How Tough are the Tri-Ad™ Lock Knives Compared to the Usual Suspects?

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OrangeJoe

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Jul 13, 2004
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We've all seen the videos and have read the reviews.

A lot of you even own a couple or 3 (or 5) of the Tri-Ad™ Lock knives.

Although even the custom made Tri-Ad™ seem to go for about the same price ballpark as the default-recommended Hard Use production knife i.e. Strider, I really would like to know how do the production versions compare.

How much tougher (or less tough) is a Tri-Ad™ Lock American Lawman (or Spartan, or Rajah or AK-47) than a Strider/Emerson folder (take your pick of models)?

In what particular uses does one outshine the other? (I know the Ti/Tiger Stripe/Operator Used wins the 'Cool' factor for some). I'm talking real world Hard abuse here.

I know some people don't even want to put Cold Steel in the same sentence as Strider, but from what I'm reading those Demko designs are as tough as they come.

Yes, I know I'm asking you to compare a $60-$90 knife to a $150-$500 knife. That's the point.

Let your definition of tough and your definition of abuse guide you. :)
 
Right now as things are in the world of knives there is nothing that will touch the Tri-Ad Lock for strength. :thumbup:

Andrew Demko has hit a home run with his Design and it's not likely to be beaten anytime soon IMO.
 
c.joe said:
I'm sure it's very tough and my mini AK-47 is most certainly proving itself. But there has been one major problem with an unseated leaf spring that has caused many to reconsider buying a knife with a tri-ad lock. Here are a link from the CS forums talking about it. I can't seem to find the other links that talk more about it..

http://coldsteelforums.com/2010-style-Recon-1-locking-trouble-m98915.aspx
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I believe they have solved that problem or are working on it, it's not a problem with the lock. ;)

I think it was a batch problem or something.
 
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At what point is the exceptional strength of the "best" lock so far beyond need, that even lesser lock are still beyond need? The rest of the knife would fail, the blade would snap, your grip would shift, before a Strider framelock would give way.

The Tri-Ad is still a great idea. Is the AUS-8 of production Cold Steel Tri-Ads up to the S30V of production Striders?
 
Esav Benyamin said:
At what point is the exceptional strength of the "best" lock so far beyond need, that even lesser lock are still beyond need? The rest of the knife would fail, the blade would snap, your grip would shift, before a Strider framelock would give way.

The Tri-Ad is still a great idea. Is the AUS-8 of production Cold Steel Tri-Ads up to the S30V of production Striders?
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I know how good the Striders are, you know I do, all I am saying is the Tri Ad is even better. :thumbup:

I think they have the best frame lock on the market, I beat the living crap out of an SmF RW-1 and the lock never failed even after I damaged the knife the lock still held. :)

Edge retention, maybe not, but for toughness I would say yes, Cold Steels AUS-8 is some very tough steel. :)

Give the CS American Lawman the same blade thickness and grind as a Strider and it would be a lot stronger overall IMO.
 
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The only major problem I can see with the tri-ad lock is that only Cold Steel seems to use it :p.

Seriously, though, I'd like to give it a try, but I'm generally not a fan of Cold Steel's folders...
 
NIB said:
It's a lockback, whats so new about that.
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The Tri-Ad Lock is not just a Lock Back..... ;)

You need to do some reading and watching videos before posting comments like that.....
 
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The triad is as tough as they come. The frame lock has proven to be very strong on a folding knife 3-4 inches long. I don't know how it would hold on a knife as large as a rajah, but my guess not as well as that triad. The lockup on these things is pretty incredible.
 
So you have seen the tests? What more is there to say? 500+ swinging pounds hanging from the handles of most of these models won't even flex the lock.

Omitting the price point in comparison is pointless, it is the MOST important thing to a majority of consumers.

For the $60 an American Lawman costs, it blows away the Strider in capability, high-end steel or not. If you could wear out 6 of them in the time it takes to trash a Strider, then it would be the other way around.
 
GrinderMcgee said:
So you have seen the tests? What more is there to say? 500+ swinging pounds hanging from the handles of most of these models won't even flex the lock.

Omitting the price point in comparison is pointless, it is the MOST important thing to a majority of consumers.

For the $60 an American Lawman costs, it blows away the Strider in capability, high-end steel or not. If you could wear out 6 of them in the time it takes to trash a Strider, then it would be the other way around.
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Yep. :thumbup:

And don't even get me started on my Custom Demko with the Custom Tri-Ad lock and CPM 154 steel blade. ;) :eek: :thumbup:

That wouldn't even be fair. LOL :D
 
They are probably tough, but until I see some actual testing of the lock compared to other locks, I am staying pretty neutral on this.

I picked up a cheap Rajah I, and it is solid and really, really impressive...but not really on the same plane as a normal sized folder.

Someone needs to do the weight hanging thing with a variety of good folders to actually see where they stand. Until then, while those videos seem pretty impressive, they are also pretty worthless. I cant say that I have ever had a knife fold on me anyway. Must be using them properly or something.


(Of course, I am not going to be tearing up all of my knives to see which has the strongest lock... Someone else do it.;))
 
Ankerson said:
Right now as things are in the world of knives there is nothing that will touch the Tri-Ad Lock for strength. :thumbup:

Andrew Demko has hit a home run with his Design and it's not likely to be beaten anytime soon IMO.
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I'm almost sold on the lock by the strength of the posts made by some very respected members here, ie. the Tri-Ad lock is MUCH stronger than any framelock, including Strider's.

But what about the rest of the knife? fake edit:Just saw Andrew's video bridging two blocks with an AK47 and stomping on the knife, OUCH! That's tough. Has anyone seen similar abuse of framelocks?

Esav Benyamin said:
At what point is the exceptional strength of the "best" lock so far beyond need, that even lesser lock are still beyond need? The rest of the knife would fail, the blade would snap, your grip would shift, before a Strider framelock would give way.

The Tri-Ad is still a great idea. Is the AUS-8 of production Cold Steel Tri-Ads up to the S30V of production Striders?
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Esav I value your opinion... still I must say that that's exactly the kind of posts I rarely saw on the web when Strider was king of the hill. Please note that the 600lb hang test/Fred Perrin throws/stomping/chopping/spine whacks did not snap the blade/pin, nor made the linerless G10 fail and the lock was fully functional afterwards, so it's not like the rest of the knife is not up to par with the lock.

Now there is a $60 knife that's too tough? :) "Best lock..far beyond need" seems good to me and my compulsive desire to keep all 10 digits. :D

Do you consider S30V a better steel for the kind of hard abuse (chopping, stomping on the blade, spine whacks, etc) seen on the Demko videos vs. AUS8?

In my very basic understanding of steel properties (I took Mechanics of Materials last century) I thought AUS8 was a good choice for what is generally considered hard use in a knife vs. S30V a better all around steel. I'm pretty sure Strider has got the edge in edge retention.
 
If you're after absolute lock strength then CS might be the way to go. I like the American Lawman and Spartan. I think there are plenty of other lock designs that are strong enough...for my usage anyway.
 
Tripton said:
They are probably tough, but until I see some actual testing of the lock compared to other locks, I am staying pretty neutral on this.

I picked up a cheap Rajah I, and it is solid and really, really impressive...but not really on the same plane as a normal sized folder.

Someone needs to do the weight hanging thing with a variety of good folders to actually see where they stand. Until then, while those videos seem pretty impressive, they are also pretty worthless. I cant say that I have ever had a knife fold on me anyway. Must be using them properly or something.


(Of course, I am not going to be tearing up all of my knives to see which has the strongest lock... Someone else do it.;))
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Just the fact that nobody else had come out and done it on video or anyplace else speaks for itself right there and makes them valid. :thumbup:

Believe me if one of the other makers knives could hold that much weight swinging it would be out on the internet already you can bet on that one.. ;)
 
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