Newbie question - best locking technology?

bae

bae

Joined
Nov 21, 2001
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I'm looking to replace my long-time EDC, a 80's-vintage vintage Spyderco Endura, which is slowly giving up the ghost.

Not being a tremendously knife-literate person, and looking through this site, it seems to be a brave new world these days, as far as knife technology goes.

I'd like a folder, and I'm interested in knowing what the Conventional Wisdom is these days on robust locking mechanisms.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Now that's a good question for bringing out all our latent biases.

A lockback is inherently very strong, and ambidextrous. You can get relatively inexpensive, sharp and durable lockbacks from Spyderco and Cold Steel, among others.

Liner locks are extremely popular, I think as much for convenience as anything else. They are reliable when well-made, but can slip unexpectedly under pressure, especially torque or white-knuckling. Again, Spyderco makes good liner locks, as do Emerson and Benchmade, many of these at reasonable prices.

Derived from the liner lock, the integral lock as Chris Reeve makes it for his Sebenza is extremely strong, and the harder you grip it, the stronger it becomes. Many custom makers also use the integral lock: Ralph and Mayo have beautiful, and expensive, versions, not that CRK is cheap.

The axis lock as Benchmade manufactures it, also ambidextrous, is strong and reliable, and a lot of fun to use: pull the locking bar back and the blade can be swung open or shut without touching it.

Probably the strongest lock on any folding knife is the one that isn't there ... a balisong holds the blade open by gripping or latching the handles. It is simple but totally reliable as long as good materials are used. It is also ambidextrous.
 
I like lockbacks that I can one hand open and close (such as any spyderco), I also like frame locks very much, though they are often pricey. Liner locks are pretty good but be careful who you buy from.

A couple variations on the theme: CRKT LAWKS system (no I don't remember what LAWKS means), my interpretation of the LAWKS system is it lets you shift a small thing behind the liner of a liner lock to help prevent it from accidentally disengaging, this can be found on numerous higher end CRKT knives, though i'd heartily recommend the Carson M18 as the best CRKT LAWKs folder available.
Also: Spyderco's compression lock, currently only found on the Vesuvius and Gunting Models (as far as I know), it's basically an upside down liner-lock that has the advantage of preventing disengagement by limiting movement of the stop pin - seems sound enough.

My personal recommendation, especially if you were pleased with your Endura, is to buy another one of the "high-value" Spyderco Lockbacks, models that come to my mind include:
Native
Endura
Delica
Calypso Jr.

on some level these should all be instantly farmiliar to you, since they use the same holes and lock styles as before, on the plus side however there are many refinements, such as the David Boye Dent on all of Spydie's lockbacks which help prevent accidental disengagement, and there have been many steel upgrade to all of the above models, in my opinion, every Spyderco is an excellent value, but these are some of the best $60 knives you will ever encounter - it is my plan to acquire them all as soon as time and money allow.
 
LAWKS=lake and walker knife safety
there are those who consider liner locks the best since there's no button or lever to hit accidently.
 
Let's not forget the Montres Allison Phantom Lock :D (sorry, inside joke guys)

In addition to those mentioned, there is the "plunge lock" (like on my MOD Duane Dieter), the "compression lock" (offered by Spyderco...like an integral but on top of the blade), and the "rolling lock". I have no personal experience with the "rolling lock" but from what I have read on BF, I would stay away from this design.

Of course, some custom makers also offer their own variations of liner and integral locks, such as Allen Elishewitz's "bolster lock" and "mono lock".

If you are an extremely patient person, you might want to wait for Busse to unveil their new folder which is supposes to have the lock of all locks but it may be awhile before we see one ;)

Personally, I'm still a big fan of liner locks but I do think that the integral lock is probably the most robust mechanism.

RL
 
There's also the brand new CRKT Blade Lock.
The blade one hand opening pin is mounted on a small bar that can pivot in a recess ground into the blade.
On the other end of the bar is a sturdy pin that embeds into two openings made in one side of the liner. It locks the blade both in the open and closed positions.
Simply depressing the pin during the opening action will release the blade.
The same must be done for closing the blade.
I tried it and found is really sturdy, but I like much more the traditional liner lock.
I found it's quite easy, not being accustomed to the system, to close the blade onto your own fingers while attempting tha push-go-round motion needed to close this knife one handed.
Obviously a little practice solves the problem.

I like very much the liner lock system for one hand operated knives: you can open and close the knife one handed and is all that's needed for light work. It can also withstand heavi chores if properly made.

For really hard work where I know I'll usually have no problem in using both hands I prefer normal lockbacks.
Even a slipjoint is good if you don't need to use the point of the knife much.
 
My personal preference is for the frame lock (integral lock as it's called by Chris Reeve, the inventor of it.) It is strong, unobtrusive (it doesn't stick out beyond the handle) and easy to operate with one hand. On the negative side it isn't always well done by every manufacturer. A Chris Reeve integral lock will last forever. Some of the lesser ones on some lesser knives will wear out in a given amount of time. My second choice is the liner lock because of it's simplicity and ease of use. On the negative side, it is weaker than most but that isn't an issue for me and the way I use knives. Lockback would be my third choice. Strong but hard to use one handed and a little more complicated than the other two. The popular Axis lock doesn't appeal to me very much but if I had to have one I'd choose the REKAT rolling lock which is less obtrusive than the others. You'll find personal preferences all over the map. These are just mine. Take care.
 
I will chime-in for the REKAT "rolling-lock".:cool:. I have owned somewhere around a dozen REKAT folders (I'm down to 7 now), and I haven't found ANY problems with ANY of the rolling-locks on these well-built, STRONG folders. (There WAS some minor "gritiness" in the "action" of some of them, which was easily smoothed-out by myself).
 
Originally posted by Rival
SOG SV68 uses some new locking technique that seems to be pretty awesome.
Click to expand...

Hi Rival-

Welcome to the forums.

Actually, SOG's ArcLock is just an interpretation of the Benchmade AXIS lock. It's not really a "new technique" as you put it, as SOG introduced it after Benchmade had theirs out on the market for a while.

Still a pretty good way to secure the blade though.

Firebat
 
The best locks I have come in contact are the Spyderco compression locks, and the REKAT rolling locks. They are both strong beyond anything I would do to a knife. I also like the Benchmade axis and the SOG variation. I guess you would say I like em' all. My favorite is the Spyderco compresssion type though. Try em at a local store if you have the means. It's all about personal preferance.
 
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