Buy a frame-lock & DO NOT look at the lock-bar travel..

J85909266 said:
... I carried the same Sebenza with very "late" lock up for 6 years and the bar never moved and it never developed a hint of play. It's a non-issue in properly made RIL.

I would even go as far as to say that early lock up is actually dangerous.
Click to expand...

I was going to comment more in my earlier post but since you mentioned it, I agree.

As I said, I have been carrying the same frame lock since 2009, and use it for anything and everything that needs a knife. I have not noticed
the lock bar move anywhere, it hasn't "developed" any problems. I think a lot of these obsessions about early or late lockup are kind of silly.
I think lock bar inserts are unnecessary. You are just adding more fitted parts into the puzzle, probably adding cost, labor and one more thing
to potentially go wrong. Agree with non-issue in properly made lock with quality materials.
 
Sonnydaze said:
You might wonder about this one... but I have complete confidence in it... "Mystery-knife" by famous maker... NOT CRK...

...and for those folks who are concerned about late lockup...Chris Reeve "intentionally" designs his Sebenzas to lock up at about 80% when brand new...and they will pretty well stay there for a lifetime...

Click to expand...

Looks like a les George to me.
 
There is so much more that goes into a liner/framelock than the percentage of lockup.

I will dig up my old posts on the matter.
 
Great responses! I started this thread to poke fun at knife geeks, of which I am one!
I'm not actually concerned about my various lock-bars, but I still look!
 
I look, but only when first taking the knife out of its package to make sure the lock is functioning properly. As long as it locks up fine then I personally don't care about the percentage.
 
I have lockups running anywhere from 10-80%. All are good knives and I don't worry about any of them. Hardest ones to judge are my Cold Steel Ti-Lites' liner locks due to the 90-degree strengthening bend of the patent pending/unique lockfaces. They center nicely though. Not sure how to make the percentage call on those.
 
ATJ999 said:
One thing I have been thinking about lately about the framelock lockup. When you use a framelock for hard work that you have to sqeeze the grip, it seems to cause a lot of pressure to where the lock meets the blade. It seems to slide it over each time causing wear(adhesive wear). Might need to grip my framelocks and my linerlocks differently. Don't have that problem with liners.
Click to expand...

Honestly, if I need to squeeze any knife that tightly while cutting I tend to start looking for a different knife. Squeezing steals power from the cut.
 
Wait, are you guys saying it 's a bad thing if the lock bar travels much under the blade? Isn't that how a frame lock or liner lock is supposed to work?
 
When a knife geak inspects a new knife. 1,2,3!
1 lock up % ?
2 Any movement when locked up?
3 Is blade perfectly centered?

Mike
 
My hangup is if it's Ti on Steel or Steel on Steel.

If it locks up solid with Steel on Steel, I don't care as much about percentage.

If it's Ti? It better be early so I can get some use out of it before it wears out. Matter of fact, I'll never buy another one like that. But that's me.

Ti lockups suck balls.
 
OmarShablotnik said:
My hangup is if it's Ti on Steel or Steel on Steel.

If it locks up solid with Steel on Steel, I don't care as much about percentage.

If it's Ti? It better be early so I can get some use out of it before it wears out. Matter of fact, I'll never buy another one like that. But that's me.

Ti lockups suck balls.
Click to expand...

Read my post with the linked thread discussing all aspects of Ti on steel and steel on steel.
 
supergnat said:
Wait, are you guys saying it 's a bad thing if the lock bar travels much under the blade? Isn't that how a frame lock or liner lock is supposed to work?
Click to expand...

No. Read my linked thread. A later lockup is generally preferred by maker and with proper fit of lock face there will not be an issue with wear.
 
I don't see anything odd about thoroughly inspecting a knife before buying it, including things like lockup, blade-play, blade centering, fit & finish, pivot action, etc. Nor do I see anything odd about occasionally inspecting a knife lock for wear.

Who buys a knife without inspecting it? Who orders a knife, and immediately upon removing it from the box just sticks it in there pocket and heads off to work or camping without so much as opening the knife? Who walks into a store and buys an expensive knife without even bothering to look at it?

Of course there is a big difference between an initial inspection/occasional inspection, and obsessing over every minute detail.

Heck, I don't buy a pack of tube socks or a can of soup without giving it a look-over. If I buy a frame or liner lock I'm certainly going to take a look at the lockup.
 
Here's the lockup on my Slysz Bowie. It came new about 5% earlier and wore to where it is now in about 2 days. Hasn't budged since. I can squeeze the knife or intentionally push the lock bar as hard as I can and it may move ~5% but unlocks just as easily as it does every time. I love the lockup.

4Kq5yis.jpg
 
I will openly admit i obsess over all aspects of a knifes build including lockup and centering among other things. I may be crazy especially since i never keep a knife long enough to have it ever be an issue. But if i had a choice i want a knife withas early of lockup as possible while still being functionally sound as it seems when imresell tat is what most want. Either way when im dropping $200 or more on a knife i kinda expect to get what i want regardless of what others feel i should or should not care about. Even if it is trivial. My cash, my rules is how i see it.
 
I don't get too hung up on lock up, but super early or late, say less than 20% or more than 80% and I'll avoid it.

That said, I don't feel it's being nit-picky, not at the prices most of these guys are charging for "mid-tech" knives, even production knives. Higher prices should come with higher attention to detail, especially when many of the mid-tech's don't have better materials. If you're not getting better materials, and there isn't more attention to detail with things like lockup and lock face fit etc. with $400-600+ "mid-techs" essentially you're just paying for the name.

Wanting super early for resale or wear is just silly to me. If the lock wears in 50%+ from new, the lock faces were not done right in the first place, which sadly is all too common with liner/frame locks even from high end brands/makers. I think of it like the people who pick up an expensive 1911 and the only thing they look at is how tight the slide fits. Which has almost nothing to do with the accuracy of the weapon, and almost always negatively impacts it's reliability, unless it's nothing but safe or indoor range queen.
 
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