Why not assisted opening?

S

snorkem

Joined
Aug 12, 2009
Messages
410
I was wondering why I constantly see people say they don't like assisted opening, or would prefer that knives don't have it. I have nothing against it, it makes the knife easier to open. I don't see any cons, but constantly I see people saying they don't like it, why?
 
Big reason for me: the AO springs break. Yes, you can replace them with another spring. Yes, you can send them back to the company for repair. But who wants to do that?

Do you really want to spend $8 shipping and wait 4-6 weeks to get your knife back? Or do you want have a knife that's spring breaks when you are out in the woods, out on the town, or somewhere else where it is very inconvenient to fix it?

I want my knives to be reliable, so I don't like AOs.
 
Probably because of KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!). More parts, more things to fail.

Also, while I really like assisted opening, I think assisted knives are less fun to flick open and closed once the wow factor of the spring wears off.

Caffeinepirate said:
Big reason for me: the AO springs break. Yes, you can replace them with another spring. Yes, you can send them back to the company for repair. But who wants to do that?

Do you really want to spend $8 shipping and wait 4-6 weeks to get your knife back? Or do you want have a knife that's spring breaks when you are out in the woods, out on the town, or somewhere else where it is very inconvenient to fix it?

I want my knives to be reliable, so I don't like AOs.
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If a torsion bar breaks the knife will still work, so I don't think it really affects reliability. If your stuck in the woods with only your broken a/o knife your not going to starve because the blade wont "spring" open. It is still a knife and it will still cut things.

Also, axis and cbbl all have springs that can break and they don't just open the blade but keep it locked! A much more important duty. So, I guess you steer clear of these locks as well?
 
For me there is trouble with getting new spring if the original one wears out. Postage would cost me one half of new knife.
 
I agree. The springs can break. I don't like double action autos for the same reason. If you think that you would still have the manual option? In most cases you won't. KISS is sound advice.
 
J a K said:
For me there is trouble with getting new spring if the original one wears out. Postage would cost me one half of new knife.
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JaK, are you sure about this? Something small like a torsion bar is generally not expensive to ship, even internationally. There is a big difference between shipping a knife and shipping a paperclip lol.
 
well i generally dont care for them, but i just got a couple yesterday. and they are great, i think you should have both,
 
mossyhorn said:
I agree. The springs can break. I don't like double action autos for the same reason. If you think that you would still have the manual option? In most cases you won't. KISS is sound advice.
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Well I have taken the torsion spring out of my spec bump and Tyrade and both work fine. Blade retention when closed is the only issue and in a life and death situation (where reliability matters) that is not a huge deal.
 
Sort of of like they used to say about double action pistols; a solution to a problem that didn't exist. Once the novelty wears off I see little use for them.
 
as of right now i only have my Kershaw blur thats assisted. and i am pretty set on that. my next knife is most definitely going to be the 710 i cant wait till i can afford it :)
 
There is something beautiful about a smooth opening manual folder. I grew out of the AO urge during my second year of being a knife enthusiast.
 
I have the leek and have had it for years. it has never broke yet. been at lease 5+ years and I am useing it all of the time. lost mine went and got another one then two weeks later foung it down on my trailer and it has been out in the rain and I will still not give it up.
 
AO is pretty cool, but I've never had one break, nor an axis lock break.
If it did break it, I could one of at least 20 other folders around here!
Waiting a month to get it back is no problem for me.
Do you really only rely on one knife?
What happened to the EDC rotation? :p
 
I have a love/hate thing with assisted open. I like that they open fast. I don't like the extra pressure when closing. This is a minor gripe at most.
 
The only disadvantage I find they have is, as stated above, the wear and tear on torsion bars, etc. For me, It's not really an advantage or disadvantage; I'm pretty indifferent to the A/O mechanism itself, I just happen to like a lot of designs that only come with A/O.

However, I don't have the aforementioned problem of paying all kinds of postage fees and waiting weeks upon weeks to get my knives fixed, since all my A/Os are Kershaws :p. I have yet to pay a cent to maintain them, and I've had parts arrive as little as three days after calling their warranty department. Pretty darn fast considering they had to cross a border and go through customs to get here :thumbup:.

Anyway, I don't see any real reason to avoid A/O knives, or any reason to seek them out.
 
SPC_rex said:
I have a love/hate thing with assisted open. I like that they open fast. I don't like the extra pressure when closing. This is a minor gripe at most.
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Same here!
The AO takes off the joy of closing a knife, that's the reason why I don't like them.

How weird is that? :confused:



BETO
====================
Sorry for my english :o
 
I don't like AO, or autos for that matter, because while the spring assist makes opening the knife one handed quick and easy, they can be harder to close one handed. Which in the end defeats the purpose of one handed opening.

I tried two of them a few years back when AO was all the rage and just never really connected with either and haven't wanted another one since.
 
I can understand all of the above arguments, but I love all 3 (soon to be 4) of my Kershaws. My Chive and Scallion have see thousands of actuations, with no torsion bar failures. I'm confident that my new Cyclone and Leek will perform just as well.

Just like I am drawn to semi-autos over revolvers, I am attracted to their advanced, yet somewhat simple, mechanical design.

No problems closing one handed, although I have to admit that I got a finger in the way and shed a little blood the other day. :o
 
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