For those who dislike liner locks

[bill_G]

I bought a Buck/Mayo TNT...it has a frame lock...i've kind of shyed away from liner locks because of some people"s wariness of them failing....do you think that a framelock is safer than a liner lock?

Also, how come more companies aren't using frame locks??

how come more companies aren't using titanium?

thanks............Bill

 

[Planterz]

Titanium is expensive and hard to machine. Thus, you won't find it on less expensive knives.

Aluminum isn't really appropriate for framelocks. It's not durable or springy enough for that task, and will fail and break pretty quickly.

So this leaves steel framelocks and synthetic-handled linerlocks. Many people prefer a plastic handle (comfort, grip, durability) over a metal handled knife. A knife with plastic handles and steel liners will be thick enough...adding more material to the liner to beef lock strength adds thickness.

Most worries about linerlocks come from thickness of the liner, or the quality (usually reflected in the price) of the knife. For example, I won't buy a CRKT linerlock because one failed on my finger resulting in 3 stitches. The liner on the S&W I got for $16 is horribly thin with very precarious lockup. This makes me naturally weary of linerlocks. However, I would trust a linerlock from a quality company like Benchmade, Spyderco, or Al Mar. It's interesting that once you get above the $50-60 price, there's fewer and fewer linerlocks, until you hit $110 for the Military, and then $150 for Benchmades, Al Mars, and William Henrys. At these prices you start to see Titanium in the liners.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

I bought a Buck/Mayo TNT...it has a frame lock...i've kind of shyed away from liner locks because of some people"s wariness of them failing....do you think that a framelock is safer than a liner lock?

Also, how come more companies aren't using frame locks??

how come more companies aren't using titanium?

thanks............Bill

Yes, I believe a framelock is safer than a liner lock. The number of framelocks on the market seems to have increased hundreds of percents in the past few years ... I'd say, the market is going in exactly the right direction, away from liner locks, towards framelocks and newer-technology locks (axis, compression, etc.)

The one thing about framelocks is they generally want titanium handles (at least the lock side), which is expensive and difficult to machine, as Planterz points out.

I agree with Planterz that cheap, badly-done liner locks are a concern (as are badly-done locks of any type), but the problem I have with liner locks is that high-end versions done by the acknowledged experts still have a disappointingly high failure rate. And I think most of the folks around who are suspicious of liner locks tend to agree with me -- they worry about the lock format itself (and the difficulty that even the best makers have with consistently making reliable versions), rather than just the low-end versions.

That said, not everyone agrees, and certainly a reasonable person could come to the opposite conclusion as me. I wouldn't try to have you committed for such a thing, though I might cast aspersions at your gene pool

Joe

 

[stjames]

When I started collecting there were only a handfull of frame-locks available, the CRK Sebenza and a few custom makers (Elishewitz, Ralph, Carson). Then CRKT and BM did production versions, more custom makers joined the fray, including Tom Mayo with the TNT. Now steel handled versions abound and the better companies offer ti ones as well, and just about every custom maker of "tactical knives" offers a frame-lock as an option. Life is good.

 

[scdub]

I agree that framelocks seem more reliable than liner locks. I just purchased a Microtech Mini Socom for this very feature. I'm a little concerned now though by the comment made by Planterz - do you have any specific information about this? I'm hoping that Microtech thought about and overcame this problem... Seems like an extremely solid knife so far.

SCDUB

 

[Planterz]

I agree that framelocks seem more reliable than liner locks. I just purchased a Microtech Mini Socom for this very feature. I'm a little concerned now though by the comment made by Planterz - do you have any specific information about this? I'm hoping that Microtech thought about and overcame this problem... Seems like an extremely solid knife so far.

SCDUB

Sorry, what?

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Liner locks seem to have become common at about the same time tactical folders became popular, too. That's a shame, because a tactical folder would be used for heavier activity than, say, a gentleman's knife. And heavy activity is exactly where a liner lock's tendency to slip under torque or white-knuckling becomes a problem.

But people did fine with lockless slipjoints for years, and if a liner lock is accepted as holding a blade in position rather than as security in vigorous use, it won't be a problem. It's impossible to turn a folder into a fixed blade unless you're John Greco, anyway.

But it makes sense to investigate the better locks available now. I would guess that the framelock is the simplest, most direct way to construct a strong and reliable lock today, along with the old stand-by, the lockback. Other good locks, like the axis and compression lock, for example, have lots of finicky little parts to pick up dirt and to wear down. As well as they do work, I prefer a simpler mechanism and a clearer internal area.

 

[scdub]

LOL

Sorry about that last post! Could you tell I'd had some beer?

Planterz, you mentioned that aluminum wasn't really suitable material to use for frame locks, however the Microtech I just bought is exactly that - a frame lock with an aluminum frame. Should I be concerned?

Considerably more sober,

SCDUB

 

[Megalobyte]

Its not the frame that's a problem per se, it's the locking bar, which is aluminum, and from what I understand, aluminum doesnt retain its memory/springiness as well or long as titanium, it is possible MT developed a type of aluminum which overcomes this, I dont know, I do know the face of the aluminum lock is not aluminum though, I think its a steel insert so it doesnt wear too quickly. Time will tell if their aluminum holds up to repeated bending, MT has made you an unwitting product tester.

 

[STR]

I don't think there are too many advantages to frame lock over the Walker style liner lock. Both function the same and perhaps the frame is stronger because it is thicker. But the weakest link in the chain so to speak is where it has been ground thin to allow it to bend easily. Some of the frame locks I have from Kershaw look as thin where it is ground down as any liner lock if not thinner.

And as for aluminum. You may as well use brass for the lock, or bronze. It would be about the same. WEAK.

Also, don't be lured into a false sense of security just because you think you have a strong lock on your folder. Best advice is to always use it like it was a slip joint. In my life I've only had two locks fail on me during use. Both were in my youth and both were lock backs.