Folders locking strength

R

RugerNurse

Joined
Jul 13, 2019
Messages
645
What are peoples impressions of the strongest locking type on a folder? Has anyone ever broken one (without doing something they shouldn’t have)?
 
The Triad Lock and any good back lock are the strongest, along with the bolt lock. Liner locks and frame locks are weak and I've seen them fail time and time again. We discouraged their use on the ranch years ago.
 
Lock strength is especially important for an outdoor knife or a tactical knife. I've managed to make Triad locks wiggle after moderate use clearing brush. But usually re-tightening the pivot after resolved it. I have also performed that same task with a liner locking Spyderco, one of my beloved Resiliences, and while wiggle developed, it also was resolved with re-tightening the pivot. But in my opinion, a true outdoor knife doesn't have a lock. I'd even say the same for a tactical knife.
 
Lots of love for the Triad lock, but I think that G&G lock on the Buck Marksman is supposed to be stupidly strong as well.

As for this:

RugerNurse said:
Has anyone ever broken one (without doing something they shouldn’t have)?
Click to expand...

Yes I have, but it's not a good representation of the actual lock design, considering this was a lousy quality knock-off. I recently addressed it, so I'll just quote myself.

19-3ben said:
I broke one of my fist knives. When I was about 8 years old, my father bought me a very cheap Pakistani knock off of a Buck110. It was horrid but I loved it because it came from dad and also because he put an edge on it with one of those electric pull though sharpeners. That knife spent a long time in a drawer as I got older. Then when I was about 30 or so, I had it in my pocket as I was hiking through Hubbard Park in Meriden CT. I took out to cut on a branch and as soon as I put some force into a push cut, the lock bar snapped and the spine of the blade came back and hit my hand.


I buried that knife right there. I couldn’t safely bring it home, and didn’t want anyone finding it on the side of the trail and getting hurt.


I have three real Buck 110’s and none have ever failed in any way. But a Pakistani knock off from circa 1992 was just not up to the task.
Click to expand...
 
A well-made lock of pretty much any type will be strong enough to withstand all normal (and even pretty abusive) forces, with the exception of perhaps batoning. I once abused an Ontario Rat 2 (which is an inexpensive but well made liner-lock) to the point where the blade was literally bent, but the lock still functioned perfectly.

With that said, I like the simplicity and strength of the back lock. To me, the back lock is like the "revolver" of locks in terms of its reliability. Poorly made liner locks and frame locks can potentially slip when things are aligned incorrectly.
 
Last edited:
The strongest lock I have is the enforced compression lock in my Spyderco Szabo.

Then again, I care less about lock strength than many of you.

Roland.
 
David Mary said:
Lock strength is especially important for an outdoor knife or a tactical knife. I've managed to make Triad locks wiggle after moderate use clearing brush. But usually re-tightening the pivot after resolved it. I have also performed that same task with a liner locking Spyderco, one of my beloved Resiliences, and while wiggle developed, it also was resolved with re-tightening the pivot. But in my opinion, a true outdoor knife doesn't have a lock. I'd even say the same for a tactical knife.
Click to expand...

THIS!

Any real outdoor knife that may, even small chance of any heavy duty use, should be a fixed blade. Let alone a so called 'tactical' knife. Lint, dirt, wear, can make a mechanical device fail. But a knife with one piece of steel running from point to pommel, has nothing to fail except the blade itself breaking. Why would anyone want a knife that is already broken in the middle for anything outdoors?

I've seen two cases of a lock fail, both bad. One case the young man had his right index finger neatly amputated, the other was a bad slice on the right index and middle fingers that results in severed nerves and tendons. Both were name brand knives, one a Buck 110, the other a Benchmade tactical type.

For many years now, all my pocket knives have been friction folders. Opinel's, Resolza's from Sardinia, Japanese Higonokami. If have anything at all more than a light pocket knife can deal with, thats what my sheath knife is for.

Locks on knives are like safety's on firearms; false confidence and accidents waiting to happen. The lump of gray stuff between your ears is the real safety.
 
IDK because I don't use/abuse any of my folders but, if you are worried about "lock strength" for some particular use, I'd simply opt for fixed blade instead.

Then the only "issue" is the relative "toughness" of the steel about which much has already been written.

There are a lot of smaller fixed blades in the 3-3.5" range that you can "pocket carry" in a sheath. I own many. So, there's really no reason why you couldn't choose a fixed blade instead of a folder in your pocket, if you are worried about the strength of a folder lock.

Besides which, carrying a fixed blade on your belt really is NOT a problem. Some people carry both; a folder in the pocket and a fixed blade on the belt w/o any issues. I've done it myself but I seldom have need for a fixed blade and generally only carry a folder.
 
Last edited:
I mean, a lot of my tasks are just not cutting in a direction where, if the lock suddenly failed, it would close on my fingers. I'm pressing the edge downwards most of the time. Part of knife safety, right? But I like knowing I could stab my Cold Steel into a tree and use the knife like a ladder.
 
I think it is a function of the maker as much as the type of lock. I have have used liner locks on the job site for about 25 years now, and the only one that has failed was a very early Gerber, the POS model. Sold everywhere, it was gifted to me and the lock bar swung past the blade and rested between the blade and the liner, never to be retrieved.

Barring abuse (and even then... maybe a little of that) I haven't seen a quality knife locking system fail even in daily job use. Gas station knives, flea market knives, cable TV specials and all the other crap out there are not to be trusted. The only thing those seem to cut well is their owners.

I still think people have the wrong idea about locking mechanisms on a folder. They don't turn into, or even nearly into a fixed blade when locked and cannot be used as a fixed blade. That being said, I am from the generation that scoffed at Buck knives for having a lock on the 110 when it was introduced. We used to call the lock "training wheels" for the guys that didn't know how to use a knife properly. (Cutting only, and in one direction, no prying, lifting, or movement that was pushing the blade forward.) I must say though, I really do like the Triad lock on my Cold Steel work knives as a layer of extra protection.

Robert
 
Last edited:
19-3ben said:
Lots of love for the Triad lock, but I think that G&G lock on the Buck Marksman is supposed to be stupidly strong as well.
Click to expand...
That thing has too many parts which introduces more ways for the lock to be compromised. I had one get damaged and fail to lock open afterwards. The scorpion lock is a similar but much better design.
 
In general I would say: Anything made by Andrew Demko > Standard backlocks > Axis style locks > Well made frame lock > Compression lock > liner lock

That being said: I tend to think the obsession around lock strength on folders is much like the edge retention fights over different steel chemistry. It is entirely theoretical, most people never (or should never) push a folder anywhere close to that limit, and other factors are going to be far more important in actual use.

If you really really absolutely must beat the hell out of a blade, get a full tang fixed blade. If batoning a 4 inch blade, stabbing through a car door, or using a knife as a pry bar are important enough to factor it above all other features, than a fixed blade is what you are looking for mate.
 
This has always been a bit of a silly topic to me.
Honestly, If you are using it properly you don't need anything stronger than a twist collar like Opinel uses.
For most day to day uses a slipjoint is more than enough. Hell, nothing wrong with a friction folder either.

It's like having a dive watch that is rated over 100 meters. Almost everyone won't need more, but it's just really cool to say it can.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top