What is your favorite/most used lock type?

[harronek]

Im a bit unusual in that I have never owned or even held a Compression lock Soyderco .
Everything I've read about them seems to be very complimentary, so I suspect they are very good .
I have nothing against that lock type its just None of the Compression lock Spydercos appeal to me .
All I own are lockbacks and linerlocks so its not hard to guess what I voted for .

The Blade retention of a lockback is a very important factor to me because I also carry IWB a lot .
Also as time has gone by , my knives have got smaller , lighter and simpler and the multitude of FRN lockback Spydercos of all sizes means there is little reason for me to look elsewhere .

Ken

[timlara]

I prefer the compression lock, mainly due to the ease of use (well, for righties, anyway) and for the smooth action it affords.

Back lock / midlock is my second choice since it's tried and true, but for me it's not quite as fun / elegant to use as the compression lock.

[rybu0305]

CBBL for me. I would love to see more knives with this. Particularly something sleek and slim like the GB2 but with CBBL. I know the lock takes up more space so that might be difficult.

Love the smoothness, ease of use, strength and , symmetry.

Looking forward to the new D'Allara but kind of wish it were CBBL. Although I appreciate that Spyderco is staying true to the original design.

[Evil D]

The interesting thing about this question for me is how my answer may differ if I could get any lock on any model. My answer is heavily influenced by my favorite knife models, and then those knives just happen to have whatever lock they have.

[vivi]

I'm gonna say the Szabo Folders implementation of the compression lock, followed by lockbacks, followed by regular compression locks. liner / framelocks are my least favorite. Caged BBL are nice too but they take a bit more effort to close one handed.

The compression lock is the easiest for me to operate. Easy to open, easy to close with either hand, I love it.

However I've had my PM2 pop open twice in the past year while carrying it IWB while jogging or doing similar athletic activities. Pretty scary when I realize what happened, thankfully no cuts yet.

Which brings me to my second favorite lock, the Spyderco style lockback. My favorite feature of the lock back is its strong self close. I also find them incredibly easy to close one handed by squeezing the lock release with my thumb and keeping my index finger in the spyderhole to guide the blade closed.

That's why the Szabo folder has my favorite lock. Its as easy to manipulate as my other compression locks, but has a strong self close mechanism that operates just like a lockback for the end user. It gives me more faith carrying the Szabo IWB than any liner / compression / frame lock detent does.

Unfortunately I have a tendency to like niche Spyderco offerings, and AFAIK there's no plans to use this lock type again in the future. I voted lockback in the poll.

[Slumblor]

I would have to say my favorite lock is the compression lock. But I have a lot of knives with backlocks, so that would make it the most used, i do like a quality backlock too. Good thing you get 2 votes.

[ZrowsN1s]

I've got 13 liner locks in the collection, but since first trying the compression lock on the pm2 I haven't bought a single liner lock and I doubt I ever will again. The Compression lock obsoletes the liner lock for me. I still like backlocks on smaller knives, but don't like them on a larger knife because I don't like large sharp blades that are capable of accidentally snapping themselves closed with a spring assist from the back lock should you for one reason or another only get the blade 1/3 of the way open (this happens to me all the time practicing with training knives).

[wrdwrght]

I have all the ones listed, and accommodate each with little difficulty.

But I prefer the compression lock (I'm on the left side of ambidextrous), partly because I like the utter simplicity and easy cleaning of an open-back knife, and partly because it's Sal's design.

Sal, more than anyone else, has made my love of knives and their maintenance a rational, informed thing. When I carry a PM2, a Superleaf, a Sage5 etc., I give Sal an extra nod.

[FCM415]

My post this morning didn't register. :confused:

Backlock
Allows for thin/light/compact dimensions that is very important to me.

Spyderco makes most of their lockbacks with full one hand operation in mind. As easy to manipulate as anything.

Strong, dependable and less part to fail.

That said, I very much enjoy the other popular locks also.

[Surfingringo]

Sometimes I feel like the backlock gets overlooked or doesn't get quite the credit it deserves because it lacks a bit of the "cool factor". I'm happy to see it holding its own quite well in the poll.

[PayneTrain]

[x] Other: Bolt Lock

[Spydersense]

Voted Compression Lock. I like keeping my fingers out of harms way the most. :)

[vivi]

Sometimes I feel like the backlock gets overlooked or doesn't get quite the credit it deserves because it lacks a bit of the "cool factor". I'm happy to see it holding its own quite well in the poll.

Agreed. The strong self closing mechanism is a wonderful thing, and the smoothness of a well-seasoned lockback cannot be over-stated :)

[FullCircleHook]

Voted Compression Lock. I like keeping my fingers out of harms way the most. :)

This^^

I absolutely love the Compression lock. I'm so happy that Spyderco is starting to put them in the flippers. It's just such a cool lock, unique to Spyderco.

I love pressing that liner and having my blade flip down gracefully and for some reason I handle it better. My pinky is never in harms way.

And like the liner, it has the open design for easy cleaning. The compression lock is THE KING of all locks! haha

[The Mastiff]

Backlock/midlock by a long shot. Next would be compression followed by frame lock.

[RamZar]

It's not surprising that Back/Mid Lock garners so many votes. For the longest time it was by far the most prevalent lock on Spyderco folders. Also, not surprised with Compression Lock getting so many votes now that it's more than just in the ever popular ParaMilitary. The upcoming Compression Lock flippers should accelerate this pace.

However, I'm a Liner/Frame Lock fan and no it's not dangerous if you've used it for a while. Some argue against locks where your finger is in the way of the closing blade. Personally, that argument is a non-issue.

When you look at folders on BladeHQ the top three locks in that order are: Frame Lock, Liner Lock and Back Lock.

A poll conducted by Knife News in November 2015 where participants could choose more than one lock:

[Igi964]

My taste in locks has changed over time. Comp lock used to be my favourite for a long time. Right now I vote CBBL. IMHO it have all the good things of other locks, without their problems.
Easy to manipulate both hands as the back lock, but without the legendary up and down blade play;) Good self close and great "detent". I can flick it open in many ways, or just slowly open with my thumb in one smooth motion. Strong detent used to be a problem when you want to open your liner/frame/comp lock knife slowly. It end up in harsh movement. No lock stick and I mean absolutely no lock stick. I have lock stick on Comp lock, liner and frame locks ( not on every knife, but most ot them), but CBBL doesn't have it. With ceramic ball in it is even smoother. I like the way CBBL close. Fingers are naturally away of blade and all grip the handle. Blade falls down and close itself in one simple motion. I love it. It is work of a genius. Eric, I am looking at you:)

[Jazz]

I'd be fine with only back locks. Secure, I love the dent, easy, and they don't pinch me like every bloody compression lock I try. I think I'm done with those. Liner and frame locks do not make me feel secure at all. Caged ball is okay, but I feel like the cage maybe isn't that strong.

[anagarika]

I'm with you Lance, including the thwack
Also with you Jazz, even though I like my GB1.
Recently tried CBBL, it's ok ... but requires pinching and pulling back. Less convenient or I simply haven't tried enough.

The only compression lock I tried is PM2 and I closed it like backlock (thumb press sideways, index in Spydiehole, rotate the blade closed in controlled manner). Still like backlock/midlock much more. I know I like symmetry, that's probably why.

[Doc Dan]

I like the mid back lock best of all. There is no doubt it is the strongest and I like the bias towards close as it is safer. I have had knives open unintentionally. I carry my knives iwb or in my pocket out of sight and who wants a detent to let go and a razor sharp blade suddenly be next to your skin? Frame and liner locks are convenient but not great for really hard use in my experience. I am actually pumped about the new Police 4 as I will get a Military sized mid back lock knife.