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.
 
Here's one I used to carry...


There are several way to "quick" open it, but, AFAIK, only one way to close it and you will probably cut yourself until you get used to it....


Kershaw.jpg
 
In the warm weather I wear cargo pocketed shorts that have a flap. Since I lost weight, all 5 pair went to the wife's sewing room for size reduction. While she was at it, I had her design an opening in the top of the flap to let the clip hang on the outside of the flap. It ended up being 1 3/8" wide and required some stiffener to make everything function well. My knife is a Emerson/Kershaw with a notch that grips the pocket as it comes out. Only slightly slower than a Automatic Opener!(if at all!!!) The holes are set for tip up only carrying, but is drilled on both sides for left or right hand carry. I guess we will have to come up with a similar design for cold weather clothing. I can't see me without this feature ever again!

Ivan
 
I looked up the Spyderco Police Model in their 2018 catalog. The model is shown set for tip down pocket clip carry. It is also noted that there is optional tip up carry. On the knife pictured there are holes showing that would allow the conversion. If the OP has an older version that only has a tip down carry option, I would definitely contact Spyderco and ask about it. Call, email, ask in their forum... you will probably get an excellent answer as to why that big knife was sent out that way.

For those reading that may not understand what Emerson and Wave are; Ernest Emerson is a knife designer and maker. He invented the Wave feature for deploying the blade of a pocket knife as the blade comes out of the pocket. Basically a horn protrudes from the top of the blade, catches on the seam of the pocket as the knife is withdrawn. Once the knife clears the pocket the blade locks in place. It is very fast. I'd say faster than automatics. It does require tip up carry and practice to work.

Pictured is my Spyderco Endura with the Emerson Wave. I only use it these days to amaze people. I like a one hand opening knife, but I'm not a knife fighter. I'm fast enough with whatever opening system the knife came with.
 

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kwselke said:
I looked up the Spyderco Police Model in their 2018 catalog. The model is shown set for tip down pocket clip carry. It is also noted that there is optional tip up carry. On the knife pictured there are holes showing that would allow the conversion. If the OP has an older version that only has a tip down carry option, I would definitely contact Spyderco and ask about it. Call, email, ask in their forum... you will probably get an excellent answer as to why that big knife was sent out that way.

For those reading that may not understand what Emerson and Wave are; Ernest Emerson is a knife designer and maker. He invented the Wave feature for deploying the blade of a pocket knife as the blade comes out of the pocket. Basically a horn protrudes from the top of the blade, catches on the seam of the pocket as the knife is withdrawn. Once the knife clears the pocket the blade locks in place. It is very fast. I'd say faster than automatics. It does require tip up carry and practice to work.

Pictured is my Spyderco Endura with the Emerson Wave. I only use it these days to amaze people. I like a one hand opening knife, but I'm not a knife fighter. I'm fast enough with whatever opening system the knife came with.
Click to expand...


When I first read about it, I thought the Wave was a pretty cool idea. When I showed it to my boy, he promptly ordered a pair of the Kershaw Emerson knives, and gave one to me. After a few weeks, the novelty wore off, and it pretty much sits. As you say, I am no knife fighter, and don’t think of them as useful for self-defense.

As a bartender, my boy has more use for a one-handed opener. He found a smaller Kershaw version which gets more carry time.

Sometimes you will see a zip tie looped through the thumb hole on a Spyderco. That is the poor man’s wave. The zip tie is cut off to just the right length to catch on the seam of the pocket, just like the Wave. If I had a Spyderco, I would probably try it out of curiosity before putting it aside.
 
Marshwheeling said:
When I first read about it, I thought the Wave was a pretty cool idea. When I showed it to my boy, he promptly ordered a pair of the Kershaw Emerson knives, and gave one to me. After a few weeks, the novelty wore off, and it pretty much sits. As you say, I am no knife fighter, and don’t think of them as useful for self-defense.

As a bartender, my boy has more use for a one-handed opener. He found a smaller Kershaw version which gets more carry time.

Sometimes you will see a zip tie looped through the thumb hole on a Spyderco. That is the poor man’s wave. The zip tie is cut off to just the right length to catch on the seam of the pocket, just like the Wave. If I had a Spyderco, I would probably try it out of curiosity before putting it aside.
Click to expand...

I've found the Wave on my Spyderco Endura makes it difficult to get the knife out of my pocket without deploying the blade. With practice I can pull the knife from my pocket with blade deployed amazingly fast. After more than a decade of carrying a Delica on a daily basis I'm only slightly slower using the standard Spydiehole and my thumb. With the Wave I'm faster but only 95% sure the blade will deploy properly. Using standard Spyderco thumb opener techniques I'm 99.9% sure to deploy the blade properly one-handed and will only be a fraction of a second slower. I would not waste a tie wrap on the poorman's version of the Wave.
 
Buck 110

I have a Buck 110 that has been converted to a push button. This has been engraved on back of blade and is beautiful when polished. When you hit the button you best be holding on cuz it opens with a jolt. No worries about opening in your pocket...it has a buck holster. I never carry it as it is kinda big. My EDC is a Benchmade push button.

-don
 
My hands are weakened and clumsy due to arthritis, and I have no surface sensation in the tips of the thumb and first two fingers of either hand. This means I have a terrible time opening a conventional pocketknife like my much-loved Schrade Old Timers or Vicrorinox SAKs.

I usually carry a Spyderco Endura, tip up. I had a SOG Flash II assisted opener, also rigged tip up. Nice knife, but I gave it to my nephew. Now have a Kershaw OSO Sweet assisted opener, tip-down rigged and not drilled for tip up. I like it for dress carry, as it's considerably smaller than the Endura. I prefer the Endura for most cutting chores, but the Ken-Onion-designed OSO Sweet is very sharp and a formidable cutter.

Sure miss carrying my Old Timers, though.
 
Carried a Buck lock-blade folding knife for decades. About 15 years ago I came across a Gerber with thumb-stud opening, 3.4" ATS-34 stainless blade (partial serrated, handy for tough cutting jobs), liner-lock, thin G-10 grip scales, and a pocket clip. I love it, never leave the house without it.

Still have my old US Army rigger's knife with hook blade for cutting risers and push-button clip blade. Switchblade knives were illegal in Colorado for many years so I have never carried it. More of a Vietnam-era military artifact now than a working knife, I suppose.
 
Spyderco Delica can be swapped around for tip up or tip down and left or right sided carry. It is easy to change around to find what works best for you. Put a little thread locker on the screws once you find the ideal orientation. I settled on tip up.
I experimented with the wire tie version of the Wave feature, it works OK and it pushed me to aquire an Endura with the real Wave blade. Kind of cool but not really needed.
I went back to the Delica as my everyday carry. Delica blade length is also friendlier at 2.875 inches.
 
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I have a Buck 110 I bought back in '77. That knife has broken in nicely. I can grab the blade with a finger on either side of the thumb nail notch and flick the handle open and slide my hand down to the main body just as fast or almost as fast as an assisted knife. Wally world a few years back was selling a combo deal Kershaw assisted knife, axe, seat belt slicer on chain to be work on your neck and para cord compass with one of those spark making rods with striker. Bevel stunk on the knife so restoned it making it easier to sharpen, sharpened the axe kept the seat belt slicer and threw away the fire starter gizmo all for $20 bucks.Frank
 
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