If the lock mechanism on my pocket knife breaks or fails while using the knife will my fingers be cut off?

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ahawkua said:
If the lock mechanism on my pocket knife breaks or fails while using the knife will my fingers be cut off?
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Doubtful. I had a Cold Steel XL Voyager Tanto close on my index finger once. It cut the skin. Bandaid, and back to work, pretty much healed in a week or so. I know it was user error, but I can't remember exactly what I was doing. Maybe if I lost a finger I would remember. Pretty sure I just tried to close one handed while also distracted by something else.

jbmonkey said:
next time out in public look at peoples hands and how many missing fingers you see per hand. bet ya never noticed before....
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I do run across it now and again. I had a landlord who was missing at least the middle and distal phalanges of his pinky. He was at kids' hockey practice, and had rested his hand on the boards, right where the gate to get on the ice was. It was open, and a couple kids went through while he was looking the other way, and one of the kids, evidently without looking, slammed the door. It was not a sew back on job.
 
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I met a trucker a few years ago who had lost his ring finger the day before, not sure how exactly. He had it bandaged at the local hospital and went back to work the next day. Self-employed, so no time off.
 
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ahawkua said:
If the lock mechanism on my pocket knife breaks or fails while using the knife will my fingers be cut off?
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No. Not usually. If the lock broke while you were trying to force the knife through something at a specific angle, then yes, it could cut your fingers. But probably not ALL the way off.
 
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No reason not to take him seriously--my own brother has cut his own fingers multiple times while closing SAKs, and attempting to whittle pieces of wood. We joke that when he eventually gets married, he'll have to wear it on his middle finger, because that's the only one he'll have left.
 
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This is NOT an issue as long as you don't insist in using a hammer grip with your folder and prying the sh*t out of it VERTICALLY against the spine and the locking mechanism (instead of horizontally which would be the "normal" thing to do).
 
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Ron Lake's original intention for the linerlock was that it would fail "safe", bending "in" toward the other slab, and jamming the blade open.

Since then, a lot of people have made linerlocks, and I would not know how to tell if one is going to fail safe, or pop out of the way and let the blade fold.

For all the dubious quality of their heat treat, Columbia River Knife & Tool sells knives with the LAWKS, which actually works the way it's supposed to.

Framelocks likewise, are intended to fail by jamming the blade. I assume it has to do with whether the spring cutout is on the inside or the outside of the frame.

I had a framelock start to unlock on me, just once. It was absolutely my fault. The blade was dull and I was trying to cut 1/2" vulcanized rubber. I applied as much Millwright as I could manage, and started to move the lock because I wasn't applying pressure straight down. This was one of the things that led to my disaffection with this type of blade lock.

Lockbacks and AXIS-style locks can be disengaged by accident, although it is more difficult.

Best advice I can give has already been given: if you are in doubt about the tool's ability to to the job, stop and get the right tool.
 
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Don't mind the kidders. This is a reasonable question for someone who lacks experience. There is some wisdom in using knives with flipper tabs or choils that double as a guard when open. Beyond that, here is an important safety rule:

Treat all folding knives as just that. Anything that could test the strength of a locking mechanism is NOT an appropriate task for a folding knife.
 
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Shorttime said:
Ron Lake's original intention for the linerlock was that it would fail "safe", bending "in" toward the other slab, and jamming the blade open.

Since then, a lot of people have made linerlocks, and I would not know how to tell if one is going to fail safe, or pop out of the way and let the blade fold.

For all the dubious quality of their heat treat, Columbia River Knife & Tool sells knives with the LAWKS, which actually works the way it's supposed to.

Framelocks likewise, are intended to fail by jamming the blade. I assume it has to do with whether the spring cutout is on the inside or the outside of the frame.

I had a framelock start to unlock on me, just once. It was absolutely my fault. The blade was dull and I was trying to cut 1/2" vulcanized rubber. I applied as much Millwright as I could manage, and started to move the lock because I wasn't applying pressure straight down. This was one of the things that led to my disaffection with this type of blade lock.

Lockbacks and AXIS-style locks can be disengaged by accident, although it is more difficult.

Best advice I can give has already been given: if you are in doubt about the tool's ability to to the job, stop and get the right tool.
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I own a cheap Gerber with a liner lock that, weirdly enough, when I flick it out, pushes the liner lock to the other side of the inner frame. Only when I flick it. Butter knives come in handy.

Otherwise I love liner locks.
 
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