Button Lock Solo

Joined
Aug 8, 1999
Messages
5,094
Recently I read review on www.spyderco.com by a guy who bought a button lock Solo. Solo, for those who don't know are a sister line of knives to Spyderco. Instead of a round hole, they open via a "notched lobe" that is patented by Spyderco. A few years back, Solos were primarily aimed at the gents knife market since they were thin foldrs without clips. Recently, I had noticed the botton lock model on sale at Spyderco's Online Store at the price of $24.95 (shipping included!)
After reading a pretty favorable review, I decided to go for it. Afterall, at less than $25, even if it was terrible, I wouldn't be out of much.

I got the Button Lock today, and I was very impressed with the level of fit and finish. The scales are black G-10 and the blade is roughly 35/65 like a Pro-Venator or Native. The steel is AUS-10A; a very good steel that doesn't not get as much use as it could from manufacturers.
The knife is about the size that I have really come to like, a 2.75" blade and an OAL of 6.5". The knife has a black notched lobe that opens the blade very easily. The notched lobe will appeal to some but not others. It is a very easy to use way to open a knife but it can get in the way for some slicing or stabbing motions. The blade itself is very sharp and has a nice hollow grind. The clip blade has a rather Bowie type of look to it. This is a great shape for general utility. I completely plain edged version would make a nice hunter IMHO.

The final thing I would like to note about this knife is the button lock itself. The actual lock is a liner of stainless steel. The unique thing is that the liner is disengaged via a button in the handle. This design has the great advantage of being able to make the sclaes steep enough that one's hand does not have to come into contact with the liner at any time. This greatly enhances the safety of a liner lock knife IMHO. I should note that this knife is a Sal Glesser design. I can only ask, "Sal, why isn't the button lock used on more of your liner locks?" It would really make your great liner locks like that on the Military even better. Just a thought from a long time admirer of Spyderco. BTW, this Button Lock Solo is perhaps the absolute most knife for the money for sale anywhere at this time!:D
 
Originally posted by anthony cheeseboro

The final thing I would like to note about this knife is the button lock itself. The actual lock is a liner of stainless steel. The unique thing is that the liner is disengaged via a button in the handle. This design has the great advantage of being able to make the sclaes steep enough that one's hand does not have to come into contact with the liner at any time. This greatly enhances the safety of a liner lock knife IMHO. I should note that this knife is a Sal Glesser design. I can only ask, "Sal, why isn't the button lock used on more of your liner locks?" It would really make your great liner locks like that on the Military even better. Just a thought from a long time admirer of Spyderco. BTW, this Button Lock Solo is perhaps the absolute most knife for the money for sale anywhere at this time!:D

I have an old Rigid liner lock knife with a similar lock release. I never knew what to call the lock until now! For liner locks it is a neat idea. One mine, it is practically impossible to disengage the liner by directly contacting the liner.

One further step this Rigid took was to add a sliding safety to the lock release. It is a stud, just like the opening stud, that slides a strip of steel between the release button and the liner. The knife will open but not close when this safety is engaged.

I would have to agree with your statement that this type of release would make some liner locks more attractive.
 
I'm not so good at placing attachments in e-mail so I will describe how to see the Solo Button Lock. Go the Online Store at www.spyderco.com and look under the Solo section. The Button Lock is currently Solo's only offering.
 
Interesting thread Anthony, thanx. I guess I could add some info.

The model was designed in collaboration with a Seki maker named Yoshinori Seto. He built the piece for us. He is also a member of the US Custom knifemakers Guild.

The original purpose of the model was for the Ironstone mail order catalog. The run was very late to get into production. It was a very difficult piece to make. By the time production actually came about, Ironstone had closed its doors and the venue for distributuion was gone.

The Steel, as mentioned is AUS-10. One of the super performers in knife steel. Corrosion resistance is not as good as some (about the same as ATS), but edge retention and toughness is quite exceptional. We use the steel in our Native SS modedl and have had very good response. It is not a common steel because of its high cost both in the custom steel run and the processing.

The nested linerlock (yes nested into G-10) is released using a ball bearing captured in the front side scale and actuating the linerlock on the back side scale. The blade rides between them. The concept was originally developed by G.Sakai (another Seki maker). It was knocked off and the market flooded by Taiwan copies back in the early to mid 90's, so the concept was dropped by G.Sakai. We decided to use the concept because of it's uniqueness and effectiveness. Yoshinori Seto and G.Sakai are friends so there was no conflict. We made the G-10 in the USA because I require a more dense G-10 material for nesting liners and it must be custom made.

Many prototypes were made before the final pattern was refined to our standards. The handle is very ergonomic. The blade shape very funtional, the "opening lobe" works well.

MSRP was supposed to be in the $125 - $150 range with a discounted mail order sale price of about $100 - $125.

The pieces cost considerably more to make than the asking price, not including tooling. We have no real distribution method to market the model as it is an "oddball" to our current line. So we thought to offer the "close out" piece at a very atrtractive price that a small number of knife aficianados get to experience the result of the project.

sal
 
Sal, thanks for the information. Even though a button lock meant to be sold for profit would be much more expensive than what I paid, I still think that the enhanced security of the button release would make it a winner. I hope that at some time in the future, more knives are made with this feature.
 
I'd have picked one up for myself if it wasn't USD$25 for "Inernational Shipment" (Yes, someone from Spyderco might like to look into the typo on the order page).

:(
 
Anthony cheeseboro, what type of knife is that in your user photo? kind regards, sam

Recently I read review on www.spyderco.com by a guy who bought a button lock Solo. Solo, for those who don't know are a sister line of knives to Spyderco. Instead of a round hole, they open via a "notched lobe" that is patented by Spyderco. A few years back, Solos were primarily aimed at the gents knife market since they were thin foldrs without clips. Recently, I had noticed the botton lock model on sale at Spyderco's Online Store at the price of $24.95 (shipping included!)
After reading a pretty favorable review, I decided to go for it. Afterall, at less than $25, even if it was terrible, I wouldn't be out of much.

I got the Button Lock today, and I was very impressed with the level of fit and finish. The scales are black G-10 and the blade is roughly 35/65 like a Pro-Venator or Native. The steel is AUS-10A; a very good steel that doesn't not get as much use as it could from manufacturers.
The knife is about the size that I have really come to like, a 2.75" blade and an OAL of 6.5". The knife has a black notched lobe that opens the blade very easily. The notched lobe will appeal to some but not others. It is a very easy to use way to open a knife but it can get in the way for some slicing or stabbing motions. The blade itself is very sharp and has a nice hollow grind. The clip blade has a rather Bowie type of look to it. This is a great shape for general utility. I completely plain edged version would make a nice hunter IMHO.

The final thing I would like to note about this knife is the button lock itself. The actual lock is a liner of stainless steel. The unique thing is that the liner is disengaged via a button in the handle. This design has the great advantage of being able to make the sclaes steep enough that one's hand does not have to come into contact with the liner at any time. This greatly enhances the safety of a liner lock knife IMHO. I should note that this knife is a Sal Glesser design. I can only ask, "Sal, why isn't the button lock used on more of your liner locks?" It would really make your great liner locks like that on the Military even better. Just a thought from a long time admirer of Spyderco. BTW, this Button Lock Solo is perhaps the absolute most knife for the money for sale anywhere at this time!:D
 
Yeah, but ya gotta admit that the SO-05 is a very interesting knife, though! (its the one on the left...)

TedP


 
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