Have you seen your lockbacks fail?

B

bchan77

Joined
Dec 6, 2007
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Count me old-fashioned, but I like lockbacks. I haven't seen my lockbacks fail, but I would like to know the experiences of others. Have you seen your lockbacks fail, and under what circumstances? (I have no intention to start a debate on the relative merits of the various locking mechanisms).
 
I grew up using slip joints. Therefore, I quickly learned the proper use of a folding knife and I've never had a lock of any kind fail.
 
I have had a few fail under light spine whacks. Also had one fail when I dropped it from waist height onto the ground.
 
I've owned two lockbacks (Bucks if it makes a difference) and both have failed. Both could be closed without disengaging the lock with less effort than what it takes to close a slipjoint. There was no abuse or spine whacks involved. I'll never own a lockback design again.
 
I had a cheap Silver Stag knife I got from Wal-Mart or the like that would consistently fail under both steady pressure and light spine taps.
 
Fargus said:
I've owned two lockbacks (Bucks if it makes a difference) and both have failed. Both could be closed without disengaging the lock with less effort than what it takes to close a slipjoint. There was no abuse or spine whacks involved. I'll never own a lockback design again.
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I owned dozens of 110's and never seen this.
 
Seals said:
I owned dozens of 110's and never seen this.
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Both appeared to have failed the exact same way. The 'hook' part would engage properly, but any pressure on the spine would cause it to slide up and the blades would close. Two near identical knives, purchased years apart, both failed in the same manner. I've never trusted that type of lock since.
 
Fargus said:
Both appeared to have failed the exact same way. The 'hook' part would engage properly, but any pressure on the spine would cause it to slide up and the blades would close. Two near identical knives, purchased years apart, both failed in the same manner. I've never trusted that type of lock since.
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Get a Spyderco back lock. Chinook, Endura, Delica, Caly3. :thumbup:
 
Josh K said:
Get a Spyderco back lock. Chinook, Endura, Delica, Caly3. :thumbup:
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I'm not a collector I'm afraid. Sypdercos, while being excellent knives and having one of the best owners in the business, just have never appealed to me. The only models I would probably ever be in the market for are the Military or the Para Military.
 
I'm a spyderaholic so i love lockbacks..... Spyderco lockbacks. Never had any fail, and never had any failures with spine whacks. Even though spine whacks are a dumb reason to disown lockbacks.
 
I dont get the spine wackin' deal.If i can push on the blade as if to close it with as heavy a pressure as i can with one hand while holding the handle of the knife with my fingers out of the way with the other.Isn't this all the test you need to insure a sturdy trustworthy lockback?To beat the crap out of a good knife and ruin it and then say it failed seems ..uh..silly.If it passes your spine whack,do you then say this is a good lockback and use it after you've whacked hell out of it?Or just say this was a good lockback?
 
Closest I have ever come on a lockback was my Spyderco Endura. Noticed the lock was not fully engaged one time. Turned out to just be a bunch of fuzz & lint that got up under it. Some simple cleaning & it was locked up tight.
 
I have had 2 lockbacks fail. One was a Buck that looked locked, and felt locked but wasn't. On inspection it had a teeny tiny bit of lint from my pocket in the tang notch. Cleaning it fixed the problem, but I think does a good job of illustrating one of the inherent weaknesses in the design.

Its just my opinion, but I think that most lockbacks, while fine, are not a very reliable lock. And of course they rely on a spring that CAN fail, and WILL slowly wear out and loose tension over time. Granted, the back-spring on a well-made lockback should last MUCH longer than every other part of the knife but...I just don't care for them.

my $.10
 
From Spyderco's Website:

Back Lock
Locking system positioned on the spine of the handle that uses a rocker arm, which pivots in the center. A notch on one end of the arm connects with a notch on the blade's tang, locking the blade open.

Compression Lock
A Compression Lock uses a small piece of metal that is inserted, from the side, in between the blade tang and the stop pin (or anvil pin).

Description may not help much, but A visual comparison might. I'm positive someone in the spyderco forum could help you see this.
 
Only on very cheap and very used knives. Usually a quality knife will give you warning before it fails.
 
I had two lockbacks in a row by a well respected maker fail. Blade would close with about the same amount of force as a slipjoint, only more suddenly. Since then, the problem on this model seems to have been solved.

Lockbacks are no more or less reliable than liner locks or slipjoints. Folding knives are always, first and foremost, folding knives. Relying on a locking blade to compensate for questionable knife handling practices is foolhardy.
 
tltt said:
Only on very cheap and very used knives. Usually a quality knife will give you warning before it fails.
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This wasn't the case with my experiences. One of the regrettable things about the way locking blades fail is that they tend to fail suddenly and without warning. Unlike a slipjoint, where the blade usually exhibits some give before the blade actually closes, locking blades often appear to be rock solid until they are suddenly not! The user expects a slipjoint to "fail" predictably every time. Not so with a locking blade.
 
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