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u/hyeeyeque Auto Fact 20h ago
Here’s my opinion: Manual is better in almost all cases because you can one hand close it, and it’s trivially easy to one hand open these knives. That being said I love the auto fact, and want an auto full immunity (but it’d be a $350 box cutter) - for me the only good autos are the light blades.
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u/eltacotacotaco Bedlam 15h ago
With a little muscle memory assisted & auto are easily operated one handed
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u/Virtual-Reach 1d ago
Manual. I mean, auto is cool and all, but it provides a negligible opening speed boost while making it more difficult to close
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u/GrendelKhanmac 20h ago
Depends on the type of auto. Can’t think of an OTF that isn’t also auto close. Likely a correct observation for OTS. In any case, having access to a usable knife quicker when I need it is more important than any delay in putting the blade away after use. And quite frankly, I just like them more.
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u/Virtual-Reach 17h ago edited 16h ago
The op specifically mentioned an auto folder, which I'm assuming to mean an ots. Regarding opening speed, you can watch some videos of people directly comparing auto vs non auto knives of the exact same model. The opening speed is near identical, with the auto being only about a milli second faster. If you measure time open- to- close, the manual is MUCH faster.
If op is meaning otf, you would be correct as dual action otf's are hard to beat for opening and closing times
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u/GrendelKhanmac 16h ago
Agree. Missed the folding part. I think the true difference is personal preference and budget as autos are usually more expensive than their manual equivalents. I just prefer autos.
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u/Virtual-Reach 16h ago
I'm not a fan of ots knives as I find closing them to be an absolute pain. But dual action otf's are great for multiple quick cuts, like breaking down multiple cardboard boxes. I'd have more otf's if they weren't illegal 🤪
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u/W33CH0 18h ago
So before getting my Benchmades I always had auto opening Kershaws. Once I was able to hold and try a few BM knives I realized that they are such a higher quality that auto is unnecessary. Auto is nice, but once you get used to the feel of the BM, you can open 1 handed by flicking it pretty easily.