Folder Lock: Safety device or something else entirely?

singularity35

singularity35

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Mar 1, 2010
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So I've read a few guys saying that a knife lock isn't a safety device. If it isn't, what is it then?
 
Noun 1. safety device - a device designed to prevent injury or accidents

So something like seatbelts in a car?
 
Safety isn't in the devices present or not present - it's in the user.
I can have a gun with with no rounds chambered, safety on, slide back, everything. I can still 'accidentally' shoot.
My knives all have locks. I still can -and do- cut myself all the time (not purposefully!)
They basically make it almost impossible for the blade to close without you going through the necessary steps to disengage that 'safety mechanism' if you will.
Now, if they have a lock that prevents them from opening, that might be considered more of a safety, especially by the gun guys.
Something like a Kershaw Scallion (1620) or Leek (1660) that have the "tip-lock" which is a little piece of plastic that slides up in front of the tip of the blade to prevent it from opening, without first disengaging that. Now, that could happen unknowingly in your pocket.
There's no guarantees. Knives are dangerous. If you don't like them, I'll be happy to take them off your hands.. :)
I hope this isn't considered spam.
 
How does the driving habit of a driver affect the nomenclature and purpose of a seat belt? Now whether a driver is safe or not depends on him, on that I agree but it won't affect the fact a seatbelt was added as a safety feature. As its always said, an idiot will always find a way to beat safety devices.

I'm not asking if a lockbar can keep an idiot safe in spite of himself, what I'm asking is whether the lockbar was put there to decrease the chance of injury to the user
 
IMO, if the mechanism to keep the blade open has the name "lock" in it, it should keep the blade open, even if moderate force is applied to the spine of the blade.

The name "lock" indicates a safety device, something that keeps a part in a certain position, until the user takes a defined sequence of actions to unlock it.

In reality there are users and manufacturers of linerlock and framelock knives that claim that the linerlock or framelock is only there to keep the blade playfree in the open position, as long as there is no pressure on the blade spine. IMO, they should give the mechanisms of their knives names that don't contain the word "lock".
 
singularity35 said:
I'm not asking if a lockbar can keep an idiot safe in spite of himself, what I'm asking is whether the lockbar was put there to decrease the chance of injury to the user
Click to expand...

Lockbar was put there to make the blade more easily usable, and more useful. More rigid, can perform harder tasks. a consequence of this is safety.
 
I think a distinction has to be made between a mechanism and its purpose and between an idiot that uses it badly.

A gun has a safety and whether you like it or not, the mechanism was put there to reduce the chance of an accidental discharge.

Now if an idiot has unsafe gun handling habits, that's on him but it won't change the fact that the firing pin block(whether you think it works or not) was put there to prevent AD's. If it was put there to prevent injury, then it follows that its a safety device.

I propose that its the same thing with folder knife locks
 
singularity35 said:
Which results in making the blade safer than one without a lock, no?
Click to expand...

Maybe, maybe not. A fixed blade has no "lock" and it is still safer than a folder with a locking blade in terms of having the knife accidentally fold under stress.

At least, I think we are talking about a blade that locks open, yes? Some of the Kershaws have a "safety" lock to keep the blade from deploying in your pants with potentially thrilling results.

It may be that your interlocutor was looking at the function of the knife as a whole. That is, for the blade to lock, it has to be deployed ready for use. In his mind, a safety device would prevent the blade from deploying unexpectedly, which is perfectly understandable.

In this case, a locking blade is a design feature to enhance the utility of the knife, not specifically a safety feature, at least not any more specifically a safety feature than a grippy G10 scale or a well placed choil, both designed to keep your fingers from accidentally encountering the sharpened edge.

On the other hand, I could be completely wrong about all this. :)
 
Well, I suspect you already know which camp I fall into on this question, but yes, I regard a lock as a safety device.
 
Would you consider a folding knife whose blade freely swings, as safe to use? Or as safe to use as one that locks open?
 
It's a safety device, it enhances the safety to the user should something abnormal occur. Like most safety devices they are not perfect and will not cover all situations/accidents and/or user negligence/stupidity. It's also a feature, it allows for additional cutting tasks to be performed with reduced risk of injury to the user, again it has it's limits.

It's like an electrical breaker box, or GFI outlet, or firing pin inertia block, or seat belts, abs brakes, etc. etc. if you do everything right and smart and Murphy does not interfere you would never need one, but on the off chance one of those things happens it's nice to have the extra peace of mind and keep all your fingers. At the same time if you try hard enough even the best safety can be rendered insufficient.

If a knife "lock" can't keep a blade secure with a medium amount of negative spine pressure, or a light tap on the spine, then it's hardly deserving of the term in the first place.
 
I don't see how you could reasonably argue that a lock is not a safety device. Of course no lock is fool proof, but they all function to make the knife safer to use by reducing the chance of accidental closure (if made correctly).

For anyone who says that's not what locks are designed to do, I have to assume they don't use folders. You don't have to be doing something foolish to put pressure on the lock. Just piercing with the tip of many knives will put force on the lock.
Should I hold the handle on the sides everytime I use the tip, assuming the blade will collapse on my fingers?
 
NeilB said:
Maybe, maybe not. A fixed blade has no "lock" and it is still safer than a folder with a locking blade in terms of having the knife accidentally fold under stress.

At least, I think we are talking about a blade that locks open, yes? Some of the Kershaws have a "safety" lock to keep the blade from deploying in your pants with potentially thrilling results.

It may be that your interlocutor was looking at the function of the knife as a whole. That is, for the blade to lock, it has to be deployed ready for use. In his mind, a safety device would prevent the blade from deploying unexpectedly, which is perfectly understandable.

In this case, a locking blade is a design feature to enhance the utility of the knife, not specifically a safety feature, at least not any more specifically a safety feature than a grippy G10 scale or a well placed choil, both designed to keep your fingers from accidentally encountering the sharpened edge.

On the other hand, I could be completely wrong about all this. :)
Click to expand...

By this logic, training wheels on bicycles, seatbelts, airbags, back up parachutes, and nets under tightropes are not safety devices. After all, they don't prevent activation of the devices they support, instead serving as support in case use goes badly.
 
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