Spine whack test?

Spine whacking causes stress on a folding knife that represent all the forces from using a folding knife in a manner other than what it was intended for.
 
Attacks to the blade are common in fencing. Disarming beats and parries are common there, too, as found in kali, arnis, escrima. If a folding knife is allegedly 'tactical,' it should certainly pass such tests. Having studied fencing and Filipino martial arts, I like knowing which of my folding knives will likely hold up to the kinds of things I never want to do ;) .

Even if merely billed as a 'hard use' knife, a folding knife should meet at least some minimal standard(s) for non-standard use. I've used my knives to cut, pry, dig, and beat on things simply because they were the tools on hand during unexpected difficulty.

Those things said, I enjoy even my slipjoint folders, though I wouldn't do with them what I've done with some of the others. :)
 
craytab said:
Get a bit prac-tac aren't we?
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"Attacks to the blade are common in fencing. Disarming beats and parries are common there, too, as found in kali, arnis, escrima. If a folding knife is allegedly 'tactical,' it should certainly pass such tests. Having studied fencing and Filipino martial arts, I like knowing which of my folding knives will likely hold up to the kinds of things I never want to do ."

A bit. This guy can't be real.
 
Weiss said:
... I like knowing which of my folding knives will likely hold up to the kinds of things I never want to do ;)
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Have you licked the edge of your knife or poked the point in your eyeball?

Sure, you dont ever want to do that, but you would want to know that your knife can stand up to it, right?
 
There's at least one maker (name escapes me, google it) who incorporates LIGHT whacking to test his locks, so it's not some practice isolated to one (CS) company. I want a tough lock in addition to a sharp knife, no reason you can't have/want both.
 
While I guess a tiny whack to the spine causing failure would worry me... I've literally never needed to use a knife in this way.

All slipjoints would automatically fail this test, yet can be used functionally with no danger to the user.

In short, a dumb test in my humble opinion.
 
Even Sal advised a LIGHT spine tap here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ength-Reliability-and-Spine-Whack-tests/page2

"1st, inspect the lock. dirt in a lock-back well will cause a defeat that will "cap" the adjacent corners of the tang & lock and cause permanent damage.

Then a light spine tap.

I have seen more than one knife that was destroyed by spine whacking and the customer blamed it on the knife and expected a replacement.

sal"

Ankerson in same thread:

"I see no problem with spine whacking because if the lock is really strong it should be able to handle it. I test all my folders this way, if they fail they go back where they came from. I am not light about it either, I whack them pretty good about 10 times with a thick leather glove on

I just look at it like this:

Knives are replaceable, your fingers are not. "
 
There is some sense to it from this perspective I guess. In all honesty, some of my folders are going to fail from 10 pretty good whacks to the spine, probably. But those that might, don't exactly slide open or closed either, takes some effort on my part. I can't see myself losing a finger with them, although I am sure all persons here with less than 10 digits said the same at one point.
 
I know this is all semantics, but I consider a "tap" and a "whack" to be on opposite ends of the striking spectrum.

I'm sure a light tap is fine, but I prefer to just give it a back and forth wiggle with my hands. I can move it, lame, if not then it's good by me.
 
crom said:
Even Sal advised a LIGHT spine tap here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ength-Reliability-and-Spine-Whack-tests/page2

"1st, inspect the lock. dirt in a lock-back well will cause a defeat that will "cap" the adjacent corners of the tang & lock and cause permanent damage.

Then a light spine tap.

I have seen more than one knife that was destroyed by spine whacking and the customer blamed it on the knife and expected a replacement.

sal"

Ankerson in same thread:

"I see no problem with spine whacking because if the lock is really strong it should be able to handle it. I test all my folders this way, if they fail they go back where they came from. I am not light about it either, I whack them pretty good about 10 times with a thick leather glove on

I just look at it like this:

Knives are replaceable, your fingers are not. "
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Can't really argue with that line of thought.
 
I have one last comment and I'm done, let's talk mass and leverage, spine whacking on a 2X4 does in no way replicate any real life situation, in all honesty if the guy is swinging a 4' 2X4 at you, if you think the lock on your knife should hold you are ill informed and bound for disappointment take two lock backs of similar weight and size then whack their spines together at least that's a better analog than whacking a 3oz 3" blade against the 300lb Immovable workbench. If you wanna test make your analog accurate at the very least. Them, maybe, you might have some accurate results but even then those are still just a simulation at best whose results are purely subjective.

Have fun proving that your knife fails at being a hammer, hell a good hammer and the right touch can produce some very accurate clean edged ported gaskets . I've lost count of how many gaskets I've made for flanges on steam piping by just taking a piece of irregular cut scrap gasket material, laying it on the flange and lightly tapping around the flange and bolt hole to cut the gasket to size.

It works in a pinch so I've done it but a gasket cutter works much better so here I g again "right tool for the right job"

You may now continue to convince the rest of the unwashed masses that unless your folding knife makes an adequate hammer it'll be useless as a knife. :rolleyes:
 
marcinek said:
Well, if one of your tactical techniques is to whack a bad guy on the head with the spine of your knife, you are outta luck.

IMO, if you cut "down" you will be fine. :thumbup:

Maybe one day they will come out with a hard use knife that doesn't fold. Somebody should get on that...probably make a ton of money. :D
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Smart alleck much? :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
One thing spine whackers out to keep in mind, unless your gripping your folder just as you would cutting with it your not putting any pressure on the sides if its a frame lock. So its more likely to fail because your not actually hanging onto the grips.
 
Gideons said:
Not to mention, a lot of military people where mobility is key don't carry fixed blades anymore. I mean, I understand how it is not a typical requirement for a knife however, this is classified as "hard use tactical knife" so I expect more than a regular knife as it costs more and is also heavier. But, I can think of many tasks that a knife could be used in a stabbing motion if you hit slightly above the tip on the spine could cause a knife to fold on your finger(and frankly if you are doing it hard enough you could loose a finger). That is my thinking, and to me that is dangerous.
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I admittedly don't have a ton of exposure to a lot of military types, my uncle, older brother, a few others. But even when "mobility is key" it is very easy to carry a relatively light fixed blade in a sheath strapped to the leg where it'll always remain parallel to you. My brother is now a civilian and mostly carries folders, but unless something was very out of the ordinary he would never have kitted out his military gear with only a folder. That said I'm not sure how common knives are at all among the military folk of modern times and I've heard mostly they get used to open MREs and other things, but I would guess fixed blades are still quite common.
 
marcinek said:
The irony here is Gideons with $200 plus ZTs and he cant stab anything, and then these nuts on the bus with their crapo gas station special knives are stabbing folks with impunity. That hurts.

Word gone topsy turvy.
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I'm quoting this as my reply is relevant(ish) to it, not meant to offend anyone.

Having said that, I ONLY stab with impunity with gas station cheapos. In fact, this is the best method because I can toss it, go to the gas station to get another, and reward myself for a job well done with snacks and drinks and the new knife in one convenient location.

World gone topsy turvy? On the contrary, it is an amazing time to be alive. :thumbup:
 
I have a few liner locks thst won't stay locked with even a slight bump.
 
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Damn, more trolling on this thread than a fishing forum. A guy asks a question and out come the snarkers, most of whom don't seem to have actually read the whole post. I test my gear because sometimes things happen to put it under stress. A knife isn't a hammer, but I have worked in confined areas where the occasional bump is going to happen. Or the only tool I have on me that can do the task at hand isn't exactly the ideal tool for the job, because I don't carry a whole freaking rollaway with me wherever I go. It would be stupid to put a big hit on your blade, but I think it's shortsighted to not check the lockup with a tap from time to time. That's it for me, no more feeding the trolls.
 
BitingSarcasm said:
Damn, more trolling on this thread than a fishing forum. A guy asks a question and out come the snarkers, most of whom don't seem to have actually read the whole post. I test my gear because sometimes things happen to put it under stress. A knife isn't a hammer, but I have worked in confined areas where the occasional bump is going to happen. Or the only tool I have on me that can do the task at hand isn't exactly the ideal tool for the job, because I don't carry a whole freaking rollaway with me wherever I go. It would be stupid to put a big hit on your blade, but I think it's shortsighted to not check the lockup with a tap from time to time. That's it for me, no more feeding the trolls.
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He's asked this question more than once......generally, that would be considered "trolling"

There are a ton of threads on "spine wacking" notice the search bar at the top right hand corner of the page?
 
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