Pivot: Weakest Point on a folder?

Ok, so what part will be the weak link in a folding knife? Except for the tip, which part will be the first to fail if stressed enough?
 
The pivot is a pin or bolt that holds the blade and handle scales/liners together, just like one of the pins/bolts on a fixed blade. Some really short stub tang fixed blades aren't a heck of a lot beefier on the backside of the ricasso. Some don't even have a separate mechanical fastener, just molded plastics around the tang.

The hardened steel of the blade itself, ground thin to one side and tapering to a point, is going to break with a heck of a lot less force than most other parts of a decent folder. I agree that instances of a pivot shearing appear pretty much nonexistent.
 
It matters more how much metal surrounding the pivot hole on blade and how large the area of contact between blade tang, washer (assuming all modern folders have) and the liner/handle slab.
The larger the contact area, the stress would be distributed to a larger area when it's bent laterally (such in prying).

In this context, frame lock that has one side being cut out for the lock will be weaker on that side compared to the non locking side, again, assuming both of same material, as the slab holding the pivot is not "| |" but "|L" (pivot at bottom). Liner lock that has additional slab over liner might be stronger, but need to be compared to, again, the material used (different for each material) and the thickness..

So in this context, it may and may not be the weakest part of the structure. The best design should calculate all these factors, and it might end up with the tip being the weakest when used for prying.
 
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