another way of openning my native

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Lt.Hawkins
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another way of openning my native

#1

Post by Lt.Hawkins »

i grip the closed knife by pinching the hole between my thumb and forefinger so that the bulk of the knife is above my hand, with the rest of my fingers open.



its positioned so that if i were to open the handle with the other hand, it would end up sitting correctly in my palm.



with the knife closed, a flip of the wrist to get the handle momentum going will snap the knife open, the handle ending up right in your palm to grab, and small, quick adjustment to get my fingers in the choils. i don't think i found any great secret, but just thought i'd share with you
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vampyrewolf
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#2

Post by vampyrewolf »

congrats, you just discovered the hidden move of the century... the spydie-drop...

it's a fun way to open these up, and sometimes even the fastest...

We all start with 10 fingers. Those with Spydies have 9 to spare, Still need a thumb. Good thing I still have 8 to spare...
The Stare
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#3

Post by The Stare »

I've practised this a bit, off an on. From my perspective, one has the interim position, right after the blade has snapped open and locked, where if one should have to grip the knife strongly, before being able to adjust it, one has a good grip on the edge. Mine's too sharp for that. Guess I'll stick to the missionary, or regular gripping method. It might be that a bit more adjustment is needed, but one is beginning with a grip on the handle, not the blade.

Believe I'll stick with the standard position/grip. Even if a bit more adjustment is needed, one is starting with a grip on the handle. Feels much safer to me.

Stare
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haji
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#4

Post by haji »

Many, many moons ago, when I started selling Spydercos, I recall the sales materials, and catalogs at the time, showed this method of opening. This was probably 10 years ago, or so. This way seems to have been supplanted by the "pinch the clip against your plam and roll the blade open with the thumb" trick, but it works just as well. Since retail has it's excrucaitingly slow times, I've figured out how to open Spydies with all eight finders and both thumbs. It's amazing what can be learned when one gets bored.

Its all fun and games til somebody loses an eye, then its fun annd games you can't see.
toothed
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#5

Post by toothed »

Hi Haji. Don't leave us hanging, man. Tell us about the different ways you have learned to open your Spydies. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>
br44
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#6

Post by br44 »

Haji, next we'll have to start practicing with our toes! This is the great thing about Spydies. Their are so many ways to open them. I guess I'd rather put my fingers on a hole than on a stud.
Ken A.
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#7

Post by Ken A. »

I do open my Native by pinching the hole between the thumb & forefinger (with the middle finger under the blade's thumbgrip), with the blade pointing up. A quick flip of the wrist opens the blade quickly & safely! The only thing is that the knife has to be broken in (meaning that the blade swivels with minimal friction when it is unlocked). Keeping the Native's joint clean and lubricated helps tremendously. I have experimented with several lubricants (Tri-Flo, Neptune-7, and Mili-tec) So far, the Mili-tec works the best. Has anyone out there had any success with other lubricants? I can also close the blade one handed by backing up with the forefinger on the second notch (the finger notch on the plastic grip), with the thumb depressing the lock release, and flicking the handle so that the momentum of the blade will cause it to fold and stop on your forefinger- the blunt grip at the base of the blade should be where your forefinger is if it is done properly. Again, a smoothly operating Native makes this possible, and the machine tolerence of the Native is tight enough where dirt or lint will foul smooth operation. I have used my Native safely this way and it is the knife that I use frequently at work to cut cardboard (even plunge cuts). I like the ease of one handed operation and safety in comparison to a knife with a spring assisted opening.
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ruxton
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#8

Post by ruxton »

lesson 2... try and perfect flicking it open with as little movement as possible, very quick, looks cool too :p
Mat
Ken A.
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#9

Post by Ken A. »

I have already tried Ballistol but forgot to mention it- great stuff in terms of safety because I think it's primary active ingredient is mineral oil, if I interpreted the MSDS that came with the oil properly. It worked OK, but did not last as long as the synthetic oil in this application. As far as flicking the knife open to "look cool", I do work in a military facility where there are young soldiers that admire and own quality tools like a Spyderco. Using a Spyderco as a utility tool and doing the one handed opening is not unusual- not to look cool but to get the job done expediently with a decent margin of safety.

I wonder if anyone at Spyderco have ever considered using a small high quality sealed ball bearing instead of the traditional sleeve bearing used in the pivot point of folding knives. It might work well with the Native as it would eliminate the need for regular lubrication. I'm no knife expert, and making knives are an ancient craft so someone probably has thought of this before! Or have they?
Ken A.
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#10

Post by Ken A. »

I have already tried Ballistol but forgot to mention it- great stuff in terms of safety because I think it's primary active ingredient is mineral oil, if I interpreted the MSDS that came with the oil properly. It worked OK, but did not last as long as the synthetic oil in this application. As far as flicking the knife open to "look cool", I do work in a military facility where there are young soldiers that admire and own quality tools like a Spyderco. Using a Spyderco as a utility tool and doing the one handed opening is not unusual- not to look cool but to get the job done expediently with a decent margin of safety.

I wonder if anyone at Spyderco have ever considered using a small high quality sealed ball bearing instead of the traditional sleeve bearing used in the pivot point of folding knives. It might work well with the Native as it would eliminate the need for regular lubrication. I'm no knife expert, and making knives are an ancient craft so someone probably has thought of this before! Or have they?
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haji
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#11

Post by haji »

I use MPro-7 pretty regularly. It seems to be a somewhat slipperier version of Break Free. As far as closing goes, I've developed a way-I don't know how, I've been doing it so long that I don't remember when I started-to close Spydies one handed that works well on everything but traditional linerlocks, like my Starmate. Works very, very well on Compression Lock knives like the Vesuvius. Holding the knife in a more or less normal grip, basically a sabre grip, I use my index finger to control the blade by putting the pad of that finger into the hole opener on the right (right handed clip side) side of the knife. I then use my thumb to release the lock, and close the blade, using my index finger to control it. About half way closed, I roll the knife over so I finish closing it with the spine of the knife in my palm. When finished, the knife is held by my index finger, still partly in the hole and putting pressure on the clip to hold the knife still, and my thumb, which ends up resting on the blade and the beveled edge of the handle, where the finger froove on the handle normally starts. At least, that's where the thumb ends up on a large knife like the Police Model. It could just as easily end up on the side of the handle towards the front, on a smaller knife. I hope that makes sense...

Its all fun and games til somebody loses an eye, then its fun annd games you can't see.
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haji
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#12

Post by haji »

Special for you, Toothed: one of the variations I've come up with for opening. Hold the knife closed, tip up in your palm. Use your pinkie finger to open the blade, adjust the handle in your grip so you now have the knife in the reverse combat grip. Pretty quiet and fairly unobtrusive with most models. Not easy, and maybe not as effecient as popping the blade open by gravity, but at least its legal!

Its all fun and games til somebody loses an eye, then its fun annd games you can't see.
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