Would you carry an auto folder, if you legally could?

All this talk about fast or slow is odd to me. I have Never been in a real hurry to open a knife I may be EDCing. I have never had to out-open another knife. Since I don't think of my knives as self-defense implements this may be why. I have had a knife on my person for some 40 years and Never used one in anger! They have Always been Tools and Cool Tools at that. I am not saying there are no persons out there who feel their pocket-knife is a primary self defense tool I am just saying it has never been mine. That being said I am able to EDC all sorts of styles and designs of knives for "Shits and Grins" I have a BM 9050 that locks up tight and also has a second lock much like the CRKT Auto lawks. My BM Auto Stryker has been used a ton at work and never failed. Same system. With me and the Folks I have hunted and camped with for so many years it's been all about the "what do have this year". We all have our Favorites, but I would like to try most all of em. So Again... Yes I Would and I am right now!!! ~Protech Godson~
 
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Byrom Hermo said:
Not saying you, or anyone, should carry an automatic but I just don't see a weapon here:

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No comment intended on the view the law would take.:D
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Byrom, is that a Hubertus? I have one like it in my collection, except no corkscrew. (I don't do much corking. :) )

Laws in Texas allow non-LEOs/military to collect and own autos, but not carry.
"(d) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor's conduct:
(1) was incidental to dealing with a switchblade knife, springblade knife, or short-barrel firearm solely as an antique or curio. "

The key here, I think, is the term "affirmative defense"..which means you can/will/may still be arrested but when you 'tell it to the judge' you'll probably get off.

BTW, mine are all "curios", and never leave the house. :)
 
Um- yes I would carry an automatic if I could. At least at first- just for the "cool factor". Automatics are inherently cool. If "switchblades" were legal, the market for them would open up and we would start to see better engineered and designed autos, that would stand up better to hard use. Not that there is anything wrong with many on the market, its just that there is always room for improvement.

I'd carry one of the Spyderco autos tomorrow if I could legally do so. Or a Microtech OTF.
 
Great topic!! IMHO I don't need an auto any longer. I am a retired LEO and have a Blackwater Auto, but I prefer to carry my Emerson CQC Snubby since it deploys just as fast and isn't going to be as threatening to the uninformed. Plus, in Colorado as a citizen I would have to get charged and then assert an affirmative defense to the possession of an illegal weapon. More hassle than it is worth. . . just my .02
 
I carried an auto in my flightsuit for many years, crappy issue thing, but I had a card that allowed me to carry it. It was for parachuting, luckily I never needed it. I think I'd prefer my Leek over a good auto, I'd hate to have it fail when I need it to cut myself out of a 'chute. I had a very sturdy German-made auto I picked up in Amsterdam, it was reliable enough, but very expensive. I ended up giving it to a friend when he went back to teach PJs, he needed it more than I did.
 
I'm faster with a Speedsafe knife than I am with most, if not all of my autos.

I keep and own many autos but I don't like them for carry that much.

Regardless if they are legal to carry in your jurisdiction or if you can carry them legally due to profession, I sort of liken automatic knives to open carry of a handgun. I feel weird if someone sees me open an auto knife and prefer my knife not be a spectacle. I had a nosy woman make a scene at my local pub once when she saw me open a Speedsafe to cut an Irish Pennant from my shirt. She started asking out loud if "switchblades are legal" in a deliberate attempt to expose me to everyone around. Even though I explained it was a legal knife she made a scene anyway.

As mentioned before in this thread, my knife is a tool first and a weapon third since I CCW already anyway.
 
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I think that the downsides of an auto far outweigh the upsides, personally. I have an S&W SWAT full-sized half-serrated Folder (which i actually really like) and I know there are conversion kits you can get for them that turn them into an automatic... but honestly if you know what you're doing you can open it really quite fast without a spring. I also agree; the SpeedSafe mechanism on my Kershaw leek (my polite EDC) is ridiculously fast and won't get me into legal trouble. I'm also not worried about it breaking, which would worry me with an auto mechanism. On my Gerber Paraframe, i don't even NEED an assist mechanism or auto mechanism - if you hold the forward frame hole with your thumb and index knuckle on the back, you can just flick it open without using the stud and it locks in really tight. Also, i don't want an auto opening in my pocket and chopping of my wang - I need that!
 
I'd love to be able to carry an old fashioned Schrade Press Lock, nobody makes a traditionaly patterned auto do they? I mean like a Pen pattern.
 
I have no experience with them, but if they were reliable, why not? Even though a waved knife might be "faster" it seems like there would be less fumble factor with an auto. I've had a few training folders go skittering across the floor.
 
For the "cool factor", get one of these.
Fast as an auto but only an AO.

Just kidding...get a Leek ! :)

asistdagr.jpg
 
I used to like them for the cool factor. But as another poster stated, too many extra parts that you have to worry about failing. I can flip my Kershaw AO's just as fast and flipping open any of my other manual folders is plenty fast enough for what I use knives for. Also, don't need the extra worry whether I'm legal or not.
 
I had a crappy "NATO" auto MANY years ago, it was fun and all but a toy really. I like that out the fronts both deploy and retract via button but if this one was any indication there's no lock to speak of holding it open. I'm sure quality brands are different.

I might get one for the fun factor but really anymore they don't have much that a good a/o or flipper has at much less cost and probably much more reliability.
 
I probably wouldn't carry an auto. They don't have the designs that really interest me. If there were good utility designs with locks I like, I'd consider one if legal.
 
nope. I can open a spyderco or Emerson faster than an auto. No need for them, the mall ninjas can have the auto knives. besides, too many moving parts. keep it simple.

your mileage might vary, thats ok.
 
My neck knife is faster than any folder but really that is not the point. An auto is all about taking something like a normal knife and making it more cool and fun to play with.I had a
NATO OTF that had the wimpiest little blade but it was so damn fun I wore out a spring and had to replace it. I almost bought a Passat just because of their switchblade key!

I would love on of the nice single edged drop point Microtechs because it is as handy a EDC as any other but has the ooh so cool auto opening. Hell I want everything to be switchblade ,combs ,keys ,TV remotes ,cell phones anything!

I am also a big fan of antiques and it kills me I can't get some of the knives I want for my collection of military knives because of stupid laws about auto ,gravity and knuckle knives.
 
If decent autos were comparable in price with decent AOs, sure, I'd carry one. If autos were made legal, larger manufacturers would be eager to enter the market, the result being more autos with higher quality at lower prices. For all intents and purposes, AO=auto. The distinction is pretty much a matter of legalese. If autos were never so highly regulated in the first place, I'll bet AO would never have even come into existence.
 
That's an interesting point. I wonder how folder design would have been affected had that '58 ban not been passed. Maybe we never would have gotten the AO, not to mention maybe even things like the spydie hole and thumb stud.
 
I own a couple and don't carry any of them. They are kind of fun collectibles as a gadget but I don't find very many to be practical or strong enough to actually use. The only ones I think are useable would be the Microtech Terzuola model and to a lesser degree the Al Mar SERT and maybe a very few others. I really don't think any OTF models are strong enough to really use on any challenging task.
 
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