Spyderco Knives: C94PBK3 UK Black Lightweight FRN Handle Pen Knife

My least favorite part of this Spyderco pen knife is opening and closing it with one hand. I’d never put it together until I worked the action on this knife, but one of the great benefits of a locking folder is that it allows the mechanism to be infinitely smoother than any slip joint. I know, right now a lot of you are mumbling “No sh*t, genius”. It just really hits home with this knife because my eyes are telling my brain it’s a Spyderco, and so my brain is telling my hand it’s going to have a nice smooth action, but my thumb is telling my brain it’s more like 3 miles of bad road. Maybe it’ll smooth out some with use, and I’d get more used to it. But it doesn’t make a great first impression. I’ve worked it through a few hundred cycles of opening/closing, but it’s still pretty bumpy. Another concern I have is for the long-term stability of the blade. It takes a fair amount of force to open the knife, and if you’re opening the knife with one hand there is a greater lateral force than usual, as a lateral force is necessary to keep your thumb in the hole. It may be that over time, with repeated one-hand openings, the knife may be prone to develop lateral blade play. I do understand that there were design constraints on this knife, and I have every confidence that it’s as smooth as you can make a slip joint and still maintain a reasonable stiffness (and therefore safety) of the open knife. To end on a positive note, if I open it with two hands it’s as smooth as any slip joint I’ve ever had in hand.