Just finished a spine whack test on my Buck Select.

[Karda]

This is the intended purpose of the lock. To protect me when I make a mistake.

False. The intended purpose of the lock is to hold the blade in the open position when the knife is opened.
It is not a "failsafe" for ignorance, abuse, misuse or mistakes.
As always, knowledge, prudence, proper care and maintenance are the keys to personal safety in using any kind of tool with the potential to cause harm.

 

[brownshoe]

Long story short, if the knife is supposed to lock in the open position it should not close when whacked on the spine...or else it is not locked open. By definition if a locked folding knife fails the spike whack test it is not a "locked" open knife.

My Buck vantage did the same thing. It would close w/o any whack, a tap, or even pushing on the blade and it would close. I fixed it by adjusting it, roughing up the back of the tang and tightening up its screws. I then promptly gave it away...no trust in it even after I fixed it. I warned the recipient, the first thing they did was spine whack it and it held. Good enough for them.

Insipid Moniker is right, pocket knives are not the best tool for any job, but an adequate tool for many jobs.

A locked knife that closes upon pressure on the spine or with a whack, is not a "locked" knife.

 

[sunandsteel]

False. The intended purpose of the lock is to hold the blade in the open position when the knife is opened.
It is not a "failsafe" for ignorance, abuse, misuse or mistakes.
As always, knowledge, prudence, proper care and maintenance are the keys to personal safety in using any kind of tool with the potential to cause harm.

So my Buck Vantage Select is actually a decent knife?

 

[Karda]

So my Buck Vantage Select is actually a decent knife?

Not for me to say,It's up to you to form your own opinion.
I will say though, that if used with the care and forethought that anyone should when using sharp things, you will probably find that it fits your needs.

 

[BladeScout]

As a quick aside, I'm often a bit confused by the 'proper tool for the job' argument. A folding pocket knife is rarely truly the proper tool for almost any job. Opening mail? Letter opener. Breaking down boxes? Box cutter. Cutting thread? Scissors. And that's not even getting into the extensive list of knives designed for specific tasks like woodcarving, food prep, skinning, etc. I don't carry a folding knife because it's always, or even often, the best tool for the job, but because it's versatile enough to do many jobs.

If this is in regards to my comment (and I dont know, because you didnt quote me correctly), Ill say the following:
You were the one who mentioned, that you had worked as an EMT and had had to cut seat belts off people.
I maintain that the optimal tool for that is the safety cutter.

It would be a natural thing for an EMT to bring the very small, very effective tool along. EMTs are bright enough to know, that they can expect to deal with people trapped in cars.

I didnt use the word 'proper' and I didnt exclude that some used other tools for cutting seat bealts off people - be it red clown noses, weed whackers or shears.

I simply maintain, that the optimal tool for the scenario you lined up (cutting seat belts off people trapped in a car) is the safety cutter or what ever variations of it there are (as opposed to a folding knife with which you might slash/stick/stab a panicky person or even an unconscious one in a hurry).

You would then further more not have to worry about an accident in regards to having the spine of a folder whacked.

I stand by that statement.

 

[Surfingringo]

False. The intended purpose of the lock is to hold the blade in the open position when the knife is opened.
It is not a "failsafe" for ignorance, abuse, misuse or mistakes.
As always, knowledge, prudence, proper care and maintenance are the keys to personal safety in using any kind of tool with the potential to cause harm.

Lol, of course it is. That's exactly what it is. Well, at least to the "mistake" part. I'm not sure if there's any failsafe for ignorance. . Think of it this way. Make a certain type of mistake with a slip joint and you cut your finger. Make the same mistake with a locking blade and you don't. If none of us ever made an error of "physics" as it were, what would be the point of having a locking blade knife? Other than doing spine whack tests of course.

 

[555]

All my slip joint knives fail the spine whack "test" every time.....pieces of junk...all of 'em.

They just need more time in a salt bath left open; to slow their close fail rate.

 

[Ken44]

I spine wacked a slip joint today, and the dang thing closed on me !

Of course that was the exact affect I was going for when I pressed the spine on my leg to close the knife.

False. The intended purpose of the lock is to hold the blade in the open position when the knife is opened.
It is not a "failsafe" for ignorance, abuse, misuse or mistakes.
As always, knowledge, prudence, proper care and maintenance are the keys to personal safety in using any kind of tool with the potential to cause harm.

:thumbup:

 

[Insipid Moniker]

If this is in regards to my comment (and I dont know, because you didnt quote me correctly), Ill say the following:
You were the one who mentioned, that you had worked as an EMT and had had to cut seat belts off people.
I maintain that the optimal tool for that is the safety cutter.

It would be a natural thing for an EMT to bring the very small, very effective tool along. EMTs are bright enough to know, that they can expect to deal with people trapped in cars.

I didnt use the word 'proper' and I didnt exclude that some used other tools for cutting seat bealts off people - be it red clown noses, weed whackers or shears.

I simply maintain, that the optimal tool for the scenario you lined up (cutting seat belts off people trapped in a car) is the safety cutter or what ever variations of it there are (as opposed to a folding knife with which you might slash/stick/stab a panicky person or even an unconscious one in a hurry).

You would then further more not have to worry about an accident in regards to having the spine of a folder whacked.

I stand by that statement.

Not an EMT, are you? Most guys carry shears, although I know a few that have carried strap cutters. In the incident I mentioned I was off-duty and not carrying either. I was, however, carrying my rescue knife. I wish I had thought to carry shears at that point, but I didn't, nor did I have an opportunity to get some. My rescue knife wasn't the ideal tool for the job, but it was available and effective thanks to the versatility I previously mentioned. Being an emergency first responder of any type involves the ability to improvise.

 

[Bugout Bill]

They just need more time in a salt bath left open; to slow their close fail rate.

I think I died a little seeing that.

 

[WRGreen]

Spine whacking scissors will be next on the agenda. As an aside,(forgive me) I believe that a reliance on 'safety' devices has kinda dumbed down our society in general: (look at the number of people tail-gaiting in cars at high speed). Combined with lawyers ('caution this coffee is HOT') we seem to be painting ourselves into a corner. While I'm not saying safety devices are bad (who would?), lots of people have fallen into the plastic bubble-wrap world and "blame the hammer for hitting their thumb". The semantics of calling the pieces inhibiting the 'accidental' closing of a folding knife a "lock" also can breed a complacent attitude, but we've already painted that map and the territory is so well traveled no other word comes close. Safety is good; test your 'locks'. Awareness is better; keep safety in your head and help others be safe also.

 

[pvicenzi]

One hand closing? Doesn't that make it a tactical?

I spine wacked a slip joint today, and the dang thing closed on me !

Of course that was the exact affect I was going for when I pressed the spine on my leg to close the knife.




:thumbup:

 

[James Y]

I spine wacked a slip joint today, and the dang thing closed on me !

Of course that was the exact affect I was going for when I pressed the spine on my leg to close the knife.:thumbup:

Some of my favorite knives will fail a spine whack every time...my SAKs! I've used them for years for all sorts of things and never had one close on me during use.

Jim

 

[BladeScout]

Not an EMT, are you? Most guys carry shears, although I know a few that have carried strap cutters. In the incident I mentioned I was off-duty and not carrying either. I was, however, carrying my rescue knife. I wish I had thought to carry shears at that point, but I didn't, nor did I have an opportunity to get some. My rescue knife wasn't the ideal tool for the job, but it was available and effective thanks to the versatility I previously mentioned. Being an emergency first responder of any type involves the ability to improvise.

Congrats, you managed to miss the point:thumbup:
You are very predictable.

 

[caldwelr]

It seems as if some people are taking this a little too seriously...haha. What's the point of getting so worked up about something like this? Maybe I'm just missing something important, I don't know.

 

[Rival1314]

i cant believe there are 12 pages of comments on a spine wack post....Hey I think Im gonna spine wack a gerber paraframe, think it will pass?

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

It seems as if some people are taking this a little too seriously...haha. What's the point of getting so worked up about something like this? Maybe I'm just missing something important, I don't know.

I feel it's on par with people complaining about their Winchester and gerber knives being off center...

 

[JNewell]

This thread has me truly worried about my edged tools. I'm going to reserve some time this weekend to spinewhack my axes and see if they're safe.

 

[driemb]

while reading through this entertaining thread i see my buck alpha hunter lying on my desk, and i am thinking, should i ? no! but then i could not resist, flicked it open, gently, then turned it over kept my fingers out of the blade's way and tapped it on the back of a chair, surprise! the lock failed and it closed! had another one lying around and it failed also the first tapping. ( call it tapping ,not whacking couse it really is not that hard.)
This is great, now I can flick them open and whack them closed. ;-)

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

This thread has me truly worried about my edged tools. I'm going to reserve some time this weekend to spinewhack my axes and see if they're safe.

Don't joke. Next will be the guys coming out saying their sheath is unsafe and they have to light it on fire and smack the knife against a wall to make sure it doesn't cut through. I see no end to trends lol