Let’s face it Liner Locks and Back Locks suck!

[ladybug93]

....

the comp lock is great too, but it's crap if you're left handed.

...

Hey LB, just letting it out here that as a lefty, I love comp locks, once you know how to actuate them left-handed they're not bad at all

i write left handed, but do most everything else right handed. i sometimes fidget with my knives with my left hand when i'm using a mouse at work and it's always super awkward for me when i'm carrying my comp lock knives. it doesn't matter when i'm just fidgeting, but it's bad enough that if i actually used my knives left handed, i'd probably not own any compression locks. or is just know that i was going to have to switch hands to disengage the lock every time i used the knife.

[cjk]

I've had an RIL come open when loose in my pocket.

I no longer carry any detent based lock loose in my pocket, only backlocks and slipjoints. Neither of these have ever magically come open in my pocket.

[cjk]

A lot of this strong/weak/etc detent stuff is very implementation specific.

[cjk]

i write left handed, but do most everything else right handed. i sometimes fidget with my knives with my left hand when i'm using a mouse at work and it's always super awkward for me when i'm carrying my comp lock knives. it doesn't matter when i'm just fidgeting, but it's bad enough that if i actually used my knives left handed, i'd probably not own any compression locks. or is just know that i was going to have to switch hands to disengage the lock every time i used the knife.

I fidget with a compression lock knife left handed with some regularity, maybe once a week. I'm right handed. Flick it open, then close it like a back lock. Works great.

[R100]

I've had an RIL come open when loose in my pocket.

I no longer carry any detent based lock loose in my pocket, only backlocks and slipjoints. Neither of these have ever magically come open in my pocket.

Definitely agree with this and Mushroom is right too, liner locks are just as likely to come open in a pocket. I think where I have run into trouble is with the point getting hooked out by a piece of pocket material and then staying out without any tension pulling it back. The last nasty incident was with a Rhino and since then it's only been lockbacks and slipjoints loose in pocket. Everything else I carry with a clip.

Dan

[Monty]

I guess op doesn't run with a knife in the waistband. Long live the Spyderco backlock.

[skeeg11]

Not so much a matter of liner locks and back locks suck as it is a matter of technique. Why would you drop the blade on any meaty portion of your hand/fingers when God gave you fingernails and thumbnails? Drop the blade of a back lock on the fingernail of your forefinger and a liner lock or RIL on your thumbnail. Sheesh.

[RustyIron]

Why Spyderco hasn’t done more with the CBBL is beyond me, it is perfection.

You're half right. Liner locks are so 1990's. Mid back locks are ok for me. But the CBBL is the shizz. If Spyderco was to start converting their other knives to CBBL with "interesting" steel, I'd probably have to buy them all.

[vandelay]

A lot of this strong/weak/etc detent stuff is very implementation specific.

It varies a lot on back locks too. My ayoob is much more snappy than my atlantic salt.
At least for big blades that I use in a situation where I'm worried they could knock open, I think a liner lock would work better. For small knives I'm happy with my back locks, but I'd be interested to try a liner lock with a strong detent.

My main issue with liner locks is that they're mostly flippers which I find a bit awkward.

[mikey177]

I've been using backlocks for over 30 years and haven't yet cut myself while closing them.

Of course, now that I've said it, you can bet that I'll cut myself the next time I use one

[elena86]

Backlocks suck but linerlocks don’t. That being said my fav lock is the CBBL(BL).

[vandelay]

I've been using backlocks for over 30 years and haven't yet cut myself while closing them.

Of course, now that I've said it, you can bet that I'll cut myself the next time I use one

They say you never really know a knife until you accidentally slice a finger off with it.

[mikey177]

^ In that case, I'm very glad that all my knives are strangers to me lol

[u.w.]

I've been playing (using) backlocks and liner locks (Spydercos mostly) for thirty years or more now, and have yet to cut myself closing one (knocks on wood).

And I am a fan of them too. I only have three liner lock Spydies: GB1, Pattada, and Military. I have well over twenty backlock Spydies, and carry & use them way, way more than any other.
On all of the backlock Spydies I own - If you keep your index finger under, or just forward of, the lock bar pivot screw/pin when closing them, no part of the cutting edge will contact your finger. That's on Jesters, Dragonflys, Delicas/Salts & Salt 2s, Stretch 1s &2s, Endelas, Rock Jumpers, Enduras/Pacific Salts, Native Chiefs, and Polices (those being the ones I have, off the top of my head).

You are certainly entitled to your thoughts and opinions, and I respect them. They don't match mine at all though, in regards to the lock types of course.

u.w.

[Guts]

Having just gotten a Spydiechef, I wish it had a compression lock or the cbbl. I wouldn't personally say liner or back locks suck per se, but they certainly feel dated to me. Or rather they're more work to use? The fans that defend them instead put down compression or cbbl's saying that they're not into fidgeting their knives, but if you think about it, using a back lock or liner lock knife you literally have to fidget more than a compression or cbbl user to close the knife.

The compression lock and cbbl are actually much more utilitarian imo, one of the big reasons I love Spydercos in the first place. Only knock against the compression lock is it's not super lefty friendly but still usable left handed without needing to put your fingers in the path of the blade I might add. The cbbl I suppose would win for most universal and utilitarian lock imo, compression lock is still my personal favorite though. We're spoiled for choice to be sure but I'd totally re-buy some models if they re-released with compression or cbbl versions. CBBL Para 2? Compression lock Native 5? Yes please.

[apollo]

Back locks are my most prefered lock of them all.
I see no reason why you can cut you're self closing one except that you maybe be a person that never learned to use them properly and are now clearly pist off for it.
I one hand close my back lock Manix everyday so many many times and everything is always smooth and safe.
If you cut yourself while closing it it can only be because you are not doing it correctly. Also a knife needs to be smooth opening and closing it does not need to drop shut on its own the moment you just push the lock. If you are that kinda guy ,you are mistaking a knife for a fidget spinner and you deserve to be cut because in a way you want to get cut subconsciously.

I have never ever cut myself closing any knife except a victorinox that closed when i did not wanted it to and that was only because i was a 5 year old with no clue of handling a knife and that was 27 years ago...

So my conclusion is there is nothing wrong with all of these locks. Its youre skill level that needs fixing not the locks.

[aicolainen]

I intuitively expected this to be a troll-/ironic post, but reading it, the OP sounds serious enough.

I’m pretty much lock agnostic, but you wouldn’t think so if you looked at my most carried folders.
And there’s a reason. The lock selected has to fit in with the overall use and design intent of the knife. Some locks require a beefier lock interface, which doesn’t go well with thin and slicey blades. Some locks requires a ricasso or choil, which doesn’t go well when you want good edge to handle ratio. Some locks complicate the knife design, making them heavier and IMO less suited for messy environments. The list goes on, but I’m working on my long windedness.

Once I got over the initial excitement of trying all those cool and fidgety locks out there (I’m still quite new to this remember, only “discovering” folding knives in 2016) I slowly, and quite surprisingly noticed that my knife “collection” increasingly consisted of backlocks. The most boring lock of them all. Well, as it turns out, backlocks goes very well with other attributes I want in my knife. Light weight (linerless), simple, easy to maintain design (FRN salts) and nice thin blades.
After lots of use, I’ve also come to find backlocks safer and easier to operate one handed in almost any circumstance or conditions, than the other lock types I have experience with. I don’t buy the “finger in the blade path” explanation. My finger is very securely in the path of the choil or ricasso. YMMV, and I respect that, this is just what I found to work best for me.
After having a RIL lock blade open in my pocket, my preference for the backlocks only increased. It was only a small cut, but being on a backpacking trip far from any help or medical supplies, it really opened my eyes to this potential risk.

I have CLs, Axis locks, CBBLs, LLs and slipjoints that I like both for how they operate and the design features they allow the knife designer to implement, but I still end up carrying a linerless, FRN, backlock probably about 90% of the time.

[Evil D]

Eh.


Plunge Lock > the world


It will never close on you accidentally.

It will never close during use.

You can literally lock it open. LOCK it open, as in close the safety switch and make it impossible to press the fire button to disengage the lock. Strength aside this effectively turns it into a fixed blade.

If you close it onto your finger, you have absolutely nobody to blame but yourself since it takes deliberate force to close the blade. If you push it closed with your finger in the way, I guess you F'ed around and found out.

Couldn't get any easier to open.

Can open and close with literally any gloves on, even the thickest mittens ever made.

No worries with operating it with lowered dexterity such as in the freezing cold, arthritis, hand injuries etc. If your thumb can push a button you can operate it.

Fastest way you can open a folder.

Will still lock opened and closed if the spring fails.

Don't like detents? This lock actually locks closed just as securely as it locks opened, and can be LOCKED closed with the safety switch.

No lock cutouts anywhere to hinder ergonomics.

Fire spring can be serviced without taking the whole thing apart.

Probably the most reliable and hard use capable automatic on the market.


Cons:

Illegal in crappy states.

Ergonomics might suck if you're a lefty.

Lack of model options.

[Doc Dan]

This thread reminded me, again, of how many people don't understand a detent, nor do they understand the inherent dangers of a detent based knife.

[vivi]

lol. not even worth the effort to prove the op wrong.