For those curious about the difference in the Tri-ad lock vs traditional lockbacks

Muaddib1116 said:
I do think that the Tri-Ad design is superior to the normal Lockback design, I just think that Cold Steel (despite being the originators) do not implement it as well as it could be. Once they start licensing it out to other manufacturers, I'd be interested to see how it is refined.
Click to expand...

+1 to that.

I cant wait to see what other designers come up with once the Tri-Ad's patent runs out (or new licensing occurs).

Cold steel makes some great designs for what they are, but their styling can be a little too "over the top" for many occasions IMHO.
 
Yeah, I follow the latest stuff from Cold Steel and the Tri-ad lock makes me wish that they were still manufactured in the US. I've never had an issue with CS but as I've gotten older I find myself more and more reluctant to buy anything that doesn't have Made in USA stamped on it.

Maybe that makes me a dinosaur and I'm sure I'm missing some great knives, (Spyderco Rock Salt, for instance), but ...:o

I, too, hope the Tri-ad lock is somehow made available some domestic manufacturers.
 
hardheart said:
as are the ball bearing lock, the compression lock, the frame lock, the axis lock, the arc-lock, the tactical action lock, the ram lock, the ultra lock, the button lock, the bolt action lock, the liner lock, the E-lock, the mattlock, the hawk lock, the bolster lock, the sub-frame lock, the vault lock, the stud lock, the ti-lock, the one-handed lock, the self-lock, the axial lock, the levitator lock, the toggle lock, the rolling lock, the ring lock

and whatever other non-lockback locks I can't think of at the moment
Click to expand...

Impressive list. But I think you read into my post differently than I had intended. I mean to say that people don't have problems with well-made lockbacks breaking (there are rare cases, but the same holds true for the Tri-ad), so lock strength doesn't seem to be a big issue. The locks you mentioned aren't advertised as something that "puts the competition to shame" and revolutionizes the knife industry by showing how fragile everything else is. A lock is a good feature, and a stronger lock is better than a weak lock. But lock strength isn't the end-all that CS advertising and some of their most vocal fanboys claim it is. I recognize that the modification on the lockback is a neat innovation, but the extra strength isn't something that you'll notice in real world usage like edge retention. And the strength of the lock is only a small factor in the strength of a knife. Most of the time I see a knife fail, it's not because the lock broke.
 
That's pretty cool, I love pics of the locks, it feeds the kid in me that likes to take things apart to see how they work. The spydie does look delicate, but I believe sal said the lock failure during his testing came from the lock bar pivot pin ripping through the steel liners. Certainly not easy to do, and probably tough enough for most users. Since the triad redirects that force to the beefy stop pin, there should be an improvement in strength. Course there are trade offs with the cold steel design, too. All good, just different.
 
The Government said:
+1 to that.

I cant wait to see what other designers come up with once the Tri-Ad's patent runs out (or new licensing occurs).

Cold steel makes some great designs for what they are, but their styling can be a little too "over the top" for many occasions IMHO.
Click to expand...

So you think that those of us who've purchased the AD-10 from Andrew Demko didn't get our money's worth out of the Triad lock and maybe the whole knife, because he custom made and fitted it. Maybe a Benchmade version made in their factory would be better, more innovative or stronger? The knives Andrew makes open just as smooth, in most cases a lot smoother than an Endura 4 (which I also have to have made the comparison).

Perhaps you mean something else is over the top?
:confused:
 
I think he is talking specifically about cold steel. Nothing was said about AD or any custom maker. No need to be overly sensitive.
 
I'm not getting sensitive at all. Wait let me check my feelings ---- nope good to go. :cool:

Read the post I quoted and the one that he quoted about other designers implementing it and trademarks ~ all that stuff. :)
 
cziv said:
So you think that those of us who've purchased the AD-10 from Andrew Demko didn't get our money's worth out of the Triad lock and maybe the whole knife, because he custom made and fitted it. Maybe a Benchmade version made in their factory would be better, more innovative or stronger? The knives Andrew makes open just as smooth, in most cases a lot smoother than an Endura 4 (which I also have to have made the comparison).

Perhaps you mean something else is over the top?
:confused:
Click to expand...

What?

Where did you get all of that from?:confused:
 
Hello, I´ve been reading this forum for a while and this is my first post, I hope to be accepted and get along with all, so please be gentle lol.

I´ve been into cold steel for several years now and recently I´ve been also getting into other makers as my collecting deseace is getting stronger and all I can say is although
Cold Steel is my favorite knife maker I still think there is a lot of good knife out there if you pick whisely.

The tri-ad lock is the ONLY LOCKING SYSTEM I havent heard of failling under crazy stress situations, now this does not make it better than other knives unless thats what you are looking for.

I have some kershaw knifes for EDC and also a blackhawk Be-wharned with liner locks, and they work well and never failed on me, but as a martial artist and with some in field experience I can tell you guys
that there is no "proper cutting" or "correct use" when it comes to the tactical role, in my case my cold steel knives and my pohl force were bought with that POU in mind and they can also be used for other roles. But I DON´T EDC them, specially in Japan were the only thing I can legally carry is my mini tuff lite.

So i guess is al bout preferences.
 
Muaddib1116 said:
I do think that the Tri-Ad design is superior to the normal Lockback design, I just think that Cold Steel (despite being the originators) do not implement it as well as it could be. Once they start licensing it out to other manufacturers, I'd be interested to see how it is refined.
Click to expand...

The Government said:
+1 to that.

I cant wait to see what other designers come up with once the Tri-Ad's patent runs out (or new licensing occurs).

Cold steel makes some great designs for what they are, but their styling can be a little too "over the top" for many occasions IMHO.
Click to expand...

The Government said:
What?

Where did you get all of that from?:confused:
Click to expand...

Well, The Government. It's not hard to see where I got all that confusing stuff from. :confused: From you and Muaddib111, who you quoted.

You give a big +1 to what Muaddib111 posts when you really don't know how refined the Triad is and can't wait to see what other designers do with it once the Tri-Ad's patent runs out. You must be referring to refinement of the Triad system.

As far as your statement (already quoted above) -
Cold steel makes some great designs for what they are, but their styling can be a little too "over the top" for many occasions IMHO
Click to expand...
I don't know what you mean. Is that unrelated to the lock and referring to their builds?

Darn confusing stuff isn't it? :D
 
cziv said:
So you think that those of us who've purchased the AD-10 from Andrew Demko didn't get our money's worth out of the Triad lock and maybe the whole knife, because he custom made and fitted it. Maybe a Benchmade version made in their factory would be better, more innovative or stronger? The knives Andrew makes open just as smooth, in most cases a lot smoother than an Endura 4 (which I also have to have made the comparison).

Perhaps you mean something else is over the top?
Click to expand...


cziv said:
Well, The Government. It's not hard to see where I got all that confusing stuff from. :confused: From you and Muaddib111, who you quoted.

You give a big +1 to what Muaddib111 posts when you really don't know how refined the Triad is and can't wait to see what other designers do with it once the Tri-Ad's patent runs out. You must be referring to refinement of the Triad system.

As far as your statement (already quoted above) - I don't know what you mean. Is that unrelated to the lock and referring to their builds?

Darn confusing stuff isn't it? :D
Click to expand...

First of all, there's a 6 at the end, but feel free to refer to me as Muaddib.;)

What I find confusing is that you are arguing against opinions of Cold Steel's implementation of the Tri-Ad Lock, as well as statements that we would like to see what other manufacturers could do with the Tri-Ad lock license, with an example of how nice Andrew Demko's custom knives are. Until you brought it up, nobody mentioned Andrew Demko's AD-10. Nobody said you weren't getting your money's worth, or that he didn't do a good job of implementing the lock on his custom knives. And nobody really said that Cold Steel didn't do a good job of using the Tri-Ad on their knives.

To clarify my original opinion that The Government quoted, I do like the Tri-Ad lock design a lot. I think it is inherently superior to the traditional lock back design. I think that Cold Steel's implementation of that design in their hard use folders is unrefined. But that is not saying it isn't appropriate for those hard use knife designs. I think that is what The Government was referencing when he said that their designs are "over the top". Most people don't always need a knife that can hold 500 pounds (I'm not sure what the actual figure is) on the lock. I would like to see the Tri-Ad lock on the EDC use knives that I normally carry, which would benefit from more refinement. When I say more refined, I primarily mean that the lock bar/tang engagement doesn't have to be so severe.
 
I was speaking about aesthetic style. Nothing more. I would like to see the triad lock implemented by others with different "overall knife styles" (in the future, when it is legally accepted to do so). I am not sure if you all can see it, but cold steel designs their knives with a particular style. I have nothing against that style, I just feel like it is not always appropriate for every occasion, and therefore, it can sometimes seem "over the top" in certain circumstances (speaking in terms of style). Obviously, that is just my opinion based on my personal preferences. FYI- I like my Recon 1, and I like Demko's designs as well.
 
The Government said:
I have nothing against that style, I just feel like it is not always appropriate for every occasion, and therefore, it can sometimes seem "over the top" in certain circumstances (speaking in terms of style).
Click to expand...
I think I know what you mean, but keep in mind that they produce knives like the mini AL, the mini AK-47 and now even the Mini Tuff Lite. These are 'presentable' in much the same way a medium to small Spyderco would be. The Recon 1, not so much. :D
 
Muaddib1116 said:
When I say more refined, I primarily mean that the lock bar/tang engagement doesn't have to be so severe.
Click to expand...

You're right and I agree Muaddib, unless you cough up some big bucks for Andrew to make the Triad perform the way it's capable of opening and closing we'll have to wait for other designers to tinker with it and "just maybe" it will become smoother. I was thinking - scale it all down slightly until you hit a sweet spot for the model of knife. My Recon-1 is a bear to engage/disengage and it's broken in.

The Government said:
I was speaking about aesthetic style. Nothing more. I would like to see the triad lock implemented by others with different "overall knife styles" (in the future, when it is legally accepted to do so).
Click to expand...

Yes The Government, like with liner and frame locks, we "may" see a lot of makers try it out and do their own little tweaks and on different brands of folders. Make it better - maybe?

Right now, as I said A.D. has it down cold but only in his customs. What I don't get is why so much is lost in the manufacturing process to make it so tight or hard to activate?

Sorry for any confusion and I think I understand where you guys are coming from now a lot more clearly. :)
 
This is a production CS M Espada...
lanyardslot.jpg


This is my Demko custom Navajah...
1305593772.jpg

1305593681.jpg
 
That Navaja looks so flush, everything fits so well. How hard is that to depress the lock bar? The moment arms look really short on the spring side. Clearly, since Demko customs are all pretty hard use designs, his implementation of the Tri-Ad (beefiness, lock engagement) is very similar to Cold Steels, just better made (tighter tolerances, better materials). I'd like to see something like my Caly 3 or 3.5 with a Tri-Ad, which would clearly need less engagement, since they're lighter duty EDC slicers. The Tri-Ad could even be made to conceal the stop pin, so it would have the same clean look of a normal backlock.
 
My CS Spartan takes more effort to unlock than my Navajah. I really should buy a fish scale so I can get the exact amount of pounds to unlock.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top