Cheap button lock knife

Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
4
Hello everyone,

I am a beginning knifemaker and am looking for a very cheap button lock knife. All I want to do with it is take it apart and see how a button lock is made because I want to make one for myself. The cheapest POS in the world is good enough for me as long as it has a button lock. Is there anything out there for less than $15?
 
The least expensive ones I've seen are Boker Magnums for $29 at Knifekits.com. They also sell parts for making button lock knives.

The Boker Magnums might be found cheaper elsewhere but I don't know.

A $15 button lock, or a sub-$15 button lock, will be a very cheap knife. Such a knife might not be a good example to learn knife-making from or model your own knife after. It's kind of like borrowing notes from the dumbest kid in class, sure they're notes, but you might not learn anything of value from them.

Good luck in your search.
 
Your best bet is to google or youtube button lock knife schematics.
 
The Kershaw Thistle is pretty inexpensive, I think they were selling for around $20 on the site named after a big river in South America before Christmas.. The button lock implementation in this case is a simple liner lock with a button on a leaf spring on the opposite side of the knife to disengage the liner lock. The materials and construction are a notch or two above whatever flea market button locks you might find for a few dollars less, but the button lock design in this case is primitive and blocks the blade upon closing, it might not be the best design to copy if you want to build a button lock.
 
In that case the Thistle isn't a button-lock really, it;s a modified liner-lock. A look at knife kits shows how BLs work.
 
The Milwaukee fastback series has a few button lock knives and they're supposed to be pretty decent. There's one on a certain jungle based retailer for $9 right now. I am interested in whether or not its tapped for a spring for... academic reasons.

Edit- err nevermind they look like a modified linerlock as well.
 
Gerber Guardian J1 fits the description given by the OP.

I agree though that this may be a bad way to go about making a good knife.
 
Knifekits.com sells kits to make your own button lock knives. Should be a good way to study how they work.
 
Thank you for the help guys.

The least expensive ones I've seen are Boker Magnums for $29 at Knifekits.com. They also sell parts for making button lock knives.

The Boker Magnums might be found cheaper elsewhere but I don't know.

A $15 button lock, or a sub-$15 button lock, will be a very cheap knife. Such a knife might not be a good example to learn knife-making from or model your own knife after. It's kind of like borrowing notes from the dumbest kid in class, sure they're notes, but you might not learn anything of value from them.

Good luck in your search.

You have a good point killgar. I guess I will just spend the money and get a Boker Magnum.
 
I agree with killgar, but if you still want an el-cheapo button lock, consider the Rough Rider Fat Boy Button Lock - RR775 - available for around $10.00. This particular button lock is perhaps atypical, though. All it really does is use the button to move a liner lock. Still, the overall design of the system is interesting as the button actuator is in the path of the blade and the design (esp. positioning) has to take this into account. Solid, simple, design that works well.

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