Why So Fast?

To each his own is what I say to this one. If you want to have an auto that opens faster than The Flash can flick a Spyderco, great. If you want to take a second or two to think about opening your knife, more power to you.
 
i dont really have anything new to add to this but some how i feel compelled to contribute.

why so fast? i agree with the person who alluded to scrounging around for scissors. i dont want to take all day to scrounge around. thats why i carry a knife. to be quick and handy when i need it. key word bein QUICK and handy.

and again like it was already said, some people are slow and some not so slow. if the speed of life isnt as fast paced where you live, ... tell me where you live, I wanna retire there.

lastly, like someone most likely noted. i want my business with my knife to be as short as possible, when im in public. i dont want to fumble my knife for 3 minutes and have 5 people see me, when i could have been done with my knife 2 min and 30 seconds ago and have 1 other person notice that i HAD a knife
 
I guess all folding knives should lock in the closed position, and all fixed blades should be held in the sheath with a combination lock, would really hate for some moron to perceive the ability to access a blade quickly as an overarching desire to murder everyone within the zip code.

Plain ignorance, not owning a balisong because 'simpler is better', and it opens too ****ing fast. A bali opens as fast or as slow as you want, with one hand or two, with as much or as little flair as one desires/is capable of. And I don't see a hell of a lot of complexity in the design.
 
Merek said:
Why such a blamed HURRY to open the knife?
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Someone evidently hasn't mastered the "Brownie Pop"... :p




Just kiddin'. I don't have any assisted openers or autos because I, too, prefer the simpler-is-better designs. I can just about manage the Brownie Pop with my Military, but the others are opened the old-fashioned way -- with the SpyderHole. :D

-Jeffrey
 
Merek said:
If it really offends that someone might suggest the parallel between flicking a knife real fast = greater manhood, perhaps there is a need to think about a few things....
There is nothing wrong with having a fast knife. What I don't see is the need for speed at the moment of deployment. Slow down. Take things easy.
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No thanks, like someone else said, it's just plain fun to handle/cycle/open/close folders. There's an auditory satisfaction thing to it. There's a tactile thing to feeling the blade hit that lock-up solid. There's a visual thing to admiring the craftsmanship it takes to make a good folder, manual, auto or AO. For me anyway, it has nothing whatsoever to do with being hyped up and ready for a knife fight, it's just the way the tool was designed to be operated, and I operate it that way because I enjoy doing it.

Merek said:
Fast knives, like fast cars, seem to be a compensatory tool for the ego and the egotestical use of either commonly results in tragedy.
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You have some stats to back that up with? What "tragedy" can you cite which resulted from someone opening their knife too fast? You lost me there.

Merek said:
What I DO see is that since the development and popularity of rapidly deployed knives the perception of the knife as a tool has eroded and knives have become more equated with thug weaponry and flashing them about does not help dispel the idea.
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What is your yardstick for the onset of development and/or popularity of fast-opening knives? I'd say the bulk of either premise has grown as a result of the internet, which would put it at about 20 years. But let's go back even further. In 1961 "West Side Story" was among the most popular movies of all time, and switchblades were a prominent part of the story-line. In the '20's and '30's romanticized tales of Al Capone and other violence-oriented gangsters using ice-picks and stillettos as their weapon of choice abound to this day. Somehow I don't think that the guy on a job-site or in a warehouse, or even in an office for that matter, pulling his knife to trim a hang nail or cut a thread off his pants or whatever, is responsible for furthering the negative stereotypes of knife users/carriers. I've found that the clip securing my knife to my pocket is much more of an ice-breaker for starting a conversation than a threat to anyone who happens to notice it, or happens to see me use it as a tool, no matter how I go about opening it.

Merek said:
Perhaps a I am one of the few who truely see a knife as a tool.
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Maybe, but then again perhaps you're hung like a brontosaurus and truely have no pity for all the rest of us needle-d*ck-bug-f***ers. I mean, with your obvious expertise in the psychology of male compensation techniques, what else should one conclude since you're obviously immune to such low-brow behavior? :jerkit: [/tongue-in-cheek]

Tom
 
For me, the thumbstud/thumbhole, faster opening via either hand and pocket clip(And Axis locks) are what made me park my older nail nicked/lock backed knives.

I always found, i needed a knife when one hand was already with the media and no knife in other the hand, now the newer knives allow me to not have to put down my task to fetch my knife to pick it all back up again and cut.

More about ease of use and timing is quicker.

Plus, hehe, now when i see a bud open a nail nicked knife, i pretend to throw the bi-focals on to see it, and do the same with mine, to tease him only of course.

Go hard, or go Sheeple.

WR
 
I admit it, I can't stand slow people--especially those who drive slow (if you can't handle driving at LEAST five mph over the posted speed limit, then you have no business behind the wheel).

But when it comes to knives, it's not really a big deal to me on the speed of deployment.
What matters more IMO is the EASE of deployment.
And it's very hard to beat a nice "tactical".

I love my Alaskan Guide Buck 110, but I think it would be even better if it had a thumb-stud and a pocket-clip.

I am puzzled by one remark from Merek:

I do not own, nor care to own,any balisongs or assisted openers due to my 'simpler is better' nature.
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I don't think you can much more "simple" than a Bali-Song.
No one ever said that you had to perform fancy and complicated aerial opening techniques.
Heck, you can even use two hands to open them slowly if you so desire.

Allen.
 
Im with merek. Simple is better for one.
For another i can open my benchmade griptillian just as fast as any switchblade with the flick of the wrist with or without the help of my thumb.
Any serious knife nut has already opened and closed his folder a million times and he should be able to do it just as fast as assisted knives.
I challenged a guy with my benchmade against his kershaw assisted knife. It ended up being about even after a half dozen tries.
I dont like assisted folders because i dont need no stinking spring helping me open my knife, and i dont want even more that can go wrong.
 
eyeeatingfish said:
Im with merek. Simple is better for one.
For another i can open my benchmade griptillian just as fast as any switchblade with the flick of the wrist with or without the help of my thumb.
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I'm afraid we are all over the map, totally confusing what the question really is.

Taking the above as an example, "simple is better" is an esthetic judgement, but if it appeals to you, there's no reason to get complicated about it.

An axis lock is about as complicated a mechanism as you'll find on any folder today. If you like simple, go for a framelock. :D

---

I thought the original post was opposed to two things: any folder with an advanced mechanism, and any handling of a knife other than a slow, careful, two-handed opening.

This developed into a screed against the psychology of people who don't drag out this sheeple-friendly routine, supposedly on the basis of their own insecurities.

Ridiculous. We are each the product of our environment, personal history, and current choices. We have a perfect right to please ourselves and criticize others -- but have the courtesy to express that criticism as an opinion, at risk of being seen as disrespectful and narrowminded.
 
Merek said:
This is a question which has been bugging me for awhile. Why is there such a drive to OPEN a knife so quickly?
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A better question: Why are you so intent on opening a knife so slowly?

Is it safer? No.

Is it more efficient? Definitely not.

Does it put less wear and tear on a knife? Perhaps, but for all practical purposes this is irrelevant with the quality of knives that we use.

So, tell me, why in the world would you want to purposefully open your knife slowly?
 
I can think of many emergency situations where being able to open a knife very quickly would be important. Cutting a seatbelt to get a person (or yourself) out of a burning vehicle comess to mind. It is not something any of us are likely to face but one never knows. Seconds count in situations like that.
Plus it's kind of fun. I'm not sure I can explain why but it just is. Not everything we do in life has to be practical, does it? Although back to the consideration of being able to deploy a knife extremely quickly in an emergency situation you might find that in the process of having some fun, and challenging yourself in learning to open a knife as fast as possible, that you've also developed a skill that could conceivably save a life.
 
For those who are simple people - Fine, with me - Be simple.
And I don't care if it takes you 45 seconds to open your knife, or if you ever open it.
What's it you, how I open mine, anyway??
 
My favorite knives are fixed blades. They don't close at all. Only with the advent of the modern one-hand folder has a pocketknife started to approach the ease and speed of deployment that fixed blades have always had. Throughout most of history, everyone could deploy their knives faster than any slip joint or even most modern tactical folders. So. . . I would say preferring to deploy your knife slowly isn't old fashioned, and fast deployment is hardly a modern idea.

Pretty stupid subject to argue about.
 
Man... Merek, you pose questions just like my philosophy-major girlfriend would, ha. Breaking down a concept that doesn't need to be pondered over. It's not wrong that you did, but I bet you're a student of philosophy aren't you... ?

And how do you define "fast" when concerning the opening of a knife? Mircrotech, Protech auto fast? Spyderco fast? Leek AO fast? SAK fast? What's fast, and what's the point in asking - to each his own, and you can't possibly comprehend everyone's situation. I would agree with my fellow BF Forumer that it is logical. Tools are meant to aid in efficiency - hence faster is usually better. You either have a knife that requires two hands like a Case, or a one-handed opener such as the Leek... hmm... now let me think on this... one or two, what's more logical? To me, it's not the speed, but how many hands you must tie up in doing so...

My $.03
Ryan
 
There is a great gadget and "coolness" factor when opening my speed-safes...ITS JUST FUN FOR A CHANGE!
 
Merek said:
with an audible 'snick!'
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There once was a man
named Audible Snick,
who often admired
the size of his d!ck.

He carried a knife
to fend off his wife,
for she was a belt-size too thick.
 
I only own one AO knife.The small Kershaw,I think it's the Scallion,but I like to flick my knives because I think it's fun.Call me a 44 year old kid but who gives a darn?To each his own I say.:jerkit:
 
I like A/O or one-hand opening knives because I cannot open a Buck 110 one-handed, I cannot wrist flick anything other than a Frisbee, and I can not carry a fixed blade at work...other than an Exacto knife, and that sits in the toolbox drawer until I need it.
I don't use my knives to impress anyone, just get a job done.
 
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