Durable folding knife locks

I can't see any of the commenly used locks ever wearing out.

I have a knife that must've been flipped at least 10.000 and the framelock and as far as i can tell it's still at the same % of lock. And that's a framelock without a lockbar insert, so if any lock would wear out that would be it.
 
In a long term setting I think the opinel deserves a mention for having a lock you can actually service and maintain.

I've found if you take it off and lightly squeeze it with pliers it makes it harder to engage when put back on the knife. This also makes it stronger in use and harder to disengage. It is not a lock to rely on for hard use but for regular duties to stop it accidently closing it works just fine.

Being able to service a lock it makes it a winner for me.
 
I've never worn out a lock on any reasonably quality knife. I carry frame, liner, and lock back for the most part.

Even at that, I treat every lock as an insurance policy. I don't rely on them as foolproof. I mean, the knife was designed to fold in half. It shouldn't surprise you if it does;)

I still think a robust lock is important. I check all of my folders from time to time to see if the lock is engaging correctly, not over traveling, and that the blades don't wiggle.

I just try not to use my folders in a way that will cause them to slam shut on my fingers if they do fail.
 
I for one have a delica 4 ffg, that i beat the ever loving hell out of as almost a project to test the toughness and strength of it. Approx 3 yes old and anytime I have a landscape or deck project or anything I don’t wanna jeopardize my better ones ill grab it and have even cut landscaping erosion matts on the ground dragging it through tje dirt and rocks very aggressively. So far not a single chip or problem with any part of it.
 
The only lock that has failed on me was a lockback... Colt AR15. I know, United Cutlery crap... And I must say it only failed when I put a lot of pressure on the back side of the blade INTENTIONALLY. Seems like the notch where the lockbar engages is somewhat worn out. during regular use it works fine.

I have yet to try the Cold Steel Triad lock but my bet is that designs which compensate for wear (with longer travel of the pieces, usually) should provide more than a lifetime service. My only concerns would be about steel to non-steel interferences (titanium framelocks, for example) which may wear prematurely.

But with all due respect... who cares about lock life? Any of us in this forum would be replacing said knife waaaaaaaaaay before it comes close to the end of its life with a new and amazing piece of cutlery! XD

Mikel
 
I have a liner lock I don't trust so much....its a Buck Alpha folder with an S30V blade I used to use for skinning and boning animals that had the bad luck of running into an arrow. The bent spring steel stamped piece liner lock just isn't a precision fit. [At some point I will tear it down and machine it]

I can see where a guys usage would promote failure......so for example I wouldn't use Benchmade type lock for animal processing without replacing that spring regularly as the junk that inevitably would get in there is going to promote rot.

So to your strength issue....IMO, I think its more about quality than actual design.

evilgreg said:
Based on testing, the only commonly promoted lock on the forum that is prone to failing is probably the framelock as executed by CRK on the Sebenza. As long as you don't go with one of those, you should be fine. ;)
Click to expand...
^Made my Monday morning....links and all!
 
Any lock can wear out, but it takes a ton of use to do it with any quality modern knife. The back locks may be the best, but the Caged Ball Bearing Lock is great, too. It uses a coil spring for exactly the same reason Ruger uses them instead of the traditional springs found in revolvers. They are a lot more reliable. The Omega springs in the Axis Lock, like the springs in revolvers, can and do break (but not as often as you hear). The coil springs are a lot less prone to breakage.

Liner locks and frame locks on most designs will drift over after much use. However, in some knives, the tang of the knife is cut at an increasing angle to prevent this. An interesting lock is the Compression Lock by Spyderco. Instead of using a piece of metal cut out of the liner to contact the bottom of the tang, the Compression lock reverses this and has it contacting the top of the tang and so redirecting forces and making a stronger, more durable lock.
 
If I were to guess I'd say a lack back simply most everything is hiding inside the knife and less likely to get contaminated, the flip side is it's hidden so you won't know if it does and it's harder to clean if it does. My second would be the compression lock because it has two mating surfaces
 
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