Blade Retention - Which Lock is the Tightest?

S

sharkattacksw

Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
626
Hey all,

I'm still a relative newb when it comes to learning about the different locks, steels, designs, etc. of folders, so bear with me. Most of the knives I own are lockbacks, with the exception of a couple of Griptilians and a Manix II. All of my lockbacks have excellent blade retention when in a closed position, which I really like.

However, there are some liner locks and a few frame locks that I'd like to have, but I'm afraid I'd be disappointed in how (weak) the blade is held in a closed position. I guess I'm paranoid of the blade opening slightly while in my pocket and then, when I reach for it, cutting me.

I suppose that I could carry the blade with the spine of the blade against the seam of my pocket, but not all knives (obviously) can be carried like this due to limited clip positions.

I'd love to have an Al Mar Shrike. I handled one at a local shop and fell in love with the smoothness, but when I held the knife by the handle and gave it some hard shakes, the blade eased open a bit. Again, I guess I'm used to the tight blades on the lockbacks I have.

Can you guys relate to this? Am I overanalysing this? Do some locks, besides lockbacks, hold the blades tighter than others?

Any suggestions, comments, tips, etc. will be appreciated.

Thanks guys,
S
 
As far as retention goes, the Spyderco Military and Para Military 2 have very strong detents. Even very hard shakes will not dislodge the blade. Actually, now that I think about it, the only blade I have problems with the detent is my original Para. But, that's due to the style of detent used.
 
Some locks seem to have better blade retention than others. I think Axis locks in particular can be consistently flicked open with a hard outward swing.

Blade retention is a good concern, not only for safety, but for legal reasons as well.

Some eager beaver officer might consider this to be a "gravity knife":
[youtube]6YwKDcEWvJg[/youtube]
 
Noctis3880 said:
Some locks seem to have better blade retention than others. I think Axis locks in particular can be consistently flicked open with a hard outward swing.

Blade retention is a good concern, not only for safety, but for legal reasons as well.

Some eager beaver officer might consider this to be a "gravity knife":
[youtube]6YwKDcEWvJg[/youtube]
Click to expand...

Wow, I didn't know that the detent on the XM-18s was so "weak". I'm so used to very strong detents that I'm reluctant to carry anything with a weak detent. If I do, it MUST be tip down.
 
Orion's Belt said:
Wow, I didn't know that the detent on the XM-18s was so "weak". I'm so used to very strong detents that I'm reluctant to carry anything with a weak detent. If I do, it MUST be tip down.
Click to expand...
To be fair, I did loosen the pivot for smoother flipping, though that leads to weak blade retention. If I tighten it so there's absolutely no blade play and so I can't "drop" the blade out, I can't flip the knife. Though Rick mentioned that he was more concerned with making a working tool rather than the smoothest flipper on the market. I also suspect that the flipper was just added as an afterthought rather than as a primary opening mechanism.

But just to be the devil's advocate, this knife DOES happen to have the weakest ball detent of all the framelock/liner lock knives I have.
 
Noctis3880 said:
To be fair, I did loosen the pivot for smoother flipping, though that leads to weak blade retention. If I tighten it so there's absolutely no blade play and so I can't "drop" the blade out, I can't flip the knife. Though Rick mentioned that he was more concerned with making a working tool rather than the smoothest flipper on the market. I also suspect that the flipper was just added as an afterthought rather than as a primary opening mechanism.

But just to be the devil's advocate, this knife DOES happen to have the weakest ball detent of all the framelock/liner lock knives I have.
Click to expand...

You're right about the XM-18 having a super weak detent. Ive tried tip up but had the knife open in my pocket too many times to keep it that way. It's too bad because the knife carries and deploys so much better in tip up configuration, IMO. I wish there were a modification to address this.
 
Gavin S. said:
You're right about the XM-18 having a super weak detent. Ive tried tip up but had the knife open in my pocket too many times to keep it that way. It's too bad because the knife carries and deploys so much better in tip up configuration, IMO. I wish there were a modification to address this.
Click to expand...

Surely it can't be worse then the BM760 Bob Lum Tanto. I could hiccup-flick that blade out.

...and no I'm not calling you Shirley.
 
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