With Damaged, Bandaged, Numb Hands Which LOCKING Folder ?

Wowbagger

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Sep 20, 2015
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I know, I know the short answer is : A FIXED BLADE.
But that's too easy. Which LOCKING FOLDER is best.

Yes, yes it is one thing to sit in the old arm chair and flip the knife with a single hand that is warm and healthy and bandage free.

Lately from using my Para 2 I have found it is another thing to try one handing it with less than good paws.

About a month ago I had a surprising “incident” that got me thinking about writing this thread and danged if a few days later I had a second conflaguration.

I had mentioned back then that I had dropped my PM2 and slightly beat up the edge. And that for me to drop a knife is pretty darned rare; only once before that I could ever recall.

When it happened with the Para recently I couldn’t even figure out why it happened. It just slipped out of my pinch while working the compression lock. I have other Paras and had never dropped one. After the second time it was clear why.

The reason ? Sore split thumb combined with well taped up index finger. Winter weather brings on this crazy cracking. I have been battling this since I was twenty and working with concrete. Not age related, If I avoid certain foods it goes far to minimize the condition. And the tape ? I have been doing it differently this year; pinching the flange around the edge which easily survives a day of work without coming loose and is never too tight to cut off circulation.
IMG_4720.jpg

The flange of tape though can tangle up with the scales of the Para and or compression lock and look out . . . ‘ bagger is using his knife again . . . stand back at least twenty feet !
IMG_4721.jpg

Been closing it two handed and so far no more flipping through the air with the greatest of ease like a high wire act.

First I grip the spyder hole with my non dominate hand, I let go with my other hand and pinch the compression lock and then swing everything closed . . . from there it seems . . . so far . . . that I have the skills to put it in my pocket without further a due.
IMG_4726.JPG

So to repeat myself : Which is best for damaged, cold, less than fully usable hands ? I just spoke with an old friend the other day and he mentioned he had to give up some activities due to numbness in his hands form carpal tunnel operations. By the way he isn’t a knife guy but EDCs a belt pouch with a SAK Soldier and a four inch Crescent wrench.

When I dropped this knife the second time in as many weeks the knife litterally flipped up in the air and came down on the back of my finger. Stop laughing . . . OK . . . I’ll join you then . . . it is funny.
IMG_4716.jpg
One thing I got in the habit of with my first Para 2, the all black DLC one, was I had removed the clip and was carrying it in a pouch. I found with the clip gone the best way to work the compression lock was with my thumb, let the blade drop then roll it over point up and close it with my thumb. See photos. This was how I was closing the M4 when it flipped over and bit the back of my finger.
IMG_4722.jpg IMG_4723.jpg IMG_4724.jpg IMG_4725.jpg
So . . . that’s not the best when hands are in bad shape (maybe it is just my stupid tape job).

Two hand closing is what I am doiing now for the winter.

I started carrying the 940 to see how the axis lock fairs one handed with handicaps. So far so good but that's only been one day.
IMG_4727.jpg IMG_4728.jpg

Man that was up town today . . . I was putting on the Ritz . . . 940 in left pocket . . . Para2M4 in right pocket. I was livin’ large !

The 940 is easy to work with split fingers but when I had a Manix LW I found the lock spring too stiff and it could cause my cracked thumb to burn and split open and bleed.

If nothing else I may have set a record for photos up loaded in a single post.
If you scroll it fast it is kind of like a video.
 
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Emersons
Good one !

O'Keeffe's
No lets not go onto fixing the fingers. After thirty seven years of trying topical solutions THAT IS NOT THE ANSWER. Trust me. It seems to be a combination of lower oxygen in the atmosphere 7,000 feet here so kind of low Ox to start with and add to that the plant life shutting down during autumn and winter (where the local Oxy. comes from / can't hardly get farther from the oceans than Colorado. Oceans = next best source of winter Oxy) and everyone sucking what is left through their fire places and automobiles it is a wonder we don't fall over and asphyxiate.

If I strictly keep away from whole grain foods, beans, funked up oils in highly processed foods and the skin on nuts (blanched nuts works). I can go split and pain free. Can heal with zero topical treatment in two or three days. Eat that stuff and no amount of topical treatments makes any real diff. Yeah . . . looks like I been off the wagon food wise.

OK ENOUGH OF THAT.
To the knives dudes.
 
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I would think an opinel or a friction folder would be the best option.
They're usually very easy to open and don't require much dexterity to operate.
They require 2 hands to open, but you did ask for the best.
 
Would an automatic knife work for you?

n2s

I guess I am asking people who have experienced similar situations what they used.
I'm not even really trying to pick a new knife for my self.
Mostly a topic of discussion.

As far as the auto I have zero experience with them. (there goes any street cread I might have had).
How do they work ? Don't you have to kind of force them closed ?
Probably would be a real solution though.
 
I would think an opinel or a friction folder would be the best option.
They're usually very easy to open and don't require much dexterity to operate.
They require 2 hands to open, but you did ask for the best.

Yes you are probably right !
The good old Sod Buster seems like an excellent choice.

I suppose just to be obstinate and keep things jumping (ha, ha, ha see trapeze act in first post) maybe we should limit it to just locking folders used one handed.
Emerson and auto is back in the race.
 
Emerson's I would say. Well tuned.
I was thinking . . .
Opening is never a prob (so far; never underestimate my ability to just keep getting klutzier) . . . it is the closing that has been the dangerous bit.

Are the Emerson's particularly good closers under adverse conditions ? I have never handled one. (and there goes the final nail in the coffin of my street cred)
 
I know, I know the short answer is : A FIXED BLADE.
But that's too easy. Which FOLDER is best.

Yes, yes it is one thing to sit in the old arm chair and flip the knife with a single hand that is warm and healthy and bandage free.

Lately from using my Para 2 I have found it is another thing to try one handing it with less than good paws.

About a month ago I had a surprising “incident” that got me thinking about writing this thread and danged if a few days later I had a second conflaguration.

I had mentioned back then that I had dropped my PM2 and slightly beat up the edge. And that for me to drop a knife is pretty darned rare; only once before that I could ever recall.

When it happened with the Para recently I couldn’t even figure out why it happened. It just slipped out of my pinch while working the compression lock. I have other Paras and had never dropped one. After the second time it was clear why.

The reason ? Sore split thumb combined with well taped up index finger. Winter weather brings on this crazy cracking. I have been battling this since I was twenty and working with concrete. Not age related, If I avoid certain foods it goes far to minimize the condition. And the tape ? I have been doing it differently this year; pinching the flange around the edge which easily survives a day of work without coming loose and is never too tight to cut off circulation.
View attachment 811695

The flange of tape though can tangle up with the scales of the Para and or compression lock and look out . . . ‘ bagger is using his knife again . . . stand back at least twenty feet !
View attachment 811696

Been closing it two handed and so far no more flipping through the air with the greatest of ease like a high wire act.

First I grip the spyder hole with my non dominate hand, I let go with my other hand and pinch the compression lock and then swing everything closed . . . from there it seems . . . so far . . . that I have the skills to put it in my pocket without further a due.
View attachment 811697

So to repeat myself : Which is best for damaged, cold, less than fully usable hands ? I just spoke with an old friend the other day and he mentioned he had to give up some activities due to numbness in his hands form carpal tunnel operations. By the way he isn’t a knife guy but EDCs a belt pouch with a SAK Soldier and a four inch Crescent wrench.

When I dropped this knife the second time in as many weeks the knife litterally flipped up in the air and came down on the back of my finger. Stop laughing . . . OK . . . I’ll join you then . . . it is funny.
View attachment 811698
One thing I got in the habit of with my first Para 2, the all black DLC one, was I had removed the clip and was carrying it in a pouch. I found with the clip gone the best way to work the compression lock was with my thumb, let the blade drop then roll it over point up and close it with my thumb. See photos. This was how I was closing the M4 when it flipped over and bit the back of my finger.
View attachment 811700 View attachment 811702 View attachment 811704 View attachment 811708
So . . . that’s not the best when hands are in bad shape (maybe it is just my stupid tape job).

Two hand closing is what I am doiing now for the winter.

I started carrying the 940 to see how the axis lock fairs one handed with handicaps. So far so good but that's only been one day.
View attachment 811714 View attachment 811715

Man that was up town today . . . I was putting on the Ritz . . . 940 in left pocket . . . Para2M4 in right pocket. I was livin’ large !

The 940 is easy to work with split fingers but when I had a Manix LW I found the lock spring too stiff and it could cause my cracked thumb to burn and split open and bleed.

If nothing else I may have set a record for photos up loaded in a single post.
If you scroll it fast it is kind of like a video.

I recommend a waved knife. It is opened with a gross motor movement rather than pushing your thumb against something. Here's a few suggestions.

Emerson, preferably one with bearings such as the cqc7f as they open more reliably. (Btw if you wave a knife and it doesn't fully open you can just hit the edge of the blade very lightly against the side of your thigh, which will open it the whole way.) if you can find one an Emerson HD7 would be amazing.

Spyderco waved models like the waved Delica or waved Endura.

If you don't mind a heavier knife look at the ZT Emersons, I think they are mostly or completely discontinued.

If you want to try a wave knife for cheap look at the Kershaw Emerson collabs.
 
Emerson's are liner locks so you won't like that. My thumbs and finger tips split the same way ever winter due to cold/working outside/working with old dirty machinery/and etc.

Any type of lock you need to press, pinch, move, and so on will become an issue. With pretty well any lock it's your thumb, or index finger or both you'll use to close and you'll have issues. I know because I get the splitting finger tips too. Something line a UK Penknife or the Urban Splipit could work since you can shut them with the palm of your hand.
 
I know the short answer is : A FIXED BLADE.

You said it, and I believe it. Bradford Guardian 3 in M390 or 3V, cross-draw leather sheath.
Perfectly concealed; instantly available. Fits my large hand just fine; full four-finger grip.

I still carry my Wilson/CRK large Sebbie clipped in my pocket, but it sees very little use any more.
This fixed carry G3 has been about one year now.
Of course I love folders, but the Guardian 3 is my main knife.


 
.....
How do they work ? Don't you have to kind of force them closed ?
Probably would be a real solution though.

Before the Hollywood stigmatism, auto knives were designed for single handed use. They were ideal for use on boats, while skydiving, or for anyone with a handicap. There are numerous styles. I would suggest one of the many Microtech models. Just make sure they are legal to carry in your area.

microtechotfnamed1.jpg


n2s
 
I looked it up. COOL KNIFE !
Minimal hook and has a thumb plate.

While I don't actually own the HD7 it is my dream knife. The most recent versions come with bearings so they wave easily. My major complaint with most Emersons are they are too thick, the HD7 (or any Emerson framelock) is way thinner and so I must try one sometime.

Many people are aprehensive about the wave because they worry they will accidentally wave their knife when drawing from their pocket when the time is not appropriate. They don't realize you can just cover the spine with their finger as you draw the knife which will prevent it from waving.
 
Auto
Oh boy . . . I been trying to draw the line some where in my knife buying.
Don't get me started again.
Sounds like a good time.
Boats ?
hmmmmm I'm picturing water and delicate springs and mechanisms . . . not to mention salt water crusting in it.
Obviously I don't know though . . . just my gear head churning.

Pretty sure not legal here. O' course I've been known to carry my Holdout 1 at work and hide it for the trip home. It's only about a foot too long to be legal here.
 
Many people are aprehensive about the wave because they worry they will accidentally wave their knife when drawing from their pocket when the time is not appropriate. They don't realize you can just cover the spine with their finger as you draw the knife which will prevent it from waving.

ha, ha, I have one pair of sweat pants that I wear around the house and the pocket is so worn and has a hole near the top. That hole can wave about anything with a thumb stud let alone a hook.

I got to consider this finger on the spine thing. I'm not getting it. Especially with a longer knife. I do like four inch blades.
 
I've often found myself with greasy/sweaty/slimey hands, needing to make a cut, with only one hand available, in places where if I drop my knife, it will never be seen again, so secure one hand closing is very important to me.
Can't help with your cracked digits, but if it's the best lock type for minimal to no repositioning of the knife during a one handed close, it's linerlocks and Benchmade axis locks. They are by far the most secure one hand closers, with linerlocks being the best.

I do like four inch blades.
Spyderco military or pattada.
 
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I think lockback probably is easier, you only press (gross motor), if it’s Spyderco, flick it down, let the kick hits your knuckles, and change grip, further close it. More or less like your last sequence pinching the compression lock with thumb.

On auto & saltwater: Spyderco has one, Autonomy.
 
ha, ha, I have one pair of sweat pants that I wear around the house and the pocket is so worn and has a hole near the top. That hole can wave about anything with a thumb stud let alone a hook.

I got to consider this finger on the spine thing. I'm not getting it. Especially with a longer knife. I do like four inch blades.

There are plenty of four inch Emersons too.

The waved Endura has a 3.8 inch blade.
 
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