has anyone here ever worn out a liner lock or a lockback?

Liner locks can be adjusted to restore usability/ safety in several ways. That being said, I' ve worn out an old model Cold Steel UltraLock. Unfortunately, its somewhat unique liner lock mechanism is not user adjustable.

N.

www.dozierknives.com/forum
 
I don't have much experience with liner locks.

Got lots of experience with lockbacks. I have never worn out a lockback.
 
Yes and no. I've worn out a couple of each to where they would not lock reliably. But since I treat all my folding knives like slipjoints, it really doesn't matter to me whether the lock is secure or not as long as the blade doesn't swing shut under its own weight.
 
I've owned a couple cheap liner lock knives from Big 5 and both of the locks failed to engage fully within a couple months. They only cost like $8 each though so it's understandable. For quality liner locks I'd stick with Spyderco.
 
I wore out an older Case stainless steel lockback, but my late grandfather had it for God knows how long before I came across it in a toolbox. So that could have easily been a 20 year life span on that lock. One day it just opened up in my pocket, luckily puncturing away from me and through my slacks while tangled with my keys. At that point all it took to open or close it was gravity.
 
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It took ten years of steady service, but I wore out my EDC Endura to the point where you could close it just like a slipjoint.
 
I' ve never worn out either, and I' v e been using them for quite a long time now.
 
I wore out the LL on a Buck Strider 889, but then I abused the heck outa that knife. Never had the privilege with a lock back. I suppose I've seen more broken springs than actual lock bars on quality lock backs.
 
I've seen several lockbacks that wouldn't lock because of crud buildup in the notch where the lock drops into at the rear of the blade, and once cleaned the knives worked fine.

I don't use linerlocks much anyway, so I can't say one has ever failed on me.

thx - cpr
 
yes to linerlocks, not yet on a lockback - though I have seen cheap ones that didn't have enough relief to begin with and could fail.
 
Yes... I have worn out both.. Two Buck 110's to the point where the blade would just fold back in with a little pressure.
And the linerlock on the CRKT M-1 past the point of no return....
 
I've only had one liner lock fail in use - but that was a very badly built "custom" about 10-12 years ago - after about a year of EDU?In contrast -the Kershaw Boa I carried and used multiple times per day for 4 or 5 years straight -everyday - never had the liner fail - nor the blade develop any vertical or s2s play.
So many absolutely crappy liner locks have been made (and sold) - this isn't a case of failing from use - it's a case of really poorly made/badly assembled tools never being safe to use.This is a little bit like saying my Trabant was a POS - therefore all cars with IC engines are crappy.
I also don't see what exactly the appeal of spine wacking folders is??? I'd put this right up with poring sand into the barrel of your weapon to see if you can shoot thru it?
I'll vote for a well assembled liner lock - EDUing a Emerson CQC-14 right now -have plenty of confidence in this tool.
 
I one wore down a Benchmade titanium liner lock. The liner locking bar became a hair's width too short to contact the back of the tang when the blade was fully opened. Knife stayed safe though because a soon as the blade began to close, it was stopped by the liner lock bar. I retired the knife because of the irritating up and down blade play.
 
I had a Benchmade Emerson design folder that the liner gave up the ghost many years ago. I sent it back to Benchmade and they supposedly fixed it. It didn't work well when I got it back either. I retired that one quickly. Since then I have always been a bit leery of Benchmade. I even want to like them but that issue keeps gnawing at me when I consider them.
 
I find it astonishing that several posters report of wearing out Buck 110 lockbacks :eek: Admittedly, I have only had mine a few years, don't use it every day and seldom abuse it, but if there were anything that locks almost rock solid as a fixed blade, the Buck seems to be the standard. I would have expected it to last a lifetime

What in the world does anybody do with a 110 to wear out the lock? This goes for the Endura and other well made folders. :confused:
 
Liner locks can be adjusted to restore usability/ safety in several ways. That being said, I' ve worn out an old model Cold Steel UltraLock. Unfortunately, its somewhat unique liner lock mechanism is not user adjustable.
Click to expand...

I thought the CS UltraLock worked on the same principle as the Benchmade Axis.
 
I've got some well used lockbacks coming up on 40 years old that still work and reilably function much as they did when I first bought them. Liner locks by the very design of the locktype and how it self adjusts can seem to start to accelerate wear on the contact of the lock as they are used. Its not uncommon to see these with very little lock coming out to secure the blade when bought only to see them wear in rather quickly and eventually hit a 'sweet spot' which they tend to stay at for some time. How long it takes for a liner lock to wear past that sweet spot seems related to how its used, the wear resistance of the lock material, thickness of the lock contact, how much of the lock face is in contact with the blade, hardness and how the stresses applied to the lock over time took their toll, and the angle of the lock contact among other things. Short sharp sudden shocks (read-spine whacks) can accelerate the wear factor if repeated over time by habit or if they are excessive in force. Indenting and other fractures in the form of lines, or chunks missing from the lock face can be evidence of this kind of abuse. Now of course you can also get this with lockback designs and I have seen this in those as well when they are abused.

Overall though the lockback seems to be longer lived between the two in my opinion based on what I've seen. Lockbacks can show signs of wear or problems though. For example, in marine environments or on corrosive job related uses around acids and other things like that it can accelerate or weaken the lock spring system causing the springs to break or at least weaken, or in extreme cases the tang can wear down on the blade to where its rouned off and when this happens the blade point no longer stays put down in the body of the scales and can peek up by gravity. At this point its not safe in daily carry if it can catch your fingers or clothing when in the pocket. So when the tip starts protruding out to allow the point to catch it may be time to consider retirement for the end line user. Of course other adjustments can be made to counter this usually by a slight adjustment to either the profile of the blade or the by a minor adjustment to the tang by either taking off more to make the blade seat deeper or by adding metal to it by a cutler technique so it snaps shut again and is 'squared up some' but the latter is dependent on tolerances. If you take off too much tang the lockbar drops up inside the scales and is no longer flush with the liners when closed. If you heat the blade tang too much to add some metal there and reshape it, it can lead to heat treat issues. Taking off too much tang by a novice can also lead to allowing the sharpened apex of the blade edge to rest on the spring when the blade is closed or worse slam shut on it dinging your edge so its something only someone with at least a little experience should mess with usually.

In normal uses I'd say both designs can last a lifetime and even end up being a handmedown lasting to the next generation if they are taken care of properly. Lastly, for what its worth, in my shop I see a lot more liner locks for wear related issues than lockbacks. Liner locks are sent in to me quite often for overtravel, or improper functions such as vertical play developing or blade rocking problems than any other lock type out there come to think of it. It could be argued as not unexpected when you consider there are probably far more of the liner locking type folders out there in use than any other lock type made so it only stands to reason I guess that you would probably see it more often if the majority. However, there are a lot of lockbacks out there also. From my standpoint the lockback just doesn't seem to give folks as much trouble based on my experience but I do see those now and again also.

STR
 
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