Spyderco Forums

@sal

By design, or sheer coincidence, it appears the Shaman is a legitimate front flipper.

This is a very good thing:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JYE6ARyJVEqtbbGx5

You could do the same thing with many models. It's kind of awkward though.

TkoK83Spy wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:20 pm

You could do the same thing with many models. It's kind of awkward though.

Not so sure about that.

Here it is against a legit front flipper:


https://photos.app.goo.gl/LZjDUBf8uQiFrCtx6

I dunno man, I honestly don't see much of a difference. The thumb hole with various ways to open it seems just fine. A "flipper" is better suited for a flipper tab. But whatever floats your boat. If that's how you want to open it, more power to ya. Just doesn't seem very practical.

TkoK83Spy wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:32 pm

I dunno man, I honestly don't see much of a difference. The thumb hole with various ways to open it seems just fine. A "flipper" is better suited for a flipper tab. But whatever floats your boat. If that's how you want to open it, more power to ya. Just doesn't seem very practical.

Totally not practical, with the hole there. A middle finger flick is way faster.

I'm just excited that it legitimately works as a front flipper too (if you're inclined to open it that way).

It doesn’t work very well as a front flipper. Not saying it can’t be done but it’s painful and not reliable.

if the top thumb ramp was a little longer past the pivot it would work a little better, but it definitely does work.

You can put your boot in the oven but that doesn't make it a biscuit.

Really seems like a super unnatural motion vs the thumb hole.

I do wonder if the front lip of the choil could be made bigger into a flipper tab, if it would then have good flipping geometry, especially since that part of the choil already comes into the lock area when closed.

bearfacedkiller wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 22, 2019 7:12 am

You can put your boot in the oven but that doesn't make it a biscuit.

Literally laughing at this.


But with enough butter...

Thumb in the Spyderhole makes more sense.

Evil D wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 22, 2019 7:15 am

...wonder if the front lip of the choil could be made bigger into a flipper tab...

I've glued dowel pieces to a few compression lock knives, and it works pretty well. With a small enough tap you could make a bolt-on piece.

The funny thing about re-purposing a Spyderco into a flipper or front flipper is that you start to realize how much better the hole is.
The only advantage the front or lip flipper has is the possibility of a narrower blade profile. Since the Shaman or Yojimbo or whatever else you think about modding already has the wide blade for the hole, there's not much to be gained unless you really want to grind down the spine of the blade.

JacksonKnives wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 23, 2019 12:05 am

Evil D wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 22, 2019 7:15 am

...wonder if the front lip of the choil could be made bigger into a flipper tab...

I've glued dowel pieces to a few compression lock knives, and it works pretty well. With a small enough tap you could make a bolt-on piece.

The funny thing about re-purposing a Spyderco into a flipper or front flipper is that you start to realize how much better the hole is.
The only advantage the front or lip flipper has is the possibility of a narrower blade profile. Since the Shaman or Yojimbo or whatever else you think about modding already has the wide blade for the hole, there's not much to be gained unless you really want to grind down the spine of the blade.

The thing that makes the hole so good is that your hand can go from opening the knife to the cutting grip all while maintaining a reasonably solid grip on the handle. A flipper tab may get the blade open faster, but it's a separate motion to get your grip around the handle. By the time that motion's done, you haven't really gained any time.