Spyderco Forums

With my Para2, I carry it upright tip down in my trouser pocket and pinch the spider hole when taking it out, flick the handle down to bring the knife to a ready position.

This took some practice but is the fasted way for me. The 14mm hole is ideal for this.

I could not figure out a quick way to deploy when carrying tip up.

What's your preferred way?

The Spydie drop, which you just described, is my preferred opening method with my Paras and Military. :D After some practice, deployment can be lightning fast.

If I have to open a Spydie extremely quickly (which I never "have" to) a Spydiedrop for Tip-Down carry is my preferred method.

For tip-up knives I just draw them and do a very forceful thumb opening. I think the "flick" trades speed for a guaranteed open and shocks your hand making the transition into a useful grip difficult. It does look cool though I guess. Maybe that's just me though.

I knew I forgot to type something Mario. I really forgot about the Spydie drop term.

I carry tip up in my right pocket, then my thumb isn't to far from the :spyder: hole so I usually just flick it open with my thumb. The reason for that is, if your around people and somebody needs something cut people are gonna look at you like your crazy if you go slinging knifes open like that. :rolleyes:

my preferred way of opening a spyderco is putting my thumb on the hole and opening it :P

Thanks guys. I know, certain peeps are very critical on knife usage in public. It is for us to be careful and avoid unwanted attention. I had a sword fly out of my hand once when I used it without training. I was lucky no one got hurt.

Oh yea, 2handed or VERY slow 1handed in public. If it's anything larger than a Dragonfly I typically cut something quick and out of sight or only open it a little and use the tip.

Discretion is everything.

With my hands. Spydie drop wrist flick thumb flick thumb slow. Forefinger/pointer ring finger pinky.

Tip up carry, inertia opening.

Perhaps I lead too sheltered a life, but I've never yet been in a situation were rapid deployment would have been advantageous. I carry my knife loose in my back pocket and open it slowly and deliberately by placing my thumb in the Spyderhole and rotating the blade to battery. I've found that method to be 100% reliable with minimal risk of inducing incontinence among the terminally timid.

The Deacon wrote:Perhaps I lead too sheltered a life, but I've never yet been in a situation were rapid deployment would have been advantageous. I carry my knife loose in my back pocket and open it slowly and deliberately by placing my thumb in the Spyderhole and rotating the blade to battery. I've found that method to be 100% reliable with minimal risk of inducing incontinence among the terminally timid.

+1 :D I hardly every Spydie-drop any knife and certainly never in public ... a nice smooth thumb-in-thumbhole opening, held slightly behind the leg works for me and keeps the sheeple happy

Thumb opening in normal grip or ring finger opening in reverse grip....i try to avoid opening one in public and if i have to then i open slowly behind my back... :)

I also dont use the Spydie drop in public nor at home when the kids are around. But it's one cool way to ready the blade.

Flicking with my thumb does not always work for me 100%. I have yet to build my muscle memory to do so. However, a very slow and discreet thumb push works all the time.

I cannot do anything fast with the Endura SS except the Spydie drop. So in public, it's always a two hand opener.

I have seen pics of wire ties on the Spydie hole as to make a improvised Emerson opening option. I tried it but the special tie I had did not cut it.

Thanks guys for the input. It's a pleasure to read about your methods. Hope to see more of that on this thread.

I carry mine tip up. I like to grab the knife sometimes placing my index finger under the end of the pocket clip to remove the knife. Then I turn the knife to position it to use my thumb to open the blade with absolutely no flick of the wrist. IMO, there is only one reason to do any kind of wrist flick. That would be to open a knife one-handed that has some sort of resistance to pivoting. The pivot may be too tight or maybe a little corroded. I see videos of people opening knives with a wrist flick but close them by releasing the lock and letting the blade fall. The falling blade means the pivot is working perfectly or too loose if anything. Using a flick to open a knife looks cheap to me. That sounds much worse than I really mean. I mean cheap knife, not person. Flicking a knife open puts the mental picture of a 1950s gang member flicking his knife open (usually using his entire arm) in my mind. I know that is narrow minded.

I got a look from a cashier once when opening my knife at a cash register that I really enjoyed. I needed to open a package and with a normal speed movement, removed the knife and opened it drawing no more attention to my hand movement than doing anything else. The package was in my left hand and I had an open knife cutting it open that seemed to appear from nowhere. Not because of speed but because the deployment was as natural a movement as removing and opening my wallet. The look on the face of the cashier was as if to say "where did that knife come from?” I think I read the expression right. I wasn't trying to be fast but it was fast because since "getting into" knives I play with them a lot whether it be trying to get used to deploying the thing or just playing with them while doing things like watching tv, walking dog, or having sex. Repetition increases speed without you even knowing it.

So, I pull the knife out, turn it enough to get my thumb in the hole and push the blade open keeping contact with the blade until it locks. I think speed is something that is almost never needed. I mean the "quick-draw" speed of a gunfighter. Even in a self-defense situation you probably only need the lightning speed if you are up against a martial artist of high skill. If I’m up against that guy speed is very important. I run fast. :eek:

I really got long winded and I'm sorry. Evidently this wrist flick issue is something I need to seek counseling about. :) My final answer to the flick thing is, if you need to flick, flick. If you don't need to flick, flick or don't, it's up to you. If you like the popping sound (I do) of a knife opening then do it.

Jack

Tip down on all versions. While I can deploy a Para rather quick, cardboard, string, letters, etc... have not been enough threat to drop or flick my knife open with Ninja-like speed. :)

I carry everything tip-up and use the cable tie mod so the blade opens as I remove it from my pocket. I use a lanyard on all my knives to help facilitate this, and because some of my pants have really thick pockets with leather, which makes the clip grab onto them like a vise tightened by Lou Ferrigno on PCP. I've found that 4" cable ties work best.

I don't worry about what people think, as long as I'm within the law. As long as it's the right blade in the right place and I'm not menacing anyone with it, they need to get over it. If people were to think rationally, they'd be more frightened of that 4,000-pound vehicle I drive, not a knife with a 3.5" blade.

Thanks for the detailed post Jackknifeh. Trust me, it's a good post and good info.

Thank you too leatherneck. True, a knife is worthless when cardboard decides to launch a ninja attack from atop a cupboard. Usually, damage is minimal.

-F1 wrote:I carry everything tip-up and use the cable tie mod so the blade opens as I remove it from my pocket. I use a lanyard on all my knives to help facilitate this, and because some of my pants have really thick pockets with leather, which makes the clip grab onto them like a vise tightened by Lou Ferrigno on PCP. I've found that 4" cable ties work best.

I don't worry about what people think, as long as I'm within the law. As long as it's the right blade in the right place and I'm not menacing anyone with it, they need to get over it. If people were to think rationally, they'd be more frightened of that 4,000-pound vehicle I drive, not a knife with a 3.5" blade.

The problem is being within the law in so many places now. I called my local cops a few years ago to find out what a blade legal length was. They didn't know and were amused that I was concerned enough to call about it. I live in a fairly small town and there's lots of hunting and fishing and knives on belts around here. Their opinion was if you don't poke anyone with your knife you would be ok. :) But, the legal limit for FL is 3". So, if I carry my GB and draw attention to myself it could get confiscated I guess. I love the fact that my Sage1 blade is 2 127/128" long. :D

Jack

-F1 wrote:I don't worry about what people think, as long as I'm within the law. As long as it's the right blade in the right place and I'm not menacing anyone with it, they need to get over it. If people were to think rationally, they'd be more frightened of that 4,000-pound vehicle I drive, not a knife with a 3.5" blade.

It depends. I suspect there are ways you could drive that 4000 pound vehicle that might be within the law, but would still frighten your fellow citizens. Just because something is not illegal does not make it socially acceptable and engaging in socially unacceptable behavior just because you can get away with it is generally considered to be a sign of immaturity.

I consider myself to be a knife person, but I can tell you that the sight of a stranger suddenly whipping out 3.5" blade will put me on the defensive, while someone calmly driving past me within the speed limit will not.