Sal: Liner lock material

[Dexter Ewing]

Mark W. Douglas' thread on the Blade Discussion forum about liner lock material triggered me to think about Spydie's liner locks. So far, all of Spydie liner locks are made of steel, (e.g. Military, Centofante, Starmate, Viele, Shabaria), with exception being the C22 Walker. What is/are the reason(s) that steel is the choice of liner locks in the Spyderco line? Cost of steel vs. ti? Steel is more wear resistant? Will there come a day when we'll see a switch over to ti?

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Dexter Ewing
Knife Reviews Moderator

"The keystroke is mightier than the sword"

 

[Sal Glesser]

Dexter - Our testing showed that steel was considerably stronger than Ti. Ti is stonger than steel "by weight", not "by size". The weight savings on the amount of material used in a linerlock is negligable compared to the strength gain. Ti is a little "grabbier" at the interface, but even the interface area can develop problems in time between the two materials. "Different strokes". The new version of the Lum Tanto will have a Ti linerlock, but the scales are also Ti. Ti is more exotic, especially for the collector, but for sheer strength, there is "nothing like steel".
sal

 

[Dexter Ewing]

Thanks Sal, that helps.

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Dexter Ewing
Knife Reviews Moderator

"The keystroke is mightier than the sword"