Switchblades!

[Snacktime]

I haven't had an issue get certain knives here in California. They just aren't legal in public. Only a few places won't ship here and lucky for me no one cares on ebay.

[James Y]

I haven't had an issue get certain knives here in California. They just aren't legal in public. Only a few places won't ship here and lucky for me no one cares on ebay.

Thank you for sharing that.

Jim

[James Y]

Pro-Tech Knives Shop Tour

https://youtu.be/027oObD0hU8

Jim

[The Mastiff]

Jim, aren't the small autos still legal there? I remember seeing some very nice ones over the years.

[James Y]

Jim, aren't the small autos still legal there? I remember seeing some very nice ones over the years.

Hi, Joe.

Yes, if the blades are sub-2" they are CA-legal. I own two, an older version of the Pro-Tech Runt, and a DKD Shark Tooth. TBH, I like the Shark Tooth better, and the build quality is identical. DKD are custom knives by Wayne Clark, who used to be a designer for Pro-Tech. My Shark Tooth is the only custom (or semi-custom) knife I own.

*Edit to add: Well, that last sentence might not be accurate. I do own two David Boye knives that might be considered semi-custom knives.

Jim

[yablanowitz]

I'll just leave this old picture here.

[cabfrank]

Your knife collection must be mind boggling.

[RustyIron]

I'll just leave this old picture here.

I like the Mel Pardue Benchmade. I've got one just like it. Somehow I lost the clip. It's a right-handed tip-down knife, and I was thinking I could take something of my Box of Unused Clips, and turn the knife into left-hand tip-up.

[yablanowitz]

Your knife collection must be mind boggling.

It's not really a collection, more of a massive accumulation.

[cabfrank]

Sounds about right.

[James Y]

I'll just leave this old picture here.

Cool collection (or accumulation!) of autos! I’ve never seen an automatic Texas Tickler pattern before. Great stuff.

Jim

[James Y]

The Biggest Switchblade in the World!

At the very beginning of the video, as he fiddles with the safety switch and puts his hand near the firing button, I almost thought the blade was gonna kick open and hit him in his cojones.

https://youtube.com/shorts/FnxasiYNAAg?feature=share

Jim

[embry386]

I have a Microtech Ultratech, nice little OTF switchblade. Don't carry it much because the switch is stiff, and hard for me to operate one-handed (which defeats much of the purpose of a switchblade), and also I prefer knives with a negative blade angle and more ergonomic handles. But it's still super cool. No problems with it so far, seems to be decent quality (although I ahven't carried/used it as much as my Spydies so please take that with a grain of salt). Nice color combination too, gray aluminum handle and black DLC blade.

[JD Spydo]

I'll just leave this old picture here.

Well "yablanowitz" I kind of figured if anyone had a Benchmade "Auto Spike" ( Benchmade Boguszewski model 1000 ) it would probably be yourself. Because over the years there has been several great models that I've loved later to discover they are also favorites of yours too. I had the Gray and Blue models>> one was a combo like the one in your pic and the other was a plain edged. I also had 4 of the non-automatic Boguszewski Benchmade models too i.e. models 640 & 650. I always held out hope that Benchmade would do Sprint Runs of those Boguszewski models with newer/better blade steels. But unfortunately it never came to pass.

I had heard a few years back that Phil Boguszewski and Benchmade had a falling out and I tend to believe it. Because anytime I visited their booth at shows they acted like they didn't want to discuss any of those Boguszewski models at all.
And it's unfortunate because I really enjoyed using those Spike models for all kinds of EDC applications. Spyderco had one model that looked very similar to it referring to the C-50 Centofante. It went extinct as well.

But that Auto Spike was a great automatic for many daily uses. A good buddy of mine here locally got a Microtech "Socom" I believe it was called. He alwasy bragged on that one a lot. But for a lot of reasons I always thought that a lot of those Microtecch models were over-priced and over-rated. But I guess that's another Ford vs Chevy type argument.

[yablanowitz]

The falling out was over the 1000 Auto Spike. Phil didn't want his name on an automatic and didn't want Benchmade to make an auto out of one of his designs. They did it anyway, and although it does not have "Boguszewski Design" on the blade, that was enough to get him to walk.

[JD Spydo]

The falling out was over the 1000 Auto Spike. Phil didn't want his name on an automatic and didn't want Benchmade to make an auto out of one of his designs. They did it anyway, and although it does not have "Boguszewski Design" on the blade, that was enough to get him to walk.

And with Phil Boguszewski being deceased we'll probably never see another SPIKE model again unfortunately. Unless they appear on an auction or a special website. I EDCed one of the regular models for over 2 years i.e. the model 640>> I also got lucky and found it's big Brother the Model 650 at a GUN Show. I've since had to sell them when I was in a tight spot back in 2015.

But I'm really glad to finally hear the reason why their business relationship went down the tubes. Treat them like gold my friend because I'm sure they'll garner some serious collector value at some point.

[James Y]

Switchblades in the Movies (1990s)

1990 - 1994:

https://youtu.be/L_OnFqUiuOs

1995 - 1999:

https://youtu.be/pXTiz8BXT-Q

Jim

[James Y]

Switchblades in the Movies (2000 - 2004)

If I'm not mistaken, the knife shown in the scene (from the movie Wrong Turn) that starts at 4:13 was actually a Kershaw Boa, an assisted-opener, not an auto.

The knife used by Tom Cruise in Collateral (starting from 4:55) was a CRK Classic Sebenza; possibly one that was modified into an auto.

https://youtu.be/Q79-_5Y3i9E

Jim

[akapennypincher]

Well at most Gun Show in Arizona you got cheap, and expensive auto for sale. $20.00 to over $400.00, honestly I do not like, want, or have to have. Honeslty THUMB HOLE Spyderco is lass part, more rial lie with no BS.


Did own a $20.00 OTF Auto it was more novelty then anything else. Would have worked good for one thrust, but not much else. Steel was only the guy in Chinsa who masde knows, could be elcrapo steel, would not keep edge.

[James Y]

I agree that a manual one-hander, like a Spyderco, has less parts to potentially foul up, and is more reliable than an automatic. And there are a lot of cheap autos out there.

That said, I've heard arguments from some guys who have arthritis in their hands, that for some of them, an automatic is easier to open than any manual one-handed folder. Plus, one cannot discount the fun factor of a quality auto with a strong firing mechanism, such as those made by Pro-Tech, DKD, and some others.

My main problem with autos is that I can't legally carry one unless the blade is under 2". Which severely lessens the usefulness of it being an auto.

Jim