Preferred Opening Mechanism: SURVEY RESULTS

KnifeNews Ultimate Folder Survey Results Part 7: Preferred Opening Mechanism
Brought to you by BladeHQ

Part 1: Lock Preferences on Folding Knives
Part 2: Favorite Knife Handle Materials
Part 3: Lanyard or No Lanyard?
Part 4: Price?
Part 5: Tip Up or Tip Down Carry?
Part 6: Choil or No Choil?

The ‘action’ of a knife – how it opens and closes – has held a powerful appeal for users as long as there have been pocketknives. Even before there were one-handed openers that could be flicked, flipped, or waved, people evaluated traditional slipjoints based on the ‘walk and talk’ of the knife. The ‘walk’ refers to the crisp, spring-like feeling of the blade in motion.  While the ‘talk’ is the sound that accompanies it. Knives have changed – today a knife is more likely to run on ball bearings than a stiff backspring.

Which opening method you prefer is a matter of the knife’s intended use, dimensions, and personal taste. In our reader survey, it was another close three way race. Flippers edged out thumb studs and thumb hole / cut out as the preferred method of blade deployment.

knife opening mechanisms survey


Knives Featured in Image: [Left] CRKT Crawford Kasper [Top] Pohl Force EOD Mike Three [Right] Spyderco Delica 4 Emerson Opener