The perceived need for instantaneous one hand operation has driven folding knife design into a dead end

[Abyss_Fish]

How's your buck 110 treating you uncle randy?

But in all seriousness think it's more about ease of opening than about speed of opening. So in one way I agree with you, but one hand opening is SO much more convenient. especially in genuine working scenarios. Sure for edc tasks two hand opening is probably fine, I could edc a lionsteel roundhead and be perfectly alright 90% of the time. But at work I'd be screwed without my manix. The best example of opening speed vs ease of opening in my collection is my g10 native. It's absolutely the slowest opening knife in my collection by far. But it's also the easiest and most comfortable to open by far. Really even when closing the knife it's not too far down the list, my spydiechef takes more effort.

And again I do agree with you on some level. Modern knife-making is stuck in a "tactical and non-functional" rut. And I absolutely agree that spyderco is the one to take us out of that rut. Aaaaaaaand probably some of those more traditional focused Italian brands, viper lionsteel and mkm come to mind, always putting out interesting models. Now when their heat treatment catches up with spyderco it'll be an innovation arms race.

Also bearings suck. I just genuinely don't understand why their in any model above 150 bucks. Just lazy. But that's another post :)

[Bill1170]

The core definition of “paradigm”. Not from a dictionary but from the man who discovered it:

“For well-integrated members of a particular discipline, its paradigm is so convincing that it normally renders even the possibility of alternatives unconvincing and counter-intuitive. Such a paradigm is opaque, appearing to be a direct view of the bedrock of reality itself, and obscuring the possibility that there might be other, alternative imageries hidden behind it.”

Seems at play here.

That is a great quote, Michael. It is indeed hard to see past a paradigm in which one has become comfortably situated. Many fields experience long stretches of stagnation, punctuated by bursts of revolutionary advancements. I dare say that Spyderco has been a the author of several such advancements, such as pocket clips, the opening hole, the Spyderedge, and the reverse S blade as found on the Civilian and Matriarch models.

Lightsabers and proto-alloy meta materials rely upon advances in technology that (to my knowledge) have not yet occurred. When they do occur, it’ll be just a matter of time before they appear in compact form as portable matter separators. I believe a day will come when mind power is developed to where matter can be joined or cleft without physical instruments at all. This won’t occur widely for centuries to come, in my opinion.

[RustyIron]

Haha, I guess that's a bit more PC than it was originally!

Hahaha! You caught me. There's no way I could have snuck the original past Kristi's watchful eye.

[JacksonKnives]

Lightsabers and proto-alloy meta materials rely upon advances in technology that (to my knowledge) have not yet occurred. When they do occur, it’ll be just a matter of time before they appear in compact form as portable matter separators. I believe a day will come when mind power is developed to where matter can be joined or cleft without physical instruments at all. This won’t occur widely for centuries to come, in my opinion.

We have the tech to put plasma cutters and high-watt lasers in our pockets. We just haven't found a use-case that makes the tradeoffs worthwhile yet. Seriously, if you wanted to open your cardboard boxes with a laser, you could do it. It just turns out not to be that great of an experience. Likewise with ultrasonic vibrating blades: great for some tasks, lousy for cutting carrots.

See also: virtual reality headsets, flying cars, synthetic food, etc.
These are all artifacts of an unrealized paradigm of use. As soon as millions of people have a good reason to make/buy/use these things every day, we'll quickly develop the currently-limited technology to meet the demand. We always have.

Think of the smart phone. A big color touch screen was too expensive when you were mostly using your phone for making voice calls sending text messages; Facebook and Twitter (with instant and photo-driven user experiences) were the "killer apps" to drive widespread adoption.

I often find myself defending the reputation of steel against scoffers who assume it's an "outdated" material because we have so many new materials being used in other applications. "Why don't we have knives made out of something better than steel?" they say.
The thing is, we do, for certain applications where other materials present the right advantages and the trade-offs are less of a problem. If you're slicing up a microscope specimen or diving in salt water around magnetically-sensitive explosives or trying to get a knife past a metal detector, you have options. But we've spent millennia perfecting ferrous alloys for making sharp edges and strong blades, and for most everyday tasks steel is basically perfect.

[Red]

I am completely on board with one handed opening and closing. Its convenient as heck, especially for myself at work. I am constantly in confined spaces with my other hand occupied holding a part, another tool or sometimes just holding on for dear life! As a knife enthusiast, I own and appreciate many brands but find myself gravitating to auto’s or spydie holes simply because of the one handed opening.

I have a few older slip joints that I also enjoy very much but would never carry them at work.

[Jurphaas]

Thanks for taking the intiative Michael. A great post and so many opinions. A joy to read and think of. Top!!!!

[MichaelScott]

Thanks for taking the intiative Michael. A great post and so many opinions. A joy to read and think of. Top!!!!

Thank you sir!

[JRinFL]

I’d like to see Spyderco and other top companies break out and show us some real innovative (dare I say multiple blade) designs.

Wow, what a long tale, complete with MacGuffins, just to say you want Spyderco to make more multi-bladed knives!

[TomAiello]

I know, right? What's with all these youngsters buying serious tools, then gussying them up and flashing them around like a bunch of Kansas City Gigolos?

Guilty as charged. I'm enjoying the gussying up though. :)

[Sumdumguy]

Haha, I guess that's a bit more PC than it was originally!

Hahaha! You caught me. There's no way I could have snuck the original past Kristi's watchful eye.

Heh, can you imagine if that movie was shown to some of these college kids today?

They would probably stroke out from sensitivity overload.

[Evil D]

Another perspective here, one handed opening (and pocket clips) broke pocket knives out of a rut that was going on ~100 years. Prior to thumb studs and thumb holes it was an endless sea of Case style folders with few innovations. The market was beyond stagnant. There was a desperate need for change and improvement, otherwise we wouldn't be here on this forum today now would we? Like they say necessity is the mother of invention and these features now dominate the market for good reason.

[James Y]

Another perspective here, one handed opening (and pocket clips) broke pocket knives out of a rut that was going on ~100 years. Prior to thumb studs and thumb holes it was an endless sea of Case style folders with few innovations. The market was beyond stagnant. There was a desperate need for change and improvement, otherwise we wouldn't be here on this forum today now would we? Like they say necessity is the mother of invention and these features now dominate the market for good reason.

As much as I love the old ‘traditional‘ designs, I have to agree. Even without the development and proliferation of manual one-hand openers, the carrying of pocketknives was already becoming less and less prevalent and accepted in society. I’ve heard some people say that carrying and using a pocketknife “makes you look old, like my grandpa,” and thus they wouldn’t be caught dead with one.

If anything, it’s very likely that the popularity of one-handed folders has indirectly helped the once-moribund ‘traditional’ pocketknife industry. Many younger people who got their start with modern designs have gone on to discover and appreciate the older designs that they probably wouldn’t have even known or cared about, had they not gotten into knives in the first place. And some people who had moved away from ‘traditional’ patterns into modern designs have then gone back into appreciating the older designs more than they had before.

Jim

[MichaelScott]

In that sense I agree. I had old slip joints when I was young (I will be 78 in a couple of months) and was quite happy with them. The Navy introduced me to small fixed blades as an actual work and safety tool whilst working deck sea detail or replenishment evolutions. Then in the early 70s I bought a Buck 112 Ranger which I carried to Alaska and back and for work on the farm. This led to various locking knives like Gerbers, CRKT, Kershaw, etc. I eventually bought a Delica and the fascination with the other brands was over.

Later, I saw a photo of a Great Eastern Cutlery 44 Gunstock slip joint and said, whoa, that reminds me of my grandfather. At this point I have a few Spydercos and a few Great Eastern Cutlery traditionals and am happy as a pig in a mud hole.

[dan31]

I think as a hobby all types of knives are great. Good to have variety.

As a serious tool, Spyderco are at the top for me. When I was in the service, I used one hand opening and SE blades in some tight quarters. Rolling decks on small boats in storms and tossing in the ocean desperate to cut a line. I would never consider another folder for duty.

[xceptnl]

Another perspective here, one handed opening (and pocket clips) broke pocket knives out of a rut that was going on ~100 years. Prior to thumb studs and thumb holes it was an endless sea of Case style folders with few innovations. The market was beyond stagnant. There was a desperate need for change and improvement, otherwise we wouldn't be here on this forum today now would we? Like they say necessity is the mother of invention and these features now dominate the market for good reason.

Like David said above, the traditional knives that dominated the folding knife market prior to the thumb stud / opening hole were in a plateau. It wasn't a dead end. Even now as a huge leap in innovation sends the industry miles ahead, eventually the evolution will plateau again and designs will again appear stagnant. The behind the scenes that spawn these breakthroughs are littered with 1000s upon 1000s of failed attempts at making something new. One day, something innovative will grab the market by the scruff and hurl us into an new evolution.

[aicolainen]

To loosely repeat some key elements from previous posts; necessity is the mother of invention and the need to cut things is continuously reduced by a never ending convenience race. Most people don't expect to (regularly) need to cut things anymore, which again makes it easier to introduce stricter legislations, which again leads to even more focus on convenience and tool-less products. A self-reinforcing spiral of sorts.
In this regard, we all have the traditional mindset, no matter if we carry traditional or modern folders. Just different levels of traditional. And like someone else said, no matter what style of knife pulls you in to the knife hobby, with time it often leads to the appreciation of other styles as well. That's how it evolved for me as well. The fact that we now have such a variety of knives should be appreciated by everyone, even the flavors and styles we don't necessarily like, because it broadens the surface that sucks people in to the mindset of appreciating knives. And the more who does, the better we will enjoy knife innovations of the future.

As we already established, necessity is the mother of invention and since necessity is on a decline and legislative restrictions are on an long and steady uprise in most of the world, my fear is that the paradigm shift of matter separating pocket devices will be motivated from safety oriented perspective, or even down right regulations. Whatever comes first.
I don't think it will be considered progress from the traditional knife enthusiast perspective, wherever on that scale you feel at home.

[ykspydiefan]

Great discussion and lots of really good perspective. I doubt I will ever hold a lightsaber, but if I did, I would want it to open and close onehanded. I doubt I will ever live in a jurisdiction that is not silly with rules, but if I did, I would own at least one automatic knife. Until the future arrives or silly rule makers find a more productive life, there is enough variety in Spyderco to keep my life busy.