One-handed Closing Lockback

ejames13

ejames13

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Mar 30, 2015
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I see a lot of posts about people not liking lockbacks because they can't be closed one-handed. This used to be the number one reason I steered clear of them myself. But after finally trying out a Spyderco lockback I no longer see the validity of this argument.

I can easily close both my Delica and my DF2 with one hand. Rotate the knife so I can put my index finger in the Spyderhole, depress the lock, close the blade halfway with my index finger in the hole, rotate the knife in my hand and finish closing with my thumb. It's actually pretty easy and I've gotten quite used to it. I'm not sure how well this would work with thumb stud knives, but for Spyderco's it's a breeze.

Can I get a witness?
 
Well a lot of people say that they just let the blade fall on their finger, but the last time I did that there was a lot of blood involved so I'm not going to be fooled again. I see other people close lockback knives by pushing the lock bar and then pushing the spine of the blade against their leg or whatever to partially close the blade, then close it the rest of their way with their thumb. I agree that it will work that way but still a poor substitute for a liner/frame lock, BBL or compression lock.
 
I've never had a problem closing a delica, endura, stretch, dragonfly, or salt one handed.

When I first got into knives I started with lock backs and then went on to liner locks, frame locks, ball bearing, axis, etc.

Now I have come full circle in that I prefer back locks, or even no locks as with my UKPK.
 
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I slide and rotate the spine of the blade on my pantleg while depressing the lock. Closes fast and efficiently with ONE hand
 
It isn't as convenient but it is entirely doable. I like lockbacks for their reliability.
 
Let's see....which do i value most?......convenience, or strength plus reliability?.....a Delica or Endura blade will not fall much past 90° due to lack of weight plus corner of tang rotating against lock pressure....and as if placing finger or thumb in closing blade path of a friction held linerlock or integral is somehow safer?....otherwise, i am unaware of anyone losing their life over being unable to close their knife as fast as their adversary.....at work, after opening swiftly for a job with other hand occupied and need to hurry up and get knife hand free to help out, putting the knife down is faster than any closing....

And for the record, most end up being closed onehanded in very similar ways and none are foolproof and quite risky and will get anyone on palm or finger sooner or later....the only absolutely safe one-hand knife i own is my mid 60s work of art M1963 OFW fallschirmjagermesser gravity knife....any folder can get you....
 
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From: https://www.spyderco.com/edge-u-cation/index.php?item=7

To close a folding knife that includes a front lock, simply turn the open knife in your hand so that your fingers are on the open side of the handle and your thumb rests on the lock release. Making sure that your index finger is located as high as possible on the handle, release the lock by pressing with your thumb, a gentle flick of the wrist may be necessary. The kick (the unsharpened portion at the base of the blade) will fall onto your index finger protecting your hand from the cutting edge. Rotate the knife so that it is sitting at the base of your fingers with your fingertips on the clip side of the handle (the opening position). Place your thumb pad in the hole or on top of the blade spine and glide the blade safely to the closed position (see diagram). Slightly different closing procedures are used with other locking mechanisms. All closing mechanisms require the utmost caution and care.
 
It is not that hard to close a back lock one handed. I can do it by pressing the lock with my index finger in the hole on the blade. I lower the blade with the index finger a bit, then rotate the knife and snap it closed. This way, I have control of the blade all the way through the process. However, I more often than not just press the lock and hit the back of the blade on my pant leg to close it.
I own a couple of liner locks and a couple of small frame locks, but as a rule I do not trust them. I have seen too many fail. There are a lot of test videos that back up my experience. I prefer a good old lock back, any day.
 
If I have something in the other hand I'll close a lockback(any) with one hand, but if not I always use both hands.
 
Takes a lot longer to explain than to do, but here goes.

For knives like the Centofante, with "all edge" blades I hold the knife either flat on its side or with the tip pointing straight down, release lockbar with my thumb, and close by pressing the spine against my leg making sure my fingers remain out of the blade's path.

For those with a generous tang, or a 50/50 choil, if I'm certain that the knife is tight I hold it in normal horizontal position, release lockbar with my thumb allowing the blade to drop slightly, shift my hand position, and finish closing using my thumb in the Spyderhole. If I'm unsure how fast and far the blade will drop, I start with the tip pointing straight down, release the lock, decrease the angle until the blade disengages, then finish closing as just described.

FWIW, I've only ever once cut myself closing a Spyderco, and that was a compression lock model, at the Spyderco booth, at the NYCKS, 11 years ago. :o
 
I have a Byrd Cara Cara 2 that's broken in quite nicely. When I disengage the back lock, the blade swings down freely, with a portion of the finger choil landing on my index finger. I move my hand and finish closing the blade.

I'm actually surprised by how well this Byrd knife functions.
 
If it has a finger choil I always depresse the lock with my thumb and flick the knife forward so the blade will fall onto my index finger. Then flip the around in my hand and push the blade down with my thumb. all the spydies I own are lock backs, do this with all of them and have never had a problem. even with the ones without a finger choil on the blade like my Spyderco Worker.
 
My Delica never falls past about 90 degrees or so when depressing the lock and I don't have to shake it. Then I either finish closing with my leg or with my thumb on the spine. Pretty simple and don't mind it. Think I've gotten cut more times closing a liner or frame lock than I have a back lock one-handed.
 
no problems closing any of my natives with right or left handed with only my thumb and index finger,and this is one of there smaller lock-backs,i have never tried it with the larger spyderco mid/lockbacks! but i would think it would be the same.
 
I never knew I wasn't supposed to be able to close mine one handed until I joined this forum. I've corrected that and now I cant close my Endura.
 
All of the lockback knives I've had require enough force that you have to put thumb on one side of the handle and finger on the other. I grew up putting fingers on one side of the handle and thumb on the lock bar. Get a lockback that doesn't have much friction and the weight of the blade alone can provide enough inertia to cause a serious cut (see my mention above regarding a lot of blood). Of course you can learn to do this only with the blade pointing mostly down.

A liner lock or frame lock requires thumb or finger to be in the blade path in order to operate the lock. Normally when I do this the blade edge is pointing up so gravity is on my side, but a folder with a wide blade such as the Tenacious can get the cutting edge to your thumb before you realize it.

Locks such as the Axis lock, Spyderco BBL and Spyderco compression lock can be operated with no body parts in the path of the blade. When I operate any of these I make sure that nothing is in the blade path before I push the lock. This isn't difficult.

I read the explanations of how to close a lockback knife one-handed and it starts sounding like "yes I can tie my shoes while wearing mittens". Yes you can probably figure out some way to do it but my solution is just to not buy lockback knives. Even if I ignore lockbacks I still have way more knives than I know what to do with, and there aren't any lockback knives that I miss.



Cravin01 said:
I never knew I wasn't supposed to be able to close mine one handed until I joined this forum. I've corrected that and now I cant close my Endura.
Click to expand...

My daughter helped me with this- she took my Endura and my Delica and won't give them back.
 
grownstar said:
I have a Byrd Cara Cara 2 that's broken in quite nicely. When I disengage the back lock, the blade swings down freely, with a portion of the finger choil landing on my index finger. I move my hand and finish closing the blade.

I'm actually surprised by how well this Byrd knife functions.
Click to expand...

I had a CC2 that somehow ended up in my brothers pocket. That might be the most bang for the buck I have ever owned.
 
I have always been able to close back locks with one hand. Never even thought about it. I was surprised when I found one where it was difficult (Cold Steel).
 
It is all quite easy....let me simplify all the directions given here.......






Or....just close the thing...it is not a race.



.
 
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