Thom:
You're better off choosing the knife that best fits your needs than going for the lock that best fits your needs.
I totally agree, in fact I use slip joints for the vast majority of my folder needs, so lock strength is not a big factor at all for me. If I am working on a boat or car, cutting hoses, belts, body molding, window seals, line wrapped around a propeller and such, or for one the spur repairs around the house I use my locking folder (M2 710).
Some of my regular use knives have a lock of sorts, but they are secondary. For example on the Opinel (a #6 is very often in my pocket) I often don't bother to engage the lock for light use. On my Kershaw Double Cross, it has a liner lock but I would carry the knife even if it did not, it cuts very nicely. By far, most of my daily cutting chores are handled by a SAK, have been using one for years and never had a problem.
Those knives are designed for pure cutting, the blades would easily snap or bend if subjected to hard use.
I have never had a problem with framelocks, I used a Sebenza for years before I discovered the 710. While I have had framelocks jam open when squeezed hard under hard use (needed to pry the lock open with the bottle opener of the SAK), I have never had it coming close to disengage. As long as you are squeezing the lock, the blade can't close. This is why i do not like tip down carry especially on framelocks, as on the old Pinnacle, the Skirmish, the Buck-Mayo, etc.
Some people, as Cliff reports, have had trouble with framelocks, finding them no more secure than standard Walker liner locks. My conclusion there is that the difference in our perspective probably lies with how we hold the knife, maybe hand shape and the uses for the knife. No big deal, reasonable minds can differ.
Still, I have not found a better lock design than the Axis. One of my brothers works construction, and just wrecks knives. He comes to me for replacements naturally. He has been using a Benchmade 722 Tanto for two years now, for sure a record of knife use for him. He frequently cuts metals and hard plastics, punching holes in aluminum studs, cutting gutters, siding, insulation, conduit, scraping battery terminals etc. He uses the front edge of the tanto as a cold chisel and pounds on the G10 grip with a hammer. Basically hell for a knife, the worst possible uses. When I am not around to sharpen it, he hits it with an angle grinder to rip a new edge on. Leaves it wet, grimy in his coverall pocket for weeks, has been through the washer many times, etc.
The ATS34 has held up suprisingly well and the Axis lock has held up perfect, still locks up tight, no sign of omega sping damage.
I personally would be interested in a 3/16" Manix with a slightly thicker tip and handle slabs extended fully around the choil.
For what uses? I think a knife like that would make a nice version of the original Al Mar SERE knife concept, a folding wilderness use knife.
. If Benchmade reacts well to the problem with the Skirmish I'll definately pick one up.
What problems did you experience with the Skirmish? I have one, but have not used it much at all, too big to carry legally and the primaray grind is too obtuse for the things I use a folder for. For the things I use a fixed blade for, the Skirmish would not be a good substitute. I suppose it would be good (except fot the slick scales) for someone who needed a knife as a weapon, but that is not me.
Re: Para
It is to bad it is not L/R and tip up/down capable like the Manix, as nice as the knife looks this would keep me from buying it.
As I get more comfortable with the process the writeup relaxes as well.
Yes, the improvement is readily apparent.
I have a couple of suggestions, but please consider that I am offering them only for constructive reasons, if you would prefer them by private means, I could email you with such notes in the future. Please don't be offended, it is not my intent at all.
Stock testing for field use for wilderness use knives
Just as you set up runs of stock tests to evalute knives, i.e. string testing for initial sharpness, cardboard and carpet for edge retention, etc, perhaps you could formulate a standardized set of field skill tests.
These could be done on your back porch the same as in the middle of a dense forest, the location of the test (rugged wilderness versus your back yard) is pretty irrelavent. I know some people only consider a review valid if it is done in the middle of an Amazon rain forest or a glacier in Alaska, but I disagree. You are testing the knife, and the knife doesn['t care if you are on a deserted island or sharing a bench with your friends.
Anyways, for wilderness type knives I was thinking of things like carving a spoon blank, figure 4 trap trigger, tent pegs, etc.
A lot of how well a knife suits me is not the blade, but how well the handle fits my hand when shaping wood.
Digging with knife vs carving a digging stick
Several reviews contain comments about digging with your knife. As a test, digging is interesting because it is an extreme accelerated wear test. Digging is also important in a survival contect, especially for obtaining food and water.
However, for me the better route is to use the knife to carve a digging stick, perhaps even fire harden it. A primary importance in having a knife in the woods, to me, is its ability to shape wood, bone and other materials into tools and other useful objects. The disadvantage to using the digging stick approach is that you lose the accelerated wear function of the digging test, but you still get that from used carpet testing, if to a lesser degree (especially as to point impactation).
I have seen, at least on TV examples of people digging with knives, that Barefoot Bushman guy digs with his Rambo fantasy knife quite a bit and to good effect considering his tools, I think Ron Hood used a 3V Ferhman to dig out a water hole in his desert survival video, and in the movie Deliverance I think Ned Beatty used a bowie knife to help dig a grave to bury a sodomite.
In the primative skills work shops I have attended, all have used digging sticks for digging, but then again no one there carries a knife that would be suitable for digging, pocket knives (SAK, Slip Joints) and small neck knives are usually the only knives seen.
Again, just food for thought and no offense meant at all.
Rate of Speed in cutting during edge retention testing
If possible could you include your rate of speed during carpet and cardboard cutting? How do you keep it consistent?
In my use of knives, I have found that rate of speed in cutting abbrasive materials, especially carpet and carboard is a huge factor. If you cut cardboard really fast, it can wear an edge down *much* faster than slow runs. You can actually feel the edge heat up from friction (it burns to the touch, but does not leave blisters and such) after fast runs.
Re: Trolls and flamers
That's the goal of the nonsense, if you can't prevent it, bury it.
Honestly I don't know how you tolerate the constant personal attacks, some coming close to threats. I would have moved the review disccusion to one of the heavily moderated forums (USN, sword forums, etc. for example) or one of the private forums long ago. To be honest, I think there is enough interest in your work to justify its own forum, perhaps a direct link from the reviews to make them interactive. Forum software, UBB, invasion, etc is cheap (usually free) and the bandwidth costs very low.
This would allow people who have a real interest to read, share and learn and you could take measures to remove the BS, active moderation, real name registration (like SF), etc. Just a thought.
Thanks,
KT
