Opening a folding Karambit

L

lambman5

Joined
Nov 25, 2014
Messages
43
Hi Everyone,

I have a question that's been on my mind. I've been looking at folding karambits to add into my collection. I understand that some have the Emerson wave opening feature and others do not. If it has the Emerson Wave feature, then opening the knife from a tip up carry with your index finger in the ring is simple. I've been thinking, under the same conditions, how would one expect to open a folding karambit WITHOUT the Emerson wave feature? I'd assume that you'd have to use your other hand but if there's something i'm missing or if you have any input, please let me know.

Thanks,
Thomas.
 
lambman5 said:
Thanks for the input.

I've seen folding Karambits with large thumbstud that could catch on the pocket. I don't know how a hole could work from a tip up position, though.
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I'm going to refrain from posting the facepalm meme.

Are you seriously asking us, how do you open the knife with one hand from your pocket without a wave hook?

You have multiple options: Nail Nick, Thumb Hole, Thumb Disc, Thumb Stud, etc..

I believe you are asking, how do you open the knife, like the wave feature does, without having the wave feature? The answer is, you don't.
 
DAVE_M said:
I'm going to refrain from posting the facepalm meme.

Are you seriously asking us, how do you open the knife with one hand from your pocket without a wave hook?

You have multiple options: Nail Nick, Thumb Hole, Thumb Disc, Thumb Stud, etc..

I believe you are asking, how do you open the knife, like the wave feature does, without having the wave feature? The answer is, you don't.
Click to expand...

I don't have my own and I was hoping to get everyone's opinion and their experiences. I am seriously asking because I don't know. Thank you for your input. I'll take a look at what's out their on the market.
 
DAVE_M said:
I'm going to refrain from posting the facepalm meme.

Are you seriously asking us, how do you open the knife with one hand from your pocket without a wave hook?

You have multiple options: Nail Nick, Thumb Hole, Thumb Disc, Thumb Stud, etc..

I believe you are asking, how do you open the knife, like the wave feature does, without having the wave feature? The answer is, you don't.
Click to expand...

I'm kind of shocked that you seem not to understand what he's asking.

If you draw a folding karambit in reverse grip the wave (or a similar pocket opener) is really the only way to consistently open it one-handed. If you have one with a weak detent you may be able to do an inertial opening by flicking it down, hard, and hoping the blades momentum overcomes the detent, but that's pretty much it.

Note: If the karambit in question has a thumb hole it's fairly easy to use a dremel or similar tool to grind a wave hook out of that.
 
You could do a zip tie mod or a cut your own wave hook into it.

You could try inertial opening.

The ones that come waved out of the box are emerson combat karambit, fox karambit (they made a large and small model - the large one was defectively large), and the spyderco karahawk.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
I'm kind of shocked that you seem not to understand what he's asking.
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I don't see why you would be shocked. The guy asked how would you open a knife without the wave hook and we answered it. If you want to wave open the knife, get a knife with the Emerson wave... It's that simple.
 
sideways said:
You could do a zip tie mod or a cut your own wave hook into it.

You could try inertial opening.

The ones that come waved out of the box are emerson combat karambit, fox karambit (they made a large and small model - the large one was defectively large), and the spyderco karahawk.
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Large was way to small for me. The handle size was good. OK.
But still had to dremel open the hole so my finger fits through the hole.
Funny they warned to only buy it if you need seriously large.
Well extra large would have been better.
 
DAVE_M said:
I don't see why you would be shocked. The guy asked how would you open a knife without the wave hook and we answered it. If you want to wave open the knife, get a knife with the Emerson wave... It's that simple.
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Considering you cannot easily reach any of the deployment methods you listed when holding a karambit in reverse grip it certainly seemed like you misunderstood.

Edit: Honestly, going back and reading the OP and your response it seems pretty obvious you didn't bother to read the entire post.
 
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[video=youtube;CedNHZQBMJw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CedNHZQBMJw[/video]

By all means try before you buy.

I don't know what to say Jens Schuetz. Maybe you have seriously large hands. :)
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Considering you cannot easily reach any of the deployment methods you listed when holding a karambit in reverse grip it certainly seemed like you misunderstood.

Edit: Honestly, going back and reading the OP and your response it seems pretty obvious you didn't bother to read the entire post.
Click to expand...

I read the entire post, twice, before posting. He's asking how do you open the knife like the wave feature deploys the knife, without the wave feature. I already answered it; you don't.
 
Derespina going through openings with his Fox collab. Ignore the music or mute it if it bothers you.

[video=youtube;gFN1WzZw_BQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFN1WzZw_BQ[/video]
 
DAVE_M said:
I read the entire post, twice, before posting. He's asking how do you open the knife like the wave feature deploys the knife, without the wave feature. I already answered it; you don't.
Click to expand...

That's not what he asked. If you draw a karambit from your pocket with your index finger in the ring your thumb and forefinger are far from any thumbstud, hole, or nail nick. He already pointed out that the only way he could think of doing it was with two hands, so he was pretty clearly asking for suggestions on how to do it one-handed. Seeing as trying to use a thumbstud or hole in that position is extremely awkward and using a nail nick is impossible I would say you failed to answer the question in any helpful way.
 
Use your ring finger to open it. Easy-peasy. Especially combined with a little wrist snap pops them right open.
 
Honestly, I would never trust a non-waveable folding kerambit with my self protection. For me, a wave is a must if you are going to use it as your primary defensive weapon.

Although........ I haven't had to defend my life with a k-bit yet, and I've never trained with one that didn't have a wave, so what the hell do I know? Maybe you don't need a wave *shrug*
 
Thanks for the replies everyone!

Thank you for sharing your experiences and hopefully, i'll try a bunch of Karambits soon and see what works for me.
 
I would have to say practice, get a feel for it. I have the 5.11 C.U.B. designed by Steve Tarani waveless annd it was awkward at first but it can be done.
 
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