Remember when "lock stick" was a good thing?

I think the "complaining" of lock stick is more towards the build quality of a knife than the actual difficulty of disengaging the lock, it is to me at least. It's not the 90's anymore and there are titanium framelock folders without lock stick. Whomever uses framelock folders to the point the lock fails is a moron. And lock stick isn't necessarily a safety feature, you can certainly look at it that way but it's not. As long as the blade tang is in contact with the lock face in the opened position, titanium framelock folder will not fail unless you do some NeptuneKnives thing. Let's say you have two different Sebenzas, one without a lock stick and one with a lock stick. I'd go with a Sebenza without a lock stick all day. If there's a capacity to build a knife without a lock stick, knife companies should make it their standard.
 
austonh said:
This could have been an excellent discussion regarding the positive merits of lockstick vs today's aversion to it. Sadly it's already derailed with comments like "wussies, ladies, wimps, hipsters, real men, etc..."

The subliminal chest thumping just leads to name calling, hurt feelings and closed threads instead of worthwhile discussion... alas this is the internet.
Click to expand...
It's all light hearted.

If this discussion leads to "hurt feelings" that scare some away, then frankly, it has proven the exact point we're joking about.

And helped weed out the kinds of people I don't want to talk to anyway.

Win win.
 
AF said:
With the trend toward bearings and flippers, opening action is as important as ever. Closing action is important to people too. So lock stick is seen as bad. Also, one could argue that lock stick is a symptom of poor manufacturing where the geometry of the lockbar to tang is not right. I'm fine with a little lock stick. I also like a very strongly sprung lockbar.
Click to expand...
Actually, as stated in the OP and the source material I referenced, lock stick is a byproduct of CORRECT manufacturing, per Michael Walker's specs.

Not an argument. Just a reminder.
 
KBA said:
Understood. My comment was not directed to you or at you. I never said YOU as an individual were weak. The idea in general that some complain over just made made me cringe. That's the truth.



I'm glad you brought up the Gayle Bradley line. I've been on the fence with this one. I love the look of the GB2 but want the lock up of the GB1. I personally don't give much thought to the perfections or imperfections of my knives. Yet, I haven't bought the GB bc/ of
this.
Click to expand...
I understand that, Tapatalk emojis don't come through on the regular forum so I couldn't really take away the seriousness of the post.
 
GermanyChris said:
I understand that, Tapatalk emojis don't come through on the regular forum so I couldn't really take away the seriousness of the post.
Click to expand...

All good brother. :thumbup: I open my Spyderco knives with a middle finger flick. Didn't want to post that earlier as I didn't want to imply anything with the middle finger :eek::D
 
Sometimes I wonder how many people actually use their knives rather than just collect or flip them. The issues I have as a user are far different from what some people complain about.

I have no problem if a lock wants to stick a little but don't make me have to pry it closed with a screwdriver. If a lockbar is just barely holding the blade it makes me a little nervous, I want it to be well engaged but not touching the opposite liner.

I can understand that an expensive custom or showpiece should be smooth, secure and have some room to wear. On a "hard use" folder things need to be solid and keep working after dirty and used hard.
 
Millennials have poor hand strength, look it up. I got a great deal on a nice Ti frame lock in almost new condition because the guy couldn't get past the break in.
 
crom said:
Millennials have poor hand strength, look it up. I got a great deal on a nice Ti frame lock in almost new condition because the guy couldn't get past the break in.
Click to expand...

I thought you were joking until I found the article. Makes sense. I want a deal on a lnib titanium frame lock knife 😜
 
What I remember is you open your knife, cut something with it, then depress the lockback and close it.
 
Jamesh Bond said:
Actually, as stated in the OP and the source material I referenced, lock stick is a byproduct of CORRECT manufacturing, per Michael Walker's specs.

Not an argument. Just a reminder.
Click to expand...
Well, no. Just because it was the original design intention doesn't make it "CORRECT." It just means that Mike Walker might've been mistaken about the full value of his design and that said design required further evolution. Or, you know, correction.
 
^
It could be argued that those people did not correct anything. They simply changed the design to emphasize a different attribute. Basically they made it easier to open, because that was important to them. Doing so may have compromised the ultimate reliability of the lock, but to them, comfort and convenience was more important than making sure a lock could not slip. I wouldn't say either is better than the other, but I also wouldn't say it "corrected" some design flaw.
 
I see a lot of people in this thread telling other people that their preferences make them wimps.

I don't like lock stick. I don't like stiff locks. I prefer knives that open glass smooth from day one. You're going to insult my masculinity because of it? Ridiculous.

I can open a slipjoint with a 10/10 backspring, I can deal with the stiffest of framelocks, I can deal with sticky locks. What of it? I don't wear it as some kind of badge of pride, I don't use to as an affirmation of my manhood. I also know how to use a knife and don't need a lock to begin with. I simply prefer different design paradigms than you do.

This thread's main theme is, "The general public has different preferences than they used to and different preferences than I do, and I'm frustrated." I'm not sure how productive that is.

As to the question of WHY I prefer what I prefer:

1. The lock is superfluous. If I'm doing something that has me so worried about my knife folding, I'll use a knife that isn't designed to fold under any circumstances i.e. a fixed blade

2. Galling as a design feature is fine and dandy, but it's ultimately a gimmick. A properly made framelock that doesn't stick is going to function just as well. I honestly think this is an unavoidable downside to using titanium that was turned into a selling point.

3. Something that opens and closes smoothly without needing to break in was manufactured to a higher precision than something that needs to be broken in. If a knife needs to be broken in that's fine, but that better be considered in the price, and it's absolutely not a selling point. If I have the choice between a tool that needs to be broken in and one that doesn't, and I can afford either one, why on earth would I ever choose a tool that needs to be broken in? The only possible argument is saving cost on manufacturing or finishing

4. It's simply more enjoyable to use a tool that opens and closes smoothly and easily. It's not like these things necessarily hamper the strength or performance of the knife. I'm not sure why some people are pretending it's a dichotomy. We all have the choice to buy knives that have these features and are also superfluously strong, you simply don't value these features to the same extent. Different people value different things to different extents, pretty simple stuff.
 
Good grief. No one is calling anyone out as less of a man at the individual level.Yet, in general men are not as they once were and some complain way to much about a tool.

Edit: Not helpful
 
Last edited:
KBA said:
I still carry a 110 my friend. Though, the lock is too stiff :D
Click to expand...

Is it gummed up with pocket debris or something ? Cause mine isn't stiff at all, but then again I'm not comparing it to the effort of a framelock...ect
 
I'm not gonna lie, when I first bought my GB1, that sucker dug the hell out of my thumb for a few days. It never really got much easier. My thumb just had to "man up" and get use to it. There might have been a tear of two along the way though................? Whoever at Spyderco designed that frame lock is one sick SOB! :p

That being said, I miss that knife. It was just a little heavy for me for EDC.
 
KBA said:
Good grief. No one is calling anyone out as less of a man at the individual levell
Click to expand...

Let's be honest here, yes they are. At least one person has explicitly said that, in their mind, that's the only reason. The general consensus is, "Anyone who cares about that stuff is a wimp, there's no other explanation." Actually that's not quite true, some others have gone with, "The only reason is because they don't use their tools as tools should be used."

It's really disingenuous to say, "Well they're just pointing out that men are wimps nowadays, and that people nowadays like these features, they aren't AT ALL implying any kind of causal relationship between those two TOTALLY UNRELATED ideas."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top