opening a knife

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steveno

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as I have said in another thread I have a Spyderco sst police model and it is a well made knife. however do to blade length of 4 inches it could be a problem of carrying as the magic number in Nebraska is a 3.500 inch blade length. the main problem I have with it is I don’t seem to get enough thumb purchase in the hole to open it so I end up opening it just like a regular pocket knife. the other problem is that it doesn’t allow for a “tip up” carry. I keep it in my range bag.

the knife I do carry is an Emerson CQC-7A with a spear point. this knife does allow for “tip up’ carry. it seems that when I pull it out of my pocket the thumb hits the disc on the blade and just opens perfectly. I have had this knife for a long time and I think it was about $120 from Emerson and is my favorite knife.

I have a Benchmade/Emerson CQC-7 with a tanto point and while it is very good knife it doesn’t allow for “tip up” carry. it does open easy when my thumb hits the disc on the blade. I keep it in the console of my truck.

I have a CRKT small Crawford Kaspar and it is a very stout little knife. it has a stud for opening the blade but for some reason my thumb just doesn’t seem to hit in the right place. it also doesn’t allow for “tip up” carry.

I have a Kershaw Whirlwind assisted opening knife it opens easily. it just doesn’t allow for “tip up” carry either so that sits next to my laptop while I’m typing this.

all this says is that I can’t seem to make a “tip down” knife work for me.
 
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I have a Kershaw Leek that came new set up for tip down carry. It took me a while to figure out why it was so difficult for me to deploy the blade on an assisted flipper. I pulled out my Torx driver and re-positioned the clip for tip up carry and the problem was solved. Cann't you move the clip on your Police, or is it built into the handle?
 
it is legal to buy and own a switch blade in Nebraska but carrying it could lead to other problems. I have a Benchmade mini-reflex 2 and a very well made knife. I bought it when I was living in Colorado.

Benchmade Mini-Reflex II Family

my Spyderco police model is only drilled for the clip in the "tip down" position.
 
My first pocket clip knife was a Spyderco Delica with the tip up. Didn't really think much of it at the time, as I wasn't use to anything else. When the plastic clip broke, and I was searching for replacement knife, a friend recommended the Gerber EZ-out, which had the tip down, and was slightly larger (blade is about 3.5 inches). Took a little bit of an adjustment period, but I found it to be a great knife for carrying. While I started carrying it for self-defense, I find that I use it almost every day for cutting rope, opening boxes, etc. I even use it to cut my Christmas wrapping paper instead of using scissors. I don't leave home without it. Been carrying it for many, many years now.
 
kwselke said:
I have a Kershaw Leek that came new set up for tip down carry. It took me a while to figure out why it was so difficult for me to deploy the blade on an assisted flipper. I pulled out my Torx driver and re-positioned the clip for tip up carry and the problem was solved. Cann't you move the clip on your Police, or is it built into the handle?
Click to expand...

I did the same with a Damascus Leek that I carried in my back pocket. One day while reaching for it I slid my hand in to retrieve my knife I found it had partially opened and I nearly needed stitches. Somehow I must have activated the flipper while sitting down.
Yes, the Leek does have a lock but it is a pain to use.
To prevent future problems I sold the knife and will not buy another "assisted" opener.
 
Muss Muggins said:
The knives I depend on to open quickly have a little button and a big spring . . .
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. I carry nothing but Benchmade , Microtech, piranah, and Bokermini Kalashnikovs( best knife going for 29.00, sharp and fast). I do have the larger Kals too. In RI the limit is 3 inches, and shape of the blade means something too. Most people do not know it, but if you get caught on a street with and illegal switchblade, that is one charge. Get caught with the same knife in your car, and there is another whole set of motor vehicle laws, and they are tougher. That would pertain especially to the 7" Kabar under the seat
 
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I prefer a tip up pocket knife, and of all the knives I've tried my first choice is the Benchmade Volli. I carry it in my right pants pocket, but the clip can be repositioned for a lefty. Its a truly ambidextrous knife with an index-finger-activated blade lock, and ambi release.
 
My Spyderco can be carried tip up or tip down if you can get the torx screws out without stripping them. They are too soft IMO. If I wanted it switched I'd send it to the factory and have them sharpen it while they had it. They're that bad. Older Spydercos had a plastic clip that was prone to being broken. Not true now. They have metal clips.
 
gnystrom said:
I did the same with a Damascus Leek that I carried in my back pocket. One day while reaching for it I slid my hand in to retrieve my knife I found it had partially opened and I nearly needed stitches. Somehow I must have activated the flipper while sitting down.
Yes, the Leek does have a lock but it is a pain to use.
To prevent future problems I sold the knife and will not buy another "assisted" opener.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. The Leek is my only assisted opener and gets very little pocket time. I bought it to be a classic example of the breed. I use pretty much anything in my collection, but after that story the Leek might be limited to desk use.

For the OP:

Since the Police is too big to be legal in your state, I say you have a two handed opener. When carrying it legally, I'd carry it on my weak side or in a back pocket since you are not going to draw and deploy the blade in one motion anyway. You might also contact Spyderco to see if they have a solution.
 
I had a Gerber assisted opening knife come open on me several times when I carried them. They were basically throwaway knives anyway IMO so I threw it away and bought my Kershaw Blur. I carried it for years and it never once came open on me. But the Spyderco is an even safer design. No spring to push the blade open means it is very unlikely to ever come open in my pocket. Good thing too because it's way sharper than I could ever get the Gerber. I thought the Gerber would be a good knife when I bought it. They make some good products. Assisted opening knives aren't among those IMO. Maybe the one I had was a cheap model. The Kershaw can be bought for not much more though and mine is a far better knife than the Gerber.
 
I switched my Leek to tip-up, but the clip position makes it ride about half an inch higher, which means quite a bit of knife sticking out. Tip down works just as well for me, so I will probably switch it back at some point.

I get the reasoning behind tip-up carry, but as a practical matter it doesn’t seem to provide a real advantage. Tip-down, I grasp the knife at the pivot, very close to where I hold it in use. Tip-up I grasp the tail of the knife. The knife is oriented the right way, but I have to move my hand. Six of one...

Of course, if the knife is waved, it has to go tip-up.
 
My preference is tip up. Thumb hole, wave, thumb studs, AO, flipper, etc., they all work just fine.
 
My main EDC knife is a Leatherman Crater C33L. It's a basic single blade, pocket clip is tip down, but it also has a built in carabiner clip and a "blade launcher" in the back.
 
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