Liner locks/frame locks and one hand closing

M

MG_Saldivar

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Feb 5, 2005
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About a month ago, I purchased a new Spyderco Scorpius and it's become my EDC. Like a number of Spyderco models, the Scorpius incorporates a finger choil that is partly formed by the grip and partly formed by the blade itself, like the Native.

(Pics of the Scorpius here: http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=39)

The Scorpius is a lockback, but with very minimal practice, I've learned to safely close the blade with my "knife hand" simply by moving my thumb; this is possible because of the position of the lock lever and the position of my index finger when holding the knife.

This all got me to thinking -- setting aside questions of lock strength, if your 'dream knife' could be opened/closed with a non-liner lock/frame lock, would you seek out liner locks anyway?

In other words, if you were satisfited "Lock mechanism X" was as strong as could be and you could close as well as open your knive with one hand, what would be the attraction of liner locks/frame locks? I've always assumed liner locks developed due to a desire for one-handed closing as well as one-handed opening.


(This is not a challenge to liner lock fans, by the way -- I'm still mulling over the question myself).
 
I can mention at least one disadvantage of back lock - its hard to eliminate a blade play in such type of locking mechanism...
but its not that simple - IMO back lock is not definitely worse than integral lock - its different. There is no all purpose blade shape and no best locking mechanism... there are some good and few bad ones
 
I prefer the Axis lock over any other. However, the Axis lock is only available from Benchmade and even then, not for every model.

As such, I have to accept other types of locks in getting the knife that I want.

Hypothetically, if the same knife was available with various locks, I would choose the Axis lock.

As between the liner/frame lock and a back lock, I would choose the liner/frame lock for ease of operation.

I am aware of the weaknesses of a liner lock, but for my limited urban environment usage and the fact that I do not have the skills for SD usage and would not use a knife for SD, the weaknesses of a liner lock are notso material to me.

Of course, I would avoid a POS liner lock knife.
 
I still see some rather large advantages of liner locks over lockbacks. Weight is an issue, as is handle thickness. The Spyderco Military, for example, is VERY light and thin for its overall size. If it were converted over to a lockback design, much of the knife's appeal to me would be gone. The Military, of course, is a much more sophisticated design than most liner locks, with its nested liner lock. So it may just be an exception to the rule.

To really put it to the test, you’d have to take a popular liner lock design, add a choil, and convert it over to a lockback design. The resulting design might have a lot less appeal to some users, as the usable blade length could be drastically shortened by the redesign. There is also a strong aesthetic issue.

With that said, you are quite right about the one-hand opening/closing abilities of many Spydercos. That large choil on many Spyderco models makes one-hand closing a breeze. I’ve been carrying my Manix for a couple weeks now, and am more comfortable with one-hand closing than I ever was with the Military.
 
airyq said:
I prefer the Axis lock over any other. However, the Axis lock is only available from Benchmade and even then, not for every model.

As such, I have to accept other types of locks in getting the knife that I want.

Hypothetically, if the same knife was available with various locks, I would choose the Axis lock.

As between the liner/frame lock and a back lock, I would choose the liner/frame lock for ease of operation.

I am aware of the weaknesses of a liner lock, but for my limited urban environment usage and the fact that I do not have the skills for SD usage and would not use a knife for SD, the weaknesses of a liner lock are notso material to me.

Of course, I would avoid a POS liner lock knife.
Click to expand...

The CS Recon has a lock similar to the axis and breaking strength is over 150lbs(according to cs)
 
On a somewhat-related note, I just took the tip of my thumb off by closing my linerlock Microtech SOCOM D/A on it...right after polishing the edge with my new EdgePro. At least I know it push-cuts well. :mad:

The SOCOM D/A (and I assume the Manual version) is actually quite strong for a linerlock, as the liner is nested within the aluminum handles, which allows the liner to be thicker. Without mic'ing it, I'd say it's a good 50% thicker than the liner on my LCC. Almost the entire liner contacts the blade (just a hair of room for wear), yet more than half the .130" thick blade contacts the liner. I've seen framelocks that can't claim that much contact or room for wear.

For the reason above (cut thumb) I tend to prefer knives that lock differently than liner/frame locks. I carry a lot of plunge-lock autos which require 2 hand closing or at least 1 hand and my leg. This requires me to not do stupid stuff like getting my thumb in the way when closing. Although, in my "defence", if you can call it that, when I was closing my SOCOM, I was doing it 1 handed after firing it in auto mode. In other words, with the spring tension resisting me. It's difficult, but possible. But I probably won't be doing it much any more. :footinmou :rolleyes: The other knives I carry regularly are balisongs (no way to cut yourself unless you grab the wrong handle, which is hard for me to do when there's an obvious pocket clip on the wrong handle) or a Microtech Scarab, where you never touch the blade at all, opening or closing. Although I do have to admit that on no less than 3 occasions I've shot an OTF into myself (twice with the Scarab, once with a UTX-70, which oddly made just as big a mess), again, being stupid.

Ironically, the one EDC knife I've never cut myself closing is the most awkward 1 hand closer of all, a lockback (various Spyderco FRNs). I close these by hitting the lock and dropping the choil/kick to my index finger, then closing it the rest of the way from there.

I still say the best locks are the ones where you never have to put any diget or other body part in the way of the blade path and will contend that my 2 safest EDCs are my Scarab and BM42MC. But in the end, all things being equal, the safest way lies in your brain and familiarity. Familiarity breeds confidence, but that can lead to carelessness, which can lead to missing thumb tips.

BTW, don't worry about my thumb, it's a pretty minor wound. It's just these fingertip wounds are a PITA to deal with, since bandaids are hard to get to work up there, they take a while to heal, and invariably you hit them against things which hurts like a mofo. Thank god for superglue.
 
That was such an interesting post from Mr. Planterz, I almost forgot what the question was!

The main reason I carry a liner-lock knife is because my favorite knife, the MT LCC, happens to have a liner lock. I'd probably carry the LCC no matter what kind of lock it had!

That's a good question though, but unless the lock really sucked it'd be about the last feature that'd be an issue for me.
 
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