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You are correct. Stupid trolls.
But I think this thread may be making me go blind. [emoji12]. My mother warned me.
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Spine whack test?
- Thread starter Gideons
- Start date
You are correct. Stupid trolls.
But I think this thread may be making me go blind. [emoji12]. My mother warned me.
For those that think spine whacking is useless or an unfair test, I would like to pose a question. If you bought a gun case that was promoted for its strength and resistance to abuse, then dropped it off the back of your truck and the lock popped open, would that be acceptable? The lock didn't break, just popped open and the gun was now accessible to anyone, would that be OK?
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Agreed.
Hey, I'm real. Even pinched myself to prove it. 
I was responding to the 'tactical' part of the original post, in which I have interest and in which it seems the OP also has interest. Granted, not everyone has the same curiosities, but surely I'm not the only one here who enjoys FMA and fencing, and who considers some knives (some) in such light.
I was responding to the 'tactical' part of the original post, in which I have interest and in which it seems the OP also has interest. Granted, not everyone has the same curiosities, but surely I'm not the only one here who enjoys FMA and fencing, and who considers some knives (some) in such light.
The purpose of the knife is not in question. It is the lock that is in contention. If a door has a lock on it, the door should stay shut unless one opens the lock or breaks the lock. If a knife has a locking blade, it should stay in the locked position until one opens the lock or loads it enough that it breaks. If the blade can be closed without manipulating the lock, and the lock isn't damaged by that closing, it isn't a lock, it's just kind of a speed bump.
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I can kick down a locked door; I've done it before. I'm not about to test my front doors lock by trying to kick it in, that would be stupid. A doors primary function is egress/ingress, and the lock is a secondary feature. I'd be concerned if my door opens and closes properly before I'd worry if the lock can be kicked open.
Again, the issue is the lock, not what it's attached to. If you have to kick it in, then the lock did it's job. If you kick it in and the lock, frame, or other part isn't damaged, it is a very poor lock. If you can put a pipe wrench on a locked doors knob and open it without breaking the knob or lock, it's not a good lock.
Only in the knife world can a lock let a blade close, still function just as it did before, and it's considered useless or abusive to have tried the lock. In some circles, it is even put forth that one should treat any folder as though it didn't have a lock, even when there is one.
Only in the knife world can a lock let a blade close, still function just as it did before, and it's considered useless or abusive to have tried the lock. In some circles, it is even put forth that one should treat any folder as though it didn't have a lock, even when there is one.
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I don't personally consider it abusive, although I do consider it useless, but that's just me. I could say that if you have to "whack the spine with x amount of force" the lock still did its job, just as for your example, the door lock did its job even though Blues kicked it down.
The gun safe stops being useful as a safe if the lock doesn't work--though I guess it still makes a fine container.
A door and a knife both function as intended regardless of the lock. That's the big difference for most of us who don't "get" the spine whack tests.
Don't get me wrong, I'd be annoyed if any of my locking knives failed in what I consider normal use. And probably more than annoyed if a light accidental tap on the spine in the course of normal use caused the lock to fail. I just personally don't see the relevance of more than a tap, for testing, since I can't see myself accidentally whacking the spine with a great amount of force. But, anything is possibly.
The issue is fun to debate, but it's one of those things that usually just gets us further entrenched.
That said, I see the merit in a light tap, as Sal suggested in one thread.
But I'll probably never "get" those who whack it hard as can be a dozen times and, if met with failure, send the knife back. But, that's okay, I don't need to get it.
stonesell
Gold Member
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These discussions about a spine wack test are good for bringing awareness about the fact that a folding knife can double up and cut your fingers, when subject to extraordinary stesses. While I have not not tried this on all of my folding knives, I think that light testing can help a person to determine if they have a failing liner lock, or perhaps a frame lock. For defensive protection, and heavy work, I prefer a fixed blade, and even so, it's stilll possible to cut yourself badly, in an out of control situation.
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That would probably depend on where you are. Where I am, a doors's function of preventing ingress is as important as how it well the lock works.
In the same vein, I'd say that how strong a locking blade's lock is would depend on your situation.
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I'm sure the purpose is easy to "get". It's just that you don't agree with testing the lock that way and usually the reason given is that you don't see the point. That really doesn't mean that strength and reliability against sudden and sharp impacts aren't important to some people.
It's just like edge retention, a lot of people don't see the point in extreme edge retention because they themselves don't need it. Others may and others may just want that certain quality.
Saying that "you don't get it" is just a disingenuous way of arguing when the point really is quite simple.
Not getting it or not understanding why is entirely different from merely disagreeing.
The cogset could not be moved as it was the initial problem, being involved in the binding. Even with a lot of loose chain, the pulling strength available would have been nowhere near 1% of the 100% that was required, which the spine tapping did very efficiently, if gradually, but at this juncture I guess there is no point to argue anything with you...
Gaston
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There isn't a plague of spine whacked knives showing up on the exchange. Most don't have to. Absurd overweight presidents of boycotted companies do it for us. To be sure your knife will arrive unmolested maybe buy new from a BF paid dealer.
I don't need to argue as I understand the physical reality of the way the links in the chain weave themselves in between the spokes and the freehub.
That's the nice thing about things; they can't distort reality with what if's and opinion.
That's the problem that many people have with the thought experiment/what if lock tests where someone stacks a series of implausible what if scenarios to suit their feelings.
Using a knife isn't rocket science. The continuing urge to cover it in some sort of what if voodoo cult knowledge is tedious.
Linguistically,no, it isn't disingenuous at all. It's a very simple statement of fact. Not understanding something by its nature cannot be disingenuous. Willful ignorance can be, but I've already admitted there is merit in a spine tap.
There is merit in tapping a variety of things in a variety of ways.
ETA: Just so we're clear: I've never said spine whacking is abusive or that people shouldn't do it or should not care about their lock strength. I'm not attempting any sort of conversion.
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There's no need to personally attack the guy's weight, though.
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