how important are liners in folding knife?

[picard]

Does anyone know the role of liners in folding knife? Some knife don't have liners. Does the lack of liners compromise the handle? what liners are consider as very good for long term use?

 

[Will P.]

Liners create a buffer between the handle and the washers, prevent handle flex (all folders flex to some extent), and give the knife a nice, solid feel. I like stainless steel liners for the weight and stiffness.

Knives can be built without liners pretty easily with no serious ill effects. Knives with very solid slabs - all framelocks - are fine. Some Spydercos and Benchmades have no liners or minimalized liners with FRN and Zytel handles, and still feel OK.

 

[Bob W]

Yep, many lightweight plastic knives are made without liners - the strength of modern plastics make the liners unnecessary. One-piece-frame knives, like Pat Crawford's design, don't need liners either. And Opinel has been making wooden knives without liners for many decades.

Traditional-style knives with natural handle materials generally have liners, often brass. The narrow slices of bone, horn, wood, etc. wouldn't be strong enough without liners, and would probably have difficulty staying attached.

Best Wishes,
Bob

 

[Dragon_Man]

My favorite EDC a Spyderco Endura FRN PE VG-10 does not have liners and has cut paper to country style ribs and has showed no signs of weakness. So as far as Spydercos go they don't suffer for a lack of liners.

 

[Santi]

So as far as Spydercos go they don't suffer for a lack of liners.

Been carried the Starmate for so many years, I second that.

 

[underaged!]

My Dodo has very light scratches (barely noticable) from rubbing against the G-10. Doesn't make the action more stiff though. It's all good.

 

[metacarpels]

good question. while im no expert, i find that i prefer having liners in my carry knives. i find that knives like the mini grip feel more rigid with their partial liners inside than a spyderco delica for instance. also, the liners can make the knife look snappier. just my thoughts.

 

[ErikD]

Liners can also act as a locking mechanism for the knife, as in a liner lock. In that case the construction and the materials make a big difference in the security of the lock.

Good materials for liners are basically steel or titanium. Steel is heavier, but cheaper. Titanium is nice and lightweight, but it comes at a cost, $$.

As already mentioned liners can also serve to add to the strength of a knife that is constructed with plastic, G10, micarta, etc. scales. Really it becomes an issue of size/weight vs. strength. Adding liners will make the knife stronger, but also add weight and thickness to it. Take your pick depending on the type of knife, and intended use.

 

[acv]

Adding liners will make the knife stronger, but also add weight and thickness to it.

The new Swamp Rat - Rat Trap has the liners nested into the handle material there by giving strenght with no increase in the thickness. I kind of like that detail.

adam

 

[HoB]

Well, asside from the flex, there is also the tear-out-strength to be considered. Most locks rely in one way or another on a pin that stops the blade. In a liner lock it is the back stop pin that keeps the knife from opening farther than it should, the compression lock relies on the anvil pin to prevent both opening and closing. The axis lock relies on the lock bar and the lockback on the pin that holds the lock bar. Even though fiber reinforced plastics are great (Carbon fiber, FRN, G-10, Mircarta) in terms of resiliance tensil strength, toughness etc., they often do not have the tear-out-strength of steel or Ti. Meaning, while they will withstand the flex, eventually you will pull (or push) a structural pin right out of the handle material. That is the reason why the SS version of the Delica for example has a significantly higher lockstrength than the FRN version, even though the FRN version holds up just fine in regular (hard) use.