help: thickness of lock-liner?

A

alan_zheng

Joined
Oct 8, 1998
Messages
81
Hi:
Unfortunately, there is no knife shop in my
city (except SAK,Leatherman), so I learn verything from
Internet,(manufacturer's web site and here)
but there are still some thing I can not see:

For a liner lock knife, do the thickness of
the lock play an important role in the strength of the lock? (I guess so)when you choose a liner-lock,
do you pay much attention to this thickness?
for most high quality liner-lock knives, are
the thickness of their locking liners and the strength of the lock similar or there is difference, for example:
EDI: Genesis,
BM: AFCK,Leopard,
Spyderco: Military.....

And what about cheaper knife like BUCK crosslock,CRKT Apache,Mirage? BTW Apache seems have a good
price with liner-lock,4" ATS blade,aluminium handle..
Is it really a good bargain?

I also heard that higher knife like MT socom's lock-liner are much thicker,isn't it?

Thank you for any of your reply!
 
Alan,

You should check out some of the threads regarding linerlock failures. I am sure thickness makes a difference, but it seems the materia usedl also determines the thickness and the strength. More important, from what I am reading (and experiencing personally) are the design and manufacture of the linerlock. Some are just badly made and will collapse with a tap on the blade spine or white knucle squeeze.

sing
 
Alan,

I've found that liner thickness plays a role, though not necessarily the obvious one. Of course a thicker liner will be stronger, but you pretty quickly reach a point where even a thin liner can hold up to whatever you throw at it. The thickness of the liner is more interesting to me for lock-security reasons. The thicker the liner, the more liner-tang contact, and to some extent the more stable the lock-up.

Of course, the liner-tang contact is just one variable in the liner lock-up equation. A proper angle on the blade tang is probably even more important.

Anyway, liner thickness affects both the strength of the lock itself, and the solidity of the lockup, but there are other things that also affect both.

Joe
jat@cup.hp.com
 
Thank you both!
If for those popular high quality liner-lock
knives:like Genesis,Military,AFCK...
should have no problem with their locks
right?
what about others I listed ?
 
Alan, of the 3 knives you mention, I've handled AFCKs the most. I'd give them a way-more-reliable-than-average rating on their lock. The few Spydercos and EDIs I've handled seemed just as sound, I just haven't handled nearly as many. However, keep in mind that a liner lock is very difficult to do well even once, much less over and over and over. Even Benchmade, Spyderco, and EDI can't do it perfect every time, and even a small mistake on a liner lock can make it pop. You need to test your lock out well regardless of who made it.

Joe
jat@cup.hp.com
 
Has any else noticed Benchmade liner is getting thinner over the year? I found a significant difference between the old and new AFCK.
 
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