How do spyderco linerlocks hold up in general?

Artfully Martial

Artfully Martial

Joined
Jun 8, 2005
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This is a bit of a spin on the Spyker thread I started, given that the Spykers don't seem to find their way into the EDC lineup for most, and that I'm very picky with liner locks. So how do your Military's etc hold up in terms of positive lockup, liner lock wear, etc etc.

I apologize for my thread redundency in advance, but it would be very helpful to me if you would tolerate me this much longer and share your experience.
 
The Military has the only liner lock I've ever truly trusted. I have had 2 Military's, and both of them have proven to be very reliable. My first one performed well for me for 4 years, before being used as a duty knife for an LEO friend. That knife has been to hell and back, and still locks up rock solid. My current Military is just as good.
 
Good idea to broaden your search. I'm also curious how the Military is holding up. Is the Military's lock similar to the Spykers?

Surely some militarys have seen some serious abuse.
 
I've got 2 militaries that have been edc'd. My pe 440V military has been carried to the point that the G10 has been worn down totally smooth. It's seen a lot of use and the lockup is still rock solid. My S30V military I got used off ebay for $60. The previous user had tried to reprofile it, and scratched the blade up all to h*ll. This knife has literally been to h*ll and back, and has functioned as my beater. It still locks up like the day it was new to somebody else. The best thing about the military is the extemely light weight for its size. It actually weighs less than many of the 3" folders I've carried. I don't have any reservations about Spyderco's liner locks.
 
I have a StarMate that I have carried and carried, used and used to the point that I have had to resharpen the CPM440V blade several times. I have NEVER had a lick of trouble with the liner lock.
 
I am wary about liner locks, but the lock on the new CF BG-42 Mili is pretty darn good. It hasn't seen years of abuse yet, but it will, I have decided that I will trust this lock like I do all other Spyderco locks. I have torqued the handle quite a bit and the lock hasn't moved a bit. I also like the fact that you catch the blade with the choil on your thumb in case you shouldn't get your thumb out of the way when closing it (which has happened a couple of times already). Definitely :thumbup: for this liner lock.
 
It is my impression that it was the cheap and nasty or some of the very early versions of liner locks that gave them the bad name. I have a C15 Terzuola Clipit with a rather early Spyderco liner lock (the knife is one of the early aluminum-scaled versions) and the lock is a bit finicky. It needs to be set firmly for it to hold solidly, but once set firmly, it will hold until Doomsday unless you unlock it intentionally. But if you open the blade tentatively, the lock will not set firmly and then you may have a problem.

On a couple of El Cheapo liner lock folders that I bought back in the dim, dark reaches of time, the fit between the liner and the tang ramp is not good and they simply are not to be trusted under any circumstances. That fit is the crucial thing. Spyderco used to make an adjustable pivot to allow for adjustment of that fit. My StarMate has such a pivot although I have never needed to mess with it and the lock is just fine after, what?, 6 or 7 years of hard use. They have now developed their manufacturing to the point where such an adjustable pivot is apparently not needed as Spyderco has discontinued it. I have not heard of any problems with Spydie liner locks recently. Have any of you?
 
It looks like I've got nothing to worry about from spyderco liner locks, which is exactly what I expected.

I've always been of the impression that a well executed liner lock is roughly as good as any other genre of lock and have some solid beat to hell liner locks that can stand up to anything. This opinion has made me less than popular with many folks.
 
Artfully Martial said:
I've always been of the impression that a well executed liner lock is roughly as good as any other genre of lock .
Click to expand...

I'm afraid that's not true. If something is harder to manufacture right, i.e. requiring more finesse (liner lock), the chances are greater that you will get a bad one than with other lock designs, like the Axis Lock (or its clones).
 
Hence, I specify a well executed one. I examine them all personally, or have someone do it for me.

Remember, of course, that I personally test lock integrity (severely) from time to time.

I'd rather have an axis lock or compression lock, I love those, I like them much more than liner locks, but several of the knives I'm looking at aren't offered in them, so I just have to deal.
 
I'm for framelocks. wish Spyderco would re-consider that for the upcoming Lum Chinese redux.
 
there is nothing wrong with a well executed, designed and fitted liner lock, imho they dont get enough respect.
 
Alot of people here seem to dislike liner locks and I have a hard time understanding why. For someone like myself who could probably get by with no lock on a knife (Penknife) they work great. If you plan on getting in knife fights where you block with the backside of the blade you might look elsewhere. But what percentage of people will put force on the back of the blade. My guess is that it's a VERY small percentage.
 
I have a Military, the liner lock is very well executed, solid lockup everytime. In all my cutting with this knife, I have never had it slip or otherwise fail. I trust it.
 
some of the best custom folding fighting knives made are liner locks, ie emerson CQC6, 7, 8 and pat crawfords kasper line (KFF, perfigo, persico) to name a couple, not to say frame locks or compression locks arent probably better.
 
spyken said:
I'm for framelocks. wish Spyderco would re-consider that for the upcoming Lum Chinese redux.
Click to expand...
Of all my liner locks, any of Spydercos have yet to fail.

The above quote would be sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) :) :)
 
I've had 5 different Spyderco liner lock knives, and had issues with 3 of them. Ironically, all three failures were with the Military model. I find the liner lock on the Military easy to accidentally disengage under a tight grip. I also had issues with the liner sliding back and forth on the tang of the blade. On one model, the liner did not actually touch the tang of the blade; you could shake the knife and hear the liner bounce against the tang. As a result of these issues, I ended up getting rid of all my liner lock knives. When I can't carry a fixed blade, I prefer lock backs or the axis lock.
 
ElectricZombie said:
I've had 5 different Spyderco liner lock knives, and had issues with 3 of them. Ironically, all three failures were with the Military model. I find the liner lock on the Military easy to accidentally disengage under a tight grip. I also had issues with the liner sliding back and forth on the tang of the blade. On one model, the liner did not actually touch the tang of the blade; you could shake the knife and hear the liner bounce against the tang. As a result of these issues, I ended up getting rid of all my liner lock knives. When I can't carry a fixed blade, I prefer lock backs or the axis lock.
Click to expand...
On the one where the liner never even touched the tang of the blade, did you try sending it back to Spyderco? That sounds very much like a screw-up in manufacturing to me and Spyderco should have made good on it. On the other two, I would have sent them back as well. Bu then, other than the lockingf liner, IIRC, there are no other liners on the Military, so it just might be possible to torque the hilt enough to disengage the lock. But that would take an almighty tight grip and a lot of twisting.
 
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