To Half Stop, or not to Half Stop...that is the question.

[dlr110]

~Q~ I'll chime in here, I like the half-stops on most slip joint knives. I believe most of the Rough Ryder knives I bought lately all have the half-stops on them. To me it's a safety thing, because I'm clumsy and have let a blade slip and grab one of my fingers so many times.

[Steve Warden]

With or without, not a deal breaker for me.

[Mumbleypeg]

Interesting article and thanks for the link. So even the pros don't agree on the purpose and usefulness (or lack thereof) and other aspects of half-stops. I personally like them but I don't obsess over them.
Sort of like blade swages, which have no obvious discernable use on a modern-day knife but they're a nice feature IMHO.

The thing that has always intrigued me about half-stops are three-blade knives having a half-stop on one of the secondaries, but not the other.

Ken

[Dan In MI]

Matters not to me. I don't even consider it when looking at knives I'm unfamiliar with.

[marinaio61]

When I open a slip joint I want a smooth, uninterrupted action. I have on occasion had my fingers slip off the blade opening a tight slip joint when the blade hit the half stop, not a comfortable situation. I also don't think it adds anything to safely closing the blade, just learn to keep your fingers out of the blade arc. I no longer have any half stop knives.

[jerryd6818]

Eh! For me, it's comme ci comme ça. As has been said by others I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other. In my early hoarding years, most of the ones I got didn't have half-stops but now during the past few years, more and more have them. I really don't care one way or the other.

[treefarmer]

We’ve kicked this around before and I like half stops but some of my favorites don’t have them. The article from Blade was very interesting.
The extra bit of blade control on a folder that really snaps is a plus in my view.
Treefarmer

[jmh58]

I likeum!!! John

Still do!!!
John

[DM11]

I like half stops!

[Railsplitter]

We’ve kicked this around before and I like half stops but some of my favorites don’t have them. The article from Blade was very interesting.
The extra bit of blade control on a folder that really snaps is a plus in my view.
Treefarmer

Very true and there's a bit of irony there as well. I've always been under the impression that the half stop that is created by the squared off tang is often the main reason for the strong snap. There are obviously other reasons for strong snap but I've noticed that most of the knives I've owned with strong snap have a half stop.

The thing that gives the extra bit of blade control is also the thing that creates the need for it.

[toomanyknives]

Add a +1 to the half stop camp...

[desert.snake]

Very interesting topic. Thank you all very much for your opinions and for the link to the article, it is very informative! My friend has now started making slipjoints, I help him a little. We settled on the option with a half-stop, as we think it is safer. The simplest example is a douk-douk, a very good knife with a very powerful spring, if it did not have a half-stop, many people would lose their fingers. With a knife without a half-stop, I myself cut my fingers very badly when closing it, it slammed shut like a mousetrap. It has a strong spring and when you start to close the blade, after the moment of starting it flies straight into the handle

It seems to be a combination of spring force and shank shape. I have 2 old Boker Slimlines. One NOS, the other is very worn, both from the 70s. The used one has worn down corners and now it closes and opens very sluggishly, it can never cut your fingers. The NOS clicks quite loudly and if you don't remove your fingers, they can be cut. I feel something similar is happening on my GEC, when it was new it clicked with a very bright sound, now after 15 years of constant use it has become softer, probably also due to wear. I roughly drew the difference between a new and a worn (red) Boker

I have another thought, once I was in a Spanish museum and was looking at old navajas. Some had a multifaceted shank, i.e. 6-8-10 positions between opening and closing. Perhaps this was done to create a specific sound effect, or the springs were so powerful that it was necessary to make more than 1 half-stop. Unfortunately, the museum worker did not allow them to be removed from the glass and touched

In Perret's 1771 book, one of the volumes contained variations of folding knives that he made. It is in the public domain and available for download
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k10656043

I've highlighted some pages from the book, it looks like in 1771 in Paris, Master Perret favored square shanks. Or are these not complete drawings, so as not to reveal all the secrets? Although I do see a couple of interesting friction folders. I noticed an interesting design - protection against spontaneous opening. To open the knife, you need to pull the blade towards the axis and then open it

[eveled]

I feel like my knives that have half stops are also more solid when opened fully. Not sure if there is a correlation?

Does a blade with a half stop stress the spring more or less than a blade that is radiused?

I think I am fairly neutral in my preference. But the knives with half stops seem to also be better quality overall. My favorite traditional knives all have half stops, but the half stop is not why they are my favorites.

[woodwalker]

I like them. My 72 I carry mostly here lately has them, and I just like them. I even like them on my Peanuts. Some of my old knives have them as well.

[1967redrider]

I think the thing I like most about half-stops is they're usually on some sweet old traditional folders.