A knife for the wife

[ChaoSS]

I want to get my wife a new pocket knife. She's been carrying something I bought at a hardware store, and she's been happy enough with it, but now wants something better. Which means I get to go knife shopping.


So, here's the specs I'm looking for.

Blade length 3.5-4 inches. She cuts stuff, but the primary purpose of this knife is in case she has to stick the pointy end in the bad guy. Needs to be long enough to do it's job properly.

Straight edged. I'm the one who's going to be keeping it sharp, and I don't like serrated edges.

California legal Assisted Opener. I'd like it to be something like how the Speed Safe knives work with the flipper on the back, but that's not strictly necessary.

Again, not strictly necessary, but if it comes in pretty colors like pink, that's a plus.

I'd prefer something with a clip that can be set up how we want it instead of just however the manufacturer wants it to be.

I'd prefer to stay under 150 dollars. I'd also like it to be worth the money I spend on it, not looking spend money for any other sorts of worthless features.

 

[50 Shooter]

Kershaw Blur is your friend, my wife liked mine so much she took it. So I got to buy another one!

They make them in different colors, check eBay or Amazon.

 

[hso]

Which means I get to go knife shopping.

No, it means you get to do the background research and act as advisor in her knife shopping. We can offer a range of recommendations, you might narrow those based on your understanding of her likes/dislike, but only she will make the final decision about what she wants from all the work you put into it.

My entire family has lots of knives. LOTS! My wife and daughter own more, and more expensive, knives than most folks on this forum, but what they want to carry out of that collection of what they like if only a very few pieces. My wife carries a Santa Fe stoneworks Spyderco Harpy or a plain Harpy. Not what I'd carry and not what I thought she'd carry, but what she wants to carry and what she does. Because of that, her defensive training with it is tuned to that style of blade. Not my ideal, but her's. My daughter is trained on sword and knife (and stick and chain and ...), but because she can't carry a sword she carries a neck knife. She's seen the damage a small blade can do and she's quite capable with her small necker. Not what I would carry, but what she does so she's trained to it.

BTW, while they both own Onions they don't like the AO flipper. YMMV

Also, California doesn't have a blade length restriction (as of yet) so any length is legal to carry. See what she thinks of the Rainbow Leek.

 

[ChaoSS]

My California legal requirement is geared toward the AO issue. I'm assuming most AO knives are anyway (At least, the ones that cost decent money) but I'm a little apprehensive about buying some of them online, unless I know exactly how they work. I know what makes a knife legal or not legal in California, but knowing if a knife meets the requirements without being able to hold it in my hands is another story.


The Leek has a 3 inch blade. I was thinking about buying one anyway, as it's only 40 bucks on Amazon.

 

[Valkman]

My wife loves Kershaw ever since we went to Blade Show and she has 3 or 4 of them. I'd get the Leek and see what she thinks.

 

[c0nspire]

I think the Zero Tolerance folders meet all your needs except they aren't available in pink.

 

[hso]

By "AO" do you mean auto opener or assisted opener? AO normally is used for assisted openers and there are no blade restrictions on them in California.

OTOH, auto openers, switchblades, are restricted to less than 2 inches for carry in California so you see "California Legal" switchblades with 1.X inch blades.

That may be the source of the confusion in terms.

 

[ChaoSS]

By "AO" do you mean auto opener or assisted opener? AO normally is used for assisted openers and there are no blade restrictions on them in California.

OTOH, auto openers, switchblades, are restricted to less than 2 inches for carry in California so you see "California Legal" switchblades with 1.X inch blades.

That may be the source of the confusion in terms.

Assisted opener. By California law, if it opens with a flick of the wrist, rather than requiring that you press on the blade, it's a switchblade. Thus, I'd like recommendations from people familiar with them, unless I can handle them in person.

Sorry if I'm not being clear.

 

[rcmodel]

You simply cannot 'flick' open any AO knife with a flip of the wrest.

The very AO design must have an over-center spring position to keep them closed in your pocket until you push on the blade stud or flipper to manually open them past the spring center-line where the spring takes over.

It is nothing to worry about.
An AO can work no other way, or it wouldn't stay shut in your pocket.


It's similar to an old school slip-joint pocket knife.
When you close them past a certain point, they want to snap closed.
When opened past a certain point, they want to snap all the way open.
And do!

rc

 

[tomrkba]

I use only Benchmade knives with the Axis lock. It is the strongest lock available that I know of. I recommend something that has a hand stop.

Here is one with the hand stop: http://www.benchmade.com/products/300

 

[rcmodel]

Apparently, a knife like the BM Axis-Lock that can be flipped open with a flick of the wrest is against the law in his state.

While an Assited Opener with a spring is not.

Go figure!

rc

 

[hso]

ChaosS,

Assisted openers are not switchblades under California law because they have a bias towards closure (the language in the California law differentiating them from switchblades). The law was changed in 2001 to protect AOs and one hand openers. They are therefore not limited to any blade length.

While someone might be able to open one with a flick of the wrist, most people can't, and the design doesn't facilitate it. New AOs are famously difficult to open that way to avoid the gravity knife/switchblade categorization due to too weak a detent of bias.

 

[Tony_the_tiger]

I bought my wife a knife for valentines day

Nothing says love like engraved VG10.

http://www.knifeworks.com/spydercodragonflysstattoo.aspx

It starts with a functional VG-10 blade and an all stainless steel handle. Then its beautified with bright poly-chromatic dragonfly art etched into the handle. The VG-10 full flat-ground blade is 2-1/4 inches of cutting aptitude with a cusp on the blades spine to naturally position the thumb in control over the sharp edge. Blade and handle geometry create a variety of grip angles and leveraging points so when held and used the knife feels and reacts like a larger tool in the hand. Even the position of the Spyderco Round Hole, relative to the pivot, is precise for smooth opening, hitting all the correct pressure points in the hand ergonomically. It carries right-hand tip-up with a steel pocket clip that can also be used as a money clip.

 

[rcmodel]

While someone might be able to open one with a flick of the wrist

Bruce Lee in his prime, maybe?

But even that is highly unlikely!

rc

 

[JShirley]

Long enough to do its job?

Is the job killing, or defending against an attack?

Any sharp, sturdy knife that can cut the bejeezus out of an attacker's hands and arms is long enough, if the goal is self-defense. An attacker who cannot grab or make fist won't be very successful.

Just putting that out there

 

[ChaoSS]

While someone might be able to open one with a flick of the wrist, most people can't, and the design doesn't facilitate it. New AOs are famously difficult to open that way to avoid the gravity knife/switchblade categorization due to too weak a detent of bias.

This is the sort of information I'm looking for, I guess. I used to have a knife (gas station special) that was an assisted opener, and while it would not come open in your pocket, it could still be flicked open fairly easily.

Then while looking at some knives, such as the Buck knives AO description, it doesn't inspire confidence that it shouldn't be able to be opened with a flick of the wrist, as they talk about the safety of the lock.



Anyway, that's all I meant when I said I wanted something that was CA legal. Wasn't trying to make a big thing of it.

Long enough to do its job?

Is the job killing, or defending against an attack?

Any sharp, sturdy knife that can cut the bejeezus out of an attacker's hands and arms is long enough, if the goal is self-defense. An attacker who cannot grab or make fist won't be very successful.

Just putting that out there

Depending on the circumstance, cutting someone's hands and arms may not be feasible or safe to do. Just like I would prefer not to carry a .22 for self defense when something else is available and practical for carry, even though a .22, with proper shot placement, is perfectly capable of stopping (and killing) a person.


If you ever need to stab someone in self defense, better the knife can go through whatever clothes are being worn and still have enough blade to do some damage.

 

[ugaarguy]

Here's an easy solution: Get a purple handle Spyderco Endura from Amazon for $61, and zip tie wave it. Ernest Emerson's Wave opening mechanism is completely manual, and faster than any auto or assisted opener.

 

[ChaoSS]

Here's an easy solution: Get a purple handle Spyderco Endura from Amazon for $61, and zip tie wave it. Ernest Emerson's Wave opening mechanism is completely manual, and faster than any auto or assisted opener.

I would love to. Unfortunately,

As used in this part, "switchblade knife" means a knife having the appearance of a pocketknife and includes a spring-blade knife, snap-blade knife, gravity knife, or any other similar type knife, the blade or blades of which are two or more inches in length and which can be released automatically by a flick of a button, pressure on the handle, flip of the wrist or other mechanical device, or is released by the weight of the blade or by any type of mechanism whatsoever.

.

"Switchblade knife" does not include a knife that opens with one hand utilizing thumb pressure applied solely to the blade of the knife or a thumb stud attached to the blade, provided that the knife has a detent or other mechanism that provides resistance that must be overcome in opening the blade, or that biases the blade back toward its closed position.

A detent is not enough, a knife that opens by any mechanism other than pressure applied by the thumb (or other finger, by court ruling) directly to the blade is a switchblade. Then the detent or bias toward closure comes into play.

 

[hso]

The Emerson Waves, and the various inspired variations (including the trick of putting a zip tie on the thing), are fine in California.

The AKTI effort narrowed the interp pretty much to switchblade having a button release of some sort on the handle and a gravity knife having to be designed to flick open without having to overcome a detent.

OTOH, my personal opinion is that the Wave and all the other variants are a negative and I can't recommend them having played with them enough to discount them.

 

[ChaoSS]

HSO, is there a court case that we can reference for that interpretation? I remember reading( might have been in thread somewhere on here actually, I'm not sure) a letter from the author of the bill that added the changes that is very much in line with what you are saying. I am just a bit apprehensive about buying my wife a knife that could land her in legal trouble if the courts haven't hashed that issue out. ( Or I suppose, if the justice department has issued some sort of ruling to that effect that prosecutors are supposed to abide by.)


Not trying to be confrontational here, I swear, I've just learned better than to take any view other than to view exceptions in the narrowest possible light in California until something definitive says otherwise.

 

[TimboKhan]

I have not played with the Wave enough to offer a schooled opinion, but in my limited experience I am not a fan. This is almost entirely because I have found that I couldn't get it to work every time, but again, I don't have all that much experience. Training would likely overcome my objection, but I really don't want to train on a feature that I really don't feel I need to futz with to begin with.

In and of itself, and Endura or a Delica would make a fine choice. Laws not withstanding, when my Vickie decided she wanted an EDC knife, I let her pick what she wanted. All on her own and with no input from me other than the comment "good choice", she came to the conclusion that a Leek was the best choice for her and has not regretted the purchase yet.

 

[hso]

Timbo,

That's the problem with the Wave and variants. They're not reliable and it would take a lot of practice carrying one in the same pocket the same way all the time to be able to depend upon it in a draw, and then I wouldn't trust it. If I can't develop confidence in it I can't recommend it.

 

[hso]

ChaoSS,

You may not be able to find case law after the bill was signed into law since if it did the job it was supposed to it did away with the gray area issue.

If you want to be 110% certain you can contact the AKTI or Knife Rights and they can tell you if there's been any need to defend under the law.

 

[Sam Cade]

I like the Wave and similar devices...on a knife carried as a tool.

Getting them to deploy reliably does require a bit of pocket shape dependent technique which body position may make difficult or even impossible.


Addendum: Ninja'ed by hso a bit there. We are on the same page it seems.

 

[JShirley]

Feasible or safe to do? It's much easier to reach the extremities of an attacker than his body. Your .22 comparison is completely irrevelant.