Opinion: Frame Locks are Ugly

Eye of the beholder. Never crossed my mind that frame locks are ugly but I can see why someone might think that. I like seeing a solid hunk of metal locked under the blade to keep it from cutting off my fingers. Function over form is its own type of beauty, even if it ain't exactly pretty in an artistic sense.

You want ugly? I have a Shirogorov / CRK Unihati that looks like a metal plate with colored dents was slapped on a crappy purple alutex base. Ugly over ugly. Relatively speaking, the frame lock is the prettiest part of the knife next to the blade, because it is bare metal versus crappy purple alutex. However, the action is awesome.
 
You either appreciate the system's beauty on its own or you don't. But I agree with you on one thing: adding an (expensive) insert on the blank side of a titanium framelock is crazy.
 
I have some nice liner locks, and I appreciate their lightness compared to frame locks. I like the frame locks because they have fewer parts but at a weight penalty. The Scott Cook Lochsa integral frame lock is one of the nicest looking knives around (IMHO), but it is even heavier than frame locks with an open back. You can’t have your cake......
 
I’ve always thought the all ti frame locks look pretty cool. Just never liked the way they feel in hand. Nothing against them though.
 
I concur. I prefer a frame lock with scales on both sides, or a subframe lock at least. However, I still own a few. Carried my ZT 0095 today for example. I don't really get the whole Ti thing. Like I don't get copper etc.
 
I love em, carry one every day.
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I won't call frame locks ugly, but the asymmetry is definitely less than desirable. One day, I'll probably check one out closely. Now, I'm sticking to back locks, Axis locks, and compression locks.
 
Dimashkieh said:
There is nothing wrong in sending an offer to someone selling an item with “best offer.”

Now that you exposed my identity (I use my real name everywhere), and the fact that I own ugly knives and “try” to buy knives (whatever that means),
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You gotta realize, new fellow, that damn few of us care about your identity or what you offer to anyone...
 
I don’t mind the looks of frame locks at all. It’s the performance I question. I believe the reason frame locks became so popular is that custom knife makers could make them with minimal tooling. Eventually the novelty trickled down to the production world and people got used to them. Performance wise they are at best mediocre. Some of my favorite knife designs are frame locks, but the lock is the feature I enjoy least.
 
Esthetics are tricky. If you think frame locks are ugly, it would be of interest to know what knives you do think are good looking. I don't want to sound like a hippie, but I think you need to look at it from different perspectives to see the beauty in different designs. Frame locks can definitely look unfinished if you compare the way they look to other knives. Then if you think about how everything on them looks the way it looks for a specific reason, they are more likely to grow on you.
 
Dr Heelhook said:
Esthetics are tricky. If you think frame locks are ugly, it would be of interest to know what knives you do think are good looking. I don't want to sound like a hippie, but I think you need to look at it from different perspectives to see the beauty in different designs. Frame locks can definitely look unfinished if you compare the way they look to other knives. Then if you think about how everything on them looks the way it looks for a specific reason, they are more likely to grow on you.
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Sub-frame lock is one of the better looking to me while still keeping the practicality and function. ZT 0850 is one of my all time favorites.
Also, here’s a good example of keeping the symmetry and the frame lock.

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And here’s a largely symmetrical and beautiful frame lock to contradict myself.

Once again, my problem is mainly with knives with different scale materials on each side.
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A coworker of mine who was just getting into knives thought the same thing. Until I let him fiddle with one of my framelock ZTs.

He just bought 3 different ones at the same time.
 
I like symmetry, mainly because it is beautiful, and also because it is ambidextrous. Back locks, able/axis locks, CBBLs are preferable in case of an injury to the dominant hand.

The use of different materials on different sides of a knife is also something I vote against with my wallet.
Apart from being asymmetrical and therefore aesthetically less pleasing, to add insult to injury, these knives automatically feel and look cheaper too. G10 is used the most, which is just a piece of plastic after all.

But a more practical reason against the use of different materials is that they have different properties and they react in different ways to different environmental conditions. Eg UV will do nothing to metal, but deteriorate G10.
Or the blade on the Para 3 LW is prone to be off center after a while, because the lopsided construction.

Lastly, I prefer a liner lock to a frame lock because it is less exposed and there is less chance of accidentally disengaging it in hard or gloved use. Eg, I really appreciate the Spyderco GB2 for how concealed its liner lock is.
For the same reason I prefer a frame lock with a secondary lock more than one without, even though it looks less elegant.
 
I love frame locks. I think they look really good. Now liner locks are another story. It's not so much the looks of them but the feel. When disengaging a liner lock it feels cheap to me. But we all have our preferences. There is no right or wrong.
 
If I may digress a little, what do you folks think of the lockbar? From the constant bending as we deploy the thing, is it likely to break or experience metal fatigue some time after purchase or will it take years before that happens?
 
DangerZone98 said:
If I may digress a little, what do you folks think of the lockbar? From the constant bending as we deploy the thing, is it likely to break or experience metal fatigue some time after purchase or will it take years before that happens?
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Takes a very long time for anything like that to be a issue if it even does become a issue.
 
A pocket clip acting as an over travel stop helps. Titanium and steel frame locks should last if done right.
 
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