Why would anyone go for an assisted knife?

Not that anyone truly cares, but IMO this seems a perfect case of “Don’t Feed The Troll”. Our new member‘s first post wins him/her/it immediate admission as the newest inductee to my Ignored Community.
 
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Here in Texas, it is lawful to own and possess about any knife or sword. It is also legal to openly carry most any pocket or belt kn ife regardless of blade length or profile. . or method of deployment.

I have a vague idea that wearing a sword might not fly and I think a place of business may prohibit open carry, but in general EDC of about anything is wide open.

In England it is forbidden to EDC anything with an edge or point and ownership of non-antique swords is heavily regulated. A sword-cane can get you in deep trouble too.
 
Back to the OP question though:

I cannot justify for myself, the use of an automatic knife. There are plenty of "flipper" designs that allow one handed deployment with ease. Even my Leatherman Wave can be opened with one thumb if you are careful . . .I can't do it due to a operantly dislocated thumb.

Spring assisted and switchblade operation are really neat though. At age 12, I had a stiletto my folks never found about, {which was part of the fun) I wore it completely out as a spin-fidget toy in a couple of months. . .. before I turned 13.
 
VorpelSword said:
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In England it is forbidden to EDC anything with an edge or point and ownership of non-antique swords is heavily regulated. A sword-cane can get you in deep trouble too.
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I was not aware of that. When was this decided?
 
Talking about reliability, assisted folders like Kershaw Speedsafe line might actually be less dependable, because all that holds the blade in closed position is a spring. It brokes - and you need a rubber band to be sure you won't be cut through your pocket. But when blade is on detent ball it is entirely different case: it is safe (well, as safe as any knife with detent ball), no studs on the blade - means more cutting space and no holes weakening the construction, and it is comfortable, for me at least. Funny thing is, however, that I generally dislike the appearance of that "shark fin" sticking out of the closed flipper knife, and very rarely find such design attracive.
 
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I don't think I'm a "basic B" (whatever that is) but there are over 375 knives in my collection and over 100 of those are Kershaws and ZTs (mainly discontinued models) and a large percentage of them are assisted.

I bought them all because I "like" the look/feel of the knife. Whether or not they were/are assisted was irrelevant to that decision.

Frankly, I really don't understand why "some" knife buyers/collectors get their panties in a bunch about "assisted" knives. As others point out above, there's not much of a difference between automatics and assisted knives and I also currently own 30 autos.

The only blade opening device that I really do NOT like are thumbstuds which are almost never properly positioned for use with my thumb and that I just find too awkward to use even when the are.

Flippers, which some knife buyers/collectors also distain, are my favorite.
 
Buck Foe Jiden said:
Funny, the Kershaw Leek and Blur are two of the best selling knives of all time.
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I am sympathetic with the OP. But, I did relent recently and bought a Kershaw Leek, the classic design with slick as ice SS scales. Of course, I cut my finger within first two days of ownership. I am not a fan of assisted knives, but thought I needed a Leek anyway. At least it has my fav budget steel, 14C28N.
 
sgt1372 said:
I don't think I'm a "basic B" (whatever that is) but there are over 375 knives in my collection and over 100 of those are Kershaws and ZTs (mainly discontinued models) and a large percentage of them are assisted.

I bought them all because I "like" the look/feel of the knife. Whether or not they were/are assisted was irrelevant to that decision.

Frankly, I really don't understand why "some" knife buyers/collectors get their panties in a bunch about "assisted" knives. As others point out above, there's not much of a difference between automatics and assisted knives and I also currently own 30 autos.

The only blade opening device that I really do NOT like are thumbstuds which are almost never properly positioned for use with my thumb and that I just find too awkward to use even when the are.

Flippers, which some knife buyers/collectors also distain, are my favorite.
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Preach.

Threads like this always seem to come down to the ridiculous idea some folks have that there can be two knives on a seller's table, and they want one of them because they don't like the other, but not only do they not like the other, they seem to feel that the other knife shouldn't be there at all. That's always been nonsense to me.
 
AgentSanchez said:
I was thinking about this and decided to make an account to see if there is a counterpoint to my severely judgmental position that assisted knives are only attractive to basic B's. Other than the fact that any kind of assist is illegal where I live, I believe that every assisted blade is inherently inferior and less dependable that the thumb stud on a properly built/maintained folder, and serves to profile the owner as an aggressive idiot.. The folder will be less questionable, just as fast, more useful for everyday purposes, simpler/cheaper/stronger. What possible argument is there for assisted designs when a thumb stud gets you there just as fast without the compromises?
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*Laughing hysterically emoji*
 
1: way to aggressive first post and no need to insult people over their preferred style of knife.
2: for me I am not a fan of assisted knives because I find them more annoying to close and do not see the advantage over a well designed flipper
3: Automatic OTF knives have a place, although pretty much illegal here but I do find them a bit less useful as an all around edc.
4: to each his own
 
Well I like assisted like my newer Sog Trident AT. Great ergonomic handle and love how the blade propels with gusto. Too cool to be without. Just my 2 cents.
 
Companies make ‘em because people buy ‘em. I have a Benchmade Vector that I really like. I consider the assisted opening feature a minor drawback, but I liked the design so much that I was willing to overlook that.
 
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