Has this lock been done before?

W

Washington

Joined
Oct 13, 2008
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38
Sorry for the poorly drawn diagram, it was done by hand in about 30 seconds, and I'm not very good at diagrams in the first place:

p1030851.jpg


Basically, my idea is this:

The dark circle in the middle is the pivot for the blade, and the line around the pivot is a slot that would be milled into the base of the blade (similar to the blade of the Kershaw Junkyard Dog, where an internal stop pin is utilized to stop the blade when it opens). When the knife is closed, a pin (attached to a moveable piece of something on the exterior handle of the blade) is in the bottom position. This would, by the way, lock the blade closed (I guess you could just get rid of that portion and start the pin in the circular path, which would make it unlocked in the closed position). You would simply push the button forward, moving the pin into the circular path, open the blade, and then release the pin, which would then be pulled back by a spring, locking the blade open. Push the pin forward, close the blade, and release the pin to lock it closed.

Has this been done before? If so, which knives have used the lock, and how well has it worked?
 
I'm curious how it could be opened with one hand aside from a flick. And I could see it being mistaken for a switchblade with the buttone release.
Aside from that, it seems like an interesting lock.
 
Yeah, I don't think it would be able to be used in a one hand knife. You'd have to have a nail nick on the blade or something.
 
If you remove the bottom portion of the channel that goes out of the circular path of the blade, it wouldn't be locked closed and it would be able to be opened one handed just like any other knife.
 
Sounds interesting then if you could do that. Mayb try contacting Sal or Thomas and asking for opinions. Try the custom knife markers sub forums for tips on how to implement it. You might just on to something, no promises, but you never know.
 
I need to design a knife, get the appropriate tools, decide which materials to use, be taught and then practice various techniques used to build and finish a knife, practice a few times to see if I can design knives people like, and THEN maybe I'll be able to implement this.

But thanks for the suggestion :)
 
For some reason, the design looks famaliar, but I think without the locking shut feature.

I'd recommend making a model from simple wood or such, in a larger than life scale, to determine how the design works (and any tweeking).

As to whether the design has been done before, use google patents and do a class/subclass search.

Class is "30", you'll have to determine the proper subclass(s).

Also, note this page. If this is the first you've made "public record" of the idea, it is your 1 year start date.
 
Subclass 161 is the one, however Google patents doesn't show any records for class 30 subclass 161. What else can I use to try and find if this lock is already in use?

Edit: I just realized you could just have a very small area for the pin to move in the closed position, working essentially as a detent to just hold the blade closed without locking it, which would still allow one handed use.
 
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No, that doesn't seem like the same lock. You can see empty space right behind the lock. I think the Ultra Lock is similar to the axis-lock, maybe. Has anyone disassembled a Recon 1?
 
It seems you'd have a tang that has 3/4 of it being a hollow ring and only made rigid by the 1/4 that is connected to the blade. Wouldn't you have a relatively weak tang with side-to-side play?

Actually, the outer ring wouldn't be necessary to make rigid the blade since the blade is directly connected to the pivot.

In that case, wouldn't this design essentially BE the axis lock - except with an extraneous outside ring of metal?
 
I don't see why that would introduce side to side play, and while the tang would be weakened, the channel wouldn't be very wide, so I don't think it would make the tang too weak for use. Consider the Kershaw Junkyard Dog; it has a similar channel, and yet is completely functional (not my picture):

Liner09.jpg


I wouldn't even make the pin that large, I don't think.
 
The axis lock isn't very similar, I'd say. The pin and groove design is pretty different than the axis lock that has a...bearing, I'll call it, rest on a flat area of the blade.

Edit: That's a lot of results. Any way to narrow it down?
 
"161 .. Locked blade:
This subclass is indented under subclass 155. Implements in which means is provided to lock or latch the blade either in open or closed position, or both."

And subclass 155:

"155 . Pivoted blade:
This subclass is indented under subclass 151. Implements in which the blade is pivoted to the sheath or handle so as to be folded into the sheath or handle."

And finally, 151:

"151 SHEATHED:
Cutlery implements which are foldable or otherwise retractable into the handle or have some other form of sheath to protect the blade while not in use.
(1) Note. Pocket knives are in this group."

So I think that's the correct one, and I didn't see any that were more specific. Your "channel or groove" modification narrowed it down tons, and I didn't see any that fit what I posted. However, I did happen to see a few familiar locks, including the axis lock:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=FFIJAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4
 
Hope you don't mind, but I posted this at another forum (you can guess) to try and get more responses. This is pretty interesting to me.
 
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