Anyone NOT like the compression lock?

Artfully Martial

Artfully Martial

Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
4,761
I just realized my finances are going better than I'd hoped and I've recovered from my 41MC expenditures early. Now I want a paramilitary. Badly.

Trouble is, shops round these parts don't carry them. So I can't really try it out (and I am pretty picky).

Folks that have used compression locks, help me get an idea of what using them is like (hard for me to imagine the mechanism), what you like or don't like, and your confidence of lock integrity.

Thanks
 
The compression lock is the ONLY reason I do not already own a Paramilitary. For me it feels clumsy in hand when pressing the release in to open or close the blade.

The lock actually works better for me in the left hand, pressing the release with the side of the index finger. In the right hand, using the thumb, the grip is not very secure.

Lots of folks love it, and it is unquestionably a solid lock, but not the best design for me.
 
I had a Paramilitary for a while and I loved the knife. I had very little trouble making the compression lock work but it isn't my favorite. It is strong though.

After having one I have come to belive that they are more lefty friendly than righty. (in the configuration being sold by Spyderco anyway) For a south paw the lock would be a very easy to manipulate one hand opener and closer. This is just the opposite of my initial review comments but it took me a while to realize this.

Steve
 
Artfully Martial said:
help me get an idea of what using them is like (hard for me to imagine the mechanism)
Thanks
Click to expand...

There is a metal tab that you push in to release the lock. It is located on the side of the handle on the left, at the top, if the knife is pointing forward with the edge down when open.
 
I have a Salsa with a compression lock. It is very easy to open and close one handed. Your fingers are never in the path of the blade. It is similar to a liner lock except the "liner" is wedged between a cutout ramp in the blade and a stop pin.
 
STR said:
After having one I have come to belive that they are more lefty friendly than righty. (in the configuration being sold by Spyderco anyway) For a south paw the lock would be a very easy to manipulate one hand opener and closer. This is just the opposite of my initial review comments but it took me a while to realize this.
Click to expand...

Funny, two posts in a row from right-handers who feel that the compression lock is easier to work left-handed; I'm primarily a lefty, and I think that it's easier to close the compression lock on my Salsa with my right hand.

The main reason for this is that it's harder for me to press the lock with my left thumb while still maintaining a secure grip, whereas in my right hand, I'm using my right index finger to press.
 
Every single compression lock knife I have tried has developed vertical blade play that was difficult or impossible to adjust out. Maybe I got several different "duds", but I'm not interested in knives with that lock now.
 
DaveH said:
Every single compression lock knife I have tried has developed vertical blade play that was difficult or impossible to adjust out. Maybe I got several different "duds"...
Click to expand...

I doubt that is the expected behavior, what did the manufacturer have to say? Were the replacements similar?

-Cliff
 
I've mentioned this in part on the spyderco forum. Most of my problems where the salsa models both Al and Ti, there was an ATR that when back to be serviced I think it was three times. They came back better, but never fixed, and just got worse as time went on. <shrug> I don't have an axe to grind, that's just been my experience.
 
I'm a righty and I have a very difficult time trying to manipulate the compression lock with my left hand.
 
You were more patient than I would have been, I could see one return, maybe two for a reason (sorry, we sent you the wrong one, our fault, etc.) but a third time would require divine intervention. I have used a few, all were fine, no play, Paramiliary used for a long time. Sucks when you get a bad one, the ball lock I used isn't great and it can turn you from a potentially solid product.

-Cliff
 
I use my middle finger to press the release to the side, then close it pretty much like a liner lock (I'm right handed). There’s a bit of a learning curve and it requires some dexterity though. The compression lock is strong and difficult to accidentally unlock, but it’s not really “user friendly”, IMO.
 
I don't mind the Compression Lock on my Paramilitary and I'm a lefty, for the most part, on knives, anyway. It works quite well for me. The one on my Salsa, though, is a lot stiffer and takes a bit to close. Maybe needs a break-in, but my Paramilitary one worked smoothly right out of the box.

- gord
 
I like the compression lock on my Yojimbo; it's sort of like an Axis lock had babies with a liner lock - the lock moves like a liner, but holds the blade the way an Axis does.

My only concerns:

Out of the box, it locks up about 75% percent over. Is it going to bottom out on the other liner in a couple years?

It has come open in my pocket and bitten me, which makes me wary.

It has completely failed to lockup on opening, apparently because it is extremely sensitive to even a small ampount of lint in the wrong place.

I should say my Yo is "new old stock", and I think it's first generation, so these may be teething pains in the engineering of an early model.

I think it's a great design that could perhaps use a little fine tuning in the engineering and manufacturing (and may have had it by now, compared to mine.)

One of my favorite things is that once it's locked up, it's rock solid - I've never even had it budge under tension, torque, white knuckling, impact, spine whacks, etc.

Another one of my favorite things is that it's a Yojimbo, I've become very fond of that weird looking little booger. :)

I'm right handed and I always close it right handed, either with a thumb push or slipping my grip back and using my index finger.

Artfully Martial, in terms of envisioning it - do you have an Axis lock? The compression bar engages the top rear tang on a cut out, like an axis bar, but does it by swinging out a leaf of the line sideways, like a liner lock. The other tweak is it has a stop pin it wedges against when the tang pushes up on it, so the lock is not the strength of the leaf alone, but of that leaf as a block, wedged between the tang and the pin which passes through the frame of the knife.

That said, I don't own a paramilly, someone who owns a para and a Yo may want to comment on anything I'm saying that is different for the para.

Hell, I love my Yo so much I went out and bought a Ronin and a BM Juju, and I'm only holding out on a BM Gravitator because it's a tip down liner lock - if it was a tip up Axis I'd have one already. :D
 
I owned a pmillie for a while and I loved the comp lock. At first it was a little stiff but it all worked out fine in the end. The only reason I got rid of it was the hole. I seem to be one of the few people that likes a small hole over a big one.
 
nocomment said:
Funny, two posts in a row from right-handers
Click to expand...

I am not a "right-hander". Both of my hands work very well for any task and I tend to buy knives that are able to work equally well in either hand.

Also, I love Spyderco and most all of their products are THE best, but honestly - I have to say it...

Cliff does such a diservice by being a fanboy for one company while at the same time being a blinded hater of others.
 
Thanks for the help guys. There's a place here in Fort Worth called House of Blades I'll go to soon, supposedly they have everything. I'm willing to pay 10, maybe even 15 dollars over Newgraham to save on shipping, waiting time and actually get to pick the knife out myself, but unfortunately, most stores charge significantly more than NGK, so I might just go sampling.

I hate doing that to stores though.

Just don't have the money.

No need to quarrel about opinions. All I'm really getting here is that some people love it, some people don't like it. The plus side is that it doesn't seem like anyone hates it. The lockup problems do bother me....I've had a lockback close on me and I haven't bought another since. I'm pretty much over it....if I don't get a para, I'll probably buy a native or a centofante....just need a spyderco in my EDC lineup. What I'm really looking for is a long handle with a ~3 inch blade. The centofante and para have way longer handles than my minigrip or M16 with very comparable blade lengths, which makes them a pain to carry, but a pleasure to use. The Native, of course, shares part of its grip with the blade, effectively giving it a long handle.

Does anyone know when house of blades is open?
 
Artfully Martial,

I have a few Compression Locked Spydies and it's my favorite lock. Of course, I'm a lefty and all but the Gunting's Compression Lock seem to be made with lefties in mind. Very strong and secure. Looks like a liner, but operates more like a reinforced Axis Lock (just without as much fun in flicking).

cmd,

What part of:

I have used a few, all were fine, no play, Paramiliary used for a long time.
Click to expand...

was bashing Spyderco? The "all were fine" part? Was that dripping with blind hatred and putrid venom?
 
Thom, I think you read my comment 180 degrees off.

My remark was about Cliff having a bias towards Spydreco, one of my favorite knife manufacturers.
 
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