Half Stop or Not?

E

Erik Norseman

Joined
Jun 9, 2017
Messages
78
First off I'd just like to say that I'm new to traditionals and have become smitten with them, and yet I have only one: a cranberry sawcut bone TC Barlow with a single sheepfoot main. What a knife. I love its walk and talk--especially the crisp half stop. I like the half stop so much that I have almost gone so far as to say that I really rather have half stops on all my knives (one big functional reason is one handed closing). A positive and authoritative half stop just screams quality!

That said, I'm pretty excited about knives without half stops, too, although hesitant to pull the trigger (on, say, some of these recent 35s and 81s).

What is it that ya'll like about half stops, and what do you dislike?
What are the pros/cons in your eyes?

Any insight will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks folks!

Oh and when I tried searching for this I didn't find any real discussion on this point. PLEASE just send me over there if there's already a thread about this.

Cheers,
EN
 
I don't fully understand the purpose but they do seem to aid me in opening and closing a knife with more ease regardless of the pull strength. I don't require them but would say I prefer them and honestly never had a knife with one until I got the Roundhead. I do think the smaller the knife and/or blade the more difficult it probably is for them to have the half-stop and I know there are some smaller blades I would love.
 
Doesn't make a difference either way. However the only times I have cut myself with a knife upon closing were with slipjoints that had halfstops.
 
I never had a knife with them in the past but I like them now. Not a deal breaker either way but oddly enough, I kinda lean towards preferring them.
Matt
 
I prefer half stops on traditional knives, but no half stops on any one hand opener.
Rich
 
I generally dislike half-stops (square joints) but it is not a deal breaker. If the pull is moderate, I really don't notice it much. It's only on knives with really strong backsprings where I really dislike them. Nothing like having a sharp object that wants to suddenly move to a very specific position. I prefer something that is more of a consistent and smooth opening and closing process.

Exception - the screwdriver blade on a Victorinox SAK. There are times when you want a right-angled screwdriver so it makes sense there. I never want a right-angled knife-blade on a slipjoint, so there is no reason for me for a knife to want tend to remain open half-way.
 
None for me thanks. Like others have eluded to, the only time I’ve ever cut myself was with half stops.
 
I prefer half-stops. There's something pleasing in the tactile and aural sense of a well done half-stop.

That said, I do appreciate a well made, well cammed knife with no half-stop. Like you'd get on an ALOX SAK. Very satisfying. But I hate it when the action is lazy. I don't mean the snap opening or closed, but sometimes knives will be made to be easier in the middle of the action, or even have a "half-rest". I understand the reason why, but I just don't like the way it feels. It feels cheap.
 
I generally prefer knives with half stops. But not having them is never a deal breaker.
 
for safety I prefer "half stop" just
when close the blade, not when open it.
I would like a "quarter stop" like this, smooth when open it and stop when close it.

_halfs10.png
 
Give it time, you’ll like slippies without half-stops, soon enough. I can appreciate both for their own attributes, these days.
 
Haven't had them to really say.
I'm used to knives without them, so knives with half stops definitely feel different yo me.
 
I like them. The 2017 Forum Knife has nice crisp half stops. But I do not mind th vague, indefinite stops as on my example of the 2016 Forum knife or the Maserin Sodbuster, to name a couple that come readily to mind.

If there are no half stops, that is not an issue for me. Half stops are not a factor one way or the other in my decision to buy a knife.
 
Erik Norseman said:
First off I'd just like to say that I'm new to traditionals and have become smitten with them, and yet I have only one: a cranberry sawcut bone TC Barlow with a single sheepfoot main. What a knife. I love its walk and talk--especially the crisp half stop. I like the half stop so much that I have almost gone so far as to say that I really rather have half stops on all my knives (one big functional reason is one handed closing). A positive and authoritative half stop just screams quality!

That said, I'm pretty excited about knives without half stops, too, although hesitant to pull the trigger (on, say, some of these recent 35s and 81s).

What is it that ya'll like about half stops, and what do you dislike?
What are the pros/cons in your eyes?

Any insight will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks folks!

Oh and when I tried searching for this I didn't find any real discussion on this point. PLEASE just send me over there if there's already a thread about this.

Cheers,
EN
Click to expand...
You know, eventhough you are new to traditionals and only have one knife, you got a really beautiful knife and a brand that does make some of the best/near best quality knives.
When i got into traditionals i started with a Boker plus barlow with jigged bone handles, which is also a very beautiful knife but damn do i wish i had a tc barlow when i bought my first.

(also one of the first pictures i posted here in bf)
mZC2dLn.jpg
 
I don't care much whether my knives have half stops or not, unless they're tightly sprung. If a knife has a strong pull, I definitely don't want a half stop. Too dangerous. If a knife is very large and has a strong pull (I'm talking to you, Case Backpocket), this is doubly so.
 
I really like half-stops and wish all my trads had them.
 
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