should one stick to one kind of lock ?

T

Tony Perez

Joined
Dec 17, 2001
Messages
92
I have myriad of knives I rotate as EDC. Mostly Spydies...just a few weeks ago got a Chive. Have been carrying it (when I can ) and using it and Of Course , playing with it. Over the weekend I had an odd experience which made me think whether one should stick to one kind of knife lock.
I recvd a package in the mail ( dammit and it was NOT a knife )
went to open it and the easiest knife to reach was a Spydie Delica.
Opened package and first thing on top was packing list that I started to read since I noticed there were a bunch of back ordered items.

As I was reading I was TRYING to close knife until my wife walked by and asked me what I was doing. I then realized I was trying to close liner lock on what I thought was my Chive. I reralize that closing a knife is not as important as opening it but...I really don't think I am going to get any more liner lock knives. I am a confused old man as it is and do not need any new stuff to remember.
Anyone else had that experience ?
 
No. But I don't think too much about locks one way or the other. I buy good quality knives (nothing fancy: Spyderco, Buck, Victorinox, Gerber, etc.) and treat all folding knives like exactly what they are - knives that will fold. I have never had any sort of malfunction or "issues" with a knife lock and I haven't had any pocketknife - locking or slipjoint - close up on me since I was about 9 .... knock wood. :D
 
"I have never had any sort of malfunction or "issues" with a knife lock and I haven't had any pocketknife - locking or slipjoint - close up on me"

I never said I had a malfunction or issue with a knife...I simply am saying that it MIGHT be better to stick to one kind of knife so you DON'T have to think about it.

Now you can reply and get you 1000th posting.
 
Thank you, Mr. Perez! I'm a THOUSAND POST MAN!

And I didn't mean to imply that you did have a malfunction or issue with a knife. Sorry if that was the case. I just like rambling sometimes. ;)
 
Hey Tony, I think you do have a good point about knowing the knife you are carrying. If you change EDC's often and they are different lock types it can create a moment of confusion. I had this problem when I got my BM806 AFCK AXIS after carrying a mini AFCK for many years. I don't know how many times I went to close the 806 and the dang liners just wouldn't move :p
 
I don't have any problem with different locks, maybe because I have so many different kinds. But what throws me off is this tip-up, tip-down business. I always liked tip-down, but so many knives I liked were tip-up that I got them and got used to it. Now when I get a tip-down knife, I fumble. Not a good feeling.
 
Originally posted by Esav Benyamin
Now when I get a tip-down knife, I fumble. Not a good feeling.
Click to expand...

I've seen it happen to him folks. It's not pretty. ;) :D
 
Originally posted by Esav Benyamin
I don't have any problem with different locks, maybe because I have so many different kinds. But what throws me off is this tip-up, tip-down business. I always liked tip-down, but so many knives I liked were tip-up that I got them and got used to it. Now when I get a tip-down knife, I fumble. Not a good feeling.
Click to expand...
I had this problem when I had the BM942 in the pass-around. All of my knives are tip-down so I would have trouble retrieving the 942 unless I was concentrating on it. In fact, I just had my LCC/DA customized and one of the things I did to it was to switch the clip from tip-up to tip-down. We'll see how that pans out when I get it back. On the other hand, having a lot of tip-up knives helps me save money since I'd probably have at least double what I do now if they were all tip-down.

As for the lock, I have all sorts of different locks, and occasionally I will forget--usually in a situation like yours where I'm thinking about something else--but for the most part it doesn't bother me at all. I think getting the knife open quickly matters more than closing it quickly.
 
I think the only time the tip-up/tip-down--lock type situation becomes an issue is if you are primarily carrying for self defense. In that case, the main issue is one of consistency. You want to be able to reach for and deploy the knife almost automatically. This is especially important in a high-stress situation. Closing the knife is sort of an after-thought.
 
Well I don't think it matters when you stick to one kind of lock or not, but I realize that when I play with the spydie lockbacks too much, I'll actually fumble to close the linerlocks ;) So I need to practice my other knives
 
You'll miss an awful lot of pleasure folding knives can give you if you limit yourself to one kind of lock. There are just too many nice knives out there with what ever kind you don't choose! When I choose a knife and put/clip it on I draw, open, and close it a few times to make sure my hand/body remember which knife I have (its lock/opening device, tip up/down etc.) today...
 
I think Zenghost got it right. Opening a knife is more likely to be important than closing it quickly. I own many, many folders with several different types of locks. There have been times when I forgot for a moment what type of lock was on my daily carry. This has never been a problem for me. Mr. Perez, if you like different locks, go for it! Variety is the spice of knife collecting!:) :D ;) :D :cool:
 
Different locks are definitely part of the variety of knives that make collecting and using a richer experience, IMO. I actively search out new and interesting mechanism, it keeps things fun.
 
Consistency makes things easier, especially for defensive use. But guys above are right that consistency of clip orientation and opening method are more important than locking device. Still, I rotate knives, even though it is tactically unsound, because:

Originally posted by matthew rapaport
You'll miss an awful lot of pleasure folding knives can give you if you limit yourself to one kind of lock. There are just too many nice knives out there with what ever kind you don't choose! When I choose a knife and put/clip it on I draw, open, and close it a few times to make sure my hand/body remember which knife I have (its lock/opening device, tip up/down etc.) today...
Click to expand...

I'm a knife knut and don't want to limit myself that much. There's too many cool knives out there. Just practice with, use, play with your knives enough that you're comfortable with them.
 
I've had a couple times where I've tried to do a liner-lock closing on BM AXIS TSEK... otherwise I haven't had this problem much.

I really don't consider it a big deal, as I basically train my hands to recognize the knife, and develop a muscle memory for the lock, this rarely fails, but I am not an old man either :).

I think you should do what you like, if you don't want any liner-locks it's no skin off my nose, but I think this is sort of a silly reason to limit your choices so.
 
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