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"Semiautomatic" folding knives; ?Application

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  • "Semiautomatic" folding knives; ?Application

    I have a nice but very cheap little folder that has "assisted opening." Never have taken it apart, so I don't know how it works, but when you flick it open with your thumb there is a discernible & rapid decrease in in effort necessary to move the knife blade out of its closed position to full opening. The blade feels like it sort of leaps out of its closed position to fully opened & locked. Doesn't feel exactly like a switchblade, but the result is much the same.

    Seems to me that this same mechanism would be useful on double-action semauto pistols to ameliorate the difference between the first ("DA") shot & subsequent ("SA") shots, or to improve sight picture retention & ease of use in DAO pistols (never shot one, not even a Glock) overall.

    Has this ever been done? If so, who did it? If not, why? The action is so smooth on this ultra-cheap little knife that it seems likely to be an effective & inexpensive addition.

    Prof

  • #2
    The way that knife works is dictated by a cam geometry. I have made latches using the same principle, once it's far enough to get past the "hump" the spring does the rest.

    I'm not sure how you could apply it to a hammer, though. You need enough spring tension and mass to reliably set off the primer. I used to back off the spring on my S&W's to reduce the trigger pull, but there is a point where you start getting misfires. Easy to do on a Smith with a flat mainspring.

    Glock hammers are always in a half-c*ck position so the trigger pull is consistent shot to shot.

    Seems to me that in a DA/SA trigger you will always have to overcome whatever energy is required for reliable ignition, no matter how you distribute the energy with the trigger pull- a long easy pull, a short stiff pull, or a compound pull that starts off stiff and then gets easy or vice-versa. Bottom line is you have to put "x" amount of energy in to get it back out, unless you utilize recoil to do some of the work (like the Glock).
    "We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way." -President Barack Obama 11/25/2008

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    • #3
      I'm not trying to repeal the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. Not sure that applies here. Go get your hands on one of these things & see what I mean. In the meantime I think I'll get my blacksmith/knifemaker cousin to see what he thinks. Sometimes the hoi polloi can do wonders. Sorry for the trouble.

      prof

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      • #4
        No thermodynamics in play, just simple F=ma.

        No trouble at all. :)
        "We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way." -President Barack Obama 11/25/2008

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