David Boye dent

It is a section of the lock release that has been cut out on lock backs to reduce accidental closing of the knife. Personally, I think it can be argued that the boye dent is counterintuitive and might actually increase the chances of accidental closing. I'm sure someone will be along soon to talk about how great it is though.
 
Photo below shows four Natives. The semi-circular cutout in the steel of the lockbars of the top two, roughly matching the curved recess in the handles, is the David Boye dent. The bottom two are older production and do not have that feature.

c41_frn_natives.jpg

For the record, I'm not a fan of the dent myself. In fact I've been one of it's strongest and most vocal critics. But since the question was only "what is it", rather than "what good is it" I'll just leave it at that.
 
Fyi, David Boye is the knifemaker who came up with the dent. The only pro I can come up with is that it "kinda" guides my thumb into the right spot to disengage the lock. Of course, I haven't ever had a problem closing a Spydie without the dent, so that isn't much of a benefit.
 
From the Spyderco website glossary:

David Boye Dent

"Custom knifemaker David Boye removed a small arc or dent of metal from the lock bar lever of his knives. This removed piece lessened the possibility of gripping the handle hard enough to depress the lock and accidentally unlock the blade while using the knife."


I like lockback models, especially Spydies. The Boye dent is a recess in the bar where you put your finger or thumb to disengage the lock. I prefer it.

M.
 
Thanks every one, I thought that might be what it was but did not know why it was there or what it did. Thanks for the Spyderco 101 lesson.
 
The Deacon said:
For the record, I'm not a fan of the dent myself. In fact I've been one of it's strongest and most vocal critics. But since the question was only "what is it", rather than "what good is it" I'll just leave it at that.
Click to expand...


Would you please elaborate here on what your objection to the detent is?

I kind of like the feel of it. I certainly see it as no hindrance or potential problem, but is it possible I've overlooked something?

-PJ
 
I prefer it as well, seems to make sure that when you grip the knife hard, the lock bar has no way of being compressed.
 
I'm not the Deacon, but his love of the Boye dent is well known ;) :D As I recall, his primary objection is aesthetic - he thinks it detracts from the clean lines of the knife. I tend to agree. I also feel it is a solution to a problem which didn't exist. Maybe I'm just a wimp, but I've never accidentally unlocked a knife, certainly not by gripping it tightly. But then, I've only been using knives for forty-five years or so, maybe I've just been lucky.
 
It is strange I noticed this topic today.

I'm in the process of adding the detent to a knife I regularly unlock inadvertantly (and most undesireably, today).

Can't say all lockbacks benefit from the feature, but some do.
 
Just earlier today, I was cutting with one of my older rescues, and when closing it, it seemed wrong. Now I have owned this knife for 13 years, and EDC for 10 of those, yet after having the dent on my new EDC for only a year, it seems like it should have been there all along.

Just a testament to how spydies are designed in the dark.

later
xdshooter
 
peacefuljeffrey said:
Would you please elaborate here on what your objection to the detent is?

I kind of like the feel of it. I certainly see it as no hindrance or potential problem, but is it possible I've overlooked something?

-PJ
Click to expand...
Sure Jeffrey,

As Yablanowitz noted, one of my objections is aesthetic. The word "dent" generally denotes an imperfection or disfigurement. In my opinion, the Boye dent is well named, since it ruins the smooth flow of the backstrap. This may be on no consequence on a tactical folder like the Scorpius, but it does matter (at least to me) on a models like the Kopa and Schempp Persians that are attempting to look more refined.

My second objection is purely an issue of personal comfort. The Boye dent makes some Spyderco knives uncomfortable for me to close. I suffer a bit from arthritis in my hands and my finger joints are a bit sensitive. The "corners" of the dent concentrate pressure on a small area of the joint, which can be rather uncomfortable.

Third objection is to the illogic of their application. If they are a safety feature in case someone "gorilla grips" the knife, then what's the logic for using them on petite Spyderco front locks like the Kopa, Dragonfly and Navigator 2 while omitting them from the most "hard use" ones - the Manix, Mini Manix, and Chinook?

I also have serious doubts that the presence of the dent does any more to reduce the potential for accidental opening than reducing the depth of the cutouts in the handle by a like amount would.
 
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