Your opinion of half stops on slip joints?

Bladenoobie1

Bladenoobie1

Joined
Jul 20, 2012
Messages
1,261
Hi,

I was curious as to what most people think of half stops--do you like them, hate them? I used to think they were unnecessary until I had my 50+ year old SAK officer with a surprisingly strong spring close and cut my finger.

On a seperate note, when you receive an un-flush half stop from a production knife, is it acceptable? Say if you received a custom knife with a half stop that isn't flush. Is it a big enough issue for you to return the knife or something that is acceptable? The reason I ask is that a custom barlow that I recently received has a half stop that isn't flush. Now overall I like the knife and I intend to use it and keep it. The half stop doesn't bother me, but I've seen a lot of similarly priced customs executing the half stop very well and even on some production knives. Just wanted the opinions of others on this.

Thanks,
BN
 
I love 'em. For me personally it exudes that extra little touch of quality. Plus I love the feeling and sound of that click.

If I order a custom with a halfstop, I definitely expect the maker to be proficient enough to make the spring flush in all 3 positions, and all the makers I have had the joy of

owning have nailed it. I think I would probably have to return the knife for repair if it wasn't flush as I see that as a design flaw similar to gaps between the scales/liners...etc.

If I am paying the amount of money it cost for a custom I would prefer everything to be perfect off the bench.
 
Not a fan of half stops. I prefer to control my own blade movement, opening or closing, and have had half stops "jerk" the blade out of my grasp. I've never had a slipjoint close on me, and doubt whether a half stop would prevent any damage in that case, anyway. I'll take a smooth cam tang every time by choice, but have many knives with half stops. Not a fan, but not a deal breaker, either.
 
Personally I like them. It is not a deal breaker if there is none but I would prefer a slip joint to have this feature.

By the way, a thread listing slip joints by most reputable makers that have half stop would be nice. It would help those that enjoy this feature in choosing right knife.
 
I'm just getting into trads. The spring on my GEC is mighty strong. If it wasn't for the stop I coulda got cut pretty bad the first time I closed it. I won't pull the trad. out of the pocket if I want a fast opening super smooth action knife. It's more for social and nostalgia reasons.
 
They don't bother me either way. It isn't something I consider when I buy a pocket knife. Honestly if you asked me which from my collection had them and which hadn't, I'd get the answer wrong as often as I got it right! :)
 
We've a maker called shing and if it wasn't for the half stop it would be a guiliteen no questions. His back springs are a workout but real strong when open
 
I don't mind it when a knife I buy has a half stop. Half stops aren't something that'll make or break a knife for me even if it isn't flush in the half stop position(I don't really drool over my knives in that position anyways).
 
I like half stops. Maybe because that's what I've become used to.

I don't own any custom knives so I might not me the right person to answer. With that said I don't fully understand why it's so important to have the backspring flush in the half stop position. It's not like you're going to use the knife with the blade half open.
 
I don't like half stops. They increase the pull and make opening a jerky affair.
My first GEC was a 73 (strong springs + halfstops) and I passed it along because of the stiff/jerky opening. I had (have) a Queen and a Case Trapper to compare it to and they were so much more enjoyable to open.
 
I prefer the half stops, but like the other as well. As Jon says above, if I paid what you pay for a custom, I'd expect it to be perfect in all positions, and would probably return it for adjustment. That's just me.
 
I LOVE a snappy 1/2 stop. Most of my GEC knives and old knives with 1/2 stops are flush in all three. I would expect a custom to be flush. This Lannys has the most wonderful 1/2 stop and was made by a 19 year old young man.

Best regards

Robin
 
It doesn't matter to me as long as the knife doesn't have a nailbreaker pull. Too heavy of a pull makes having half stops a bother.
 
A half stop is not a deal breaker for me, but I do enjoy having one. The only custom I have with a half stop is flush in all three positions.
 
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