[Poll] Are lock strength tests pointless?

[dogstar]

This topic came up in another thread, so I am starting this to avoid hijacking the original thread.

Lock strength tests like this one, are they idiotic and pointless, or do they provide useful data?

Me, I don't go out of my way to abuse knives (except one time). I still find these tests informative. If it is a knife I will depend on in the outdoors, I would prefer to go with a stronger lock (or none at all).

Please vote and share your thoughts, thanks. If you vote "other," please share your reason.

 

[YaArArYa]

First!

I think they are fun to watch and give a welcome idea of a knifes limits IMO

 

[Alberta Ed]

I appreciate locking devices because they add an extra bit of safety and are easier to open than traditional spring-back folders. That said, I don't count on them 100% as any mechanical device can fail.

 

[Barman1]

I'll never intentionally push a lock to failure but...it is nice to know that it works as designed.
I've had a few frame locks over the years that would fold easier than some of my slip joints. They went back for repair. Most were customs.

 

[Kettleman]

Voted yes, they have no bearing on actual knife use.
I came up from the traditional world. If you NEED a knife to lock you need a fixed blade. Now with that said I love a frame lock but I’ve never counted on it to save me.

 

[dogstar]

I came up from the traditional world. If you NEED a knife to lock you need a fixed blade

Yes, I have mostly slip joints and friction folders. My remaining locking knives are back locks.

 

[DavidABQ]

I voted “No, other.” I find them useless but entertaining. Who doesn’t like to laugh at something like someone else destroying their knives?

 

[killgar]

I believe they have value on knives designed as weapons.

The Cold Steel Ti-Lite 6 is my favorite knife, I carry one wherever I go. It is not a knife designed for opening boxes or skinning deer. It was designed purely as a weapon. And to that end lock strength is very important. I've seen two videos that show the lock strength of the Ti-Lite 6, one performed by Cold Steel, and one performed by Joe X. The Cold Steel test was somewhat clinical, the Joe X "test" was an attempt at pure brutal destruction. After watching both videos I felt great confidence in the lock strength of my favorite, daily-carry knife. If I did not have absolute confidence in the strength of the Ti-Lite 6 lock, I would not carry one.

As far as my "work" folders, I never cared about lock strength, only that the lock held the blade securely open. I never put my work folders through any real stress, just cutting stuff. There was the one time I used a folder to pry open a bathroom door when the doorknob broke, but that was an unusual, unplanned occurrence because I was trapped in the bathroom and had no other tools available. And to my surprise the knife held up just fine.

 

[Monofletch]

Yes, but I’m only showing the tests that highlight my locks strengths….z

 

[Olumin]

If the comparison is done scientifically, with decent consistency & repeatability in the testing setup, it will absolutely show differences in lock strength of various designs. That being said, it probably doasnt have any bearing on real world usage. Any task where lock strength might be an issue, is a task best done with a fixed blade and not a folder. Or a pry bar for that matter.

 

[King of the Cheese]

They are useful to an extent. There isn’t any practical need to be able to dangle 800 pounds of weight plates from one, but it all helps with marketing.

 

[Deino]

A pocket knife is still a knife, and you use it to cut stuff by applying pressure to the edge, not the spine.
The whole idea of having lock is merely to not have the knife close on its own. It doesn't need to be able to lift 10kg, it just needs to not close by accident. Most many types of lock are made for convenience rather than strength.
Lock back is an evolution from slip joint (tention lock), was made to be more safe. It is just happened that the modification to the design created a strong lock, and then that "strength" became somewhat of a standard.

I use back lock not because of the strength, but because they are harder to operate, therefore less potential accident from myself.

 

[P.C.E.]

If you don't test it, how else are you going to know.

Doubtful you'll ever need find out in the real world, but knowing is half the battle...

Always carry a fixed blade.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

I think they are largely pointless mostly geared toward confirmation bias where the purchaser feels validated because his knife lock can hold twice his body weight where the competitor only held at 1.8 times.

I do appreciate companies that demonstrate that their product can hold up to the rigors they set out to prove. Cold Steel and the Triad lock is a great example. An overbuilt and mostly marketing thing, but it's nice to know that they can put their money where their mouth is in terms of holding up to abuse. I don't particularly like the Triad as an EDC just because I find them stiff and tougher to disengage, but they are solid.

I do appreciate lock tests that actually point out a difference in strength when tested like for like. Take the spine whack failures of ZT a couple of years ago. Largely unimportant and of not practical concern, but why does a $300 knife slip it's lock when a $15 doesn't? I still trust my ZTs, but most of them "fail" the test.

In short, I tend to put downward pressure toward the edge of my folder, so the strength of the lock isn't really important. The type of lock and the "failure" of any tests outside of the lock slipping when used for cutting are way down on my list as an important factor on deciding if I buy and carry a knife.

 

[J. Doyle]

As far as using a folder for just about anything, lock strength "tests" and worries are pointless.

I guess for those that subscribe to the P.T. Barnum business model they probably are effective.

My favorites are those that dis liner locks but sing the praises of frame lock strength.

 

[EngrSorenson]

I once saw some doofus work real hard at getting an Opinel with virobloc to shut on a No 8. He eventually did it, after struggling like a chump, cutting himself in the process. Then he posted it as if it’s a short coming of the product.

The thing safety locks can’t protect us from is ourselves.

Some of these dinguses would probably be equally surprised seatbelts can’t save them if they’re driving like jerkwads.

Am I glad people test out safety locks? Sure. It’s good to test things. I’m all about knowledge and discovery. Do I think the safety lock is ever the real problem? No.

 

[nevertakeadayoff]

Ya, great data to have. I know the failure point on my Manix.

While we're on the subject of locks...

Frame/Liner locks are the worst. No way will I trust those few millimeters of metal contact to hold the knife open. It can easily be disengaged by squeezing the handle (even if you push it in all the way). Some knives are better than others, but the design is completely unacceptable to me.

 

[strategy9]

Definitely not "pointless", as by definition there is certainly a "point" trying to be made by them in showing when and how a lock will fail....

Agree with the methods and/or practicality or don't, but there is still a point intended by the tests.

That said, I don't need a folding knife I can do pull ups from, or hammer a nail with, as I will never foreseeably put anywhere near that kind of strain and/or pressure on the spine/locking mechanism of a folding knife in daily use. I can't even imagine a slip joint "failing" on me at this point in my life when used correctly. I do however like to know a lock is "relatively" secure, AND consistently so, as there is a certain level of faith and thoughtless complacency involved in the usage of a locking blade for me as compared to very mindfully using a slip joint. I had a (cheaper) liner lock in the past that would slip and fail at any slightest bump or twist, it almost got me a couple times before I threw it in a junk drawer somewhere in my house, so having at least some sense of peace of mind is reassuring knowing a lock is strong enough to hold up to regular knife tasks relatively worry free.

 

[David Mary]

Frame/Liner locks are the worst.

This is an absolutist/objective statement.

No way will I trust those few millimeters of metal contact to hold the knife open.

That's a subjective statement, and more fitting.

It can easily be disengaged by squeezing the handle (even if you push it in all the way). Some knives are better than others, but the design is completely unacceptable to me.

With all due respect, the same can be said for back locks. I have held a number of knives from both Spyderco and Cold steel that the lock bar placement is just wrong for my hand, on which a strong grip caused blade wiggle. Add in exigent circumstances and you could have a recipe for bloody failure.

I have no problem using liner lock knives, and using them hard, insofar as a folding knife can be used hard. However, I am referring to the ones that work for me and my hand. The Spyderco Military is great, but on that one I did have the hard-squeezy-blade-wiggle effect. Never on the Resilience or Tenacious.

 

[David Mary]

Oh and almost forgot, I once had a Ganzo frame lock I could cause to fail merely by pressure on the spine from my thumb.