In Praise of the Lockback

[Jeff123]

Buck Knife by Jeff, on Flickr

In this age of fancy axis locks, liner locks, ball-bearing locks and the like, the good old lockback tends to get overlooked. But it's a beautifully simple design, the natural evolution of a slipjoint. It's secure, inexpensive, and reliable. It's classic and time-proven. What more could you ask for?

Feel free to add pictures and discuss

 

[bigsurbob]

Some of my favorites are lockbacks. Always reliable. I've also got a Spartan in a backpack somewhere.

 

[jbmonkey]

what else could ya ask for?.......a tri-ad. just a better improvement over backlocks. like old school backlocks too though.

 

[calm]

Get a ring pull one - same idea, more basic.

 

[Bastler]

 

[Greggy]

Got more but no pics:

 

[Synov]

 

[RugerNurse]

Native 5 is a great backlock.

 

[calm]

https://imgur.com/UkZdOt6

 

[calm]

https://imgur.com/gZh2Iqs

 

[calm]

https://imgur.com/Jm0Y2P9

 

[calm]

https://imgur.com/9Q20xl2

 

[dogstar]

https://imgur.com/Jm0Y2P9

I never put these in the same category. Looks different, operation is different.

 

[dogstar]

Aug. 21, 2026 is the expiration of the tri-ad lock patent

 

[calm]

Okapi, a piece of spring metal on the back of the knife connects/hooks on the blade near the pivot area, keeping it locked, similar to the usual lockback principle.
Unhooking it, frees the blade.

 

[dogstar]

Okapi, a piece of spring metal on the back of the knife connects/hooks on the blade near the pivot area, keeping it locked, similar to the usual lockback principle.
Unhooking it, frees the blade.

This is the last I will say on this matter, because it is a tangent on the original discussion. I can understand where you're coming from, but I still categorize the locks differently.

Let's say a person is only familiar with traditional lockbacks. If you hand them a triad lock, they can operate it, no problem. What if you hand them a CS Kudu? When the Kudu first came out, Lynn Thompson had to make a video on how to open/close it, because people unfamiliar with the design were cutting themselves.

Also, on a traditional lockback, the lock bar serves as a lever, with spring tension coming from a separate component. On an okapi, the back is a spring. This is all splitting hairs, and I'll let others have the last word. It's okay for us to have differing opinions on this.

 

[calm]

I agree they are not identical and know how they all work.
I am just giving the OP some options/ideas on similar opening systems.

No worries.

 

[DavidABQ]

I am a big fan of the lockback design.

 

[brancron]

Hear, hear! Hard to beat the simplicity and reliability of the lockback. Plus, it’s inherently ambidextrous.

An old Frank Centofante and a new Spyderco:

 

[DavidABQ]

A couple more that I had forgotten about. The first one is an older Buck model 500 Duke that my Pop gave me when I was still in high school. The knife literally traveled around the worled with me when i was an Air Force aircraft crew chief.
The second knife is something from Santa Fe Stoneworks that I won here on Bladeforums a decade or more ago With an older Spyderco Navigator II.