ugaarguy
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- Joined
- Mar 19, 2006
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This quote was in the Stiletto thread going on over here - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=720007.
I got my first OTF automatic, a Microtech Ultratech D/E (double edge) at Blade earlier this month. After playing with it for a bit, I was discussing with hso (we were both volunteering with knife rights) that I'd realized how safe it actually was since one's fingers never contact the blade when opening or closing, and unlike a folder one's fingers never cross the path of the blade when closing. hso is an hso (health and safety officer) for a large industrial organization; he's literally a professional safety expert. He elaborated to me that what I'd realized about that Microtech has long been an argument by safety experts in favor of fully legalizing OTF automatics and gravity knives*. That is, they can be safely and quickly opened and closed with one hand, the hand and fingers never need to contact the blade, retracting the blade is easier and safer than closing a folder or even sheathing a fixed blade, and they're usually fully ambidextrous.
* hso advocated for OTF gravity knives in particular since they don't have the spring system that's often temperamental in knives that aren't built to the standards adhered to by Benchmade, Microtech, and the other premium makers. In other words, there's less to break or go wrong with a gravity knife, and a gravity knife can be manufactured at significantly lower cost than an comparable quality automatic.
That got me thinking about a recent experience:My first reaction was to laugh but it was amazingly handy. I could sit/stand/twist around getting bumped and tossed without worrying about cutting myself. When I needed to use it, *click*cut*click* ... the live blade stayed out maybe 1-2 seconds tops and then went away like magic.
I got my first OTF automatic, a Microtech Ultratech D/E (double edge) at Blade earlier this month. After playing with it for a bit, I was discussing with hso (we were both volunteering with knife rights) that I'd realized how safe it actually was since one's fingers never contact the blade when opening or closing, and unlike a folder one's fingers never cross the path of the blade when closing. hso is an hso (health and safety officer) for a large industrial organization; he's literally a professional safety expert. He elaborated to me that what I'd realized about that Microtech has long been an argument by safety experts in favor of fully legalizing OTF automatics and gravity knives*. That is, they can be safely and quickly opened and closed with one hand, the hand and fingers never need to contact the blade, retracting the blade is easier and safer than closing a folder or even sheathing a fixed blade, and they're usually fully ambidextrous.
* hso advocated for OTF gravity knives in particular since they don't have the spring system that's often temperamental in knives that aren't built to the standards adhered to by Benchmade, Microtech, and the other premium makers. In other words, there's less to break or go wrong with a gravity knife, and a gravity knife can be manufactured at significantly lower cost than an comparable quality automatic.