MBC rated locks.

N

Nikokurausu

Joined
Jun 19, 2006
Messages
539
I guess this is more of a question for Sal but anyone who can shed some light is very welcome to do so.

Which are the Spydies with the highest rated MBC locks? I'm guessing that the P'Kal and Chinook place near the top. And where does the Endura place?
 
I believe the Para and Superhawk (I think the Superhawk is due to lock and blade thickness similarities with the Para, I'd love confirmation) are MBC AKA Very Heavy Duty rated, along with the Chinook. The Manix was MBC rated, and ATR was as well IIRC. The Millie is Heavy Duty, and I'm not quite sure where the Endura is, but I think it's above 100 lbs per inch of blade. A complete listing of the lock ratings would be great to see.
 
Lockbacks: Manix and Chinook are the obvious ones.
Compression lock: Yojimbo, Para-Military, Lil' Temp, and possibly ATR and SuperHawk.
Ball-lock: Dodo, possibly D'Allara and Poliwog
Caged Ball-lock: P'kal and Manix II (not released yet).

Pretty much all the locks from Spyderco work very well - very secure, easy and fairly intuitive to use, etc.
Not much beats the Manix and Chinook lockback ;).

I've always thought the Endura 4 as a solid lockback with a sturdy workhorse blade, probably about mid-way in strength and resistance to damage of all the knife models Spyderco makes (excluding fixed blades of course). It's one of their best-sellers for a reason (along with the Delica).
 
This site could use a "Sticky" to teach us the various locking mechanisms.

I was just wondering what a liner lock is, when I read senoBDEC's post, and realized it didn't even make the list.
 
I just have to say that I have been a Manix fan since it's birth. Have carried one again, since its release. I have purchased several "backups" and wouldn't be without one. Last week I purchased my first Chinook. I CANNOT believe I have gone this long without one. It is actually a better fit then the Manix. Unbelievable knife. What a terrific design. I need more now. My awful ocd rule of 3. It will without a doubt, be my new carry while on duty. A very late thank you Sal.
 
duller said:
This site could use a "Sticky" to teach us the various locking mechanisms.

I was just wondering what a liner lock is, when I read senoBDEC's post, and realized it didn't even make the list.
Click to expand...

Liner lock = part of the inner steel/Ti liner that is bent inwards towards the tang of the blade. When the blade is open, this lodges itself behind the blade, typically pressing the blade tang between 2 points: the end of the locking liner, and the stop-pin (sometimes the stop-pin is the thumbstud).

Well, linerlocks, even if quite thick (e.g. some of the Kershaw ZT line, Emerson, etc). still have a tendency towards failure, more so than framelocks of similar quality and relative size. Depending on the contact "footprint" size and the geometries involved determines just how strong they are, how quick they wear, and how prone they are to damage or unlocking inadvertently (or opening - weak/strong detent). There's a really good thread a few pages back in STR's sub-forum (Knifemaker-specific forums)

That said, for most uses, my Military liner-lock works VERY well. I wouldn't be too worried. Quality liner-locks work, and work well, but they're generally not as strong as the "MBC-rated" locks.
 
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BTW, more than you will ever need to know about locking mechanisms, both shared and proprietary, can be found on both the Benchmade and Spyderco websites (guess which one I frequent more ;)).
 
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