Do you let your SAK's main blade snap closed?

For any slip joint, I too think the best practice is to hold onto the blade and ease it back into the chassis when closing.

The reason being not every knife would have a kick(the part on blade where it contacts the backspring) good enough or executed well enough to stop the blade from contacting the back spring, and from a knife safety prospective, good control of the blade at all times will help to prevent accidents from happening.

However, having said that, Victorinox is one of the very few brands that I would not mind letting it snap shut after half point, their design and QC is pretty good, and I have good confidence the blade won't rap from snapping.

OP, if you experience blade rap from closing, that's not normal and you could talk to Victorinox since it's lifetime warranty.
I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that I've experienced blade-to-liner contact on every 91mm and 93mm SAK that I've snapped closed. I just assumed it was a flaw common to all 91mm and 93mm SAKs, and I just don't do it anymore. I don't think it's worth sending in all of my SAKs for warranty work. I'll just be careful closing them.
 
I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that I've experienced blade-to-liner contact on every 91mm and 93mm SAK that I've snapped closed. I just assumed it was a flaw common to all 91mm and 93mm SAKs, and I just don't do it anymore. I don't think it's worth sending in all of my SAKs for warranty work. I'll just be careful closing them.
Sorry to hear that. I have collected a fair amount of SAKs over the last century, and of all those I have handled, I could only vaguely remembered maybe less than a handful vintage ones that has blade rap(possibly from touching the liner).
But I do agree controlled closing is probably best practice for anything slip joint.
 
I’ve always let the main blades on my Victorinox SAKs snap closed, and have never had any problems. The only two SAKs I’ve ever owned that got a bit dinged on the edge near the tip from snapping them closed are my first Alox Soldier and my old Recruit. None of my other SAKs have edges that contact the inside of the handle.

I carried a single SAK, a Spartan, as my only EDC for over a decade (about 12 years altogether) and allowed the tools on that, especially the main blade, to snap closed many hundreds of times, and the knife and its action never wore out.

Jim
 
Knives have come a long way since your grandpa’s day. Only one I ease closed is a French knife I have that has no kick.

Am I the only one who enjoys that satisfying “snap”? I feel like a goober every time I ease one shut.😆
Don't get me wrong, the snap is very satisfying! I can (and do!) still enjoy snapping all of the other tools closed, just not the main blade. Granted, the other tools don't have the same snap, except for my new SwissChamp's pliers. But it's a sacrifice I can live with. Plus, I've already trained myself to ease the blade closed. I agree with everyone here who said it's a safer way to do it. See my recent thread on getting bitten by closing a multitool blade on my thumb.
 
I've never seen any damage done to any of my SAKs. I usually snap them shut because I am typically in the middle of doing some chore and need my other hand to hold what I am doing. My other slip joints get eased closed.
 
I own about 30 SAKs. I have only had one of them that used to occasionally smash into the liner. I had to guide the blade shut so it wouldn't smack the top of the liner on the way down. I don't even know where that knife is anymore. It was Climber or Tinker I think. Of the ones I still have, none smash into the spring or the liner. I let all of them snap closed. The oldest SAK I currenly own is a 2003 Soldier.
 
I think the issue is that the spring has a bit of give when the kick hits it, which allows the tip of the blade to travel a small distance past the normal closed position. To clarify, none of my SAKs’ main blades contact the liner when fully closed.
 
I close them by hand up to the last inch or so and then let the blade go, no loud snapping shut.
I do the same, I find this method has a bit of both worlds, making closing as safe as it gets while still getting a bit of a snap close
 
I've used all my SAKs and occasionally will either snap them closed or brush close them on my pants leg/tool belt/surface nearby. Cant say as I've noticed any clashes or blunt spots, but I do strop them fairly regularly, so that may be clearing the issue up before its enough to be noticeable. They're there to be used after all, and its not like SAKs are hard to sharpen
 
I seem to recall the scout handbook's section on folding knives saying that one should close a knife by pointing it away from you, folding the blade with a flattened hand, and let it close itself.
 
Hehehe, like everyone else I just had to check the SAKs i have with me right now, but no, no blade rap.

I had about 50 SAKs in the last 30 years and none had an issue with blade rap, at least none that I recall.
Most of them were used, abused and given away or lost, but even the oldest one that I still have (an old climber from the late 90s) has no problems and has been used extensively over the years.

Closing a SAK is not a conscious thing for me. It never even occurred to me that there could be an issue, since SAKs were the knives that I grew up with and none had this problem.
 
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