Spyderco Liner Locks

J.Mattson

J.Mattson

Joined
Sep 10, 2007
Messages
2,518
Its no secret that the liner lock on the Military is Top notch. What I’m wondering if the other Spyderco liner locks have the same amazing credentials?

To say it another way is the lock on the Sage as good as the Military? What about the Tenacious? The Barong?
 
J.Mattson said:
Its no secret that the liner lock on the Military is Top notch. What I’m wondering if the other Spyderco liner locks have the same amazing credentials?

To say it another way is the lock on the Sage as good as the Military? What about the Tenacious? The Barong?
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The liners on the Barong (And Khukri?) are extra-thick, so I imagine it's as good if not better than the Millie's. The stop pin, though, doesn't have a large margin of error. Not that that should be a problem as long as you avoid trying to chop off tree limbs or the like with it.
 
The Sage has an excellent lock for its size and intended use, just keep in mind it is not a heavy-duty knife like a mini Manix.
 
I find the Sage's lock without flaw. I used the knife hard, and the lock lug does not move. The handles are very stable, large solid stop pin reaches thru the liners and into the CF, standoffs are also recessed into the liners and CF(many knives standoffs are only in surface contact with the liners)
The blade ramp is cut in an offset arc like the Mili and other quality knives.
This knife is solid. :)
 
I love my Sage...I have been EDCing it for a couple of weeks now :D

Locks up solid for me and is wicked sharp and stays sharp with some stropping
 
The stop pin on the Barong is much smaller than the one on the Military, and the blade contacts it at an angle rather than having a square-cut face hitting it flat.

Here is a pic of the blade against the stop pin with the blade locked open.

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Here is a shot of the blade partly open with the groove for the stop pin visible on the tang.

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Here you can see the relative size of the stop pins on the Military and Barong.

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My guess is the Military LL is Spyderco's strongest LL, other materials notwithstanding
 
My Millies lock up great, very trustworthy and strong locks on those guys. The only concern might be when doing a hard twisting cut getting your hand in the cutout and accidentally disengaging it, but I have never had that issue, and the cutout really helps to disengage the knife when you have gloves on. My Barong lock up perfectly, doesn't have the handle cutout like the Millie (this makes disengaging the lock harder, especially with gloves, but arguably makes it less susceptable to accidental disengagement), but as you can see from Yab's pics it isn't as HD as the Millie. Considering the 3mm blade in the Barong Vs. the 4mm blade in the Millie I don't think there is anything to fault on the Barong's lock strength. It is plenty strong IMO for medium duty use, and with the Krein regrind I have on mine it is an unreal slicer for a 4" blade. I prefer lock backs, Ball Bearing locks, or especially the comp lock to the liner lock, but Spyderco certainly does a liner lock right.

Liner locks are easy to do wrong, as I found out when sharpening a knife my Mother in law paid $45 for at a local knife shop. Keep in mind this was a brand new knife that was a bit dull from the factory. With minimal pressure applied to the spine during sharpening it was disengaging on me. That is not a good feeling! I tightened the pivot as much as I could and had to tighten the bottom handle screw (the only 2 points holding that thing together) and told her to use it like a slip joint if she must use it, and that even a slip joint is safer. That knife has a flat tang contact and just a bit of side torque is all it takes to disengage it. Luckily with my Spyderco liner locks they engage solid with no play and the radiused tang seems to be a great way to build a liner lock. They are built strong and built to last.

Mike
 
Mike, would you mind posting some pics of your Kreined Barong? I'd love to see how it turned out. Thanks.:D:thumbup:
 
amen74 said:
Mike, would you mind posting some pics of your Kreined Barong? I'd love to see how it turned out. Thanks.:D:thumbup:
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I saw the pictures and it may be the only way I would want one.

I'm actually thinking about asking Tom Krein about the possibility of that treatment on one of my JD Smiths ;) The JD would rock to get an edge for the full length of that tang since there is no choil at the tang anyway ;)
DSC01376.jpg


Search for posts from Mike. He posted in general I think . . .

*EDIT* here's the link :) http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=653618
 
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Hey thanks Reeek. That Barong looks freakin' awesome! I'm thinking of going through my Spydies to see which I'd like to get Kreined. :D
Tom's work is beyond excellent, and that Krein stamp just completes the whole package.:thumbup:
 
gunmike1 said:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=653618

There you go.

Mike
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That is lovely!

Rick, I'm honestly jealous of that JD Smith. :p Such a lovely knife!

Tossing my opinion in here, the liner lock on the Military is hands down the best liner lock I've ever handled. Emersons, Kershaws, Benchmades, hell even the Strider AR and the ZT200's. It's the original liner lock idea, upgraded with small details to make it a lot stronger and more secure.
 
That JD Smith does look real nice. I bet that is one mean slicing and piercing machine. Too bad I can't get it because I swore no more knife purchases until the Manix 2, Stretch FRN ZDP and H1 Spyderhawk come out, and I also have a G-10 Poliwog on my list of must haves. Of course, I said that before getting the Barong and a Superhawk for my father in law and a P'Kal for my Dad. Maybe I can trade for one though. That picture of the JD Smith just looks so nice, what a great knife. It is unfair for Sal to come out with so many great knives that make us empty our pockets in these tough economic times! I think he conspires with Tom Krein to empty my bank account, because for way too reasonable prices Tom makes my existing Spydercos more to my liking and can transform knives like the Barong which I had on my do not get list into one of my favorite knives in my collection. I must resist these knife buying urges!

Mike
 
gunmike1 said:
Too bad I can't get it because I swore no more knife purchases until the Manix 2, Stretch FRN ZDP and H1 Spyderhawk come out, and I also have a G-10 Poliwog on my list of must haves.
Mike
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Ha.
I promised my self the same thing about 3 months ago, with pretty much the same knives in mind. I've slipped up over these last two weeks though... Mini manix CE, Millie 440VSE, Para D2 & a ATR SE :o
 
Yes, we all have a disease. A Superhawk, P'kal, Kreined Barong, and a Kreined Benchmade 760 (I had to have the M4) weren't cheap. I can only hope I can possibly make a trade or two for some of these knives I am just dying to buy right now that aren't on my planned spending list.

Mike
 
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