Author Archives: Kurtis

Different Types of Spring Assisted Mechanisms/Releases

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Different Types of Spring Assisted Mechanisms/Releases

There are three (count ’em 1-2-3) different release mechanisms for the Spring Assisted knives; Thumb Stud, Spine Flipper, and OTF ‘Slider’.

 The most common spring assisted opening mechanism is the Thumb Stud. No, I’m not referring to a devilishly good looking hand model but to the small, round piece of metal protruding from the blade of your knife. These are found on both manual and spring assisted knives.

 Up and rising in popularity, my personal favorite, the Spine Flipper. As the name suggests it is located on the spine and ‘flips’ your knife open. This mechanism is as close to being automatic you can get without actually being automatic!

 There are two different styles of the Spine Flipper:

 Most Spine Flippers are actually part of the blade. The blade is cut in such a way that a dull segment of it pokes out of the spine near the pivot. Knives with this Spine Flipper as part of the blade most likely will have a Thumb Stud as well, giving you the rare choice to decide “How do I want to open my knife today?”.

Smith and Wesson uses what they call the M.A.G.I.C. on their SWBLOP3. This Spine Flipper is a trigger versus being part of the blade. Push down on the trigger and a lever makes the spring does the rest of the hard work for you!

 Last, but not least, the Spring Assisted OTF. These knives have a ‘Slider‘ attached to the blade and must be retracted manually. Push the slider up, the spring takes over and *SHINK* ejects the blade. Pull the slider all the way down and *Ssshhhh-click* the blade locks closed.

by “Monty” Cox

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Spring Assisted Knife Manufacturers

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Below is a list of manufacturers who product spring assisted knives. This is not a comprehensive list, but we did try and include all major manufacturers who product assisted knives. We have listed all assisted models made by the companies as of July 2011 (we’ll do our best to keep this list up to date, but can’t make any guarantees). We’re not going to delve into the specifics of company histories, so if you want more info about a company (as opposed to products) we suggest you visit their actual website.

Benchmade Knives: Excellent quality products, most manufactured within the USA. Their spring assisted product lines includes the Aphid, Emissary, Barrage, Subrosa, Torrent and Nitrou Stryker series knives. Vist Benchmade Spring Assited Knives.

Buck Knives: This company needs no introduction. They have been making knives forever and have seral assisted models available. Their spring assisted product line includes the Impulse, Paradigm, Quickfire, Rush, Sirus and Tempest. Visit Buck Spring Assisted Knives.

Camillus Knives: Recently acquired and seems to be going through some transitions. They still offer a couple of imported models that are good quality. Their spring assisted product line includes the Wildfire and the Blaze. Visit Camillus Spring Assisted Knives.

CRKT: Primarily imported but exceptionally high quality. One of the larger assisted knife manufacturers known for their innovations and unique designs. Their spring assisted product line includes the Badger, Carson M4, Delegate, Fire Spark, Full Throttle, Heiho, Hissatsu, Horus, Ichi, Ignitor, K.I.S.S., Lift Off, My Tighe, The Natural, Notorious, Rave, Scarab, Triumph, Vertex and the Yea-Go. Visit CRKT Spring Assisted Knives.

Gerber Knives: Well known throughout the military Gerber enjoys a good reputation. They have a decent line of primarily imported assisted knives . Their spring assisted product line includes the Gerber 06, Gerber AO, Answer, Covert, Draw, Presto, Slate and the Statesman. Visit Gerber Spring Assisted Knives.

Kershaw Knives: Quite possibly the “gold standard” company when it comes to assisted knives. Kershaw makes most products in the USA and also offers some excellent imported models. Kershaw is well known for their Ken Onion designed Leek knives. Their spring assisted product line includes the Asset, Blackout, Blue, Brawler, Burst, Centofante, Chive, Clash, Compound, Diskin, Drone, Echelon, Knockout, Leek, Needs Work, Oso Sweet, Packrat, Piston, Rake, Random Task, RJ, Scallion, Shallot, Talon, Tremor, Turbulence, Volt and Whirlwind. Visit Kershaw Spring Assisted Knives.

Meyerco Knives: Produces some great low cost licensed designs of exceptional quality. Their spring assisted product line includes the Blackie Collins, Dirk Pinketon Wharning, Maxx-Q, Randal King Tsavo and the Kirby Lambert Shockwave. Visit Meyerco Spring Assisted Knives.

Schrade Knives: Schrade knives are manufactured by a licensed third party, but are inexpensive and well made (the entire line is imported). Their spring assisted product line includes the Extreme Survival, Nitro MAGIC and the Professionals 1st Response. Also, worth mention are the uniqe Schrade assisted opening OTF knives. Visit Schrade Spring Assisted Knives.

Smith & Wesson Knives: Like Schrade, Smith & Wesson knives are manufactured by a licensed third party, but are inexpensive and well made (the entire line is imported). Their spring assisted product line includes the Black Ops series (in different styles & colors), MAGIC series, SWAT MAGIC, S.O.R.T. series, and the SWEE knife lines.  Also, of note are the unique Smith & Wesson assisted opening OTF knives. Visit Smith and Wesson Spring Assisted Knives.

SOG Knives: A company that makes most of it’s knives in the USA. Innovative, affordable and functional their spring assisted product line includes the Aegis, Blink, Bi-Polar, Flash, Meridian, Trident and the Twitch. Visit SOG Spring Assisted Knives.

 Zero Tolerance Knives: ZT is a subdivision of Kershaw, but bears mentioning for their super tough line of assisted knives. Check out the Zero Tolerance assisted knives.

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Spring Assisted Knives

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We want to welcome to you SpringAssistedKnives.com. We’re very excited you’ve found us and we hope the content we provide here will be interesting, helpful and (maybe) even entertaining. Spring assisted knives are are a fun alternative to manual folders. We’ll show you who makes the best assisted knives and where to get them.

Be sure to have a look at our  “About Spring Assisted Knives” page. It has useful info on the following topics:  

  • What is a spring assisted  knife?
  • How do spring  assisted knives work?
  • Who manufactures spring assisted opening knives?
  • How much to these knives cost?
  • Are spring assisted knives the same as switchblades?
  • Are there any legality issues with spring assisted knives?
  • Where can I find spring assisted knives for sale?

Feel free to bookmark us, subscribe to our RSS feed, email us, post a comment. We’re developing several online sites to provide online resources to knife aficionados. Once we get the ball rolling (later this year) we’ll try to provide monthly updates about products, manufacturers, and industry news. Thank you for dropping by!

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