selfdefenseknives's posterous http://selfdefenseknives.posterous.com Most recent posts at selfdefenseknives's posterous posterous.com Sun, 12 Jun 2011 14:34:00 -0700 Self Defense Knives - Spring assisted vs Switchblade http://selfdefenseknives.posterous.com/self-defense-knives-spring-assisted-vs-switch http://selfdefenseknives.posterous.com/self-defense-knives-spring-assisted-vs-switch

If you are thinking about buying a knife, you should be familiar with a couple of key differences between the types of self defense knives available on the market.

Switchblades, or automatic knives, are knives that open with the press of a button.  The key thing to look for when identifying an automatic knife is that the button is on the handle, not the blade.  These are typically either out the front (otf) or side opening knives.  Many of these knives are ‘single action,’ meaning the assistance is only on the opening action.  ‘Double action’ or ‘dual action,’ as you may have guessed, refers to assistance on both the opening and the closing.  Dual action is most prevalent amongst otf knives and rather than a button, they typically have a slider.  It is important to understand that many states have laws restricting/prohibiting these types of knives.  Please familiarize yourself with laws in your area before making a purchase.  The Benchmade Infidel is an exceptional otf knife.

Spring assisted knives, or assisted knives, require some additional effort on the part of the user.  Beyond the press of a button, the user typically presses on a peg or a flipper.  The peg requires the user to make a small circular motion using their thumb, while the flipper requires a simple thumb press.  What distinguishes an assisted knife from an automatic knife is that the user is interacting with the blade or something attached to the blade as opposed to a button on the handle.  After some pressure has been applied and the blade begins to open a spring kicks in and opens the knife the rest of the way. Usually the assistance kicks in around the 25% open mark, but this varies some from knife to knife.  Assisted knives come in both side opening and otf, with side opening being considerably more prevalent.  The advantage of this type of knife over one that must be opened manually is speed and an improved ability to open the knife with just one hand.  There are fewer legal restrictions on this type of knife, but please check the laws in your area before making a purchase.  The Smith & Wesson SWMP5LS M&P Linerlock is a good entry point for an assisted knife.

To recap:
   1.      Switchblades (a.k.a. automatic knives) open at the press of a button, which is located on the handle
   2.      Switchblades can be single action (automatic opening) or dual action (automatic opening and closing)
   3.      Spring assisted knives require the user to open them approximately 25% before the spring mechanism takes over
   4.      Check the laws in your area before making a purchase

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