Be careful of spine whacks

[Student762]

I own slip joints, in the words of an old time trader and bush man "son I intend to do my cutting wih the front of the knife, so there's no need to lock the back"

 

[singularity35]

I own slip joints, in the words of an old time trader and bush man "son I intend to do my cutting wih the front of the knife, so there's no need to lock the back"

Son, I don't intend to crash my car, I don't need them newfangled seat belts...

 

[d0nut]

The one good thing about spine whackin'
is it makes for some entertaining reading.

Pretty much this.

In my 36 years on this earth, I've never once had the need or a reason to use a knife spine for anything.
Maybe I'm doing something wrong? lol

 

[brownshoe]

I've been earth longer than 36 years and have had a knife close on me with a spine hit while wacking away at some weeds in the garden. It happens in the real world.

All you armchair experts, ask a knife maker.

I have. Both handmade and industrial makers will tell you that a properly made and adjusted knife with a liner or frame lock will withstand spine whack tests with ease.

Many failures can be fixed. I had a Buck Vantage that closed with hardly an pressure...fixed it myself.

 

[singularity35]

Some knives pass with ease, some don't. Wonder why...

 

[d0nut]

I've been earth longer than 36 years and have had a knife close on me with a spine hit while wacking away at some weeds in the garden. It happens in the real world.

All you armchair experts, ask a knife maker.

I have. Both handmade and industrial makers will tell you that a properly made and adjusted knife with a liner or frame lock will withstand spine whack tests with ease.

Many failures can be fixed. I had a Buck Vantage that closed with hardly an pressure...fixed it myself.

Im not trying to start an argument, but what in the world do you whack with a knife's spine if you are chopping weeds?

Can you explain this scenario if you get a chance? I can't even picture this in my head.

 

[Ryan Sumner]

Im not trying to start an argument, but what in the world do you whack with a knife's spine if you are chopping weeds?

Can you explain this scenario if you get a chance? I can't even picture this in my head.

I imagine he was swinging his arm to chop, and on the return the back of the blade got caught on something.

 

[Rhinoknives1]

I've been earth longer than 36 years and have had a knife close on me with a spine hit while wacking away at some weeds in the garden. It happens in the real world.

All you armchair experts, ask a knife maker.

I have. Both handmade and industrial makers will tell you that a properly made and adjusted knife with a liner or frame lock will withstand spine whack tests with ease.

Many failures can be fixed. I had a Buck Vantage that closed with hardly an pressure...fixed it myself.

While I agree with your statement that a properly made slip joint can withstand a spine whack my take on proper use of a slippie is that mechanism is there to just hold the blade in the straight position and I do all of the work with the other side of the blade and see no reason on earth to ever whack the back of the spine on a slippie.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

Remember guys there's a big difference between the geometry of a Walker Liner Lock and a traditional leaf spring lock used on traditional patterns.

 

[B.F.U]

Son, I don't intend to crash my car, I don't need them newfangled seat belts...

Again, thank you for providing some sense to the conversation.

Son, I plan to cut things, I don't intend to torque my obsidian, I don't need that newfangled steel.


I seem to prefer slip joints myself actually, but it's ridiculous that people constantly argue that anyone who wants a lock is an idiot.

Also, it really makes me wonder how much someone is using their knives if they've never accidentally put pressure on the spine of a knife.

Has no one else used the spine to scrape tape?

 

[chiral.grolim]

Again, thank you for providing some sense to the conversation.

Son, I plan to cut things, I don't intend to torque my obsidian, I don't need that newfangled steel.

I seem to prefer slip joints myself actually, but it's ridiculous that people constantly argue that anyone who wants a lock is an idiot.

Also, it really makes me wonder how much someone is using their knives if they've never accidentally put pressure on the spine of a knife.

Has no one else used the spine to scrape tape?

I find the bolded above to be an excellent analogy given its close relation to the topic and historical relevance.

Furthermore, there are MANY cutting tasks which require me to place thumb-pressure on the spine of the blade, and there have been many instance when the resistance falls away so quickly that the spine-pressure could defeat a slip-joint or (non)locking liner. There are also cutting tasks where the material wedges the blade such that removing the blade from the material causes it to fold closed, the same as pressure on the spine. Using a knife tip to drill can put leverage on the spine (there's the torquing action, the dread of fine-edged stone tools!), and yes a spine can be accidentally whacked against something. These are all realities for which lock-blades were designed to protect against. It is better to perform a reasonable test to exaggerate the forces the lock might encounter in use and learn its weaknesses than to experience them at a less opportune moment. Liner/frame-locks are prone to failure. This is KNOWN. It is why CRKT offers the LAWKS and LionSteel the RotoLock, additional safety mechanisms for the liner-lock. So what is the big deal?

 

[Molly55]

When did I say it was a no brand from walmart. It was a taiwan made liner lock with g-10 and milled alum scales and aus-8 steel. It was about a hundred bucks.

 

[Molly55]

Have you never made a mistake? A slip of the hand?

Guys I am not an idiot who cut a box with the spine. I cut the box like a normal person with a tenth of a brain - with the cutting edge. I accidentally hit the inside of the box with the spine while cutting it down. Geesh.

 

[Molly55]

I only own 2 linerlock knives, a leatherman wave and a charge, and I am even more worried about THEM closing than I am about the slipjoints I use. If my grip is incorrect I can (and have done) easily depress the liner lock, Whereas with a slipjoint it requires the same force to close the knife accidentally as it takes on purpose.

Yep exactly. I have slip joints too (spydie) and it is quite difficult to close. My weak-locking liner lock? Swings closed from gravity alone when unlocked. Totally different.

 

[B.F.U]

Guys I am not an idiot who cut a box with the spine. I cut the box like a normal person with a tenth of a brain - with the cutting edge. I accidentally hit the inside of the box with the spine while cutting it down. Geesh.

No you misunderstood me, I said that very much in defense of you.

So many people on here act like they've never made a mistake or slip of the hand, when we all know if you are using your knives you will make some mistake, even if it's a small one, at some point. I mean, we're all human.

 

[B.F.U]

When did I say it was a no brand from walmart. It was a taiwan made liner lock with g-10 and milled alum scales and aus-8 steel. It was about a hundred bucks.

Could you email me the model knife it was, so I don't buy it?

 

[Rhinoknives1]

Guys I am not an idiot who cut a box with the spine. I cut the box like a normal person with a tenth of a brain - with the cutting edge. I accidentally hit the inside of the box with the spine while cutting it down. Geesh.

Just ignore the rude ones without manners, that are really just looking for someone to dog pile on around here.

Most other posters are discussing this with rational and polite words. I am sorry that you received an injury.

I am saying this as a polite comment, The safety on a Firearm, Car or knife just for examples always starts between our ears and YES!, I have cut myself many times!

 

[Fanglekai]

What is a lock designed to do? Hold the blade in the open position. If it fails to do that then it's defective or poorly designed. If a lock won't hold the blade open then you might as well be using a slipjoint. On slipjoints at least the spring provides some resistance to closing. I don't understand why so many people aren't even the least bit concerned about blades that swing freely when the lock is depressed, or have very little resistance to opening/closing (most modern knives) or knives with ball bearings in the pivot. Those blades will close almost instantly on your fingers if the lock fails. Many slipjoints have half stops and the blades do not swing freely because of the force the spring applies to the blade.

If accidents never happen, why even use a knife with a lock? Why not use exclusively friction folders?

 

[cncpro11]

I've been earth longer than 36 years and have had a knife close on me with a spine hit while wacking away at some weeds in the garden. It happens in the real world.

All you armchair experts, ask a knife maker.

I have. Both handmade and industrial makers will tell you that a properly made and adjusted knife with a liner or frame lock will withstand spine whack tests with ease.

Many failures can be fixed. I had a Buck Vantage that closed with hardly an pressure...fixed it myself.

Armchair experts or people who exercise common sense when deciding on the proper tool for the job, such as a weed whacker? Or even a machete?

 

[Molly55]

Also I did try to adjust the pivots on these knives. The gerbers just strip out instantly. The nice one which cut me could not get a balance between a solid lock and the liner jumping off the back of the blade. So it went to trash land. And no I'm not a doofuss who doesn't know how to use a knife. I'm a degreed Engineer with 17 years experience. I am very highly skilled, very well respected, very high earning, and very in demand in similar areas in my field - and these are my professional options on the liner lock safety of some of my knives. They're quite simple in fact. The knife lock failed under very light non-abusive use which would be very common. It sliced me quite nicely. It could not easily be adjusted to make it lock well. It was unsafe. I threw it away. If the lock had held, I would not be sliced, rather I would have completed without incident the simple task of cutting down a standard grade brown corrugated box with a mid-to-high quality tool whose sole design and purpose is to cut things like boxes. Testing very light spine hits on it and several other knives showed me that I owned some knives which seemed like they would have failed in the same scenario had I been using them. They could not be adjusted. I threw them away. I have a requirement to cut lots of boxes because I just moved, so I will use my CSs, my BMs with Axis, or my spydercos which did not appear likely to fail the same way. Problem solved, and lesson learned and shared.

Sometimes when you just try to give simple friendly advice which might help someone online, you always get some jagoffs have to show up and argue about. But thanks to the others who added helpful comments.