Why so many assisted openers?

I have a few Kershaw AOs....and some from other companies. I love them for a variety of reasons.

1. I need to be able to open my knife with one hand. I know there are other ways but AO models do the job well. Most times I'm holding something with my other hand when I need to cut. I carry Spyderco knives as well and can open them just fine with one hand.

2. They are fun to play with

3. It drives my girlfriend nuts when we are watching TV and I'm flipping my Leek open......again....and again.....and again. My excuse is I just put a few drops of oil in the pivot and need to work it in. ;)
 
enix said:
thanks offsetlover, learn sumthin new everyday.

so theoretically a AO w/ 1 degree angle whould be ok?
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so long as you manually open the blade first.

another thing to note is on AO knives, you can stop them from opening all of the way. what i mean by this is that if you hold the knife and hold your palm at an angle so that the blade will swing up into your hand (but close enough that you wont get cut by the tip!)it will swing up and hit you hand. the blade will stop and you can pull your hand away and the knife will have to be opened the rest of the way manually. an auto wont do that. you pull your hand away and it will keep going.
 
Legally AO vs Switchblade, there are a few differences, the part already mentioned that the knife has to be opened to a certain degree manually, but also you are using a flipper and or thumbstud ON THE BLADE not the handle. The Federal and most state laws use the 1950s defintion of a switchblade as being a knife that opens automatically when pressure is applied to a lever or button in the HANDLE of the knife. AOs differ than the definition of switchblades in both of those ways.
 
offsetlover said:
so long as you manually open the blade first.

another thing to note is on AO knives, you can stop them from opening all of the way. what i mean by this is that if you hold the knife and hold your palm at an angle so that the blade will swing up into your hand (but close enough that you wont get cut by the tip!)it will swing up and hit you hand. the blade will stop and you can pull your hand away and the knife will have to be opened the rest of the way manually. an auto wont do that. you pull your hand away and it will keep going.
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Not 100% accurate. I know that it is accurate on Kershaw, CRKT, Benchmade, and Camillus AO knives but on Buck AO Knives and SOG AO knives they use coil springs similar to those on autos and their is pressure from the spring all the way to the open position. So that the blade will continue to open on its own even if you stop it halfway once the obstruction is cleared from the path.
 
MaxFisher said:
Not 100% accurate. I know that it is accurate on Kershaw, CRKT, Benchmade, and Camillus AO knives but on Buck AO Knives and SOG AO knives they use coil springs similar to those on autos and their is pressure from the spring all the way to the open position. So that the blade will continue to open on its own even if you stop it halfway once the obstruction is cleared from the path.
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agreed. but in kershaws case, thats how it is (like you said). each company has their own way of doing things.
 
For me..I was one of the lucky ones to get in on the 1st KO/Kershaw AO. The Random Task. The AO is what caught my attention but it's the quality and diversity of Kershaw that keeps me coming back for more.
 
When where the Minitasks (KS1500) made and where do they fit in the order of introduction?
 
If you catch hold of something and need to cut it, it'll probably be gone by the time you can get your knife out if you have to let go with BOTH hands. That's why I love one hand operating knives and the Onion AO's and liner locks let me operate that way. Hard to put a lockback away with out occupying both hands.
 
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