One Handed Knifes

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WuLabsWuTecH

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No recent thread on this one, so I thought I'd post a new one. I'm in the market for a good knife. I've never really carried one, but there has been more than one occasion that I've wished I had one. Since I am getting one, I figured I'd get one that I can also use in EMS. Thing is, in EMS, i can only see the utility of a folding knife that can open and close with one hand--oftentimes I'll be doing something with the other hands. My father has one that he brought with him when he immigrated to the States from Taiwan, and he really likes it but they are no longer made.

Does anyone have any good recommendations for something that meets my specs and/or will be sturdy and last a while?

Thanks,
-Wu
 
Most folding knifes can be easily opened/closed with one hand. Personally I like the Gerber F.A.S.T. Blades. It's a spring assisted knife (not a switchblade). Easy one handed opening and closing. I've never had any issues with the Gerber brand of knifes.
 
I carry the CRKT M16-14ZER, large blade, nice point, glass breaker, and seatbelt cutter which doubles as the thumb flipper

Also, this belongs in the Equipment forum
 
Hi Wu,
There are plenty of good knifes that can be opened with one hand fairly easily. I just want to make sure you know though that a knife with a blade that opens at the push of a button (switchblade) or through the use of gravity (drop blade) are usually illegal so be sure you refer to your local and state rules regarding these types of knifes.

I had a CRKT that I carried for years that I loved. It could be opened very easily with one hand. I've since lost it. I don't carry a knife while on the truck though I just don't ever see a use for it.
 
I have a Emerson cqc-7 with the wave feature which allows it to be opened coming out of the pocket on the draw if necessary. It can be sort of intimidating so I usually just use the thumb stud to open it.
 
I wish I could help, but pretty much any one handed knife is illegal in Canada. Nothing spring loaded, or that utilizes gravity or centrifugal force. Frustrating, but them's the rules. ;)

That said, I have one of these, which I quite like. There's a model with a partially serrated edge that I've found useful in a number of situations.
 
Kershaw hands down. Cost effective, super sharp and easy to sharpen, good quality steel on most of their knives, and the Ken Onion Speedsafe assisted opening is awesome. Basically an automatic knife if you ask me. I have a bunch of them but alway have a Kershaw Blur on my person both at fire dept and transport.
 
I'm leaning toward an automatic knife now that I've gone out and played with a few. (Playing with knives? what?!?!?!?!)

I am in the US, and they are legal in my area, checked with LEO today. There is a restriction on blade length for switchblades, but nothing close to what I'm looking at.

I have found a few in the $15 dollar range, which seems cheaper than what most people have been posting on here. Should I worry about the quality of these? That being said, I don't anticipate using this knife all that much and replacing it once every few years would not be a big concern for me.
 
WuLabsWuTecH said:
I'm leaning toward an automatic knife now that I've gone out and played with a few. (Playing with knives? what?!?!?!?!)

I am in the US, and they are legal in my area, checked with LEO today. There is a restriction on blade length for switchblades, but nothing close to what I'm looking at.

I have found a few in the $15 dollar range, which seems cheaper than what most people have been posting on here. Should I worry about the quality of these? That being said, I don't anticipate using this knife all that much and replacing it once every few years would not be a big concern for me.
Click to expand...

It all depends on what all you are going to or could use the knife for. For simple cutting (very light cutting) then a $15 blade is probably ok (just be sure the knife has a really good lock so the blade doesn't close when you are using it.)

If you use your knife for much more then cutting then you would probably want to go with a more expensive name brand knife. I think my knife was $70.
 
WuLabsWuTecH said:
I'm leaning toward an automatic knife now that I've gone out and played with a few. (Playing with knives? what?!?!?!?!)

I am in the US, and they are legal in my area, checked with LEO today. There is a restriction on blade length for switchblades, but nothing close to what I'm looking at.

I have found a few in the $15 dollar range, which seems cheaper than what most people have been posting on here. Should I worry about the quality of these? That being said, I don't anticipate using this knife all that much and replacing it once every few years would not be a big concern for me.
Click to expand...



Yes it should be a concern to you. You get what you pay for with knives. If you are willing to spend 15 dollars plus shipping and handling, and then replace every couple of years (more realistically every year for a crappy quality 15 dollar knife) then just pony up and spend 50 to 70 dollars on something that is decent quality....If you are looking for a utility knife then just get a 15 dollar razor knife at lowes. If you want a knife that can cut, minimal prying, and be used in a self defense or survival situation then you will have to spend more then 15 dollars IMO. Good luck
 
firefite said:
It all depends on what all you are going to or could use the knife for. For simple cutting (very light cutting) then a $15 blade is probably ok (just be sure the knife has a really good lock so the blade doesn't close when you are using it.)

If you use your knife for much more then cutting then you would probably want to go with a more expensive name brand knife. I think my knife was $70.
Click to expand...

What would you use a knife for if not cutting?

CANMAN13 said:
Yes it should be a concern to you. You get what you pay for with knives. If you are willing to spend 15 dollars plus shipping and handling, and then replace every couple of years (more realistically every year for a crappy quality 15 dollar knife) then just pony up and spend 50 to 70 dollars on something that is decent quality....If you are looking for a utility knife then just get a 15 dollar razor knife at lowes. If you want a knife that can cut, minimal prying, and be used in a self defense or survival situation then you will have to spend more then 15 dollars IMO. Good luck
Click to expand...

I will have to take that into consideration. It's free shipping right now, so it's gonna cost me 15.99, but I'm also running low on my allowance so I don't have the $70 left to get a knife... I'm at the point that there have been 3 instances now that I've needed one and not had one on scene and had to run back out to the truck to get shears or something...
 
WuLabsWuTecH said:
What would you use a knife for if not cutting?

my dive knife works great for prying things put of the sand,

I will have to take that into consideration. It's free shipping right now, so it's gonna cost me 15.99, but I'm also running low on my allowance so I don't have the $70 left to get a knife... I'm at the point that there have been 3 instances now that I've needed one and not had one on scene and had to run back out to the truck to get shears or something...
Click to expand...

Shears can cut a penny in half, most knives can't!
 
When it comes to carrying a knife....... one truly has to ask "Why am I carrying a knife on duty?".

If your answer is truly to cut "clothing or seat belts" you are better served to go with safety shears.

There are cases of officers losing a legal battle after accidentally cutting a person while trying to cut seat belts at a crash scene. Now many agencies have started putting trauma/safety shears with the AED in the trunk of patrol cars.

Now, if your answer was because you wish to carry for "defense"...... you get what you pay for. I teach the TDK (Tactical Duty Knife) Course to law enforcement. When I do, we train using the Benchmade Griptilian.

If you look at my bio, you will see I train in Kali-Silat. I say that to say this...... I have handled and trained with various blades..... I carry my Benchmade Griptilian........
 
(anti Rambo rant deleted)

That said, to me, the bigger question is whether a knife requires one to take off gloves to open it. Used to see pawl knives, quite expensive but you just squeezed and turned a round button at one pin and then turn it...presto, knife is open to cut line, get through dense jungle, whatever.

After Google:

Pawl knife examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nIWN9WlK7U

I see they are called "Paul knives" after the patent holder of the opening/locking mechanism, although that mech is a "pawl" of sorts.

Benchmade has a line, all out of stock and all over $100.http://www.gpknives.com/benchmadepaulknives.html

And about Mr PAul himself:http://www.dougritter.com/Paul_Poehlmann.htm

The one I first saw was in a mil surplus store in Omaha in 1977, so it must have been one of the first, and a collector's item by now.
 
My Gerber Paraframe II cost me only like 25 bucks at REI, so far it's been great. Plenty sharp and opens real easy despite having no assist.

Personally I think multitools have more use in EMS though, and I can open the blades of my Leatherman Wave with one hand too.
 
I carry a Leatherman Wave. It's a little heavy I'd recommend a little smaller one even though the Wave isn't that big at all compared to some other Leathermans. I carry it with a pocket clip I got seperately, the knife opens one handed from the outside.
 
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