Automatic Knives - Pros / Cons

NCBeagle

NCBeagle

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I am new to knives and exploring all of the “every day carry” options. Selected a manual Benchmade Mini Bugout but noticed a lot of automatic knife options. I think that NC’s knife laws complicate auto knife EDC. Setting that issue aside, what are the pros and cons of an automatic knife for EDC? It seems that I can open and close the manual knife just as fast with one hand. I think the auto knives are neat little machines. Talk me into (or out of) buying one as a second knife. Of course, pics welcome.

Here’s my Mini Bugout in action...cutting hay string at the barn. Note, this the only thing that I am qualified to do at the barn. completely incompetent. It is my wife’s horse. I am scared of horses and don’t care to do anything out here. There’s poop on everything. But I can say, “hey, let me get that hay string,” and feel like a cowboy for about 4 seconds.

2e6c67ee784b8e1f4ff70c42af1430d2.jpg
 
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I’m an outlier: my edc knife is a Camillus StreamLine pen knife made in the mid 1930’s. Open the 2 1/2” blade with my thumbnail. I’ve used it for cutting string, opening packages and gutting the occasional deer. Never had a need for a quicker opening pocket knife.

I have a couple automatic knives, but they sit in the dresser drawer. They’re kind of cool, but not particularly useful.
 
I see their usefulness as much more perceived than real, but they probably market well to the gadget-oriented; nothing wrong with that.
 
I see their usefulness as much more perceived than real, but they probably market well to the gadget-oriented; nothing wrong with that.
Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. Once you get used to using a good one you won't go back. It is incredibly handy to be able to pull it out, open it and cut something you are holding with the other hand on which you can't, or don't want, to let go of. They are also useful for those with arthritis.
 
I have a couple auto knives - a no name Calif. legal short blade, two Italian switchblades, one with a stag, and one with a pearl handle, and a GT Auto that I carried for a while in LEO work.

Frankly, there are plenty of excellent quality pocket knives with flipper blades that are just as quick, probably more durable, and less in price for equal quality, and that's what I usually carry these days. I particularly like my Kizer Gemini I bought a few years back.

Knife laws in PA are funny. No problem with an auto knife when I was working as a LEO, but the day I retired, it became a criminal offense for me to carry one in this state, but no problem with an AR pistol slung under my coat.

Larry
 
Only have the spring assist myself but that Sog Trident really flies out fast. Interested in the improved version of the Trident AT-XR with D-2 steel and glass breaker.
 
kwill1911 said:
I respectfully disagree. Once you get used to using a good one you won't go back. It is incredibly handy to be able to pull it out, open it and cut something you are holding with the other hand on which you can't, or don't want, to let go of. They are also useful for those with arthritis.
Click to expand...

An assisted opener will do that as well.
I might also be interested in an automatic if the price and durability was more in line.
Somebody tell me I'm wrong, I'm looking for an excuse to get one.
 
I have the same knife. I also have a few autos new in the box. Never use them because they are not legal here and I have no use for one.

IMO the Benchmade Axis Lock is the strongest available. With just a little practice it is very easy to open and close the knife with one hand. Much easier than most autos and spring assisted. At least for me anyway.

The Bugout is an excellent knife. It will serve you well for years to come.
 
As someone new to automatic knives, the only real advantage I saw to them was opening them while wearing gloves. One advantage I hadn't thought about was kwill1911's post regarding people with hand issues. Given that I have periodic issues with my hands, showing early signs of osteoarthritis, that could come in handy (pun intended... :p ).

With that said, I can open my Spyderco Delica quicker than my Boker automatic, but part of that is probably from being much more familiar with the Delica as it's been my EDC for several years now and part of it is manipulating the safety on the Boker. And a folder with the Emerson Wave can be opened faster than either of those.

And I will admit, there is a fun factor in playing practicing with it, kinda like a fidget toy.

I'm seriously considering getting an OTF next.

For me, cons would be one-handed closing, which can be done with my Boker but can be a little tricky and not quite as easy as my Delica. A double-action OTF would probably be the easiest to open and close one-handed. The mechanism, being more complicated, also means there's more potential for something to go wrong, and potentially more maintenance required to keep it running. And, of course, legal restrictions for possession and/or carry.

ralph7 said:
An assisted opener will do that as well.
I might also be interested in an automatic if the price and durability was more in line.
Somebody tell me I'm wrong, I'm looking for an excuse to get one.
Click to expand...

FWIW, I picked up a Boker Plus Strike from Blade HQ for about $43. I've had it less than a week, but so far it seems like a really good, solid knife. Been carrying it every day since I got it, and looks like a real contender to replace my Delica as an EDC, at least for places where it's not prohibited.

Here's my recent thread on the knife:

My First Auto Knife

And even though I posted a pic there, I'll go ahead and post a pic here, too:

boker-strike-12-28-2020.jpg
 
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white cloud said:
I would have a through understanding of the laws surrounding such a knife in your area.
Click to expand...

Definitely want to echo this. Fortunately, I live in a state where they are legal to possess and carry, concealed or open, and no limitation on blade length, though for me around 3" is a good length.
 
My EDC is a Kershaw CPM154 , don't ask me the name . I've always liked my Kershaws , I too have a Leek among others . I have two Buck autos , one is the 110 auto . I don't carry it , too heavy . But boy , it has a spring in it . I also have a S&W extreme ops auto because I collect S&W stuff . I have to say my SOG Flash II , not an auto , can open almost as fast with my thumb . Kershaws , at least mine , you can open with your finger .
 
I carried a Benchmade 9050 AFO while a military cop, and it was extremely fast to deploy. Strong too. When I left active duty I traded it away because it was no longer legal to possess in that state. I would definitely buy another if I could.
 
Automatic knife. Interesting term and obviously politically correct. I've always called 'em "switchblades."

Here's the one that is one of the mainstays in the front pocket of my Wranglers. It was made in 1919 and a gift from a friend who said when presenting it to me, "This is a working man's knife, so I want you to use it!"

It's a Schrade "safety-button" knife, a.k.a. "switchblade." It's used daily on everything from cutting hay bales, opening grain sacks, whittling shavings for the fire, opening mail, to everything in between. Handy? You betcha. It's made of quality steel from the days when cutlery craftsmen took pride in their work. Here, a hundred years later, it still works just as well as the day it left the factory.

In the evenings, you'll find me sitting in my rocking chair, touching up the blade on a hard Arkansas stone. A great knife.

Cons? Well, I'm sure that if you found something similar of the same quality, you'd probably have to "pay through the nose" for it, making it cost prohibitive.:)
S5f9zU1.jpg
 
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Mule Packer said:
Automatic knife. Interesting term and obviously politically correct. I've always called 'em "switchblades."
Click to expand...

That's interesting because whenever I hear/read the term "switchblade" my first thought is of Italian stilettos. I think of "automatic knife" as a more broad category.

Just semantics, I guess. But I'm always up for semantics.

*hides*
 
I have a Boker and a traditional Italian. They both sit "open" on the "long gun separator racks" in my safe. Haven't carried them in almost never even though they are perfectly legal in Florida. Joe
 
ContinentalOp said:
As someone new to automatic knives, the only real advantage I saw to them was opening them while wearing gloves. One advantage I hadn't thought about was kwill1911's post regarding people with hand issues. Given that I have periodic issues with my hands, showing early signs of osteoarthritis, that could come in handy (pun intended... :p ).

With that said, I can open my Spyderco Delica quicker than my Boker automatic, but part of that is probably from being much more familiar with the Delica as it's been my EDC for several years now and part of it is manipulating the safety on the Boker. And a folder with the Emerson Wave can be opened faster than either of those.

And I will admit, there is a fun factor in playing practicing with it, kinda like a fidget toy.

I'm seriously considering getting an OTF next.

For me, cons would be one-handed closing, which can be done with my Boker but can be a little tricky and not quite as easy as my Delica. A double-action OTF would probably be the easiest to open and close one-handed. The mechanism, being more complicated, also means there's more potential for something to go wrong, and potentially more maintenance required to keep it running. And, of course, legal restrictions for possession and/or carry.



FWIW, I picked up a Boker Plus Strike from Blade HQ for about $43. I've had it less than a week, but so far it seems like a really good, solid knife. Been carrying it every day since I got it, and looks like a real contender to replace my Delica as an EDC, at least for places where it's not prohibited.

Here's my recent thread on the knife:

My First Auto Knife

And even though I posted a pic there, I'll go ahead and post a pic here, too:

boker-strike-12-28-2020.jpg
Click to expand...

Well, I just ordered one in a different color (coyote tan) because it was on sale. lol.
Not a lot of money for something different and I might just like it. My first switchblade.
Thanks for the review.
 
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I have a Kershaw assisted open knife that opens as fast as any auto knife I’ve tried. All it takes is one finger to open. I can legally carry an auto knife here, but haven’t found one I like as much as what I’m carrying. All of the autos I’ve looked at are too bulky in comparison.
 
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