Liner Locks Obsolete?

[biogon]

you don't even know what you're missing. WH knives are my favorite folders and they are nice!

Oh, they are, indeed. I prefer their Button Locks (which seem like a variation on the plunge lock in an auto, not the back lock... but I may have seen a different one.)

Linerlocks are nice until they fail and bite you. It may not have happened to you yet. It may never happen to you. But it just has to happen once, and in my position, once is enough.

oops, I forgot to mention S2K and this is not a knife you can argue against?

The Al Mar SERE 2000?

Been there, done that.

Had its linerlock fail on me in regular use. The liner slipped with light pressure and the blade collapsed, almost cutting me. This was with simple upward pressure, no twisting. Sold it to someone who didn't mind.

Thought it was a dud. Got another one. This one had a huge dent in the tang where the lockbar's face met up. A little wiggly in the lockup. Sent it back to Al Mar. They said it was normal and they refused to replace or repair under warranty.

That turned me off them permanently. (Not to mention the sharp thumbstuds, sharp liner corners, too-deep carry clip, and general odd handle-heavy balance.) I wanted to like them, honest. But I couldn't.

The only linerlock I actually trust is the Strider AR/GB, and with a modified radiused tang (completely tangential at the point of exit) and a 0.100" liner, it's 3/4 of the way to a framelock. The Spyderco Military is very well tested also, but it scares me as well.

-jon

 

[biogon]

Integral Liner Lock (Reeve)-Variation of a liner lock, it is!!

Integral Compression Lock (Glesser)-Also variation of liner lock

If I may disagree... these are NOT the same.

The lockbar in the linerlock (generally 0.050" to 0.080", and with a scale covering the lockbar) will bend with pressure. This bending causes the line of force to change as it hits the tang, increasing the chance of slippage.

In addition, there is less material that actually contacts the tang on the lock face.

The framelock-class knives (generally 0.080" to 0.150", but there are some exceptions) do not arc, and have a lot more in the lock face.

Also, I find that I have extra security in holding the lockbar in place with my index finger. Some people argue this doesn't work. I find it helps.

It LOOKS like a linerlock, but it doesn't function like one.

More importantly, it doesn't fail in nearly the same way.

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#2.
The Compression Lock is NOT a linerlock variant. It works COMPLETELY differently, and while some of the failure modes are similar, the chance of failure in a CL is much, much less than on the LL.

It is also true that the CL is finicky to tweak and the tolerances are much tighter than in the LL, which makes generally a CAD/CNC/production knife, and not too inclined toward a custom/handmade.

If you look at the CL very carefully, the only thing similar is that the liner is cut away and is bent toward the center of the knife. The force applied to the spine actually wedges the tang against the liner, which wedges against the anvil/stop pin and keeps the liner from slipping.

-jon