Knives with flip open blades

[SteadyD]

Are knives with assisted opening via a flipper more prone to opening in the pocket when you don’t want them to?

 

[rust collector]

Some, such as my early Kershaw scallion, have a manual safety, but I have never in 20 years or so had any assisted folders open in my pocket. I never say never, however, so I am sure it has happened. Most well designed AO knives have detents or retention elements that keep them closed unless the flipper is moved positively in the right direction.

 

[JohnKSa]

Well, more so than knives that aren't assisted opening, but it's not a major concern for most designs. A few do have safeties on the knife to prevent accidental deployment.

 

[jmr40]

The only such knife that I own, and actually use, with assisted opening is the Benhmade Barrage. It does have a safety that can be used to lock it closed, or lock it once open. I've never actually used the lock while carrying it and have never had an issue.

I suppose with some baggy loose fitting pants with generous pockets it might be possible. But with jeans or any other pants I wear there isn't enough room in the pockets to even partially open.

A flipper style might theoretically be more prone to, but the Barrage uses thumb studs.

 

[1KPerDay]

I carry a kershaw Scallion daily and I have had it partially open in my pocket a couple of times. I remove or break off the safety tab though as I find them exceptionally annoying.

 

[mcb]

I have a Kershaw Cryo II and it has never given me an issue with opening in the pocket.

 

[Armored farmer]

I have had a kershaw for quite a while and have not had it try to open.
Actually, I have been toying with several brands of flippers recently, and had no issues with p.d.(pocket deployment).

 

[bikerdoc]

No sir, never had an A/O open in my pocket.

 

[greyling22]

Most knives are carried tip up, and if the blade did try to open it would hit the back of your pocket and be prevented from opening anyway. I've had a kershaw leek partially open when it got sent through the washing machine in a pocket, but nothing else is ever tried to open on me.

 

[Slamfire]

Are knives with assisted opening via a flipper more prone to opening in the pocket when you don’t want them to?

Yes. And I have the hole in the pants and a cut finger to prove it. I carry these knives between the belt. Flipper knives tend to be frame lock.



This knife has a combination of features that make it prone to opening in my waist band. A frame lock spring does not create tension that will fix a retracted blade inside the handle. Frame lock flippers are more or less designed so that you can shake the blade out, there is very little resistance to opening.



And then, that ambidextrous blade thumb stud is a bad idea. The pants side stud will catch on seams and open the blade.

this one opened up due to the right side thumb stud and poked a hole in my pants



What I did to reduce this potential is ground the pants side (right side) thumb stud down and tried to make it smooth and unobtrusive. And I have done this on several other knives.

This Cold Steel is a good design. The lockback spring has enough tension that there is resistance to the blade opening.



and then the pants side thumb stud is flush with the blade



I do like the fact the back of the handle is rounded. The pictured Kizer, has a pointy end that pokes my fat roll. Incidentally the Komoran had a sharp "glass breaker " carbide cone on the end. That scratched my flank with an inside the pants carry, so I rounded that cone on a bench grinder.

The flipper knives without a thumb stud are still prone to opening. That blade flipper lever is easy to bump, and the blade is designed to open easily



AG Russell put out a warning about carrying flipper knives. Can't find it right now. They have been told enough accounts of customers getting severe cuts that in one newsletter they provided their advice on carrying the things. I think they advised carrying the knife point down as that was less likely to open when the knife is withdrawn.

 

[rust collector]

That Komoran is pretty scary in terms of engagement.

Some knives bearing the Emerson "wave" profile are designed to deploy upon removal from the pocket. It works, but seems to tempt fate.

 

[hso]

Flipper knives tend to be frame lock.

Mostly liner with some frame lock, and in some instances button lock. Assisted openers don't lend themselves to locks that apply a lot of resistance to opening as locking progresses (eg, back locks).

I have one of the first dozen assisted openers that Ken Onion sold (Ken made me promise it would never see the light of day since I wouldn't trade it back to him for a fancy new one) and the design for AOs are elegant. But like a trigger, if they're light enough they can "fire" with the least pressure so safeties become important.

 

[GBExpat]

I have a good utilitarian stainless ~3½" folder with which I am comfortable in-pocket.

The liner lock sports a little projection that keeps the blade from opening without some power applied to the thumb stud.

One side of the blade is marked 5.11 and the other,

AUTHENTIC TACTICAL
1977 - 2007​

Just an on-sale impulse purchase (probably about 10 bucks as I don't/won't spend much on such knives) from a dozen, or so, years ago. One of those that you find yourself wishing that you had purchased a few more at the time, y'know?

EDIT: Some pics ...





I couldn't easily manage a focused pic of the projection, but you can see it ...

 

[hso]

Good point is that not all flippers are assisted opening. In working to keep AOs from having a hair trigger by installing detents that we have to push the blade over, makers discovered that the pressure needed to get over the detent was enough to flip the blade open to the locked position.

So we have assisted flippers and flippers that aren't assisted.

 

[Slamfire]

Mostly liner with some frame lock, and in some instances button lock. Assisted openers don't lend themselves to locks that apply a lot of resistance to opening as locking progresses (eg, back locks).

I have one of the first dozen assisted openers that Ken Onion sold (Ken made me promise it would never see the light of day since I wouldn't trade it back to him for a fancy new one) and the design for AOs are elegant. But like a trigger, if they're light enough they can "fire" with the least pressure so safeties become important.

Maybe I should have said, most of my flippers are frame lock, but I have a lot of less expensive liner locked flippers. They are all easy to open, whether you want them open, or not.

I consider assisted opening in the same way I view cocked and locked carry: an accident waiting to happen.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I've been consistently carrying unassisted flippers for a year, and I've done so in everyday street wear, in a cargo pocket on shorts. They would certainly be more prone to open, and I would think more so if spring assisted. But I haven't experienced this yet. Doesn't mean I won't, but I make sure the blade is tucked firmly into the corner of my pocket. for all I know it is partially opening and closing all the time, but I doubt it as nothing has been cut.

I over tighten my pivots when I lube them, and then back them off little by little until the detent feels right and they are not overly easy to open, but still smooth and 100% easily deployable.

 

[Bazoo]

I have a buck 345 that I carry sometimes. I have removed the flipper nub and just use the thumb holes. Last time, I was carrying it in my waste band. It came partially open, though didn't cut me as I noticed before that happened.

I do carry sometimes in my front or back pocket. And there I don't recall having had any trouble.

 

[Boattale]

I've carried AO Barrage, Mini Barrage and Violi for a lot of years in a lot of places and done a lot of things with all of them. Never ever not one time have any of them opened unintentionally whether in my pocket, in the cup holder or door pocket of my truck or in my hand. Just a non issue so far as I'm concerned.

 

[Hugger-4641]

I Cary the Kershaw Filter because I'm hard on knives in my everyday use. I don't mind ruining a $15 knife if I need to. The tip is pointed down, so even if it did come open it could still be removed from my pocket. I used to cary a S&W Black Ops that did come open in my pocket once. Had to take my pants off to get it out.

 

[chute2thrill]

I've never had a knife open in my pocket, I wear loose fitting clothing and generally at work only have a lighter and knife in my front pocket. I took that dumb little plastic safety off the kershaw leek and carried it for months without a problem, tip up with blade toward the seam.