Lockbacks, Liner Locks, and Frame Locks....

A

Alnamvet68

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Mar 26, 2013
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I would do a poll, but I'm not able to post one, so tell us which of these three most common folder locks are the strongest in lock strength?
 
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Im not really sure if one is "stronger" than the other, A lot of things depend on how well it is put together, There shouldnt be a time if you have a good quality knife that either should fail. I personally like framelocks and lockbacks, although there are a lot of liner locks i like too haha
 
Strongest in what way? We need a lot more details about this sort of stuff before we can even begin considering any sort of answer.
 
From what I understand, the order from strongest to weakest (on average) is: lockback, frame lock, liner lock.

It's important to understand that there are exceptions though.
 
nick21 said:
From what I understand, the order from strongest to weakest (on average) is: lockback, frame lock, liner lock.

It's important to understand that there are exceptions though.
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Yes, I understand, but for our purposes, similarly priced folders should be compared. I'm sure that the frame lock on a Strider would be infinitely stronger than the frame lock on a Zancudo...or the lockback on a Spyderco Byrd.
 
To paraphrase Sal, he says they can make any lock as strong as they want to. It's just a question of which part/s to beef up.
 
I've never understood this debate. If your worried about a lock failure then get a fixed blade.
That said I'd speculate a liner lock to fail first due to less material.
I have seen different lock stress/ failure videos on the interwebs that may tickle your fancy.
 
The_Knife_Man said:
I've never understood this debate. If your worried about a lock failure then get a fixed blade.
That said I'd speculate a liner lock to fail first due to less material.
I have seen different lock stress/ failure videos on the interwebs that may tickle your fancy.
Click to expand...

I'll never understand the people who post this on a lock strength of folders thread. There are many reasons why a knife nut will ask about that characteristic. One of them is just plain old curiousity. Another might be that he is unable or inconvenient for him to carry a fixed blade. There could be as many reasons to choose a folder over a fixed blade as there are people who prefer folders over fixed blade.

Additionally, when people ask about lock strength, it will not necessarily mean that they are worried about a lock failure but that that they just prefer beefy pieces of kit.
 
The_Knife_Man said:
I've never understood this debate. If your worried about a lock failure then get a fixed blade.
That said I'd speculate a liner lock to fail first due to less material.
I have seen different lock stress/ failure videos on the interwebs that may tickle your fancy.
Click to expand...

I'm not aware of anyone's post here suggesting there's a worry about lock failure...the premise is simple, which lock type, in the objective opinion of the respondent's, is the stronger. You can state so based on stylistic preference, subjective data, opinions of your friends, or base it on scientific testing; make the choice and back it up as best as you can.
 
I think they're all good strong locks, it's the one you have the most confidence in that is the strongest. For me, it's the frame lock
 
Ajack60 said:
I think they're all good strong locks, it's the one you have the most confidence in that is the strongest. For me, it's the frame lock
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There ya' go, now we're gettin' somewhere Ajack uses confidence as his criteria for lock preference.
 
Alnamvet68 said:
WE or you...lock strength.
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WE. Asking which lock design has the most strength doesn't give all of the relevant information. Exactly what is the knife in question going to be put up against, that you worry might cause the locking mechanism to fail? Batoning? Fighting? Shelter building? Throwing? Cold Steel-style torture test where you hang from your knife for your very life?
 
There was this video that BladeHQ put together.
[video=youtube;4KmHfbG7z7g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KmHfbG7z7g[/video]

In their tests, it came out: Lockback > Framelock > Liner lock.

They test one sample of three different knives using each type of lock by hanging weight off of it to try to bend it closed along the pivot. In their tests, the lockbacks they tested were able to withstand more weight than than the frame or liner locks. And based on your personal preferences, there can be other pros and cons to each lock type beyond just how much weight you can hang off

Really, you also need to look at what actually failed during the tests and analyze that (which they do very briefly at the end of the video). For example:

Lockback - The Gerber failed because the weight tore through the handle material itself. So, a conclusion might be that a steel lockbar anchored to FRN might not be as strong as one anchored to brass (eg. on the Buck). Also, the way the Tri-Ad lock is designed on the Voyager is a bit different than a regular lockback (the stop pin absorbs a lot of the force), so it won't respond in quite the same way.

Linerlock - The Tenacious looks to have a thicker liner lock than either the CRKT or 5.11. So, a conclusion might be that a thicker liner lock is stronger than a thinner liner lock. They could also have had different widths on the lockbars themselves, which would have also been a factor.

Framelock - The failures here seemed to be that the lockbar cutouts warped. Similar to the linerlocks, this probably comes down to how much steel is in that cutout section and how much force is being exerted/transferred to that.
 
Charlie_K said:
WE. Asking which lock design has the most strength doesn't give all of the relevant information. Exactly what is the knife in question going to be put up against, that you worry might cause the locking mechanism to fail? Batoning? Fighting? Shelter building? Throwing? Cold Steel-style torture test where you hang from your knife for your very life?
Click to expand...

Again, read Post #10. It does appear you're the only one suggesting that the OP (me) and/or others are asking this simple question because we're worried about lock failure...I/we am/are not.
 
flarp said:
There was this video that BladeHQ put together.
[video=youtube;4KmHfbG7z7g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KmHfbG7z7g[/video]

In their tests, it came out: Lockback > Framelock > Liner lock.

They test one sample of three different knives using each type of lock by hanging weight off of it to try to bend it closed along the pivot. In their tests, the lockbacks they tested were able to withstand more weight than than the frame or liner locks. And based on your personal preferences, there can be other pros and cons to each lock type beyond just how much weight you can hang off

Really, you also need to look at what actually failed during the tests and analyze that (which they do very briefly at the end of the video). For example:

Lockback - The Gerber failed because the weight tore through the handle material itself. So, a conclusion might be that a steel lockbar anchored to FRN might not be as strong as one anchored to brass (eg. on the Buck). Also, the way the Tri-Ad lock is designed on the Voyager is a bit different than a regular lockback (the stop pin absorbs a lot of the force), so it won't respond in quite the same way.

Linerlock - The Tenacious looks to have a thicker liner lock than either the CRKT or 5.11. So, a conclusion might be that a thicker liner lock is stronger than a thinner liner lock. They could also have had different widths on the lockbars themselves, which would have also been a factor.

Framelock - The failures here seemed to be that the lockbar cutouts warped. Similar to the linerlocks, this probably comes down to how much steel is in that cutout section and how much force is being exerted/transferred to that.
Click to expand...

For now, and just for now mind you, you get the prize for subscribing to the K.I.S.S. principle. Thank you.;)
 
The debate on lock strength is irrelevant. Locking mechanisms are designed to keep a folding knife's blade from closing during normal use, plain and simple. They're not designed for prying, hammering, 'spine whacking', etc.. So, in the end all that really matters is which locking mechanism appeals to you for ease of use. In my case, a linerlock or framelock is what I personally find the most convenient and easy to use, especially when it comes to an EDC folder. I'd employ a fixed blade for field use or any task where I'd be concerned about the possibility of exceeding a folding knife's capabilities.
 
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