How study is the ti lite liner lock

[Spyderco329]

I was thinking about getting the 6 inch for self defense and I was wondering if anyone has ever had a lock failure on a ti lite before

 

[Steely_Gunz]

I have had a 4" for about 10 years. I've never had an issue, and it seems to lock up pretty tight. I would say that it is just a piece of thinnish rolled steel, but it has never shown any wiggle in the years of light use.

I would say as a sticker, you could do worse.

 

[AF]

I think the lock is sturdy but the 6" in particular seems to lock up quite late on average. I bought a new but older 6" version that came with the lock extending over all the way. It had a tiny bit of up and down play. I disassembled and ground a relief into the opposing liner so the detent ball wouldn't hit anymore. That worked.
I've handled a few other 6" Ti Lites that all locked up solid but most had late lockup.
Anyway for the price of the base version it's a good value and I think safe and reliable for the most part.

 

[Velitrius]

I've had a bunch of Ti-Lites of various sizes over the years. They are sturdy, and just plain fun to own.

So fun in fact that friends of mine marvel at them until I give them away. Seriously, I don't have one of my own at the moment.

But I'm gonna get some more of them, be sure of that.

 

[slyraven]

It does look very weak but my 4" locks up sturdy.

 

[KenHash]

The Ti-Lite lock up is very sturdy. It has been in production since 2001. I have had several Seki Japan ones including the Titanium ones. I have also had the more recent Taiwan made ones. No complaints.

 

[jux t]

The ones I’ve owned have had rock solid lockup. The way the liner lock incorporates a 90 degree bend at the interface makes it more secure and allows for longer lock life than a typical liner lock.

 

[evilgreg]

 

[willc]

I have a 4” Ti-Lite in XHP and it locks up solid and I trust in not to fail with what work I do.
The thing that keeps me from carrying it much is that it is not lefty friendly.

Say what you will about Cold Steel, they do make tough products and they test them pretty rigorously.

 

[kaos 13]

i dont own a six but got a few diffrent 4 I'm still using an old 440 zytel one and the s35vn and the locks more solid than most liner locks I have never had a ti lite fail and iv push my old 440 one and it's still going strong if I get blade play once a blue moon I strip it clean it reassemble it blade play is gone and back to perfect working order


thay come up in the cold steel section this is a recent ti lite thread https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/4-ti-lite.1729460/

 

[evilgreg]

I'd say I trust the liner lock on a Cold Steel to be about three times as reliable a CRK Sebenza, based on the testing they've done. I mean it's one thing to talk about thickness of lock bars and titanium galling and insanely fine tolerances or whatever, but when the weight is hung none of that matters and we see how strong the locks really are.

Now, I don't think that lock strength differences matter all that much in practical use--but a CS liner lock is definitely much more reliable than a CRK frame lock.