have u ever worn out a frame lock or liner lock.

Not the tang, but the liner and frames, yes.

AFCK--about 3.5 years
Point Guard-- about 9 months
EDC-- about 2 years

Come to mind immediately as liners and frames I've worn out.

Phil
 
YES
not the tang-- the liner/frame part


buck strider 882 (several times over)
crkt m16z
crkt model seven
emerson minicommander




which is why i still don't see why there is such a craze over liner/frame locking designs. i've almost never had an issue with a lockback.


it's not just the wearing of the liner/frame part either. has anyone ever experienced weardown on the ball detent? on most of my knives this flattens out, making it less and less a smooth opening action.


PLEASE more tactical lockbacks!
 
Yes.

Buck crosslock (liner) took approximately fifty openings (1 day)from brand new before the liner had slipped past the blade tang..

Kiss Tanto, for $20 framelock it held up to quite a bit of abuse before "overwedging" though it didn't got past the blade.

I picked up a $2 import from a bucket and opened it once, and the liner snapped past the blade.
 
I've seen several liner locks that were worn out. Myself, I've never kept one long enough to wear out.

Paul
 
PWork beat me to the post! I will probably never wear out a knife because I ALWAYS find something else I like. ;)
 
Good thread.

At least I know not to buy those types of locks :)

What a shame. I can't believe that those things can wear down so quickly. I've knows guys that have had crappy knives that have lasted 5+ years and never had a problem. They were all lock backs.

:)
 
wwells20 said:
PWork beat me to the post! I will probably never wear out a knife because I ALWAYS find something else I like. ;)
Click to expand...

It's not that I don't keep knives long enough to wear out. I've never kept a liner lock that long. I've had them come open in my pocket, and had them partially open when dropped. I just don't trust the liner lock. Personally, I prefer well made frame locks (CRK) and lock backs, but I'll take a slip joint over any locking folder for long term carry.

Paul
 
Shall I assume that you can't wear out an Axis lock as quickly? I figure maybe the little (springs) need replaced every now and then.

Edit: Replaced misspelled word.
 
i broke an omega spring once.

never broke the torsion bar on a lockback though
 
I've had a 705 in heavy rotation for four years with intense camping and hiking use. The Nylatron washers are pretty beat but the axis doesn't show any noticable wear.

I have three 705 total. I picked up the CFM2 forum knife version and when my original disappeared for about 6 weeks I bought a replacement early in that period as it's such a good knife.

Phil
 
It's all in the execution. Linerlocks and framelocks are harder to get perfect by their very nature. They look simple, but proper tang angle, geometry, and liner hardness all has to come together to make it be lock up solid and not wear quickly. The only linerlocks I've seen that never seem to move from their brand new positions are Kit Carson's. Every one I've handled despite age or use has a lock that engages at the exact same spot on the lock-side of the tang.. Lockbacks of good quality almost never wear out or fail, but sometimes I'll see ones of lesser quality break on the lockbar or tang notch. Axis locks of course will fail at their omega springs given enough time, or a bad spring, but my 3 year old 710 has shown no other wear aside from a half mm of movement during the first week of use.
 
my mayo TNT has a little play forward and back now. not side to side but i think the titanium somehow got well not sure what happened. i have had the knife a few months. but i guess when you open it around 3,000 (give or take) times a day it can happen
 
Fisher of Men said:
Shall I assume that you can't wear out an Axis lock as quickly? I figure maybe the little sprints need replaced every now and then.
Click to expand...
The way the lock operates, you shouldn't be able to wear it down considerably.
 
HazardousAddictions said:
my mayo TNT has a little play forward and back now. not side to side but i think the titanium somehow got well not sure what happened. i have had the knife a few months. but i guess when you open it around 3,000 (give or take) times a day it can happen
Click to expand...

Your lockbar just needs a slightly stronger bend, if you don't know how to disassemble it to do that, send it to Tom, he'll make it new again, Tom's amazing knives are only bettered by his excellent customer service.

A properly made liner or framelock will wear in slightly and generally stop at a certain point and stay there for a while, what determines this for the most part, is simply, was the face of the liner/framelock bar properly hardened, if you look at a Sebenza, Strider, TnT, you'll see that the top of the lock bar has been hardened, Ti is a soft metal, if that part of the lock that wears against the much harder blade tang is not hardened, then yes, that lock will wear out pretty quickly, and frankly, if a knife doesnt have a hardened lock face, it's not much of a knife, pretty much dispoasable IMO.

While most are hardened with heat, and give the surface o the Ti some hardness, and you can see the top of the lock has a subtle discoloration from the process, some, like Kit Carson as was mentioned above, approach it differently, if I remember a discussion Kit and I had about this a few years ago, he and Mike Obeanuf weld a hard layer of carbide onto the lock face, which has a similar hardening effect and protects the lock from the hard tang steel.

Similarly, ball detents need to be hardened too, if they aren't, they'll wear out fast, even when they are hardened, they still flatten pretty quickly, but, generally, even when flat, they still work well, if they workled well to begin with.
 
yoda4561 said:
It's all in the execution. Linerlocks and framelocks are harder to get perfect by their very nature. They look simple, but proper tang angle, geometry, and liner hardness all has to come together to make it be lock up solid and not wear quickly. The only linerlocks I've seen that never seem to move from their brand new positions are Kit Carson's. Every one I've handled despite age or use has a lock that engages at the exact same spot on the lock-side of the tang.. Lockbacks of good quality almost never wear out or fail, but sometimes I'll see ones of lesser quality break on the lockbar or tang notch. Axis locks of course will fail at their omega springs given enough time, or a bad spring, but my 3 year old 710 has shown no other wear aside from a half mm of movement during the first week of use.
Click to expand...


have never seen a carson folder so cant comment but ernie emerson and pat crawford make excellent liner locks also,
 
Spyderco Bob Terzoula C-15. 2-years of EDC including service as my worry beads (constant opening and closing when needing to do somehting with hands - hey it's better than smoking) Lock didn't migrate even slightly. Knife is still the same now although is a drawer queen now.

Spyderco Military - same. 2 years of heavy use and habitual opening - lock hasn't moved at all.
 
I have a Greco folding Falcon framelock that's seen shared EDC duty with my Griptillian. The frame/lock is steel, instead of titanium. I haven't noticed any wear on the lock, but I do keep myself from opening/closing it too much, in order to save the lock :rolleyes: :cool: I don't anticipate any problems for a while with it. As others have stated, I think the biggest contributing factor towards a liner/framelocks' reliability is quality of materials and construction.
 
They wear with use, and are easily repaired, if you have a little mechanical ability. I've repaired several in the last month.

Thomas
 
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