Why would anyone go for an assisted knife?

Should a knife be flung open that fast anyways? Even with a no assisted thumb or flipper..is whipping it open shortening it's life span? I ask because I do not know
 
slyraven said:
Should a knife be flung open that fast anyways? Even with a no assisted thumb or flipper..is whipping it open shortening it's life span? I ask because I do not know
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Yes, hard, inertial openings have been known to deform certain locks, like liner-locks can slip this way, or a lockbar can deform. I do not know if an assisted open is hard enough to do this on the average knife, and I'd also assume blade size/mass would play a part in that. Quality, too. Had an assisted folder that I bought once a long, long time ago at BudK, fall right down onto my finger when the liner-lock slipped to the other side upon a normal use of the assisted flipper.

While I did go for a regular RAT 1 over an assisted one, it is not like I gently roll the knife open every time. I "flick" it out, so it opens fast, like... boom, but I don't SLAM it open, I feel like the RAT 2 would maybe hold up to this better.

I can feel the difference in gently touching the compression lock tab on my Yojimbo 2 with the spine facing down, feeling the blade just smoothly drop, "click" into the open position with no force whatsoever, vs holding the tab and doing a more inertial flick with the Yojumbo, or even more severe, the Shaman, and feeling the blade actually slam against the lockbar. I now open larger comp-lock knives like this through the Spydie hole instead of holding the tab as it is just as fast but clearly more gentle on the knife.
greater said:
I love that one. I wish they would make other types of knives with that color scheme.
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They make an SD Classic in it that is quite nice - if you like blue donuts, you can also score the SMKW version and if the SD Classic is too small for you, they have a Tinker with this color scheme. For this particular color scheme on the SAK, I rec a slip with it because the pattern on this one may wear if rubbing against things like keys or whatever.
VorpelSword said:
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.
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I agree that an automatic knife is absolutely no "faster" than a manual flipper, thumbstud knife, or Spydiehole, backlock, comp lock, whatever. I can flip them all open more-or-less from "there" to "not there" regardless of lock or opening mechanism, heck, as you mention, I can open my Leatherman about as fast anything else, might be a slight difference, but it is basically "there".

I only have three autos, all three being there mainly for fun/enjoyment, did not "need" any of them, none are used for "tactical" ideas or SD in mind either. The Emerson wave is the only thing that has created a substantially "faster" draw due to making the draw similar to a fixed blade/eliminating the need of actually taking the knife out of your pocket and then opening it (pressing a button, hitting a thumbstud, comp-tab... same to me speed-wise).
 
slyraven said:
Should a knife be flung open that fast anyways? Even with a no assisted thumb or flipper..is whipping it open shortening it's life span? I ask because I do not know
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If there is no stress in one cycle they exceeds the thresholds it was built to, I think it should handle basically endless cycles. I've never really heard of a knife wearing out from being flicked open. It's not much force ultimately, even for small steel parts.

Flick a knife open, but let the spine whack a finger as it does. It's not much impact.
 
I have owned two switch blade knives. Both of them in my adolescent youth; late grade school and early high school.

Both became worn out to the point of being incapable of remaining closed or locking open.
 
I carried an assisted knife back when I was glacier-guiding for the fact that if something goes wrong (never happened) it will happen very fast and you, as a guide, has to act faster thus, if I needed to cut anything in such a situation, an assisted knife seemed reasonable.
Unfortunately the knife got stolen.
 
Wow! Lots of opinion laden posts. Here is one more:

Because so many states had made auto knives illegal, many of us who had been using autos for work often chose to purchase the assisted opening knives to use as a substitute for auto knives until the tide turned and autos became legal again. Some of us have needed to open and close a folding knife 100+ times a day and auto knives are very preferred.
 
Chance Mc Call said:
Wow! Lots of opinion laden posts. Here is one more:

Because so many states had made auto knives illegal, many of us who had been using autos for work often chose to purchase the assisted opening knives to use as a substitute for auto knives until the tide turned and autos became legal again. Some of us have needed to open and close a folding knife 100+ times a day and auto knives are very preferred.
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I can see a good DA auto in that context.

Aside from that and with the proliferation of great manual action, what does the assisted knife possibly have to offer?

Assisted actions generally don't open as nicely as a good manual in my experience but closing is the bigger issue. Depending on the particular type of manual action, whether slow-rolling it smoothly home with a finger or using different methods to drop them shut, the manual is just the better closer. You don't have to overcome/recharge the assist in addition to clearing the lock and/or detent. (Plus that whole "extra things you don't need but can fail" argument.)
 
Opening method has very little to do with how a blade will perform once open...and if done correctly, assisted openers can be just as stout (think frame lock) as a fully manual open piece.
 
Because they like them. If you don't like them, there is no reason to buy them.
 
Assisted is kind of like (I'm drawing a very loose parallelhere).357sig. Was a cool idea at the time, but the base product it was designed to improve has now improved itself to make its "better " obsolete.

More than ten years since I bought my last assisted (since sold them all) I find that today's models fall into one (or more) of the following models

Older designs like the Leek continuing on

Tactical tomfoolery ( I should trademark that term)for mall ninjas

Inexpensive knives where a fast moving bearing pivot would increase the manufacturing cost beyond the rest of the materials affectingprofit margins(low end kershaws and CRKT for example)
 
Well agent sanchez didn’t hang around, 4 posts and done. He probably netted the info he was fishing for and has made his report by now. 😆 I could tell he wasn’t a knife nut.
 
K.O.D. said:
Assisted is kind of like (I'm drawing a very loose parallelhere).357sig. Was a cool idea at the time, but the base product it was designed to improve has now improved itself to make its "better " obsolete...
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I disagree. Assisted action was an easy answer to great manual actions being rarer or more expensive. As an approximation, it always had limitations. It has largely been rendered obsolete by the proliferation of great manual action at lower prices (at least outside of protected environments like the Walmart knife counter).

The .357 Sig wasn't a patch for some deficiency. It was a great idea in its own right. It closely approximated the ballistics of then-popular 125-grain loads for .357 Magnum in a semi-auto format that allowed for double the capacity (or more) plus quick magazine changes. It remains an awesome round at lighter weights, either in hollow-points for humanoid threats or solids for animal threats.

Some people argue that .357 Sig was rendered obsolete by better loads in 9mm but that's not exactly true. It takes a very hot +p+ load in 9mm to approach what .357 Sig was designed to do all-day at standard pressure. The real issue is that as 9mm loads have improved--and other factors have come into play--law enforcement agencies have re-embraced 9mm and the market has followed suit. Meanwhile, .357 Sig already held a minority share of the market and we've been hit with wave after wave of scarcity issues largely driven by government. Now even .40S&W has fallen by the wayside.
 
I’m pretty sure the assisted knives are no faster than a good thumb or flipper finger. Idiots try to differentiate. One of our local city politicians was in the Bass Pro and was “astounded” at the assisted knives available. I whipped out my Bugout and reverse flipped it saying assisted is not faster. He was upset that I could do that. 🤷🏼‍♂️
 
I bought a AO because it is a flipper axis assisted folder.
Has nothing to do with how well it performs compared to others; it's just like I have many different locking options.
I do not prefer an assisted opener but it sure is fun to feel its strength
 
I love assisted knives. My thumbs are not nimble enough to fluently use thumb studs. My daily carry is a Kershaw Leek and a Benchmade Boost (full size). Love those knives!!!
 
Chronovore said:
I disagree. Assisted action was an easy answer to great manual actions being rarer or more expensive. As an approximation, it always had limitations. It has largely been rendered obsolete by the proliferation of great manual action at lower prices (at least outside of protected environments like the Walmart knife counter).

The .357 Sig wasn't a patch for some deficiency. It was a great idea in its own right. It closely approximated the ballistics of then-popular 125-grain loads for .357 Magnum in a semi-auto format that allowed for double the capacity (or more) plus quick magazine changes. It remains an awesome round at lighter weights, either in hollow-points for humanoid threats or solids for animal threats.

Some people argue that .357 Sig was rendered obsolete by better loads in 9mm but that's not exactly true. It takes a very hot +p+ load in 9mm to approach what .357 Sig was designed to do all-day at standard pressure. The real issue is that as 9mm loads have improved--and other factors have come into play--law enforcement agencies have re-embraced 9mm and the market has followed suit. Meanwhile, .357 Sig already held a minority share of the market and we've been hit with wave after wave of scarcity issues largely driven by government. Now even .40S&W has fallen by the wayside.
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This is why I said I was drawing a loose parallel here. It was not a great comparison. I was exhausted and attempting to think.

A newcomer (of either) might wonder why there are assisted knives when manual knives of the same or similar price range open faster or smoother. Without knowing the history, it seems like an answer without a question.

Automatic knives are much less restricted today than 20 years ago. I remember my first a/o, showing my friends and all of us being like "oh yeah almost like a switchblade. " Now, switchblade are legal here in Villainois and I have one OTS snd 4 OTF. I no longer need for an ao.

If I could afford it, I'd own guns in lots of guns in different calibers just for the hell of it. Ammo availability has been rough for "niche" calibers. At this point, I want to sell my Beretta PX4. 40 but no one local is interested, and gb makes me nervous.
 
vwb563 said:
Yes, this! ^^ Get you a Kershaw Leek, use it for a while, and see if your opinion changes…🤷🏼‍♂️
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I love the Leek (much more than I ever expected to), but it would be even better without the assist. I could take it out of the house, for one thing.
 
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