Tri Ad Lock Patent Expires in 2026

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I read that legally a US Patent cannot be extended even for a fee once the 20 year mark is over, or else people would extend patent rights forever.

Does this mean we will see a flood of new folders with the Tri Ad Lock?

I read the Trade Marked name can contimue.

Is this why we now see all these knives made with the Axis Lock, but calling it by other names like Cross Bar Lock?

Here is from Google:

"The Cold Steel Triad Lock patent is expected to expire in 2026, likely around the 20-year mark from its filing, which opens the door for other knife makers to use the strong locking mechanism design, though the "Triad Lock" name itself remains a trademark {2, 1}. While the patent grants rights for 20 years (for utility patents), its expiration allows general use of the design, not the brand name {2, 7}.
Key Details:
Expiration Year: 2026.
Patent Type: Likely a utility patent, typically lasting 20 years from the filing date.
Impact: Other companies can use the design of the Triad Lock in their own knives after expiration, but Cold Steel will likely retain the trademark for the name "Triad Lock".
Why it's a big deal:
This expiration is significant for the knife community as it frees up a popular and robust locking mechanism for broader use, potentially leading to more affordable or varied options from different manufacturers. "

[Paul Ardbeg]

It is likely that we will see other brands using the triad lock, however I doubt it will be as popular as with Benchmade's crossbar lock that you see everywhere since the patent expired years ago. A lot of knife MFG's focus on the fidget factor and that's not something the triad lock necessarily supports.

I personally do hope to see the triad lock on other brands as it's solid as a rock

[SpyderEdgeForever]

It is likely that we will see other brands using the triad lock, however I doubt it will be as popular as with Benchmade's crossbar lock that you see everywhere since the patent expired years ago. A lot of knife MFG's focus on the fidget factor and that's not something the triad lock necessarily supports.

I personally do hope to see the triad lock on other brands as it's solid as a rock

Agreed 100 percent, Paul.

One of my dream knives would be a Spyderco Endura with a TriAd lock.

[Doc Dan]

I would love to see Spyderco do an improved version of that Triad Back Lock.

[riclaw]

Right, Doc. I'd like to see Spyderco use the lock, too. We can always count on Spyderco for a functional and ergonomic knife.

Cold Steel has functional designs, but usually misses on ergos. Some good models, like the American Lawman, are held back by the pocket clip. Other models have the lockbar too far back, making them difficult to unlock.

[vivi]

not gonna hold my breath but I'd be thrilled to see them use the tri-ad lock. Manix 3, anyone?

Right, Doc. I'd like to see Spyderco use the lock, too. We can always count on Spyderco for a functional and ergonomic knife.

Cold Steel has functional designs, but usually misses on ergos. Some good models, like the American Lawman, are held back by the pocket clip. Other models have the lockbar too far back, making them difficult to unlock.

I'd put my recon 1 folders, 4 max's and voyagers up against any folder from any company in terms of ergonomics. Haven't had any issues with my lawmans clip personally.

One thing cold steel does better than nearly every other company, spyderco definitely included, is their scale contouring.

Check it out:

Military 2 Salt vs Recon



look at the double contouring on the recon for the first two fingers. The rest of the handle has a wide, comfortable contour, vs the 1mm contour on the Military that merely knocks off the hard edge on the corner. Night and day difference.



that's about a 4mm slanted edge on the recon folder. melts into my hand.

Manix XL vs 4Max




again, much more rounded. I see no reason to not design injection molded scales this way, the cost is the same as squared off handles.



The recon folder is one of my favorite folders when it comes to ergonomics. In fact it was my most carried folding knife in 2025 from a company other than Spyderco, and may have been the most carried one period.

If Spyderco could do contouring more like Cold Steel it'd be a big improvement on their folders IMO.

I get that it's expensive on G10, but I don't understand designing injection molded FRN handles like the Native Chief LW to have such squared off corners. I have no issues keeping these heavily contoured folders stable in any cutting situation, or even an Opinel for that matter.

[Ankerson]

Personally I like the original made in Japan CS Recon 1 the best.

[Naperville]

not gonna hold my breath but I'd be thrilled to see them use the tri-ad lock. Manix 3, anyone?

Right, Doc. I'd like to see Spyderco use the lock, too. We can always count on Spyderco for a functional and ergonomic knife.

Cold Steel has functional designs, but usually misses on ergos. Some good models, like the American Lawman, are held back by the pocket clip. Other models have the lockbar too far back, making them difficult to unlock.

I'd put my recon 1 folders, 4 max's and voyagers up against any folder from any company in terms of ergonomics. Haven't had any issues with my lawmans clip personally.

One thing cold steel does better than nearly every other company, spyderco definitely included, is their scale contouring.

Check it out:

Military 2 Salt vs Recon



look at the double contouring on the recon for the first two fingers. The rest of the handle has a wide, comfortable contour, vs the 1mm contour on the Military that merely knocks off the hard edge on the corner. Night and day difference.



that's about a 4mm slanted edge on the recon folder. melts into my hand.

Manix XL vs 4Max




again, much more rounded. I see no reason to not design injection molded scales this way, the cost is the same as squared off handles.



The recon folder is one of my favorite folders when it comes to ergonomics. In fact it was my most carried folding knife in 2025 from a company other than Spyderco, and may have been the most carried one period.

If Spyderco could do contouring more like Cold Steel it'd be a big improvement on their folders IMO.

I get that it's expensive on G10, but I don't understand designing injection molded FRN handles like the Native Chief LW to have such squared off corners. I have no issues keeping these heavily contoured folders stable in any cutting situation, or even an Opinel for that matter.

Spyderco does well, especially their FRN knives. I carry my S110V Spyderco Native Chief everywhere. This is a well balanced knife, great steel, great grips.

Regarding scale contouring: I think that you have to give Emerson props for the most sticky grips though. I do not own a lot of Emersons but the ones that I bought I kept and it was all due to how grippy their knives are. Certainly it wasn't their flashy steel. I only bought stabby Emersons.

I have some Cold Steel knives too. I think their fixed blades are grippier than their folders. My favorites are the Recon 1's. I think in short order I'll be ordering a couple more Recon 1 XLs.

OK, I'm a knife nut, I like the all but for different reasons.

[vivi]

Personally I like the original made in Japan CS Recon 1 the best.

Those look pretty comfortable too.

The only japanese cold steel I have is an old tanto voyager.

Wish I got into them sooner than I did. The GSM buy-out lit a fire under my rear to take a good look at their offerings, since I figured the quality would suffer.

[riclaw]

not gonna hold my breath but I'd be thrilled to see them use the tri-ad lock. Manix 3, anyone?

Right, Doc. I'd like to see Spyderco use the lock, too. We can always count on Spyderco for a functional and ergonomic knife.

Cold Steel has functional designs, but usually misses on ergos. Some good models, like the American Lawman, are held back by the pocket clip. Other models have the lockbar too far back, making them difficult to unlock.

I'd put my recon 1 folders, 4 max's and voyagers up against any folder from any company in terms of ergonomics. Haven't had any issues with my lawmans clip personally.

One thing cold steel does better than nearly every other company, spyderco definitely included, is their scale contouring.

Check it out:

Military 2 Salt vs Recon



look at the double contouring on the recon for the first two fingers. The rest of the handle has a wide, comfortable contour, vs the 1mm contour on the Military that merely knocks off the hard edge on the corner. Night and day difference.



that's about a 4mm slanted edge on the recon folder. melts into my hand.

Manix XL vs 4Max




again, much more rounded. I see no reason to not design injection molded scales this way, the cost is the same as squared off handles.



The recon folder is one of my favorite folders when it comes to ergonomics. In fact it was my most carried folding knife in 2025 from a company other than Spyderco, and may have been the most carried one period.

If Spyderco could do contouring more like Cold Steel it'd be a big improvement on their folders IMO.

I get that it's expensive on G10, but I don't understand designing injection molded FRN handles like the Native Chief LW to have such squared off corners. I have no issues keeping these heavily contoured folders stable in any cutting situation, or even an Opinel for that matter.

Ergos while in use are fine. Like you pointed out, contouring is excellent. I'm thinking about how far down the handle the lockbar tab is positioned. I have to reposition my hand to squeeze the lockbar on the CS. Most Spyderco lockbacks are easy one-hand close.

American Lawman clip is too stiff. Tried leaving a wooden wedge for an ax head under it for a day but didn't lessen the tension. No ti aftermarket that I can find. Only aftermarket is one skull clip. No thanks.

[vivi]

I'm with you on the skull clips.

CS clips are definitely hit or miss. Most of them have a little too much tension and can use some sanding on the landing area. Spyderco is well a head of them there.

I checked my lawman and the tension is stiffer than my spydies but not so bad I need to bend it in my vise like I have other CS clips.

But I could stand to flare the end of it up a bit more so there's more clearance when clipping it to my pocket. I did that to my 4Max today and I've done it to others.

Every company is a mixed bag. CS has amazing prices,great contouring and the tri-ad lock has the closing bias of a regular lockback with zero play....but the clips usually require some work to get tuned perfectly, and no opening hole on 95% of their folders is a bummer.

Opening and closing is ok for me using the same method I use for spydie lockbacks,but this method is definitely easier with opening holes



I like closing lockbacks this way because I never have to worry about designs without large choils like Voyager XL's or Sirens biting me. Index finger controls the closing motion the entire way.

[Ankerson]

Personally I like the original made in Japan CS Recon 1 the best.

Those look pretty comfortable too.

The only japanese cold steel I have is an old tanto voyager.

Wish I got into them sooner than I did. The GSM buy-out lit a fire under my rear to take a good look at their offerings, since I figured the quality would suffer.

Very.

And the clip doesn't shred pockets either.

[horzuff]

If the Recon 1 handle didn't have that straight part right before the blade but instead had the grippable part run up to the edge, or even like the Code 4, then it'd be much better IMO. As it is the handle shape moves my grip unnecessarily far backwards.

As for the whole lineup, basically only the Recon, Code and Voyager families have acceptable clips, the rest are atrocious :D

[vivi]

I'm guessing you're more of a hammer grip or pinch grip type of guy then.

Using a saber grip, choils and handles right up to the edge aren't the best for my grip.





Maybe I should stop using thumb ramps as often as I do, but as you can see choking up doesn't get me any better leverage, because I can't keep my thumb along the spine while using the first part of the edge unless I angle the knife with the tip pointing near vertical.

It's one of the main reasons I moved on from carrying Yojimbos and Yojumbos as EDC's, and stopped being a fan of index choils in general.

[mikey177]

I've often read that lockup on the Spyderco Chaparral is better than on Seki or Golden backlocks. I wonder why the company doesn't use it on more models. Is it a Taichung-exclusive design?

[SpyderEdgeForever]

If you were to speculate, what are some names people will use for the lock, since they still cannot legally sell it using the trademarked name?

Triple Bar Lock
Trinity Lock
Tri Lock (that may be too close to the original name)

[horzuff]

I'm guessing you're more of a hammer grip or pinch grip type of guy then.

Using a saber grip, choils and handles right up to the edge aren't the best for my grip.





Maybe I should stop using thumb ramps as often as I do, but as you can see choking up doesn't get me any better leverage, because I can't keep my thumb along the spine while using the first part of the edge unless I angle the knife with the tip pointing near vertical.

It's one of the main reasons I moved on from carrying Yojimbos and Yojumbos as EDC's, and stopped being a fan of index choils in general.

Preference is definitely a huge part of the topic. But even looking at Your photos (and remembering how I felt holding the Recon) and comparing with how the Bodacious lands in my hand in similar grips I feel the Cold Steel could be a lot more comfortable and allow better leverage if it didn't have the ramp and that finger-guard-thingy. Also not a big fan of finger choils, the blades are just too thin to be comfortable compared to handles

[James Y]

I own a couple of Tri-Ad lock knives (a drop point Code 4 and a Broken Skull). I also own several other Cold Steel knives, mostly ones made in Japan, before production shifted to Taiwan (and probably a lot now is in China?). But regardless, for whatever reasons, I never really 'bonded' with any of my Cold Steel knives.

I'm mixed on the Tri-Ad lock. It's super strong and solid but, due to my own carelessness, the worst injury I ever got handling a knife, happened while trying to one-hand close my Code 4. The blade swung closed on the back of my index finger like a guillotine. I missed 4 months of work (at the time, I was a massage therapist), and required physical therapy. That was around 10 years ago, and I've kept that Code 4 in a drawer and barely looked at, much less touched it since.

My Broken Skull has never done that, but then again, I always 2-hand closed it whenever using it.

If Spyderco made their own version/adaptation of a Tri-Ad lock, I wonder if it could be made safer, and easier to one-hand close.

Also, IMO, Cold Steel makes the absolute worst pocket clips and landing spots.

Jim

[Scandi Grind]

I've often read that lockup on the Spyderco Chaparral is better than on Seki or Golden backlocks. I wonder why the company doesn't use it on more models. Is it a Taichung-exclusive design?

I believe the Taichung lockbacks use a stop pin design for better lock up? I remember people asking about stop pins for Seki models and it seemed the consensus was that Spyderco probably didn't want to make changes that would increase the cost. Mostly we can probably only speculate on the details though.

[vivi]

Opening and closing is ok for me using the same method I use for spydie lockbacks,but this method is definitely easier with opening holes



I like closing lockbacks this way because I never have to worry about designs without large choils like Voyager XL's or Sirens biting me. Index finger controls the closing motion the entire way.

If that closing method doesn't work for anyone and you prefer to drop the blade down on your finger, there is an extremely simple way to mitigate any risk involved.



Simply tilt the knife downwards enough the blade doesn't contact your finger.

Demonstrating it with the heaviest folder I own, a 4max with a 5mm thick blade with a lot of momentum.