I came late to automatic knives, only gor my first one 2 years ago.
However, I'd been in a serious search for a folding knife that could be operated with one hand, probably going back 50 years or more. Switchblades were of course out of the question back then, and were also usually pieces of trash.
I went from trying to flick open a Buck 110 - difficult, usually impossible, and still needed 2 hands to close - to various newer developments, the Paul (Poehlmann) axial lock, the A G Russell One-Hand knife, and others, none of which filled the bill.
Then Benchmade brought out its series of Axis lock knives, and the world changed. I have multiple iterations of some of these knives, and they are perfection itself. My favorites are the ones with their Osborne-designed "reverse tanto" style blades, which have some weight toward the tip, making them exceptionally easy to flip open.
While I've subsequently enjoyed owning a dozen or so automatics, only the "out the front" styles are truly one-hand operators. They being still stupidly illegal in may places, my EDC usually remains a Benchmade Axis - I prefer the Contego for carry, but of course B has ceased making them.
At any rate, I can open an axis lock knife as rapidly as I can deploy an automatic. Just the same, the autos are wonderful toys, and I've been carrying one around lately despite myself, and enjoying its use. Truth be told, most of them seem to be safe queens; I buy them "used" for a significant discount from collectors, who seldom actually carry them.
However, I'd been in a serious search for a folding knife that could be operated with one hand, probably going back 50 years or more. Switchblades were of course out of the question back then, and were also usually pieces of trash.
I went from trying to flick open a Buck 110 - difficult, usually impossible, and still needed 2 hands to close - to various newer developments, the Paul (Poehlmann) axial lock, the A G Russell One-Hand knife, and others, none of which filled the bill.
Then Benchmade brought out its series of Axis lock knives, and the world changed. I have multiple iterations of some of these knives, and they are perfection itself. My favorites are the ones with their Osborne-designed "reverse tanto" style blades, which have some weight toward the tip, making them exceptionally easy to flip open.
While I've subsequently enjoyed owning a dozen or so automatics, only the "out the front" styles are truly one-hand operators. They being still stupidly illegal in may places, my EDC usually remains a Benchmade Axis - I prefer the Contego for carry, but of course B has ceased making them.
At any rate, I can open an axis lock knife as rapidly as I can deploy an automatic. Just the same, the autos are wonderful toys, and I've been carrying one around lately despite myself, and enjoying its use. Truth be told, most of them seem to be safe queens; I buy them "used" for a significant discount from collectors, who seldom actually carry them.