I've been carrying my new Spyderco Endura with the Emerson Wave Opener on my morning walks for about a month now and have had time to practice with it. It comes out of my pocket and deploys the blade so fast I do not think an automatic knife could be faster.

We had a neighborhood safety meeting about ten days ago and a police officer attended. There were some older ladies there that were going to form a neighborhood watch patrol. These ladies were militant and ready to shoot bad guys down. I do not think any of them had ever been in a fight or understood what fighting is about.

I strolled past the officer, got a piece of pizza, and started talking about my predawn walks and run ins with stray dogs. Then I said because I feared a dog turning me into hamburger meat I had upgraded my knife and slowly pulled it out of my pocket. Before anyone realized what I had done, the blade clicked and locked open, and I asked the officer what he thought of it. He went... Wow, let me see that thing! I handed it over, turned to the ladies, and said that is how fast things can happen.

Of course the ladies start asking... that is illegal, isn't it? The officer shakes his head, says it is perfectly legal, hands the knife back to me, and shakes my hand.

The next day everyone was talking about how great the meeting was. It was a good meeting even without my little impromptu demo.