Locks

Kaizen1 said:
I probably wouldn't trust a liner lock that costs under $40.
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I really dont feel that the price justifies anything.. But instead.. The company...or personal experience... I have owned many sub 40$ folders when I first started collecting.. and many were fine..
Heres are two that failed on me...and or drew blood...
Buck- Alpha folder with rubber handle.. and its smaller counter part..
Lone wolf T-2...
 
i agree that a good company (kershaw, BM, spyderco) make good liner locks. They also make great frame locks. The Axis is generally considered the best in the industry, but imo, i would rather have a different lock. The axis lock hasnt liked me in the past (hard for me to use. stuck waaay to much to make it easy to use. prolly just me. the mechanics are sound though).

my favorite lock is the Hawk lock on the Kershaw RAM and ZT 0500 MUDD. far easier to use for me, and is just as solid as the axis. just my opinion and experience.

there are lots of good locks of all sorts out there from the big companies
 
trimcut123 said:
I really dont feel that the price justifies anything.. But instead.. The company...or personal experience... I have owned many sub 40$ folders when I first started collecting.. and many were fine..
Heres are two that failed on me...and or drew blood...
Buck- Alpha folder with rubber handle.. and its smaller counter part..
Lone wolf T-2...
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Yes, I agree that personal experience can play a large part and it is not appropriate to write off an entire company due to a small number of failures. As an example, a Buck Folding Alpha Hunter is one of my most used and carried knives and has provided flawless service, yet I have no doubt that given the large number produced, sooner or later, a failure will occur.

As a rule of thumb, you buy quality and you get quality, however there is no substitute for checking your locks on a regular basis.
 
A.P.F. said:
I would be most interested to know whether Kershaw, Benchmade and Spyderco are among that number and if so, which models.
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No interest in raining on any company or particular knife. You want to carry a liner-lock equipped knife, go for it, but when it fails I don't need to hear about or see the results. But, yes, I've dealt with failed liner-locks from all three of those companies.

That said, the only knives I sometimes carry that feature liner-locks are known by me to have "reliable" locks and are Benchmade model 800 knives and Spyderco Military knives. I note that I have observed that these models have generally proven to have reliable liner-locks, but I no longer consider them as "heavy duty" as I did a few years ago.

Genarally don't buy liner-lock equipped knives anymore since there are so many fine alternatives today.
 
orthogonal1 said:
...That said, the only knives I sometimes carry that feature liner-locks are known by me to have "reliable" locks and are Benchmade model 800 knives and Spyderco Military knives. I note that I have observed that these models have generally proven to have reliable liner-locks, but I no longer consider them as "heavy duty" as I did a few years ago.

Genarally don't buy liner-lock equipped knives anymore since there are so many fine alternatives today.
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Well, no argument there. For me, the locks that inspire the most confidence are the Benchmade Axis lock; the Spyderco Ball and Compression locks and Buck's back lock design as on the 110.

Perhaps I have just been lucky that I have never had a lock failure. Mind you, I treat every folder like a slip-joint.
 
My favorite lock is the front-lock (similar to the back-lock):
-tough
-reliable
-if the blade has a choil as on the Spyderco models, the knife is really easy to close safely with one hand
-ambidextrous
-it derives from the old back-lock, so it is time-proven:thumbup:

For light-duty folders I also like a well made frame-lock, but only if it has a beefy liner, completely exposed to direct hand pression during the grip & it is made from a company with rock-solid reputation.

For liner-locks after I got a total failure with an italian liner-lock (a Karambit made by FOX knives), I will never buy an other liner-lock.
In my opinion it is not a reliable lock, it is weak and it is not consistent (sometimes the liner stops here others stops there, with front-lock you get constant lock-contact open after open).

In the future I would like to prove an integral/frame-compression-lock , but for now there aren't interesting models on the market (a Spyderco with a titanium frame-compression-lock would be awesome in my opinion, immagine a "Super-manix": one side with black G10 & steel liner the other pure titanium with exposed beefy compressing liner... I' am dreaming:D )
 
my Puzzle lock (patent pending) works well in hard use situations; It is designed to put pressuure against the lock. Its like a dove tail joint or a jigsaw puzzle piece: it can only go in or our in one direction...
Its in Cherusker Messer knives... the LLC,( standard and Magnum) Tusok, Desangut, Anduranz and I'm talking to a few other companies that want to license my lock..
All the posts about locks and advice to you has been pretty good!
be safe
Bram
 
New to folding knives too ...can anyone easily and clearly explain the difference between a liner lock and a frame lock please? :confused:
 
Bonkers said:
New to folding knives too ...can anyone easily and clearly explain the difference between a liner lock and a frame lock please? :confused:
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A frame lock and liner lock work almost identically, but a liner lock uses a metal lining on the inside of the handle whereas a frame lock actually uses the handle (which would be primarily metal, often titanium). The advantage of a frame-lock is that since it is actually using the handle the metal is much thicker (therefore stronger) than a liner would be able to be. I'm assuming you know how a liner-lock works.

Compare pictures of a Kershaw Leek to a Kershaw Shallot.
 
i like liner locks. they're simple and easy to keep clean. granted, they probably are a little weaker, i've never abused my knife enough for the lock to fail.
 
felix7 said:
...In the future I would like to prove an integral/frame-compression-lock , but for now there aren't interesting models on the market (a Spyderco with a titanium frame-compression-lock would be awesome in my opinion, immagine a "Super-manix": one side with black G10 & steel liner the other pure titanium with exposed beefy compressing liner... I' am dreaming:D )
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Actually, there is a Spydie with a titanium frame compression lock. It is called the Titanium A.T.R. and they turn up on the bay on occasion.
 
chipped said:
A frame lock and liner lock...

Compare pictures of a Kershaw Leek to a Kershaw Shallot.
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Oh so simple ... after reading your explanation ...many thanks for taking the time to write it.

By coinsidince I am actually looking at both these knives but was only looking at blade length and grip size. Now I have another criteria. :thumbup:
 
A.P.F. said:
Actually, there is a Spydie with a titanium frame compression lock. It is called the Titanium A.T.R. and they turn up on the bay on occasion.
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I know it thanks;) but I don't like the design of the ATR (and the holes in the handles), hopefully others models will come in the future (maybe a new Manix, a Para-Military, a Military...).
 
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