Stop pin vs lock

G

Goosey

Joined
Mar 19, 2012
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I was just thinking about some of the "extra tough" locking mechanisms, and I've never really needed a knife that can hold hundreds of pounds of force trying to close the blade... however, I like a knife that won't develop blade play when forces are applied to the cutting edge.

I was wondering how much importance the size and toughness of the stop pin plays in this? Would a knife with a thin liner but a thick stop pin do well until you spine-whacked it or something?
 
Keeping in mind that the integrity of the stop pin, will determine whether or not the knife will have verticle blade play, a stop pin that deforms will cause all sorts of woe. Where liners are concerned, I have never heard of a failure of the stop pin due to thin liners.
 
A.P.F. said:
Keeping in mind that the integrity of the stop pin, will determine whether or not the knife will have verticle blade play, a stop pin that deforms will cause all sorts of woe. Where liners are concerned, I have never heard of a failure of the stop pin due to thin liners.
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Hmmm, I was thinking, for example, you can chop with a Tri-Ad lock knife, but how much of that is due to the stop pin and how much to the lock? Say you put the same stop pin on a liner lock. Could you then chop with that and not cause damage?
 
CRK's Sebenza stop pin is excellent. Basically it is a thick 303ss pin held in place by a large screw. The sleeve/spacer is heat treated & can be easily "rolled" if/when wear develops. If it ever gets totally Effed, it can be easily replaced! Other VERY strong stop pins are press fit into the blade (Umnumzaan, most Striders & several Microtechs). Personally I ALWAYS look at stop pin build when considering a knife!
 
The stop pins on the spartan and rajah are massive, will full steel liners and 4mm thick grivory scales.
 
On the Demko design Tri Ad Lock, the force on the edge when cutting is transferred to the stop pin. Never on the lock.

In normal back lock, it is transferred to the lock and by the lock to the pin that holds the lock.
 
If you really need something that strong, consider a fixed blade. Personally, I wouldn't expect folders to hold up to chopping. I'd rather have an axe for that, or a Kukri or perhaps a small folding saw.
 
The Tri-Ad design doesn't depend on just the liners, as long as the scale material is strong. That's why some of the G10 handled models are linerless, and still plenty strong.

That said, my favorite things about the Tri-Ad design have little to do with its strength. I like how solid the lockup stays over time and how much the lockbar must be depressed to unlock the knife(making it require a deliberate action to unlock.)
 
The stop pin is for downward forces from the blade in use, distributes the forces to the liners/scales. In your example of chopping the stop pin would prevent the blade from folding backwards, the spine against your back of hand. The liner is what prevents the blade edge from folding over your fingers say from a spine whack. Chopping or spine whacks are never good things for a folding knife however....
 
While the main reason that I prefer the stop pin being pressed into the blade is pocket lint (it's amazing how often you get a layer of lint stuck in there), a secondary benefit is often that the stop pin is usually thick, one solid piece, and the contact surface is rounded to match. People could press fit thick stop pins in the handle if they wanted, but just about never do.
 
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