Can someone help me understand what all the hype is for slipjoints lately?

[GarageBoy]

NYC legal

Im not the biggest fan of bone as a material, and slip joints without choils scare me (when your blade gets stuck in a clam shell package and you go then wrong direction to free it, it's sketchy) - so modern slipjoints are lovely

[Brackish]

For many people, I believe it's about nostalgia. I still have my first knife ever given to me by my father (Camillus), when I earned my Totin' Chip in Boy Scouts. I also have a yellow handled knife (also Camillus) that was given to me by my grandmother after my grandfather had passed away. I would never carry either of them, because I would be devastated if something were to happen to them. But they both did everything that was asked of them for many, many years. I think that some people carry them because they remind them of someone who has passed away and/or bring back good memories of times they had. One of my most distinct memories of my grandfather was him sitting in his recliner every night cleaning his nails with the very same knife that was passed down to me. If I were to buy a similar knife and carry it, it would remind me of him every time I pulled it out of my pocket to use it.

[ABX2011]

I get the legality, the simplicity and the economy but I don't find it any easier to open and close a non-locking knife. For a knife newbie it sure is.

[ugaarguy]

I think it's part of a pendulum swing. The mainstream pocket knife market was very heavily a tactical knife style market for a long time. Recently the market took a strong swing back to very traditional designs, and manufacturers like GEC along with custom makers like T.A. Davison filled that demand. I think knives like the Spyderco Roadie and the Benchmade Proper, at two different price points, represent a nice fusion of modern materials in what are mostly traditional styled slip joints. Those two knives to me represent the pendulum starting to settle in the middle. Perhaps the most return to the middle of the pendulum swing are the new Buck 110 and 112 Slim Pro: They've upped the materials and added the modern features of thumb studs and pocket clips. Yet they still very much look the part of the traditional 110 and 112 designs. I think the Sage 4 did the opposite in putting a very traditional looking metal bolstered wood handle on a very modern knife pattern.

[SF Native]

Some of the spyderco slip joints are really nice and using one might make you understand that you don’t really need a lock for many tasks. I particularly like the k390 urban. It’s really great when you want a small lightweight carry. It just disappears in summertime shorts weather.

[Woodpuppy]

I have trouble with nail nick knives, I really don’t like using them. Sometimes in multi-blade slipjoints the blades bind; I have an Old Timer (my first knife) that I still have to open one blade first to get the little one out. Spyderco has solved my biggest gripes about slipjoints- theirs have easy one hand opening, a clip, and probably most importantly, the handle dimensions! Hand filling, and taller than they are thick. I don’t like sub-round handles on knives which don’t lock open. The knife can roll and close on fingers. With my limited experience with a Squeak it’s clear that can’t happen.

[me2]

I got a Byrd slip joint and carry it at work all the time. It has a strong detent, but I can close it without any fuss even compared to my Delica. It is in and out of my pocket many times during a shift, and it closes easier and faster than a locking knife. I have occasionally carried a locking folder at the same time, just in case.

[Kels73]

Three guesses come to mind:

1) Popular new companies like Great Eastern Cutlery have revived interest in classic slipjoints.

2) Unlike many modern overbuilt locking folders, classic slipjoints usually have very thin blades with excellent slicing geometry.

3) Simplicity. When I think of the popularity of slipjoints, I can't help but draw a parallel with archery. Over the past fifteen years or so, recurve bows and longbows have seen a resurgence in popularity. When you ask archers why they shoot these traditional bows, the answer you typically get is that they got tired of their high-tech compound bows with their complex wheels and cables and contraptions. However, they love their low-tech longbows and the simpler times that they represent. I wonder if it isn't the same with slipjoints.

[Rutger]

To me they are cool because of the materials used. The woods, stag, bone, brass pins, carbon steel etc just gives these knives a great look and the patina that develops on some is just amazing. I wish we could have that look in modern locking knives. I don't think them being a slip joint is the main attraction. I think people are a bit tired of the plastics, titanium and tactical looking knives.

[Ankerson]

Hey guys so I have never been able to understand the big appeal of slipjoints is, I get that for some people it is a legal issue and that they can't carry a locking knife, or that if you are going to church or something that a slipjoint might get a few less stares than a locking knife. What I don't get though is why some people like slipjoints when those reasons are not a factor, because to me at least there are slipjoints that I like the design of but I have always thought they would be better as locking knives. So could someone explain what the appeal of slipjoints is besides the two I mentioned above?

Maybe something to do with the UK customers?