Some makers in the industry believe that knives done as that Spyderco PTT are a liability. The jury is still out on that and I'm not saying I agree with it as some very reputable makers have done that on knives. Bob Terzuola for one, has built knives with the lock exposed as shown on that Perrin folder by Spyderco or similarly and Michael Walker the inventor of the liner lock has done this also so obviously they see it as an improvement aspect in the design. So, with that in mind we have a debate where some say liability while other makers feel that when done this way it adds security to the lock by giving the folder the advantages of the frame lock. I'm not sure about that one way or the other. I think the scale should be removed from there altogether to allow the hand to get in there behind the lock well for the best fit and that on thinner liner lock models that exposing the lock this way could indeed be more of a liability at times if the lock moves too easily than if it was done that way with one that had thicker more frame lock stock liners. Thats just my feelings though and I'm not sure its a liability at all. It seems a very unnatural movement to imagine the fingers could disjoint to suddenly pull back in a grip when you are squeezing the knife to where they would even have the slightest chance of moving that lock. I think if some want to call this a liability that its perhaps then a liability to install traction grooves in the bottom of the lock to aid release. Maybe those traction grooves would help the fingers move the lock the wrong way too?
Some feel the liner lock is perfectly secured without the need of the hand getting physical contact with the lock to help secure it. I disagree here completely and know from experience the liner lock is the most unpredictable untrustworthy lock you can own. I've seen in testing both my own liner locks, and company knives when sent to me to go over that in some uses the lock can be iffy, particularly those involving shocks to the lock such as spine whacks at times, overstrikes for sure, hard stabs and in twisting lateral stress movements during cuts such as what can be reproduced by simply cutting down a card board box with a dulled down blade. In these cases there are times a liner lock becomes unpredictable as to how it will behave. The lateral twisting torque stress and the greater leverage of that longer handle and longer blade often times becomes a liability of its own and the reason the lock can move unpredictably is because the hand is not there to keep it in place IMO but also you can't predict if the lock will move in tighter to better secure the blade or pop out and free up the blade completely during some of these situations.
Now it may be true that with one made such as the Perrin model or PTT as its called that it would be possible for the hand to actually move the lock during use but its a very unnatural movement in my mind to imagine the hand to pull back on the lock to release it from the lock side of the folder. This of course is if the folder is right handed and you have it in your right hand as I sit here playing with one trying to imagine a white knuckle grip with it and how it may cause the lock to behave. Looking at the knife in my hand the thumb ramp cut away to release the lock from the non lock side is actually more of a liability on a lot of knives because when that is real big and opened up wide then it is not so hard to imagine the hand moving the lock some toward release in some grips just from that huge access point to get your thumb on the lock to release it.
Personally I feel there is still nothing better or more reliable than a true frame lock with no scale on the lock side. I think these designs are just flat out the best tactical choice all around even over lock backs and mostly due to the fact that even the best lock backs can be nullified completely by a little thing we call pocket lint. Rarely have I seen pocket lint become a problem in any of my knives but if I'm contacted about a lockback that suddenly quit working its most always the first thing I recommend the owner look at. In a lot of cases thats all it was too. It is amazing that even a great lock like the new Triad lock could be zeroed out completely by one little ball of pocket crap! It happens though.
With frame locks this is not much of a deal and to me no scale means the hands right there on top of the lock squeezing in, squeezing down, squeezing up and basically holding it right there in place as an unmovable object. In this case the only way that lock is moving is if your hand does with it and in a lof ot these situations where you are really working the knife (not speaking of defense) you have such a good grip that I can't imagine it is going to move unnaturally to one side to free up the lock by accident. The exception would be on some models that have big gaudy pocket clips that actually block access to the lock every bit as much as a scale would if it had one. To me this is counter to the benefits of having a frame lock in the first place and reason to get a new clip or do away with it or perhaps flip it away from tip down which is usually the culprit. One knife guilty of this is the JYDII frame lock model by Kershaw. The clip counters the advantage of the frame lock IMO but the good news is on flipper models even if the lock defeated its darn hard to imagine much more than a serious pinch of the hand from the flipper as the blade tries to rotate as opposed to a nasty cut.
Keep in mind that this is all just my opinion. I think you have some bit of a liability with a lock exposed a lot on the non lock side to release it if the liner is thin stock or thick stock either way. This is when the cut away to access the lock is excessive. You've all seen them. It need not be done that way to gain access to the lock on a liner lock or frame lock. Truthfully it need not be any different than Emerson does his on the non lock side on most of his models whether liner of frame lock where the non lock side liner and scale are nearly the same height width and shape as the lock side with very very little difference on most models.
Other knives like some from Lone Wolf where the lock tab to release it is actually lower than the handle so it sticks out to me seem to be as much a liability with a thinner lined model as a huge access but again thats just my opinion. Generally speaking I don't see a lot of reports of defeats on these knives or the ones with the lock exposed like that PTT so take my opinion as just that. Its just a guess at best.
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