Opinions on liner locks

Wolverine666

Wolverine666

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Dec 7, 2009
Messages
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I'm contemplating buying a couple Spyderco Militaries each with dif blade steels and dif color G10.

Anyway , I've never been a fan of liner locks. The thin liner locking up the blade seems almost flimsy. This is just my perception as I have a very limited amount of experience with liner locks. I guess I'm just used to titanium frame locks (which I like very much).

So , who likes liner locks? Who hates them? How solid is their lock up? Are they prone to lock rock?

Just looking for opinions and info before (if) I pull the trigger this week.
 
My least favorite lock type cuz I feel they are easy to disengage. But they have some positives. Easy to use, if done well they can make for very smooth action.

A well done liner lock shouldn't develop lock rock easily. But many aren't well done
Also, some cheaper ones go.too far over, barely engage etc. Thus people often look at where the lock engages the knife. Some like earlier, others later.

Hope you enjoy whatever knife you choose.
 
I've several linerlocks; Kershaw, CRKT, RR, Buck and have never had a problem with any of them. The lockup was solid on all. Keep in mind, that if you HAVE to depend on a blade lock of any type you should be using a fixed blade. Folder locks of any type are just a little convenience.

Rich
 
A good liner lock (and the one on the Military is very good) is plenty strong for any reasonable use. I feel that they're better ergonomically than a frame lock, and the lock up is super solid on all the Militaries I've been able to handle. I've yet to experience any lock rock issues on my liner locks. I think once you get one in hand you'll get past the "feels flimsy" aspect pretty quick.
 
I actually like liner locks myself. My Al Mar Nomad is a liner lock and it seems to be very solid.
 
Liner lock not a preferred lock for me, they are weak and prone to disengaging in comparison to many other locking types. Now, they can be done right, just like a framelock can be done correctly or incorrectly and that can aid or take away from the strength of the knife. Only liner lock I ever enjoyed was on the ZT 0350.
 
The owner of Spyderco said there's no difference in strength between, the liner lock Military and the frame lock Military.
 
all my liner lock military's are solid, no rock. no stick. all are solid. I say try one.
 
I think alot depends on the knife in questions also as far as being flimsy. I have a crkt-16 with a somewhat flimsy liner lock and I had a Emerson custom 8 that had one of the thickess liner locks I've seen. It really depends on the knife and being a lefty when I'm handling a frame lock and am squeezing on the knife the frame lock will go all the way over which I don't care for. I guess a lefty frame lock would fix that problem though. I like liner locks more myself.
 
Depends entirely on the model in question, and a Mili is definitely good to go. Anyone that feels a linerlock isn't safe or strong enough has not owned a Gayle Bradley 1 or a ZT0350.
 
I've had quite a few Militaries from different stages in the knife's development (very early model to latest). The liner lock has never been a problem on any of them. I've never had one fail, I've never had one unlock unintentionally, I've never even had a Military liner lock move from where it settled in after break-in.
 
Depends on the knife. More reputable brands that are known for quality will be properly engineered.

Knives like CRKT won't be.

I prefer liner locks to frame locks due to my disdain for metal handles. While I've never owned a military, and never will, you really can't go wrong with Spyderco or with any of their products.
 
I forgot to mention, I owned a military from 2010 I believe, got it from the original owner, and he had used it as his main knife for nearly the whole time, it showed scars from use but the lockup was at a solid/ideal 40% and had no lock rock or play.
 
Several of my favorite knives are liner locks btw.
 
I felt the same way, hated liner locks. This was after using a CRKT M16.......horrible mess.
I then checked out a Cruwear Millie. Nothing wrong with a well done liner lock!!
I now have 3 Millies and not one of them has the tiniest bit of rock or slip.
Buy with confidence! They are fantastic knives!
Joe
 
palonej said:
I felt the same way, hated liner locks. This was after using a CRKT M16.......horrible mess.
I then checked out a Cruwear Millie. Nothing wrong with a well done liner lock!!
I now have 3 Millies and not one of them has the tiniest bit of rock or slip.
Buy with confidence! They are fantastic knives!
Joe
Click to expand...

The liner on my M16 actually bent!

One thing I don't like about frame locks is so many of them need to "wear in" or be broken. Never had that issue with any other lock.
 
I don't care for liner or framelocks, but neither is a real deal breaker for me. I find them easier to accidentally disengage while simultaneously putting your fingers in the path of the blade when deliberately disengaging. That said, unless you're planning on knife fighting I would say it's more than strong enough, and the Military is an excellent design.
 
I've only had issues with liner locks from one brand (I won't say, but they make hard use tools for, uh, elite operators) and outside of that I've seen more issues with frame locks than any other type of lock. I've seen early engagement, lock rock, steel-insert-lock-bars-sliding-too-far, and more. Outside of the unnamed elite operator tool brand I've had great luck with liner locks by comparison.

Also for all the "liner locks are crap, frame locks rule" folks, take a gander at:

Cheap liner lock knife holds 150 lbs versus expensive frame lock can't hold 45 lbs
 
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