Snecx Tan's New Lock Design

John_0917 said:
Interesting...I know the triad lock lays claim to being the “strongest” blah blah (and maybe it is)...I would really like to see a head to head comparison between a triad and a Spyderco caged ball bearing lock, I have heard that’s actually the strongest lock Spyderco makes (in the manix 2)
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I'd like to see it , too ! But if Cold Steel does the test , the results will be deemed meaningless . And nobody else will ever do such a test , probably . o_O
 
Additional information released today. He's dubbed it the "Superlock." :p

Activation video:


Some notes from the comment thread:

  • The lock is only one of "several" innovations that will be introduced with the new knife but he considers the new lock the "foundation." Shown here is "an early proto of the lock."
  • It’s really similar to a lot of other locks by design because he wanted the positive traits of those locks. So it is based on a tab in the backspacer wedging between the blade tang and stop pin like a Bolt Lock but it’s more like the Tri-Ad lock in load transfer, a geometry closer to Compression Lock, with a motion like the CBBL/Axis Lock. The first thing he wanted to do is follow the same principle as Tri-Ad as he believes that’s the only way he could have a chance of matching that lock in strength.
  • The lock disengages by pulling the backspacer back longitudinally but as you pull it back it ramps naturally outward/laterally. If you impede this outward motion with your grip, which is the natural placement of the knife in hand, the backspacer can't move backwards. Therefore, gripping the knife harder adds extra resistance to accidental disengagement.
  • By design, the spring is not a load-bearing component. You can completely service the spring without disassembly.
  • In early prototypes he implemented a safety-like "anti-shock geometry" to prevent sharp impacts from accidentally unlocking the blade. However it would snag the lock making the unlocking difficult. He dropped it for a more natural unlocking. He has a feeling that the current lock geometry is sufficient to prevent shock-unlocks (whacking) but he can’t really get conclusive results now because at the moment all the impact tests deform the aluminum prototypes instead of causing lock failure
  • When the current prototype is pushed to its limit, the blade stays open as the internal lock interfaces seize in place or in the case of spring failure the lock only disengages when grip is removed from the knife, thanks to the positive-grip-force design. This was confirmed with spine whacks on the aluminum prototypes including tests where he removed the spring completely and did the whacks with only grip pressure applied. He may post some of these videos in the future. He won't really know the lock's true attributes until he prototypes it in steel and titanium but he's convinced that it has potential.
  • He's hoping this does not need an extra safety as Tri-Ad lock doesn’t need one and he wants to match that performance.
 
SpySmasher said:
Additional information released today. He's dubbed it the "Superlock." :p

Activation video:


Some notes from the comment thread:

  • The lock is only one of "several" innovations that will be introduced with the new knife but he considers the new lock the "foundation." Shown here is "an early proto of the lock."
  • It’s really similar to a lot of other locks by design because he wanted the positive traits of those locks. So it is based on a tab in the backspacer wedging between the blade tang and stop pin like a Bolt Lock but it’s more like the Tri-Ad lock in load transfer, a geometry closer to Compression Lock, with a motion like the CBBL/Axis Lock. The first thing he wanted to do is follow the same principle as Tri-Ad as he believes that’s the only way he could have a chance of matching that lock in strength.
  • The lock disengages by pulling the backspacer back longitudinally but as you pull it back it ramps naturally outward/laterally. If you impede this outward motion with your grip, which is the natural placement of the knife in hand, the backspacer can't move backwards. Therefore, gripping the knife harder adds extra resistance to accidental disengagement.
  • By design, the spring is not a load-bearing component. You can completely service the spring without disassembly.
  • In early prototypes he implemented a safety-like "anti-shock geometry" to prevent sharp impacts from accidentally unlocking the blade. However it would snag the lock making the unlocking difficult. He dropped it for a more natural unlocking. He has a feeling that the current lock geometry is sufficient to prevent shock-unlocks (whacking) but he can’t really get conclusive results now because at the moment all the impact tests deform the aluminum prototypes instead of causing lock failure
  • When the current prototype is pushed to its limit, the blade stays open as the internal lock interfaces seize in place or in the case of spring failure the lock only disengages when grip is removed from the knife, thanks to the positive-grip-force design. This was confirmed with spine whacks on the aluminum prototypes including tests where he removed the spring completely and did the whacks with only grip pressure applied. He may post some of these videos in the future. He won't really know the lock's true attributes until he prototypes it in steel and titanium but he's convinced that it has potential.
  • He's hoping this does not need an extra safety as Tri-Ad lock doesn’t need one and he wants to match that performance.
Click to expand...

I'm getting more interested, this sounds promising at the very least. The prototype certainly looks pretty easy to operate and if it's as solid as the Tri-Ad lock and easier to operate that sounds like all win to me.
 
evilgreg said:
I'm getting more interested, this sounds promising at the very least. The prototype certainly looks pretty easy to operate and if it's as solid as the Tri-Ad lock and easier to operate that sounds like all win to me.
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Absolutely. IMO, the holy trinity of lock design is strength, reliability and ease-of-use. I appreciate the Triad, but it has all the same drawbacks as a more traditional lockback and, if not properly tuned, can be a real pain in the...thumb.

As a much more impractical point, the Triad isn't nearly as fun and snappy to open or close as the Axis, Comp lock, button lock and some others. This one looks like it will be very fidget friendly, and that would be a selling point.
 
evilgreg said:
I'm getting more interested, this sounds promising at the very least. The prototype certainly looks pretty easy to operate and if it's as solid as the Tri-Ad lock and easier to operate that sounds like all win to me.
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Me too.

Of course, even Snecx admits it's early days yet. We'll have to see how "super" it turns out to be. You already get the sense that there is a compromise between "shock resistance" and "ease of disengagement."

I THINK the same thing occurred with Andrew Demko's Scorpion Lock. It is definitely easier to disengage than a Tri-ad. However, it feels like Demko has backed off some of the strength claims. It's interesting to me that Demko, king of the spine whack videos, has never published any Scorpion Lock tests.
 
Snecx seems cool. He's innovating, he's generous with his interactions, he's putting the people who have supported his early work first in line, and he's opening up to mass production as quickly as he comfortably can. I place that in contrast to makers who do the same old thing with the addition of a gimmick or story, don't even give the time of day to people who aren't in their cool kids club, run fake 'lotteries' based on opaque favoritism, and would rather produce a scarce and expensive item than make something people can use. Everyone has the right to do business how they want (illegality of fake lotteries aside) but IMHO more makers should be like Snecx Tan.

The detent/locking system on his "Buster" is already pretty interesting. A pin is mounted to the tip of the lock bar along the transverse axis, and serves as the lock interface and the male part of the detent. And instead of having a female receptacle for the detent in the blade, the tip of the detent pin is chamfered and simply blocks the opening path of the tang. Pretty awesome. Image courtesy Dr. Frunkey from his review video:

jkQLKL6.png
 
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Some new stuff: prototyping in steel, view of the backspacer/lock bar.

Backspacer-1.jpg


Backspacer-2.jpg


Snecx Tan said:
Another prototype component is done, this time in steel (annealed K110). Dimensionally it is spot on, the entire process went by without drama and everything came out as programmed.

The finish is far from ideal at this point, but it should improve once I mill everything in final hardness. Regardless, it still requires delicate hand finish to look really good.

In my quest for elegance, I wanted Superlock to have as few components as possible. So I incorporated the entire lock mechanism into the backspacer.

The lock face, detent, unlocking interface and spring, are all contained within this piece. It’s not too different from the elegant locks out there like the lockback and framelock. And it’s exactly the point, new and better but not more complicated.

This is another step forward in the development of Superlock. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to get some data from another lock test.

Based on my initial impression, I already know this will perform a lot better than soft aluminum.
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Snecx Tan said:
... it can work without tight tolerances, so it is more fault-tolerant. I had fully working prototypes in 3D printed plastic and that’s usually 0.05-0.10mm off.
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Schedule:
Snecx Tan said:
It’ll be a while, but who knows where this will lead. Hope to find out more with my next few steps.
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John_0917 said:
Interesting...I know the triad lock lays claim to being the “strongest” blah blah (and maybe it is)...I would really like to see a head to head comparison between a triad and a Spyderco caged ball bearing lock, I have heard that’s actually the strongest lock Spyderco makes (in the manix 2)
Click to expand...

Little late to this, but I knew I watched a Cold Steel rest video with a CBBL before.


Apologies if this is off track.
 
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