, one on each side of the blade ? or they use thrust cylindrical roller ? because I can't help thinking that a bearing need some loose to work and that can end in a lot of play at the tip of the knife, but I assume if they exist, there is surely not that much play as they would have been rejected by users.
Click to expand...

There are two sets of bearings. One on each side of the blade actually if the knife is loose the action becomes bad. The knife can be rock solid with zero blade play, even zero flex you can muscle in and still have an extremely free swinging action.

Here are some caged bearings. There is one set on each side of the blade.
 
I have some Microtech knives that are non flippers but run on bearings. I don't really love the loose/free action of the blade but that's just a personal quirk. In my ideal world, all my knives would have the same action as a Sebenza or Umnumzaan.
 
SteelJunkee said:
Thanks for explaining that. But I was rather thinking at the ball bearing itself, is it one central bearing or there is two bearings, one on each side of the blade ? or they use thrust cylindrical roller ? because I can't help thinking that a bearing need some loose to work and that can end in a lot of play at the tip of the knife, but I assume if they exist, there is surely not that much play as they would have been rejected by users.
Click to expand...
https://www.bocabearings.com/products/folding-knife-and-tool-industry-bearings-prod44

I have seen cylinder bearings, but far less common than the standard ball, probably because balls need less surface contact, and therefore will have less drag. They work quite well (ala ZT0452), but tend to fall into the "tactical steak-knife" series for me- Urban carry, narrow utilitarian usage, suitable as a pig-sticker, if necessary.

As previously noted, bronze washers are more common for "field grade" usage because with a bare minimum of oil, they are very good at shedding water and fine grit.
 
Wowbagger said:
Apples, apple skin and apple juice . . .
. . . and bearings
Yes eat the skin ; at least all the natural toxins the plant tries to generate to fend off insects and the bug spray the grower adds to fend off the bugs may at least kill something (hopefully not the apple eater).
I eat the skins always. Doesn't mean I can't use my knife. I dice 'em up and put them in soy yogurt add a couple of small lemon cookies, just for the nutritional value you understand. :thumbsup:

I do hate that my Grail (s) has bearings. It is too easy to at the very least get water in it while washing the blade. I don't use the Grail much for food for this reason. This is the third one as I said and so I couldn't help "trying'erout" for a couple days on food. This knife works exceedingly well for me on food. Shame about the vulnerability of the bearings. Tiny suckers.
Tiny, tiny, tiny . . . tiny !

View attachment 991284
Click to expand...
@Wowbagger: what knife is that you are showing there next to the sliced apple?? That knife looks great and seems to check all my boxes.
 
Flippers are what got me more interested in knives. When I first saw one I knew I had to have it. Up till that point all I had my Swiss Army knife and I was pretty content.

After my first flipper I got more and more interested in the different manufacturers and designs.

I would argue that flippers have made knives more popular then ever.
 
Lapedog said:
There are two sets of bearings. One on each side of the blade actually if the knife is loose the action becomes bad. The knife can be rock solid with zero blade play, even zero flex you can muscle in and still have an extremely free swinging action.

Here are some caged bearings. There is one set on each side of the blade.
Click to expand...

Rob72 said:
https://www.bocabearings.com/products/folding-knife-and-tool-industry-bearings-prod44

I have seen cylinder bearings, but far less common than the standard ball, probably because balls need less surface contact, and therefore will have less drag. They work quite well (ala ZT0452), but tend to fall into the "tactical steak-knife" series for me- Urban carry, narrow utilitarian usage, suitable as a pig-sticker, if necessary.

As previously noted, bronze washers are more common for "field grade" usage because with a bare minimum of oil, they are very good at shedding water and fine grit.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys, I took a couple minutes and searched for video on YT and found one "How to replace bearings on a flipper" that explains it all. So the next step would be ceramic hybrids :) or full ceramic :D. But it does get ugly and cruddy in there with time and I didn't like that yuk :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top