i don't remember where i saw it, but i thought someone had put up on one of the forums how strong the rekat lock is. anybody remember how many pounds it took to break the lock. is it really the strongest, most finger safe lock currently being made. secondly, is it the strongest lock being made regardless of cost (are there more expensive ones that have an even stronger lock or is it a waste of money to look any further?). i've heard that a human being can't exert enough thrust to break one of these; that it is only done mechanically, like in testing strength - is this true?, has one failed for anyone in use? i appreciate the answers even if this seems redundant.
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rekat lock strength
- Thread starter Kelt
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 11, 1999
- Messages
- 652
If I remember correctly, the REKAT lock went to near 1000 in-lbs of torque (or leverage or whatever) before it failed. Something along those lines, tested by Spyderco on their "Destroyer". Went the heaviest of any lock they had tested up to that time, again IIRC. They have not tested the BM Axis, though I kinda doubt that it would go that heavy. So, to answer your questions, to the best of my knowledge, in reading as much as I can in the forums here, it is the strongest made. Period. I'm sure there is someone out there who could defeat it; you probably wouldn't care, as he could probably break you in half anyway.
It is not the most elegant. Read a while, and you will read that the action tends to be gritty and stiff, at least until it is broken in. Maybe better afterward. Someone over in the general discussion forum posted doing a "real-world" test where the REKAT lock was tested alongside a couple other knives, in conditions that included extreme dirt/mud. IIRC, the REKAT was most susceptible to fouling by the mud and not locking up reliably. So, don't drop it in the mud. If you do, rinse it....
I have a couple of Axis locks. If I had it to do over, one of those would be a Carnivour. But, it wasn't made yet, so....
Bottom line, from everything that has been said so far, at this point in time it appears to be the strongest. As far as pure strength, though, there are probably a lot of locks out there that you couldn't break without a machine. Reliability plays an important part as well. A lock that un-locks when you aren't expecting it, even if you are only putting 40 in-lbs of torque on it, will cut you enough to need stitches. I would say that both the REKAT and the Axis are the most reliable locks at this point, with a slight edge going to the REKAT. I would definitely recommend handling both if you can, before buying one.
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Work hard, play hard, live long.
Outlaw_Dogboy
It is not the most elegant. Read a while, and you will read that the action tends to be gritty and stiff, at least until it is broken in. Maybe better afterward. Someone over in the general discussion forum posted doing a "real-world" test where the REKAT lock was tested alongside a couple other knives, in conditions that included extreme dirt/mud. IIRC, the REKAT was most susceptible to fouling by the mud and not locking up reliably. So, don't drop it in the mud. If you do, rinse it....
I have a couple of Axis locks. If I had it to do over, one of those would be a Carnivour. But, it wasn't made yet, so....
Bottom line, from everything that has been said so far, at this point in time it appears to be the strongest. As far as pure strength, though, there are probably a lot of locks out there that you couldn't break without a machine. Reliability plays an important part as well. A lock that un-locks when you aren't expecting it, even if you are only putting 40 in-lbs of torque on it, will cut you enough to need stitches. I would say that both the REKAT and the Axis are the most reliable locks at this point, with a slight edge going to the REKAT. I would definitely recommend handling both if you can, before buying one.
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Work hard, play hard, live long.
Outlaw_Dogboy
- Joined
- Oct 16, 1998
- Messages
- 2,395
Well, totally subjectively speaking, the Axis lock looks stronger to me. It has a full diameter lock ping that protrudes all the way through the handle. There is strong enough in folder locks though. At some point, the force it would take to break the lock pin or handle frame is too great to ever be exerted by your hand, and both locks are at least that strong. Equally subjectively, the Rolling Lock inspires a little more trust for me. The rotating release seems less likely to ever experience an unintentional release than the sliding pin on the Axis, though I think it extremely remote in each case. Both great locks and the wave of the future for hard use folders.
Harv
Harv