Spyderco Forums

I recently started carrying my bob lum chinese folder and love it except for the linner lock system.. It got me to thinking about the different locks. I guess I am just used to the traditional lock on the delica and mariner...lock back I believe.. please let me know why they use the linner lock it feels flimsy

The liner lock is the smoothest to operate, and when well made is up with the strongest locks available. It also has no extra moving parts and is easy to clean. Its all a matter of like it or not, like many things.

There's a lot of info about liner and other locks in this thread:

http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthre ... ight=liner

Hope this helps.

Joe

:)

framelock. cause it just is.

credit wrote:I recently started carrying my bob lum chinese folder and love it except for the linner lock system.. It got me to thinking about the different locks. I guess I am just used to the traditional lock on the delica and mariner...lock back I believe.. please let me know why they use the linner lock it feels flimsy

It's easier to get a clear picture when you stop thinking in terms of "what is the best lock", and start thinking in terms of whether particular lock formats are suitable for certain jobs, and what their relative strengths and weaknesses are.

In the case of liner locks, I don't necessarily find that they feel flimsy, and in many cases can be made enormously strong. But strong is one thing, reliability another, and liner locks are so often unreliable that I personally will only accept them on lighter-use gentleman's folders. Obviously, others disagree with me.

Many lock formats can be made suitable for much harder use, by which I mean, reasonable strength plus extreme reliability. Lockback, Compression lock, axis lock, frame lock, etc. They all have advantage and disadvantages versus each other. I don't have time to type them all up, but there are plenty of other good references.

Joe

framelock, because it it fails, it tends to make your knife a fixed blade IIRC. They also seem smoother to open, but more difficult to unlock. The unlocking of my knife was never as important to me then the opening of the knife, but it is just personal preference i guess. Strenghtwise the :spyder: crew still believes in the backlock a lot (chinook, Manix) as the most tough one. I have knives in almost every lock combination except the Dodo (i know i'll buy it the next time). Strangly the type of lock never made a difference in the way i choose my knives, but i am a young righthander so it really is all the same for me.

I know several guys that go deer hunting and a couple of them use liner lock knives to dress the deer out and have no problems.

To get a good quality liner lock to fail will generally require a tremendous amount of abuse. First use for a knife is CUTTING.

If you stick it in a tree ten feet off the ground and use it to attach an engine hoist to it, then try to hoist an engine... well it just might fail :eek:

what type of lock is in the delica and the enduro they look to me like lock back and they look strong.
the bob lum chinese does open smoothly though

credit wrote:what type of lock is in the delica and the enduro they look to me like lock back and they look strong.
the bob lum chinese does open smoothly though

Delica type lock is a traditional type lock using a lock bar. The thumb release in most Spydercos is towards the front so it is called a front lock lock-back.

The Lum Chinese is a liner lock.

The lock on the back is more fun to open and close for me. I don't know which one is "better" as I've never had any problem with either. I prefer the lockback just for the fun of it.

From a purely logical veiwpoint, I agree with Joe Talmadge. From a personal veiwpoint, the frontlock, :spyder: s version of the lockback, is my favorite. The total absence of left handed linerlocks and nested compresssion locks, and the fact that there are only two models available with the ball lock, probably has a lot to do with that. Framelocks and exposed compression locks, always look "unfinished" to me, and have very little appeal for that reason, so the lack of left handed versions of them is not an issue.

Compression or AXIS types

Whatever the lock is on well made knives eg Spyderco, Benchmade they seem to do the job as far as locking up is concerned and all will have their pros and cons. To me I prefer a front lock lock back mainly because it is what I am used to - I have never had one fail on a good knife although I did find the lock on an early natives sans the dent releasing when tightly held (but that's another debate). I have never been comfortable with liner locks but have come to like the compression lock on the ParaM. One advantage of such liner locks are that they can reduce the weight of the knife.

i think in the end, the best lock is the one you're most comfortable with..

Discussions as this one are many but never seem to cover the most obvious issue. When a knife is used, the forces aplied to it are directed to the edge. So if pure force alone would make the lock to collapse it would never fold in but further out or sideways. The blade folding back in is usualy a matter of accidental release instead of lockstrength. Still this seems to be what we are all so afraid of. Defining lockstrength should, in my oppinion, be measured in the direction in which the knife is used. Or are slipjoints the most dangerous tools on earth?

Piet.S wrote:Discussions as this one are many but never seem to cover the most obvious issue. When a knife is used, the forces aplied to it are directed to the edge. So if pure force alone would make the lock to collapse it would never fold in but further out or sideways. The blade folding back in is usualy a matter of accidental release instead of lockstrength. Still this seems to be what we are all so afraid of. Defining lockstrength should, in my oppinion, be measured in the direction in which the knife is used. Or are slipjoints the most dangerous tools on earth?

Very good

Case in point; The once very popular Case Cutlery Folding Hunter model. People used to use it for hunting and other tough chores. No lock :eek:

And that's not making a case against locks, just a case against abuse. Locks on GOOD quality knives should be more than strong enough to guard against accidental closing

Well as a mather of fact, i HATE slipjoints! I really don't mind wich lock, as long as there is one! Even a twistlock would make me more happy. Just the tought that nothing but the force of the spring is al between the knife and my fingers is a very icky feeling. I understand that due to local laws the slipjoint is unavoidable, like in the U.K. But i think having a lock on a knife is like having seatbelts in a car.

Mongo wrote:Well as a mather of fact, i HATE slipjoints! I really don't mind wich lock, as long as there is one! Even a twistlock would make me more happy. Just the tought that nothing but the force of the spring is al between the knife and my fingers is a very icky feeling. I understand that due to local laws the slipjoint is unavoidable, like in the U.K. But i think having a lock on a knife is like having seatbelts in a car.

Yeah, I know what you mean The point I was making is too much fuss is made over how strong these locks are. They are more than strong enough if you don't abuse the knife

Yep mu thoughts also, why design a knifelock that can withstand 1000 pounds of force , when i really can't seem to find any use for a knife where it would have to withstand more the 200 pounds on the lock before failing. If you look at the MBC ratings these are more then adequate for any task as a KNIFE.

i've had a victorinox spartan for about 13 years now.. since i was a young boy & it never closed on me, not even once, when people know there's a lock on the knife they often become careless "don't worry the blade is locked in place, look! OUCH!!"
when you use your brain to "lock" the blade open the chance for accidents drops.
what i said about the locks may not be true for knife people, as we take interest in tests, figures & limitations but for the average user a locking blade might just as well be a fixed blade & the thought of strength doesn't rize unless they're asked directly (& i did ask directly a few of them).