Knives that don't lock....

T

Trapper92

Joined
May 22, 2014
Messages
125
I've noticed that most people I know seem to think that a knife that doesn't lock is "unsafe" or some how is less usable and or reliable, and most of them carry a knife themselves. I personally don't have any problem at all using a slip joint for 99% of the tasks I face in my day to day life. I do also still carry my buck 110 from time to time, and a mini copperlock which obviously both have locks, but I never feel any less safe or unequipped with a slippy in my hand. People have carried slip joint knives throughout history and never seemed to have a problem, so why now are they being seen as any less of a knife? I'm not sure if I'm asking a question or just sort of rambling along here, just seems odd to me that a lock is viewed as such a "necessary" thing on a knife. Any opinions?
 
Let's be real careful with this one folks. There's room for all sorts of knife knuts.
 
My observation is that few folks who are really familiar with using slip joints perceive them as less safe than locking knives. The Buck 110 ushered in the age of the locking blade. A lot of folks these days are just not familiar with proper use of a non-locking blade. Because they are not used to it, they perceive it as less safe.

I've carried and used knives for over five decades. I've cut myself every once in a while. It has never been due to the blade accidently closing.
 
Rats. Double post.
 
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knarfeng said:
Let's be real careful with this one folks. There's room for all sorts of knife knuts.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. I wasn't meaning to come off in a rude or condescending tone at all. I have no problem with people enjoying all different types of knives, I was simply wondering why my friends don't feel safe with a slippy, hope I didn't come off wrong as that was not my intention at all
 
I think it's because of the tactical movement.

Lots of folks are obsessed with overbuilt/"indestructible" and/or combat abilities of a knife.

Lots of people forget that a knife is for slicing, an axe for chopping and a gun for combat ;)
 
The introduction of the locking blade created a crutch for those who never learned to use a folding knife properly IMHO. If used properly a slippie is no less safe than a locking blade. If you use your pocket knife as a chisel and do unsafe things with it then you'd best stick with locking blades. A knife will bite you if you don't treat it with respect. Any tool must be used properly and within it's intended capabilities.
 
Trapper92 said:
I totally agree. I wasn't meaning to come off in a rude or condescending tone at all. I have no problem with people enjoying all different types of knives, I was simply wondering why my friends don't feel safe with a slippy, hope I didn't come off wrong as that was not my intention at all
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arizonaranchman said:
The introduction of the locking blade created a crutch for those who never learned to use a folding knife properly IMHO. If used properly a slippie is no less safe than a locking blade. If you use your pocket knife as a chisel and do unsafe things with it then you'd best stick with locking blades. A knife will bite you if you don't treat it with respect. Any tool must be used properly and within it's intended capabilities.
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^^^ yep....
That's how I see it, they didn't start off early enough in life with a slip joint knife. My granddad started me about five years old with a slip joint knife.
I started carrying a shot gun when I was eight. It's all about learning and respect.
When cars first came about, folks thought their heads would explode if they went too fast.
When we started to go the moon, some folks thought we were crazy. But we just had to learn and respect things, even in nature.
Because we found out that it was not the speed that would make your head explode, but that sudden stop that happens sometimes......:rolleyes:

I to have been cut (very minor) a couple times, but not from the knife failing, but from my own negligence not paying attention.
 
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SincerelyNow said:
Lots of people forget that a knife is for slicing, an axe for chopping and a gun for combat ;)
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There's some wisdom. Can't stand when I see a guy carry a huge folding knife for self-defense, or when a knife is marketed to civilians as a "self-defense knife". That should be the last consideration, not the first. You don't want to be the guy who escalates a fist fight, and we've all heard the line about knives and gun fights. Not to mention that most actual knife fights end with two people bleeding out on the sidewalk.
 
knarfeng said:
Let's be real careful with this one folks. There's room for all sorts of knife knuts.
Click to expand...

Perhaps I should rephrase.

Let's not make fun of or denigrate folks who don't use slip joints. Please be very careful how you phrase your responses.
 
Trapper22, you can see by the blue warning text of the moderator that this is a sensitive issue. You have now heard that locking folding knives are for folks that are involved in the overbuilt knife craze, weren't raised correctly to begin with, or can't use a knife properly so the lock is a crutch to protect them from their incompetency. Other reasons of thinly veiled disapproval will no doubt follow.

Here's my take. I am not a white collar guy like many here. My knives are all work knives, and all have to carry their weight. I am not alone... this thread keeps growing,

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/980449-Traditional-and-Modern-pairings as many folks find lockers useful tools.

I carried slip joints only on the job site as a working knife for about 30 years. About 10 years ago, I got a small locker that was a piece of junk, so I tossed it out. But then about 7 years ago I got a larger locker due to the huge amount of good reviews and personal praise it got here on Blade Forums. I have a few large lockers now, and love them for work.

I was raised right! My Dad bought me my first BSA knife when I was 5. I carried a knife to school almost every day as a kid. I camped, hunted, fished and hiked using slip joints and fixed blades. I am not a ninja warrior. I think a knife is less than a good stick in a fight. I don't have "issues" of incompetency or self reliance that require a locking blade to make up for my shortcomings.

But... I really grew fond of the locking blades and their bigger handles when using them when the handles were wet on a rainy day on the site. I like them when they are covered with tar or solvents and the grip isn't quite so sure. I like them when it is freezing cold and my increasingly arthritic hands don't want to work in the cold weather and my grip isn't what it was 20 years ago. I like them when I am really tired and want to get finished for the day to go home, and my concentration isn't what it should be and I can avoid what is commonly called "an accident" in the trades.

I know I should be home, or at least working inside leading a safer, less demanding life that requires less work with my hands, and I would if I could. But for now, I will take absolutely anything item or feature that will give me an edge in safety, regardless of how silly it looks to others. I have ten fingers and ten toes, and with 40 years working in the trades that is something I am proud of.

As a sidebar, I also use a riving blade on my table saw, a face shield (not goggles) when working on a wood lathe, and make sure the guards work on all my tools (as a know-it-all youngster I used to take them off). All of my tools were double insulated as soon as I could afford them years ago (use a 15 amp saw on a misty, drizzly day to figure out how important that little bit of protection is compared to using an adapter) and make sure my striking tools are rated as such. To this day though, I am occasionally on sites that have folks that openly sneer at safety devices, most of the time using some of the same reasoning folks think a locking knife is wrong headed.

At work I always carry two knives, a traditional pattern and a modern. No, it isn't knife abuse, misuse, stupidity, lack or experience or anything else when you want to match the proper style and type of knife to the job at hand. I find plenty of uses for both lockers and non lockers all day long. Bigger jobs see my larger modern folders, and smaller slicing jobs see my stockman, medium stockman, congress, and occasionally a Barlow.

knarfeng said:
My observation is that few folks who are really familiar with using slip joints perceive them as less safe than locking knives. The Buck 110 ushered in the age of the locking blade. A lot of folks these days are just not familiar with proper use of a non-locking blade. Because they are not used to it, they perceive it as less safe.

I've carried and used knives for over five decades. I've cut myself every once in a while. It has never been due to the blade accidently closing.
Click to expand...

An excellent answer. For me, I cut myself rarely as I treat and use my lock blades just like I do my slip joints, except I appreciate the safety feature of one extra step before it bites me if I make a mistake. Kind of like the safety on my pistols; if I was always completely aware, safe, and in a safe environment doing safe, well thought out things, never tired, and never had a loss of concentration, and never made a mistake or had an accident, then none of my pistols would need safeties!

My only problem with lock blades is that we as a society are so far out of touch with knives, knife construction, and knife use that many folks think that a lock bladed knife converts to a near fixed blade when opened. While some get close (Tri Ad locks) most locks (to me) aren't much more than an extra gizmo on a knife. I am all over the idea of using a knife as a knife and I am thankful I get to use my judgement of which knife is best for the task, locking or non locking. To me, there is a place for just about any knife that is well made with a design that has stood the test of time. No doubt, lockers are here to stay just like slipjoints.

Robert
 
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I have a newer appreciation of slipjoints lately. I also still love my locking knives. I don't carry them as weapons really, not even my Strider or Emerson knives. I just like the "hand full of knife" feeling and how secure it feels in hand with a lock keeping the blade in place. It's got the FEEL of a tool that can do more even though in reality it pretty much does the same amount of work and is often inferior at slicing.
 
knarfeng said:
My observation is that few folks who are really familiar with using slip joints perceive them as less safe than locking knives. The Buck 110 ushered in the age of the locking blade. A lot of folks these days are just not familiar with proper use of a non-locking blade. Because they are not used to it, they perceive it as less safe.
Click to expand...

I think Frank got it about right. I carry slipjoints 99% of the time these days. When I'm out in the woods I sometimes carry a small FB. I have a couple of nice traditional lock-knives, and like carrying them when I do. I might carry them more if it wasn't for the British knife laws, which restrict their carry, but I'm very happy with my slipjoints :)
 
Interesting topic .
I have foot in both camps when it comes to the Slipjoint - Lock debate .
On a hard out work knife that is tool of your trade then I think it is a requirement to have a locking blade .
On a Pocket knife that is carried casually to make everyday tasks easier then a Slip joint rules the roost .
I carry both , sometimes together , sometimes by themselves it depends on what I foresee will be happening and where and what I'm going to be doing .
There hasn't been a knife invented that is the Master of all tasks so no matter what you carry it is a compromise .
Any knife is better than no knife .
Take a long hard critical look at your realistic daily knife requirements and equip yourself with what you deem the best tool .
Sometimes the journey is better than the destination and trying different things outside our comfort zones can be very interesting .
I've just downsized my knife selection after analysing my real requirements , not my imagined ones :)

Ken
 
From what OP ask, is that his friends seem to see slip joint's as unsafe knives.
And I hope he can see that we don't have anything against locking knives, I think they do have their place and are here to stay.
But I hope he can see that slip joints are safe, if used proper and respected, or they would not have stuck around this long.
Any knife can be dangerous and can cut or hurt you if not used properly and respected.
 
Opinel is the only lock type I trust 100% Seen too many others fail but NEVER an Opinel.
 
I used to think that a knife only worked if it had a lock, that was just because I thought that having more stuff in a knife makes it better. those who think it is 100 percent necesary to have a lock have probably never considered a slip joint because lets face it, other than the SAK there are very few slipjoints being carried now.
 
I even use Fixed blade knives!:D
I chose my tool for the suitability of the job at hand. I only use fixed blade knives in the kitchen/food except for that on the go apple, summer sausage snack.

Slippies for any slicing of material, Twine, packaging, and that apple etc.

Locking folders for any harder chores especially when there is any lateral force or my reach with the knife is extended like rigging work or cutting plastic slip ties when it's time to break down my 10 x 10' Farmers market tent.
 
I haven't carried a slippy in a long time, just my locking folders and a few fixed blades, from time to time. I did once use my Opinel to process a cardboard box , and didn't bother to close the locking ring. The damn thing folded up on me, and nearly sliced a finger to the bone. I wasn't actually cut, but it was damn close, and the thing was so sharp that I could have easily lost a tendon. Ever since, I have always closed the ring, or used whatever locking mechanism is there, and would be reluctant to use a slippy. YMMV.
 
to be honest, i dont like locking knifes (anymore) because i felt them always to be unsafe in the closed position (e.g. when carrying a modern linerlock on a clip tip up in your pocket i always feared to drive the blade into my finger tip when reaching for the knife) as they dont have (most liner locks) or have weak (most backlocks) springs to keep them closed when needed. and in closed position you have no control over the knife so this has higher priority (at least for me). i also consider a spring a force to deal with, with a lock you never know when it buckles (quits whatever is right here) so i even consider slippies saver when open than locking blades. to stab or punch only a fixed or balisong is safe. so for me a lock adds additional safety (eg the victorinox 111mm linerlocks do have a decent spring and the lock) but you should use the knife like a slipjoint. jm2c
 
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