amazed by d'allara

I've been looking long and hard at this knife. How sturdy is the ball lock. I don't have the ability to handle one and buying a knife without first checking out a new locking mechanism kind of worries me.
 
gmarthur said:
I've been looking long and hard at this knife. How sturdy is the ball lock. I don't have the ability to handle one and buying a knife without first checking out a new locking mechanism kind of worries me.
Click to expand...

I personally think its more sturdy than a lock back. Its compresses on a steel sphere where as a lock back pulls on the short end of an L shaped bar. I am willing to bet the farm that an L shaped bar is going to fail and split apart long before a steel ball bearing with deform and compress. I would go so far as to say the ball bearing will push through the back of the spine or break the blade before it compresses or deforms.
 
I was more worried with the ball engaging and disengaging with crud jammed up in it. I'm sure when it's locked in it's like a rock, but if it was dropped in mud would the spring still work ok?
 
Been carrying the original style blade D'Allara for a few years now and I can attest to it being very dependable. I cannot say how it might unlock after dropping it completely in mud, though (haven't done that).
 
gmarthur,
Ming65, the badass, I mean the guy, who saved his dog w/ a spyderco, posted pictures in a review of the d'allara drop point in the review section. He buried it in fine sand, and it worked fine after he brushed it off. If my computer skills were as good as my ninja skills I'd post the link...
bob7
 
Heh, badass here.

DAllarainsand.jpg


Fine West Ausse beach sand desn't bother the D'Allara or it's spring.

I love this knife and it's edge is the best performed of almost any knife I own. But for some reason it always slips out of EDC rotation for me. Since reading this thread though, I've been carrying it again. Great tradesmans/working knife I reckon.
 
Maybe someone - hmm, I don't know who - needs to make a mini-D'Allara drop point. A mini-Grip killer. You heard it here first. :thumbup:

I keep a D'Allara Rescue and a drop point D'Allara in the Powernoodlemobile.

cheers
 
Ming65,
I hope your dog is doing better. My wife encountered a similiar situation while walking our dog. The dogs were the same size and ours came out on top, but it pissed her off real good. She carries a delica but said she never thought about using it. Oh, and I just got a d'allara based on all the good reviews. I like it so far.

bob7
 
Wow, all this talk about the d'allara is making me want one badly. A question though, can you open the ball lock with your thumb only? I saw a video where the user used his thumb and middle (on the other side) each time he opened it. I'd prefer if it was able to be opened with one finger.
 
I have had the D'Allara for about 2 weeks now and do not see how it can be opened by only using your thumb.

While I have not seen the video, I would agree that the best method is with the thumb and middle figure opposing one another and the forefinger guiding the blade through to the closed position.

An alternative is merely having your thumb and forefinger opposing one another. That method is slightly more cumbersome.

However, once I stumbled upon the thumb/middle finger, I never went back to the thumb/forefinger.
 
When people talk about having trouble closing the ball locks I never understand. It is next to impossible for me to it close like an axis lock by just putting my thumb on the ball and pulling back. I suppose it is fairly easy to pull the ball back with your thumb and middle finger while pushing the blade forward with your index finger like Bflo Barry suggested. However the way I found most natural is to use my thumb nail. I angle my thumb down toward the butt of the handle and push down on the front of the ball (part of ball nearest the blade) with my thumbnail, while at the same time pushing the blade down with my index finger. Hopefully these pics will show how I do it. It works fine for me on my dodo or d'allara. Hope this helps.




Take care and let me know if my explanation wasn't clear enough. Heath
 
Heath -

I apparently have nothing better to do with my time, so I tried replicate your method.

Assuming that the middle finger is not applying any pressure to the ball, I could not do it at first, but, when I switched to my left hand I was able to replicate your method because the nail is slightly longer and can get the necessary leverage.

After a couple practice rounds, it was fairly easy to close with the thumbnail..

Thanks,

Barry
 
Bflo Barry, after thinking some more about it could see how some folks with bigger thumbs than me might not be able to use my method. I have fairly skinny digits but I do keep my nails trimmed short. Although this method still works easily with the dodo's much more narrow ball channel for me so I don't know. Hopefully others can adopt this method as well.

Take care, Heath.
 
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