I don't like lockbacks

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Kru03

Joined
Jul 3, 2008
Messages
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Don't know why I felt the need to share this w/ everybody. One of my favorite knives is the Spyderco Ocelot, but the lockback drives me crazy. I think I'd prefer any other lock or none at all to a lockback.
 
Hmmm.

I know what you mean, liner/frame locks are so much easier to close quickly, and they almost always have smoother openings. Lockbacks also seem prone to a bit of bladeplay. I still like lockbacks though.
 
Lockbacks have been working for well over a hundred years. One of the most iconic knives in history was the Buck 110. Used hard by a couple generations of soldiers and construction workers. Rugged, reliable, and time proven. What's not to like.
 
Funny, I was just thinking how I am starting to not like Ti framelocks as much as I thought I did....
 
Kru03 said:
Don't know why I felt the need to share this w/ everybody. One of my favorite knives is the Spyderco Ocelot, but the lockback drives me crazy. I think I'd prefer any other lock or none at all to a lockback.
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I don't know why either. Perhaps you might mention what it is about lockbacks that you don't like so we can figure this out... :)
 
I will take a lockback any day over a frame/liner lock. I think it is more reliable in my experience at least. Different strokes for different folks.
 
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jackknife said:
Lockbacks have been working for well over a hundred years. One of the most iconic knives in history was the Buck 110. Used hard by a couple generations of soldiers and construction workers. Rugged, reliable, and time proven. What's not to like.
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:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

As a trades person for almost 40 years now, I couldn't have picked a better example. That has been the defacto work knife for most of them, and still is considered the gold standard by many. Others float around on the sites, but everyone knows and respects that lockback for its safety in use and locking reliability.

Robert
 
timberweasel said:
I don't know why either. Perhaps you might mention what it is about lockbacks that you don't like so we can figure this out... :)
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My gosh you're sensitive. It's just a personal preference. I don't like that I have to move my hand in an unusual way to release the lock.
 
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I love lockbacks, particularly the lockback.

EDIT: Would have just corrected it, but I thought it was funny. Meant to say Triad.
 
I don't much like the lockbacks at the butt end of the knife like the Buck 110 and Nirk Tighe, as it's difficult or impossible to close them with one hand. Now the lockback on a Spyderco Endura or Delica I'm fine with. Hopefully the lockback on the Demko AD-10 will be my cup of tea since my number finally came up on the waiting list.
 
I own alot of REALLY cheap knives that I receive as gifts once in a while.
Alot of these said knives are Frost and Appalachian Trail.
Well, sometimes I get bored, and go abuse one of these said knives just to see how far it will go before it breaks.
Well, from my experiences, the lockback ones are the strongest.
And I'm not being nice to these knives at all.
I pound them into the tree like a nail, and then smash the handle with a stick behind the lock release on the end of the handle.
Most of the time, it wont fold.
Batoning, prying sideways, throwing, spine whacks, etc.
I TRY to make the lock fail.
And it doesnt until about a half hour into the very hard abuse, and then they only fold because the plastic deforms.
Now, if an Appalachian trail cheapo 2 dollar junk plastic knife with no liners and flimsy plastic can handle this abuse,
my 50dollar BUCK 110 has alot of respect.
That 2 dollar junk knife has a lockback, and I trust them completely after these abuse tests.
They are strong. :thumbup:
(And yes, I do all of this abuse safely. I take my time and think before I act so that I don't get hurt :))
 
Something I like about lockbacks is that they are ambidextrous. Being ambidextrous myself, I like having knives that can be handled with equal ease with either hand.
 
Lockback on the Spyderco Endura, right?

My favorite knife, easiest to
one hand close for a lefty.

I use it all day every day.
 
Kru03 said:
Don't know why I felt the need to share this w/ everybody. One of my favorite knives is the Spyderco Ocelot, but the lockback drives me crazy. I think I'd prefer any other lock or none at all to a lockback.
Click to expand...

All I could think is, "I don't like you" upon reading that.

Besides, aren't lockbacks, nay, any locking folder illegal where you live? Shouldn't you be carrying a fixed blade?

Lockbacks make me ambivalent. One of my favorite knives is a spyderco police g-10, but it is only my favorite when I keep it properly oiled. If I make sure to oil it and clean it bi-weekly, then it performs almost on par with linerlocks. I guess it's good, because it's like a nagging girlfriend: I can't get lazy and get fat/let it not be properly maintained. The outcome is good, but I feel a little annoyed when I have to do it.

Tradeoffs. That's what life is about.

Zero
 
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