Even The Tri Ad Lock Isnt Foolproof

goldie

goldie

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Feb 18, 2000
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I bought a swift on the exchange a few months ago at a great price. Used it, like it, but one day I was cleaning the blade while it was open ,and for some reason I held the blade and handle and noticed some up and down play. not a lot but it was there.its very slight but it is there. I surely thought this locking system would never move a bit. with regular use and carry you cant notice it.is this normal for the tri ad lock or should it not move in the least?
 
Triad locks are said to be very tough and durable. You may have gotten a "lemon." Give CS a call and see if they can help out.
 
Did you try adjusting the pivot?? I have a few, no Cold Steel, that will loosen up and develope play unless I use loctite.
Check the pivot brother.
Joe
 
for some reason I didn't try the pivot,cause it was assisted ill try tightening it see what happens...
 
I have had one that developed a bit of play, but that in no way means the lock will fail.
 
I tightened the pivot its still there. I guess that's how these locks are from the responses, I thought they would lock up tighter. its not going to fail,but I thought it would never move even a hair...
 
For what it's worth, I find people seem to check for blade play with different amounts of pressure. Some check it with two fingers very lightly, and some come right on to er. Just something I've noticed from watching reviews and such. My Recon 1 has a very tiny bit of play up and down, nothing to worry about though, tis the nature of the beast with back locks and such.
 
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I've had my mitts on over 25 different Cold Steel folders and currently own 5. I have never detected even the slightest blade play in any direction. I had an AK-47 and beat it like it f'd my wife and it also never developed blade play. A properly fabricated and assembled Tri-Ad lock
has no wiggle room by the nature of the design.

I'm guessing the locking lug is bottomed in it's mating notch. I would send it back for evaluation. Cold Steel takes awhile, but always makes things right
 
The lock wears in and gets even tighter. Try opening it more robustly. I bet you'll have no play.
 
And and all locks can develop small amounts of play. It will likely always happen. That said, the way the Triad is designed it should be nearly impervious to lock slip in all but the most extreme cases and rarest situations.
 
I thought in the case of the swift, the assisted action is so powerful and violent that its blasting the blade open so hard that its beating up the stop pin or some other part of the lock...
 
All of my Triads lock up tight. My Lawman has been a fairly heavy use work knife with no problem.
 
One of mine had slight vertical play. It came that way, IIRC, not developed through hard use. Not concerned about it failing with the slight wiggle (unlike some other locks), because the lockup surface is huge and there's the stop pin as well.

It looks to me as if the lock can't fail through vertical blade play. There's nowhere to go. Compare to something like an Endura, where actual blade play might be an issue.

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The one I used the hardest has no real play. You can feel a very slight movement if you attempt to force the blade up and down from the tip.
 
can't speak to blade play because I've never experienced that on a cold steel folder but I have more confidence in this lock than with any other folders Ive owned.
 
It might not be foolproof but it's earned a good rep thru a lot of real world tests and uses...prob the strongest lock available today. That being said, any lock can be defeated imo.
 
Knifeoholic said:
For what it's worth, I find people seem to check for blade play with different amounts of pressure. Some check it with two fingers very lightly, and some come right on to er. Just something I've noticed from watching reviews and such. My Recon 1 has a very tiny bit of play up and down, nothing to worry about though, tis the nature of the beast with back locks and such.
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Very true.
I've owned a few CS TriAds that had or developed a minute amount of bladeplay. Not a big deal.
 
I've very small bp in my triadlock folders, the same in axis lock folders. Nothing to be afraid about.
 
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