Anyone have their spyderco lockback open itself in the pocket?

A

AfterDark

Joined
Apr 9, 2007
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I've had quite a few bad experiences with an unclipped emerson folder opening itself in my pocket with nothing else in there. I have switched to spyderco lockbacks and still don't clip it. I have nothing else in the pocket. Has anyone have ther spyderco lockback folder open itself in the pocket?
 
This has never happened to me, and an unclipped Delica is my common dress knife when I'm in a suit. Lockbacks have inherently good blade retention when closed. Linerlocks are reputed to be not so good in this regard as lockbacks. I have no experience with Emersons, but the ones I have seen are liner locks.

Because the back is closed on a lockback, the edge is protected from contacting keys or coins that may share the same pocket, whereas a liner lock knife with open construction lacks this protection for the edge. I mention this because several of my folders are liner locks with open construction, and these are best carried clipped (or sheathed) for that reason.
 
Don't think it's possible for a spyderco lockback to open by itself in pocket since there's nothing to catch onto like the Emerson's thumb disc. Wonder why your Emerson opens itself?

Maybe the spyderco delica wave might have that problem but I don't have one so the owners would have to rep that one but I doubt that would happen.

Personally it has never happened to me and I carry my ladybug everyday.
 
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I have carried lockbacks such as Al-Mar eagle in pocket, unclipped and have never experienced opening. As you know, lockback tends to close by itself when it's opened a bit.
Im currently carrying spyderco persian 2 in jeans with no clip, and lanyard hanging out of the pocket for better access. No opening with it either. I sometimes carry it in sweatpants and no opening either.
 
I sometimes carry my Delica or Endura in my pocket unclipped and have never had either open on me. I think you'll be just fine. Like the others have said, the detent is pretty strong on the back locks.
 
Bill1170 said:
Because the back is closed on a lockback, the edge is protected from contacting keys or coins that may share the same pocket, whereas a liner lock knife with open construction lacks this protection for the edge. I mention this because several of my folders are liner locks with open construction, and these are best carried clipped (or sheathed) for that reason.
Click to expand...

What does closed and open construction mean?
 
Top one is closed construction. Bottom one is open construction. And I didn't see all that crap in the bottom knife until I took this pic. :D

openandclosedconstructi.jpg
 
I carried a Delica FRN gen 1 for 10 years straight (often not clipped and loose in my pocket) and never had an issue.
 
That's how I've carried folders for 55 years and I've never had one open in my pocket. Most of what I carry are still Spyderco lockbacks... no issues at all.
 
Nope, never had it happen. As others have said, the issues you experienced with the Emersons are likely specific to their design. I'd say it's more likely to be due to the wave feature than the thumb disc: if it pushes against part of your pocket at the correct angle, it could easily open the knife partway.
 
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I never had a Spyderco of any kind open in my pocket. I did have a Kershaw Groove that opened in my my pocket .
 
The problem with linerlocks is that the detent may not be very strong, and that is what holds the blade in the closed position. You can also have a loose pivot that may allow the blade to open on it's own. Have you tried to tighten the pivot a little bit to see if that helps?
 
Linerlock, yes. Framelock, yes. Compression lock, yes. Ball bearing lock, yes. Axis lock, yes. Lockback, no.
 
cutter17 said:
The problem with linerlocks is that the detent may not be very strong, and that is what holds the blade in the closed position. You can also have a loose pivot that may allow the blade to open on it's own. Have you tried to tighten the pivot a little bit to see if that helps?
Click to expand...

Tightened the pivot, it helped a little bit. I think the problem with the EKI is the detent.
 
AfterDark said:
I've had quite a few bad experiences with an unclipped emerson folder opening itself in my pocket with nothing else in there. I have switched to spyderco lockbacks and still don't clip it. I have nothing else in the pocket. Has anyone have ther spyderco lockback folder open itself in the pocket?
Click to expand...

Never
 
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