Hole vs. Stud

[ken]

What are your thoughts or experiences with both of these type of knives.



It is the first time I've really messed with a knife that has a thumb stud.

It seems to be quicker/eaiser. I don't know if it is because the stud is on the side of the blade and you can get more leverage with it or what! But I'm talking about just using your thumb to open it and not flicking it with your wrist.



Thanks,

ken

[J Smith]

I like the hole much better.The stud on my sebenza is good but a hole would be better.

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[swede]

I think holes are why we're here. Got rid of most of my Benchmades.

Dave

[Alan2112]

I like them about equally, and if forced to choose, I would say the thumb dic is preferable. What's fuuny is I only have one knife with a disc. I do prefer the hole over the stud for left hand use, because it's easier to deploy the knife with the ring finger with reverse grip! RKBA!

[vampyrewolf]

I'm a natural leftie(fully ambi, right dominant though)... try and find a stud knife made for a leftie. Now look at 80% of spydies(lockback/ambi clip)... I can even do linerlocks left handed, just takes a little learning and it's easy.

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[chux]

The only knife I can remember trying that had thumb studs was a leek and it seemed very stiff and hard to grip. However, this was probably because of the speedsafe opening system, and that makes the studs redundant anyway. Holes look better, have so far proven easier to use and have other benefits (less weight, id etc). It would be interesting to try a thumb disk and a few more thumb studs just to make sure I'm not making a false comparison.

[Jurphaas]

It seems to me that it all is a matter of sound design. Just adding a stud to a blade doesn't do the trick. The opening stud needs to be an interal part of the blade design. Pour design with just putting the stud somewhere will leave too little space to work the blade to open. Now, my experiences with the Spyderco holes is that my thumb always fits, and that there is always enough space for the circular motion involved to open the knife. Best is when the hole is accompanied by the Cobra hood. No way of failing to open or for being the slowest kid on the block opening your knife. I like holes over studs. When good and knowlegable makers do studs however (like Chris Reeve), and studs are an integral part of the design, they usually work just fine.

Clipits work!

[Jimd]

I like thumb studs and holes. I'd have to say that I like thumb studs a bit better, but not by much.

Sniper -- One Shot, One Kill Email: ST8PEN01@aol.com

[jhillas]

Round holes are good. Other shapes just don't do it for me.

The BM Griptilians, for instance, are much better with the thumbstuds than the holes.

[Joe Talmadge]

For my hands, there's no better mechanism than the thumb hole (and yes, I include the wave in that), though I haven't tried a flipper yet so the jury is out there.

An opening mechanism should provide a big easy-to-hit target, provide controlled opening through the arc (unless it's assisted/auto) and should be easy for the thumb to stick to. For me, a well-done hole is a much bigger target that once-engaged my thumb never slips off. Studs are significantly smaller targets, often round-and-slippery or sharp-and-painful, and can be much more easily obscured by handle scales and other design issues.

For me, it's not contest: I prefer holes by far, then thumb disks, then thumb studs. Jury still out on flippers, but like studs they look to be easy-to-hit targets that engage reliably.

Joe

[java]

Being right-handed, I rarely think about it but VW brings up a very good point. The hole is far more conducive to ambidexterity. Clips and liners in the way or not, you can at least open the knife one handed when it has a well-placed hole.

For me, studs are merely okay but the arc your thumb describes during opening is limited and it becomes uncomfortable unless the fit is perfect for your hand. A stud provides a small point of contact for your thumb. If the arc-chord described during opening varies or is too large for your personal thumb spread (measured thumb to palm or thumb to index finger), it is uncomfortable and I find myself having to shift the handle to fully describe the opening arc.

The hole is more forgiving. With the hole once you start the opening sequence, the edge of the hole glides along the pad of your thumb or rotates and you can comfortably use the whole hole or a portion of the holes edge without shifting your grip. The hole is just more ergonomically useful and versatile – try and do a Spyder-drop with a thumb stud. Sal’s idea has been copied and modified from the Spyderco copyright more than any folder innovation in the last 25 years.

To steal the line from Carlos’ old sig on BFC and &lt;b&gt;The Hole Bible&lt;/b&gt;, by Ken Cook (which I have not seen in print for some years)…….

&quot;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;..And in those days the mad prophet Glesser did come unto the knife knuts, and He did speak of The Hole, and the knife knuts did see that The Hole was good, saying 'Yea, and verily shall we carry holes all the days of our lives!'&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&quot;

Stay safe! Stay sharp!

Oops! Wrote and pasted this before I saw Joe's reply so.....ditto what Joe says.

[The Cool]

what Joe and Jurphaas beautifully said.

The hole is the most pure and eloquent design solution to one hand opening IMO.

Despite owning more folders with studs, I vastly prefer holes. (I just wish Spyderco would do more framelocks LOL)

The Strider SNG has both studs and a hole - a nice solution <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

[vampyrewolf]

Java&gt; even left handed operation of a rightit linerlock is &quot;easy&quot;... middle finger to kick the hole above the right scale, and then thumb it. to close you the middle on the lock, and thumb it as far as possible.... use index to stabilize handle.

Most ppl don't consider the 10% of the market that lefties make up. I was forced by school over to right, and then given a choice after 8yrs of working right only. Detailed skills are right handed, majority I can do left handed(95%, writing is still slow).

I'm getting a para, even though it's a right hand model... and getting it tapped for left hand tip down. compression locks are fully ambi.

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[dialex]

I second to Jurphaas. It's not only about the hole or the stud, but the entire design.
There are knives that go with the thumbstud, but not with a hole, because the blade will be too broad, or it will have a hump thus breaking the lines of the design. The first exemple I can think of now is the Duane Dieter's CQD, which is beautiful just the way it is.
And the same thing for the hole. Just imagine a C07 Police without the hole, but with a thumbstud instead! :o

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[dynaryder]

Holes. Two examples of why I prefer them to studs:the Gerber 3.25 International,the stud is too close to the handle and impossible to use w/gloves;larger Cold Steel lockbacks,the studs are too close to the base of the blade so you don't have enough leverage to easily snap them open. Plus a hole can't get loose and fall out.

Discs aren't bad. Ambi opening plus they can act as a thumb rest. Flippers are cool. Don't even know why Kershaw put studs on their smaller Onions.

[DAYWALKER]

Aloha! As for me. I prefer the hole...'specially for high speed presentation. I never liked stud types, although I do own a few. If I HAD to have an opening &quot;device&quot;, It'd be a disc. I just have an easier time with 'em.

God will put you over...if you let Him!

[dialex]

Quote: Dynarider: &quot;Don't even know why Kershaw put studs on their smaller Onions.&quot;
Because those particular knives don't have a stop pin (like most linerlocks do), the thumb studs are positioned in such a manner (and the handles are profiled accordingly) so they act as stop pins. The same thing happens to MoD Ladyhawk, or the MoD CQD for instance.

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[Stevie Ray]

I like both, but for different reasons. The blades on most of my Benchmades (especially the axis locks) and Kershaws with studs can be deployed faster than most Spydies. There are obvious advantages to the hole that have been addressed above, so I won't go there.