A knife you have to tap to unlock before you can open it?

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JohnKSa

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I was talking with a coworker and the topic of knives came up. Weird, right? :D

Anyway, the coworker mentioned seeing someone trade an old knife that had to be tapped to unlock it before it could be opened for a more modern knife.

I can't find anything like that with internet searches and it's not something I've ever seen or heard of.

I'm assuming there's some kind of small weight inside the knife that locks the mechanism unless the knife is tapped (on end) on a hard surface to move the weight out of the way and unlock the knife.

Anyone heard of or seen anything like that?
 
Sounds like one of those little wooden boxes with a sliding lid. You have to turn it upside down and tap it to lock, right side up and tap to unlock.
Neat idea... until theres no hard surface to tap on or you want to open it without making noise.
I've never heard of a knife like this either.
 
I have a “magic box” somewhere where you can make things disappear. You put something in and shut it, rock it to one side and a pin locks the drawer with the contents in and you pull out the drawer it nests in to show the contents are no longer there. Shut it and rock it the other way and the pin let’s go of the drawer, open it again and it reappears.

As far as knives go, I have spring assisted knives that open with a tap.
 
Sounds like a broken knife to me;)

I won't want to have to draw more attention to myself to use my knife.
 
I have about 8 of these as I recall. First I got years ago from a comic book ad. It was advertised as a "Roy Rogers Trick Knife".About 2 1/4 long. I believe you bump the hinge end and the blade will release. Scales have paper slides in them and they were ad promos/giveaways for large companies like Purina.

blindhari
 
When I was a kid, my youth pastor had one of those. He was known as a trickster, so when he handed me his pocket knife and asked me to open it, I knew something was up. It had a thumbnail groove for opening, but you would bend your nail backwards trying to use it. But I clearly remember him taking it back, holding it in one hand and bumping it into his other palm, and effortlessly opening it. Never knew where he got his.
 
Used to call them *mystery knives* when I was a kid. I probably have 3-4 still.

You had to either shake or tap them in one direction only (away from the hinge) to get the internal bar to release the blade.

They would be locked closed with no nail-mark.

Todd.
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Anyone heard of or seen anything like that?

Yes, I have one. Like the above. Note the hooked cutout?

The backspring and tang engage to push the blade open, but a small sliding bar drops into a notch in the ricasso to hold it closed. Upend the knife, depress the blade to release the bar, and the blade opens. To lock closed, orient the pivot down so the bar falls beyond the hook of the cutout, close the blade and orient the knife so the bar halls into place, and now it is latched clised. The "tap" isn't really needed, but is a nice flourish.
 
Yes, I have one. Like the above. Note the hooked cutout?

The backspring and tang engage to push the blade open, but a small sliding bar drops into a notch in the ricasso to hold it closed. Upend the knife, depress the blade to release the bar, and the blade opens. To lock closed, orient the pivot down so the bar falls beyond the hook of the cutout, close the blade and orient the knife so the bar halls into place, and now it is latched clised. The "tap" isn't really needed, but is a nice flourish.
I forgot to mention squeezing the blade. That's one of the reasons some folk call them: *safety knives* too.

Todd.
 
In modern knives Whiskers Allen made quite a few scale release pocket knives. No button or slide or squeeze the blade just a slight movement of the scale and it's open.

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Used to call them *mystery knives* when I was a kid. I probably have 3-4 still.

You had to either shake or tap them in one direction only (away from the hinge) to get the internal bar to release the blade.

They would be locked closed with no nail-mark.

Todd.
View attachment 883097
Slip lock also hold one end up or down to open /close. I found one walking to school
 
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