Cold Steel Triad Lock Spring, Strongerr Than Necessary?

T

tatfiend

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Apr 24, 2013
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Post ignored on the CS area for several days so reposted here. Is it considered too provacative or negative for CS owners?

Is the triad lock spring stronger than needed for secure lockup? I have seen multiple posts complaining of how strong it is on new knives and discussing methods to reduce the spring strength for easier lock operation. The commonest one is suggesting leaving the knife partially open with the blade positioned so that the spring is held at maximum normal deflection for a period of time.

For this to work then the spring material, even in normal operation, is being stressed beyond the yield point it appears; NOT a good thing. I KNOW that depressing the thumb lock release beyond the amount needed to unlock the blade works to permanently reduce spring pressure as I have done so on an XL Voyager. Obviously the spring design, material or tempering is definitely not idiot proof if a customer can easily stress it beyond the yield point without any knife disassembly.

I would like the spring to be better material and temper so as shipped strength can be reduced and the triad lock design modified to provide a stop for the lock release lever so it is impossible to overstress the spring.

Added:

I would also like CS to drop their claim of their being the sharpest knives in the world as that is certainly not true of the CS knives I have bought recently including my new Rajah II. I HATE false advertising claims and wish that they were illegal.
 
My Recon 1 wore in after awhile
Not so bad to depress the lock anymore, though it was only an issue while knife fondling :D
 
The Triad lock is definitely more stiff that any regular lockbacks I have it kind of bothers me as well. And as far as the sharpness of Cold Steel knives I'm fairly certain you got a dud because every one I've ever handled has been extraordinarily sharp out of box.
 
It should break in.

Plus it feels secure to have a strong, bank vault lockup. For example, my new Buck 112 is very tough to close, I like that. It feels very secure, and should break in soon.
 
It is supposed to be strong. It will wear in but it wont wear out for a LONG TIME! I have a Custom American Lawman and believe me Andrew Demko knows what he is doing! If you have not already looked at it go to Cold Steel's website and read about the Tri-Ad lock and how it will adjust to wear. Thanks! Kevin :D
 
I have two Cold Steel knives with the Tri-Ad lock. I do not find them unnecessarily hard to close. I can open and close them one-handed, either left or right hand. And both were hair-shaving sharp out-of-the-box. The Black Rhino and the Large Espada. TO close them, imagine this: Rotate knife until thumb is over slot atop pivot pin area, index finger on spine of blade, middle finger on lockbar. Depress lockbar with middle finger, push blade up with index finger until the non-sharpened area on the blade contacts thumb, move thumb out of slot area and use thumb to fully close blade.

Don't gasp at the thumb over the pivot pin. That is how we close a liner lock, NO?

Look at it this way. You will develop one really strong middle finger. Makes giving out single digit salutes rather easy. ;-):D
 
Perhaps you didn't get an answer because the point has been made previously, over and over again. The Triad locks break in and get easier to use over time. All of my Cold Steel folders came paper slicing sharp.

 
tatfiend said:
Added:

I would also like CS to drop their claim of their being the sharpest knives in the world as that is certainly not true of the CS knives I have bought recently including my new Rajah II. I HATE false advertising claims and wish that they were illegal.
Click to expand...

Oh, come on. I'm not fond of the way CS does its advertising, but all companies exagerate the virtues of their products. What do you expect them to change their motto to? "Pretty decent knives for the money"?

Anyway, about the Tri-Ad, I've got three knives with that lock and two (Voyagers) are relatively smooth for lockbacks. The third one (American Lawman) is a bit stiffer and harder to close than, say, an Endura. I'm sure the lock can be refined and made smoother, but these are budget knives and I'm not sure I'd want to pay more for that kind of improvement (I'd rather haver better blade steel).
 
I find that my American Lawman is easier to press but the travel is farther than my Spyderco Stretch.
So, no. I do not think the spring is too strong.
 
The spring will break in over time as pretty much everyone has said. Also the lock being hard to operate for some has to do with a couple things..

1. the travel for the lock is LONG.... The "length of pull" on the lock bar is a lot longer than other common lock backs like spyderco , Buck, or Al Mar.
2. when the blade is new the materials are tightly placed together, the F&F on the inner mechanism is actually quite well done for a production blade.
3. Absence of lubricant makes the lock stick together. The lock bar is constantly pushing itself into locking position. Without lubrication the lock bar will stick.
4. The spring has to be strong to provide the necessary support to allow the lock interface to be self adjusting.
5. Its an overbuilt lock, and that is exactly what is advertised.

Finally as its been said the whole thing will polish and wear itself over time. Also find another production lock back that is that strong and still allows to blade to be flicked open almost effortlessly and easily. Demko really knows what he was doing when he made this lock. They always say to not reinvent the wheel but that is exactly what was done. Same goes for the Mchenry Williams Axis Lock, or Spyderco's Compression lock.

And as far as CS advertising that they are the sharpest knives in the world... let them... If they want to say their knives make you attractive and have super powers then thats fine too.. its advertising and we know how much truth is really in that. The proof is performance not advertising. As far as sharpness goes... EVERY ONE of the knives I have received from CS was stupid sharp bar none. My Recon scout was so sharp it cut through the sleeve, plastic wrap, and box before it got to me.

And one last thing I have to get off my chest. I understand that opinions are like certain things that smell bad, but seriously the CS hate bandwagon has got to stop. No one can post a CS thread without some one saying something ridiculous. Your post would have been wonderful without the last little tidbit. I am not trying to attack you, but seriously? How about instead, "I have been also been disappointed in the out of box sharpness of some of my recent CS products." Maybe I have stepped over a line here, but really its almost fashionable to hate on Cold Steel in someway despite of all their silver linings.

no malicious intent here. Just get frustrated. :D
 
Franciscomv said:
Oh, come on. I'm not fond of the way CS does its advertising, but all companies exagerate the virtues of their products. What do you expect them to change their motto to? "Pretty decent knives for the money"?

Anyway, about the Tri-Ad, I've got three knives with that lock and two (Voyagers) are relatively smooth for lockbacks. The third one (American Lawman) is a bit stiffer and harder to close than, say, an Endura. I'm sure the lock can be refined and made smoother, but these are budget knives and I'm not sure I'd want to pay more for that kind of improvement (I'd rather haver better blade steel).
Click to expand...

Bahahaha!
 
I don't really see the problem with that statement. He said that his knives were not that sharp. Not that all CS knives aren't sharp. And, while I do tend to like Cold Steel, I've definitely gotten some NIB Cold Steel knives direct from retailers that were butter knife sharp, particularly my Counter Tac 2. I also think that it's false advertising to claim that they have the sharpest knives in the world. I don't see how you can dispute that such an extreme claim is false advertising.
 
Well, I have several of the newer versions of Cold Steel lockback knives with the Tri-Ad lock and I don't have any problems with opening and closing them one-handed at all.

I think that part of the problem here just might be that lockback knives have more friction in the design by default—after all, it holds the blade closed too.

The popularity of liner-locks and various cam-action locks (Benchmade Axis-Lock, SOG Arc-Lock, Spyderco ball-bearing lock), have less friction in the design.

They open and close a lot smoother than lockbacks.
 
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Sorry My friend but if the locks are that big a problem for you I think you need to hit the weights.
 
Is the Triad lock stronger than necessary? I'm sure it is considering that a good part of the world doesn't even USE locking mechanisms on their folding knives. On the other hand, they have the design, and it does indeed work well. The locks are always firm, but I've never had any problems opening any of my Cold Steels with Triad locks.
 
I like the lock bar strength. The Recon1 and Black Rhino have both gotten easier with actual use.

As for sharpest knives in the world. Many knives make that claim. Cutco, Ginsu......a google search popped up with a kitchen set with plastic handles touted as the "worlds sharpest knifes"

I'm pretty sure they are not the world's sharpest "knifes".




My CS knives have come with great edges. Shaving sharp is the norm.

My hawks and machete's have needed work from them, but I expect that.



I don't leave any edges stock on any knives, so that is ok.
 
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