Lockback VS. Linerlock

[Shadow213]

I've been wondering about this since receiving my Manix a couple of weeks ago. In the case of this Spydie, which is rated in the very heavy duty(MBC) range, would the lockback be superior to the linerlock on say, the Military?

I'm not sure what the rating is on the Millie, however, would the nested liner be stronger than the solid lockback on the Manix/Chinook, in your opinion?

For instance, in a survival situation where some kindling/saplings for a fire need to be produced with a knife and a baton, which would be the lock type that would be preferable to use? Would the linerlock be stronger than the lockback, or vice versa?

I know that I've been hanging around here on the Bladeforums for a good while, but I've never really thought about this comparison.

Which would you pick and why?

 

[Ken Cox]

In My Humble Opinion, the Lockback, or Midlock, as Spyderco makes it, rules the roost regardless of intent or purpose.

At one time I thought liner locks opened more smoothly and effortlessly than lockbacks, but my Chinook II opens as smoothly as the smoothest knife I have ever opened.

Arguably, my Chinook II might require a tiny percentage of extra effort to open, due to the slight camming action designed into the lockback, but that same camming action keeps a lockback closed, which really matters in a tip up carry.

As for strength, after all these years of handling lockbacks, I consider them the strongest and the most reliable of the locking systems.
I don't know how to address this scientifically, but intuitively, the lockback and Spyderco's proprietary Ball Bearing lock seem the strongest of the strong, and the only truly ambidextrous of Spyderco's locks.

 

[PWork]

I would never trust my fingers to a "liner lock".

Paul

 

[Spydiefan04]

Lockbacks are far stronger, and less likely to accidently close. The only really good liner locks are framelocks or have liners thick enough to be framelocks. If what you want is a borderline fixed blade substitute, you need either a Chinook or a Manix. Even though Striders and Buck Striders have incredibly thick/strong liners it is still easier to accidently close them than a well designed lockback.

 

[faramir]

If you were batoning a knife you'd be hitting it on the spine anyway. Therewould be no/little need to apply upward pressure to the handle (which is the only direction in which the lock affects your knife while splitting wood). IMHO if you aren't a big klutz you coudl split irewood [in an emergency] with a slipjoint, it cannot close back on you once embedded in wood nor does the lack of lock affect anything with regards to you holding the handle and hitting the spine with the baton - you'd just wreck the knife in the pivot area soon, but that shoudl be true of any folder.

Food for thought: why not make a spearpoint/wedge from a piece of wood that you can whittle and then baton the wedge down the cracks in wood (unless you sawed the log off there are always some cracks in the wood, or you can make a small crack with your knife without batoning it into the log). It might take a bit longer but you'llend up with firewood and a functional knife rather than firewoo and shattered remains of your folder

 

[safong]

Most of Spyderco's MBC-rated knives have either the lockback or compression lock configuration. As far as I know, none of it's linerlocks are MBC-rated, so as far as pure lock strength goes, the lockback is stronger. Reliability is another issue, and I guess the general consensus is that lockbacks are less prone to failure, being easier to make well. But the Millie's linerlock has a good reputation for reliability and so far, mine has locked up solidly every time. Bottom line, as long as you're getting a quality knife made from a quality company, you're not going to have many issues for the bulk of your knife's life unless you go throwing it or hammering it. That's what fixed blades are for.

 

[Sal Glesser]

Hi Shadow. "Superior" is not a good word for general comparison.

We can get more lock strength out of a lock-back. Walker Linerlocks are easier to open because the "biasing" system (ball bearing/detent vs cam)) keeping the knife closed is different.

Lock-backs are more difficult to "inertia" open that a linerlock.

In breaking tests, we haven't found Reeve style integral locks (frame-locks) to be stronger than Walker linerlocks.

But try to keep in mind that reliability is more important than strength in a knife lock.

sal

 

[Shadow213]

Thanks for your input, Sal. I was just curious since I don't remember anything about this being posted before.

 

[Spydiefan04]

.

In breaking tests, we haven't found Reeve style integral locks (frame-locks) to be stronger than Walker linerlocks.

But try to keep in mind that reliability is more important than strength in a knife lock.

sal

I definately agree that reliability is more important than brute strenght. You could have a lock with a brute strength of over 1000 lbs, but if it is easily accidently disengaged, you will still prob end up with cut fingers, however another mechanism with only a strength of 75lbs that is IMPOSSIBLE to accidently disengage will no doubt be of greater benefit to the user. It's like "accidently" pulling the trigger of a loaded pistol, if it's a Glock opps AD , if it's a M1911 with EITHER safety ON nothing happens just be more careful next time.

I'm curious about the Framelock strength, I always thought if they were THICK that they were the STRONGEST, if perhaps not the hardest to accidently disengage of all. I'm especially amazed to hear its no stronger than a standard Walker lock. Any more info would be appreciated, BTW how Strong is Spyderco's Ball-Bearing lock, I greatly prefer it to the Compression lock and would love to see more Spyders with it, If yall make a tip-up G10 Police in VG-10 with a Ball-Bearing lock, I'd sell my BM 806D2. Please bring back the G10 Police in some form