Folding knife lock failure

cbxer55 said:
I've read of the "Omega" springs breaking on Axis Lock knives. I guess if both of them broke, you'd be in trouble. Usually only one breaks though.
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Jam a piece of wood behind the bar and you can still use the knife with no possibility of failure.

One of the key things I love about the axis lock.
 
When discussing lock failure, I think that "how" and "why" the lock failed are extremely important factors. There's a big difference between bad design, user error, and using a knife in a manner it was never intended for. All of those things might result in lock failure, but they aren't all the fault of the lock, and they don't prove that one type of lock is inherently bad or dangerous.

I've used a variety of lockback knives for almost 40 years, and I never had one fail. I've been using liner and frame locks for the past 15 years and I've never had one fail.

I can't help but wonder what people are doing with their knives that result in lock failure. I've had blades get stuck unexpectedly in materials I was cutting, so I know that is a possibility, but in my case the locks didn't fail.

As far as why people are carrying fixed-blades, there are a variety of reasons. I often carry a folder and a fixed-blade.
 
I have a benchmade liner lock knife (I forget the model) that tried to close on me. I was moving the (stuck) blade up out of a cut and hit the spine of the blade on something. The force was sufficient to disengage the lock. A very mild tap on the spine of the blade will disengage the lock. It is a pretty knife, and fine for most tasks. But, use for anything where the blade might get stuck could cause a lock failure. I don't carry that knife anymore...
 
Dean Crail said:
Same exact experience here my Super 7 folded on me, thank god I was wearing thick gloves or stitches would have been required.
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What were you doing with the knife? Ive had liner locks turn completely worthless when the tiniest bit of oil or water gets between the lockface and blade tang. Aggravating.
 
Never had a lock fail on me. I use any folding knife like a slipjoint, whether it locks or not.
 
I figured I would see many liner lock fails, but not frame locks. What activity were you doing to cause it to fail?
 
I've never had a lock fail in use. I've had two liner locks fail their initial pressure test that I always give a new lock no matter what kind it is. One was expected (gas station cheapie), but the other was a surprise (name brand with years of lock experience). The name brand company made it right with no questions and no charge, even for shipping.

I've never had any other type of lock fail either in use or in initial testing.
 
dalefuller said:
I've never had a lock fail in use. I've had two liner locks fail their initial pressure test that I always give a new lock no matter what kind it is. One was expected (gas station cheapie), but the other was a surprise (name brand with years of lock experience). The name brand company made it right with no questions and no charge, even for shipping.

I've never had any other type of lock fail either in use or in initial testing.
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What test do you do, just pressure on the spine?
 
Local fireman had just gotten a small Gerber Paraframe frame lock for a wedding present. I don't remember what he was doing but I was later able to push on the spine and close the lock with minimal force. It folded and cut him badly needing several stitches. I won't own a cheap liner locks or frame locks to this day.
 
Had liner locks and back locks fail.
The liner locks are/were Chinese gas station/walmart knives.
All early back locks (buck) could be defeated with normal grip pressure. Spyderco corrected this by moving the disengagement forward. But back locks still fail more frequently than others due to contamination.

...test your knives to reduce stitches...
 
Had a Rajah II close on me when I thought it was locked, but there was dirt in the backlock and it didn't fully engage.

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As I grabbed it, the blade (huge thing) fell by its own way trapping two fingers in the process. Knife was just standing still when I grabbed it.
Had it fallen while in movement and I'd be missing two fingers.

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So, don't let dirt and lint enter the locking bar/notch! Lesson learned

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Papa P said:
What test do you do, just pressure on the spine?
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Yes. Open the knife let it lock just like I was going to use it. Turn it over so the blade spine near the tip rests on my palm. Make sure my fingers are out of the way. Put pressure on the blade and watch the lock bar. I'm looking for lock bar movement or bending. The cheapie I mentioned above bent and slid off the blade tang. The name brand bent near the middle of the lock bar and slid over to the opposite side of the tang. That one was still locked open because of the direction the bar slid, but that was unacceptable, of course, as a normal lock operation. The company fixed it with no questions and no charges.
 
Bigfattyt said:
Yes. Buck Cross lock. Cut a few times (minor)...
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I got a buck Cross lock when they first came out, and it was the first locking folder I had fail on me. No major injury either. I grew up with slip joints so I always try to use a knife without putting pressure on the back of the blade anyway. I've shied away from liner locks since then, and mostly use frame of backlocks. (Even though a frame lock is a similar design to a liner lock.) For heavier use I grab a fixed blade knife.

Grizz
 
Nope. Weird how liner locks should always fail all the time but I've never had one fail on me, and I primarily use liner locks.
Emerson, spyderco, even cheaper Kershaws haven't failed.


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I've never had any lock type fail on me. But I don't purposely put pressure on the spine of a blade. Only the cutting edge.
 
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