Tri-Ad lock

MCM · #21

New locks are always fun.
I cant think of a lock type I dont own.
minus the Tri-ad that is......

araneae · #22

I have yet to see a broken manix lock (or any other spydie mid lock so far as I can remember), that tells me its strong enough. The Triad lock might be great, but since my Spydies have yet to fail me I have confidence that the locks will continue to perform for years to come.

Fred Sanford · #23

I'm quite impressed on the amount of metal locked up on the Cold Steel and unimpressed about the lack of metal overlapping on the Manix lockup. I wonder why there is so little overlap of the lockbar into the blade tang?

Donut · #24

David Lowry wrote:I wonder why there is so little overlap of the lockbar into the blade tang?

Probably because the more overlap means you have to press in the lock bar more distance (or more pressure if you make it a lever).

VashHash · #25

Its actually a demko designed lock and he can use it when he wants. Andrew makes customs but I'm not sure what they run. If he ever left cold steel he could take it with him I'm sure. You could always commision something by him I believe ankerson has one of his customs he did a review on another forum. It looked very solid. Id personally like to see him make a large espada in american steel.

SolidState · #26

I would not be surprised if you want a short overlap with your lock bar due to torque considerations as well as those previously mentioned.

defenestrate · #27

So, looking at both designs I can see that:

a> the triad would not "suffer" from the slight vertical play a regular lockback would

b> the hefty stop pin will take more load than a weak lockspring pivot (I don't know what the term is but I think ya'll know what I'm talking about. the fulcrum, if you look at the lock as a lever)

what I'm wondering is:

a> in what cases does this design show any real appreciable differences from a good stout lockback

and

b> under "hard use", would the triad lock not be significantly more prone to galling/fatigue due to the surface area being far less across which the load is distributed while pressing down in cutting/batoning/whatever? Sure looks like it would be.

I will probably buy a cheap CS beater just to play with, but when it comes to overall design, I am unmoved from the :spyder: standard. True, maybe I need to baton my folding knife more if I want to have a dog in this fight, but I just don't see that the Triad lock offers any REAL improvements over a well made and engineered to suit application midlock/lockback.

jossta · #28

http://youtu.be/2CpFcHl4Q7s

The action on that is soooooooo smooth.

TexSierra · #29

I see more lock/blade overlap and immediately think more travel necessary on the release. I would prefer seamless actuation over perceived strength.

vic · #30

TexSierra wrote:I see more lock/blade overlap and immediately think more travel necessary on the release. I would prefer seamless actuation over perceived strength.

oh sure

another way to look at it would be, if the locks were reversed and the spyderco had the triad lock, you and others would be saying how weak the cold steel looked, how there wasn't enough lock/blade overlap and how much stronger and better in every way the spyderco was

Jordan · #31

Come on now, it's the Spyderco company forum... did you expect a total lack of bias? :p .

I'm sure you could find both legitimate and nit-pickey problems with any knife... thats why purchases tend to come down to personal preference. Seems likely that membership here would indicate that one's personal preference lies with Spyderco.

vic · #32

Jordan wrote:Come on now, it's the Spyderco company forum... did you expect a total lack of bias? :p .

I'm sure you could find both legitimate and nit-pickey problems with any knife... thats why purchases tend to come down to personal preference. Seems likely that membership here would indicate that one's personal preference lies with Spyderco.

no i expect complete bias lol and i'm never disappointed

i like spyderco a lot but my membership here doesn't really blind me to blatant facts or make me try to convince myself or others that a design is worse than another when it's clearly got big advantages over the other one.

i don't have to want to baton with it to see that it has those advantages and saying that i don't want to baton with a folder anyway doesn't make those advantages go away, and saying stuff like the lock bar has to be pressed further to release it so i don't like it is laughable

it's an improved design, i certainly would like a spyderco with a triad lock and if demko and spyderco ever collaborated this place would be all over it saying how much better it was than a regular lockback

and none of this makes the manix any worse, or any other backlock, a strong traditional backlock can be really really strong, the triad looks to be just an evolution of that

it's just funny man i love it. people make me laugh

jossta · #33

I wouldn't mind seeing a collaboration model, but I doubt it will happen, since I don't think he's even making any more customs with the tri-ad lock. Think Cold Steel wants a monopoly on it, even though I doubt a $500+ custom isn't exactly taking market share from a $50 Cold Steel folder.

Jordan · #34

vic wrote:no i expect complete bias lol and i'm never disappointed

i like spyderco a lot but my membership here doesn't really blind me to blatant facts or make me try to convince myself or others that a design is worse than another when it's clearly got big advantages over the other one.

i don't have to want to baton with it to see that it has those advantages and saying that i don't want to baton with a folder anyway doesn't make those advantages go away, and saying stuff like the lock bar has to be pressed further to release it so i don't like it is laughable

it's an improved design, i certainly would like a spyderco with a triad lock and if demko and spyderco ever collaborated this place would be all over it saying how much better it was than a regular lockback

and none of this makes the manix any worse, or any other backlock, a strong traditional backlock can be really really strong, the triad looks to be just an evolution of that

it's just funny man i love it. people make me laugh

I like to look at it as a different design... rather than an improved design, but perhaps that is my own bias peeking out :p .

jossta · #35

I think he rates the locks to take 400-600lbs or force to fail, which is pretty close (actually a little less) than 200lbs per in. Isn't that the qualification for an MBC rating? B/c then I think the Chinook/Manix would actually be rated as stronger. So would the compression lock.

Could just be b/c he lacks the testing equipment that Spyderco has to produce and exact number though.

224477 · #36

Andrew Demko brought the lock back to a next level. I will get one in future.

HotSoup · #37

I used to foolishly defend the Tri-Ad lock as the be-all end-all of folder locks.

I was dead wrong, and I'm happy I learned a thing or two from Sal.

The Tri-Ad lock is strong, very strong, but Spyderco's MBC-rated locks are JUST AS strong, if not stronger.

I'll stick to Spydies :)

Blerv · #38

Yea buy the design you like the most within the specific category. If you're buying a Cold Steel get the Tri-Ad if you want, a BM go Axis, Spyderco...pick the one you like, etc.

With Spyderco's knack for innovating I wouldn't get caught up too much on the specifics. it's like pushing for CPM-S90v when they have stuff in the works most of us have never heard of. :) Innovation = Lead, Imitation = follow.

Orion's Belt · #39

I read some where that Bram Frank described the TriAd lock as a comp lock rolled on it's side. I don't own any TriAd folders, but am looking at an American Lawman as a future purchase.