question about folder

[va1911]

I am a noob when it comes to knives. I have a Kershaw Leek, which I love and I have one of my 3 with me every day. I'm looking for some other options but I want to narrow it to folders that have a similar "assisted opening" like the leek. I know it's not assisted open in the truest sense but there is a spur that you press to engage the spring assist.

So when I'm looking at other folders, do most modern designs have this feature (benchmade, etc.) or is this harder to find?

 

[Black Toe Knives]

The Leek is a true assisted open. Assisted open and Automatics (switchblades) are two different animals.

All Assist open knives work all on the same principle. The spring either pushes the blade closed or pushes it open depending on the position of the spring in relationship to the pivot. The springs and systems are different but they all work the same way.

Switchblades or Automatics are different. The blade is under pressure when closed.
The blade is held in place by a Button.

 

[va1911]

Ahh, thanks for clearing that up.

So are a large number of the popular knives assisted (non-auto) knives? That's what i'm looking for, I just don't have a huge selection locally.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

One-Handed-Openers (OHO)

Just to help confuse things a little, you should also be aware of some pretty competent one-hand-opener designs.

There are several AO knives on the market: Buck makes the Rush and Sirius series AO knives, Kershaw makes the Leek, Needs Work, Chive, Scallion, Blur, BOA, Shallot, Whirlwind, and others. And, of course, the other name brands have their entries in that space (Google can be your friend for "assisted open knives").

However, there is a selection of "OHO" (one-hand-opener) knives out there, like the Kershaw Zing, the Buck Vantage series, and so on, that use a tab or nub that's part of the blade, and which sticks out just enough when the knife is closed that you can "flip" the knife open with a twitch of your finger together with a wrist flick. Takes something like 30 seconds to a minute to get the hang of it.

The nice thing about these manual OHO designs is that you can get one opened in about the same time it takes to open an assisted opener, and yet there are no "evil" springs.

(I will leave the discussion of thumb hole "wave" opening -- also one-handed -- to someone with experience in those pieces. I understand the concept, but I don't have a "waved" knife and haven't used the technique personally.)

Just a little something more to think about as you search for your perfect folder.