Back lock is

[twinboysdad]

Best lock. That is all.

[RustyIron]

Best lock. That is all.

A knife does not slice by back locks alone, but by the keenness of its blade, the sturdiness of its handle, and the skill of the hand that wields it.

[Red Leader]

Ambi, check.

Strong closing bias, check.

Simple and non-fickle, check.

However, cannot spydie flick well and has a tendency to develop lock rock over time. More time consuming to close.

If I had to pick a back lock, Triad Lock for the win. Will we ever see one on a Spyderco?

[vivi]

Ambi, check.

Strong closing bias, check.

Simple and non-fickle, check.

However, cannot spydie flick well and has a tendency to develop lock rock over time. More time consuming to close.

If I had to pick a back lock, Triad Lock for the win. Will we ever see one on a Spyderco?

Only if you close them using a slow method, lol.

Try #3. Fast as any other lock.

I always use method #2 with Spydercos, and method #1 with my cold steel voyager that uses a thumb stud. Method #3 is how you can close them with your fingers out of the way, swinging the blade as effortlessly as any free swinging comp lock.

Breaking in the knife makes this easier. Backlocks tend to be stiff the first month. Keep that in mind before letting yourself feel frustrated your new VTOKU Endura doesn't swing shut as easily as a 10 year old Pacific Salt.

[Red Leader]

Ambi, check.

Strong closing bias, check.

Simple and non-fickle, check.

However, cannot spydie flick well and has a tendency to develop lock rock over time. More time consuming to close.

If I had to pick a back lock, Triad Lock for the win. Will we ever see one on a Spyderco?

Only if you close them using a slow method, lol.

Try #3. Fast as any other lock.

I always use method #2 with Spydercos, and method #1 with my cold steel voyager that uses a thumb stud. Method #3 is how you can close them with your fingers out of the way, swinging the blade as effortlessly as any free swinging comp lock.

Breaking in the knife makes this easier. Backlocks tend to be stiff the first month. Keep that in mind before letting yourself feel frustrated your new VTOKU Endura doesn't swing shut as easily as a 10 year old Pacific Salt.

I have a LJ K390 SE that is a fantastic example of a backlock, and trust me, I've tried that #3 way and I'm not coordinated enough lol! I used to carry an Endela for years and the easiest way I've found to close it was just rock it 1/2 way closed and then swipe against my jeans with my fingers out of the way. I did it all the time so it was just sort of a natural movement. But for me, cannot compete w/ a compression lock (even lefty style) or button/crossbar. Not that I have any Spyderco button actuated locks, and not that Spyderco makes any crossbar locks...other problems for another day haha.

If a Spydie ever did a Triad, I'd live with the more methodical closing just fine

[kobold]

Yes. No cutouts, no hot spots, ergonomically and aesthetically superior.

[elena86]

I hate lock rock more than anything. Enough said.

[Jeb]

You guys are missing the boat here, jimo when you get a knife you have used enough to get that lock slack in or blade broke on, or whatever, it goes into a spare parts bucket for later.

Then when you snag your clip on your new one and bend it or jack up a screw during a teardown to clean you got it... Spare parts bucket. Yes it's hard to start one with 150-300 dollar pocket Knives. Time helps cure all things fellows...

[Evil D]

I'll give it one of my favorite phrases "extraordinarily average".

It functions and is for the most part reliable, like vanilla ice cream. In my mind I actually equate the back lock as the standard/base model lock design, mostly because over my lifetime it has been (in one form or another) the most common lock that I've handled. It's almost literally a step above a slip joint, it just adds the notch in the tang to lock the blade.

I love the lack of any cutouts in the grip, so no palm hot spots from hard cutting and nothing in my finger grip areas. This and the close bias are the standout features IMO.

What I'm curious about is why they haven't incorporated an internal stop pin like they did with the Chaparral. It must be something to do with cost or just not enough perceived advantages to bother with. I have a suspicion that like they've reached a point in failure testing that suggests that a stronger lock won't matter because the knife/blade is going to fail somewhere else regardless. Sal has said in so many words that they can engineer a lock to be as strong as they need it to be, and I bet they've done their homework with testing and whatever improvements could be made just aren't worth the cost. This still doesn't explain why they put the stop pins in such a small knife like the Chap, but the lockup on that knife is awesome.

Oh and one more advantage now that I think of it, is definitely fewer parts. This is really only bested by some of the titanium frame locks in how simple their construction is and by the Salt models that due away with washers. I really like the linerless G10 Chief because you get pretty much all the benefits of a FRN handle but with the feeling of G10. By comparison it's drastically easier to disassemble and reassemble a Chief/Native Salt than a Delica.

I'm very impressed with, I guess you might say how efficient the design of Spyderco's back locks are and by how much better they've gotten over the years.

[aicolainen]

Others may argue, but to me the mid back lock has stood out as the most predictable to operate under a wide range of conditions. It’s the only lock that has NEVER given me an issue.

Getting into folding knives, and before gaining personal experience, I used to consider them boring and old fashioned. Just a notch above slipjoints, which I didn’t understand at all.

Through actual experience and use, no lock (and possibly no other knife feature) has grown on me like the back lock.
Most of its benefits has already been mentioned, but one that’s not come up (as far as I could see) is that the lock works very well for thinner blade stocks.

And.. not that it matters, but contrary to what some say, it’s also very flicky and fidgety. The fact that it’s somewhat harder to master, makes it a more satisfying fidget platform IMO. Again, it’s not something I typically do, so it has no impact on how I rate locks - just an observation.

[RazorSharp86]

Works great with gloves, too!

[Wartstein]

I have a LJ K390 SE that is a fantastic example of a backlock, and trust me, I've tried that #3 way and I'm not coordinated enough lol! I used to carry an Endela for years and the easiest way I've found to close it was just rock it 1/2 way closed and then swipe against my jeans with my fingers out of the way. I did it all the time so it was just sort of a natural movement. But for me, cannot compete w/ a compression lock (even lefty style) or button/crossbar.

A lot of personal preferences and what one got used to over the years here, so no right or wrong!

For me though a Spyderco backlock happens to be the most convenient in use among the main Spyderco locks, and closing a backlock Spydie for me (!) works as fast as closing a comp.lock, actually even a tad faster (started a thread including a test of just this once - what one has to keep in mind is that comparing ease and speed of closing various locktypes only makes sense in a realistic scenario: So from "knife in hand ready for cutting" - "closing" - to "in hand ready to get put down or in pocket").

A backlock can even be closed "fingers all the time out of the blade path" for those who care for this (I don´t) - as Vivi shows and can be seen in one of the three old clips I once made about closing a backlock (see here:

viewtopic.php?p=1366139#p1366139

And: A backlock knife will stay closed in pocket more reliably than folders with other locktypes

Anyway: I fully agree with "backlock is best lock"

[gk4ever2]

Best lock. That is all.

You're close, but the back lock is #2; the liner lock is the best.

[Wartstein]

Best lock. That is all.

You're close, but the back lock is #2; the liner lock is the best.

In some regards I agree... a linerlock like on the Millie 1 imo is hard to beat when it comes to convenience of operation and also to "finger safety" (because (!) the Millie 1 has a finger choil)

Overall though I still prefer a backlock (and also CBBL) over the linerlock.

[kobold]

Am I the only one who never experienced lock rock?

[vivi]

Best lock. That is all.

You're close, but the back lock is #2; the liner lock is the best.

too easy to open on accident

[vivi]

Am I the only one who never experienced lock rock?

not sure how. I've never handled a spyderco lockback without some degree of vertical play. whether 25 year old jspanese models, byrds, golden sprints from the past 5 years, etc.

[Wartstein]

Am I the only one who never experienced lock rock?

First and foremost and again: The typical, more or less slight (especially Seki) lockrock does not bother me at all.
That said:

Perhaps we´d have to differenciate between "actually noticing lock rock in use" and "lock rock can be provoked" - ?

If you have Seki backlock folders and press the edge down on lets say a wooden surface with some force (does not even have to be a lot normally) while holding the handle - I am almost certain you´ll see some up and down play... ?

[Coastal]

Am I the only one who never experienced lock rock?

not sure how. I've never handled a spyderco lockback without some degree of vertical play. whether 25 year old jspanese models, byrds, golden sprints from the past 5 years, etc.

I now know, based on reading numerous lock-rock threads, that I've definitely experienced it. I've checked and, sure enough, I was able to see and feel it by inducing it and carefully observing the play. But I can honestly say I've never noticed it in use, before or after reading those threads. To me it's a non-issue.

Trying to be objective, I believe the mid back lock is best because it combines strength, reliability, closing bias, feel in hand and appearance in a nicely simple package. It's not my favorite, though. That would be the liner lock, just because I've used it by far the most.

[Scandi Grind]

The Endura was my first backlock. It took a bit of getting used to because I couldn't just whip it open like I could a liner lock, but after learning it's characteristics I find it to be extremely practical for real life use. I usually open one handed and close two handed, but if my other hand is otherwise occupied don't have trouble closing one handed. If I'm going for speed, I actually open two handed, and I don't worry about speed when closing. My favorite part is the close bias. I've never had a liner lock open on me, but I still like the close bias. Mine has a bit of rock lock originating in the pivot, not the locking surface like a lot of people seem to think. It doesn't seem like a safety issue and doesn't bug me.

As much as I have come to enjoy the utility of the backlock, I also enjoy other lock types, including the lowly liner lock. I'm pretty open to a variety of locks, but I don't like how often I have heard of omega springs breaking on crossbar locks.