The Tri-ad Lock Patent Expires in December [Wrong Info]

Status
Not open for further replies.
I thought there would be a lot more axis lock use when that patent expired. I'm curious to see If the triad lock is adopted by more companies
 
stonproject said:
I thought there would be a lot more axis lock use when that patent expired. I'm curious to see If the triad lock is adopted by more companies
Click to expand...
The axis lock is complicated. There were so many iterations of it. It is likely a legal mess.
 
I acknowledge the strength of the Tri-Ad lock but have had some CS knives that were absolute thumb breakers. There seems to be a steep curve to break in a Tri-Ad and make them more "thumb friendly". I'd be curious to see what a Taichung Spyderco or WE/Reate could do with tolerances on a Tri-Ad to make it a better experience.
 
pinnah said:
I hope Buck jumps on this.
Click to expand...
That would be interesting, I agree. They didn’t invent the back lock, of course, but they did use it intelligently on the 110 all those years ago. The question is whether Buck sees a demand for such items; they are, after all, one of those knife manufacturers that is firmly situated in the mass market.
 
craytab said:
The axis lock is complicated. There were so many iterations of it. It is likely a legal mess.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I agree. The Axis had numerous patent extensions and current use applications that made expiration a cloudy subject. We didn't really know the patent had expired until Benchmade announced it earlier this year. I think the flavor of Axis that's on the Benchmade Anthem may still be patent protected since they made a change to the tension spring.

Millit Knives/Schwarz just got done delivering the first, legit "axis type" lock that I know of and they did a nice job realizing their own unique mechanism. There may be more to follow but it takes time to design and produce your own "axis type" lock...unless you're a crap-ass cloner who brings in Benchmades and copy the lock verbatim:mad:.
 
Hackenslash said:
I acknowledge the strength of the Tri-Ad lock but have had some CS knives that were absolute thumb breakers. There seems to be a steep curve to break in a Tri-Ad and make them more "thumb friendly". I'd be curious to see what a Taichung Spyderco or WE/Reate could do with tolerances on a Tri-Ad to make it a better experience.
Click to expand...
By Sal's own testimony, Spyderco isn't going to do a Tri-ad but I will be shocked if some of the Chinese makers don't.
 
Hackenslash said:
Yeah, I agree. The Axis had numerous patent extensions and current use applications that made expiration a cloudy subject. We didn't really know the patent had expired until Benchmade announced it earlier this year. I think the flavor of Axis that's on the Benchmade Anthem may still be patent protected since they made a change to the tension spring.

Millit Knives/Schwarz just got done delivering the first, legit "axis type" lock that I know of and they did a nice job realizing their own unique mechanism. There may be more to follow but it takes time to design and produce your own "axis type" lock...unless you're a crap-ass cloner who brings in Benchmades and copies the lock verbatim:mad:.
Click to expand...
Crap ass cloners suck. So do folks who take a well known recent design and copy it, legally. Come up with your own stuff.

Look at what SOG does with the ARC lock. It does the same thing but very differently. Same with Spyderco and the BBL.
 
One day....one day....somebody will produce a solid lock not held in place by spring pressure.....any sprung lock can bounce out of partial or full engagement under shock, ask anybody who batons for long with a folder...then a second shock when not fully locked tears holy hades out of lock surfaces.

I have come up with several ideas, and am sure that many here have, or could, come up with same, of a folder limited only by handle and/or blade strength, making it as strong as any fixed blade.

However, lack of tooling, lack of machine shop skills, lack of ability to even make the blade, keeps such ideas out of the market. But, am sure there are many many more out there, as truly viable as anything I could dream up...
 
Hackenslash said:
Millit Knives/Schwarz just got done delivering the first, legit "axis type" lock that I know of and they did a nice job realizing their own unique mechanism. There may be more to follow but it takes time to design and produce your own "axis type" lock...unless you're a crap-ass cloner who brings in Benchmades and copy the lock verbatim:mad:.
Click to expand...


That's sort of what happens when a patent expires though. IMO, that's the way it should be. There's a balance between a designer getting their just reward for a new idea and the larger public good served by seeing that idea incorporated and evolved in teh marketplace.

Can you imagine were we would be if the slip joint or lock back design were protected from cloners and copy cats?
 
I don’t know that the majority of knife buyers know enough to tell the difference between a Tri-Ad lock and a typical lockback, or that there’s enough real benefit to make it relevant outside of the collector niche. I don’t see Reate, WE, ZT, Kizer, or Benchmade doing anything with it. Spyderco is a different creature, so they’re most likely among large production companies. Maybe a Sage 6? Beyond that, I mostly see it being used for limited runs or by a handful (at most) of custom makers.

I’m sure there will be a lot of disagreement, but I’ll go ahead and predict that it doesn’t make big waves in the market, and invite revisiting of my words down the road. If I’m wrong, let “I told you so” rain on me.
 
Can you imagine where we would be if cloners and copy cats stopped thieving and come up with their own ideas. Some think that is too much to ask I guess but we would have a bunch more lock types.
 
craytab said:
So do folks who take a well known recent design and copy it, legally.
Click to expand...

I guess it depends. If an idea is excellent, and you're using the idea within the boundaries of IP and patent law, why wouldn't you use it? If I understand it correctly, thats how the framelock came to be. Chris Reeve had an excellent idea and other makers/producers used his idea because it was excellent, and continues to be one of the most popular lock styles today.
 
stonproject said:
I guess it depends. If an idea is excellent, and you're using the idea within the boundaries of IP and patent law, why wouldn't you use it? If I understand it correctly, thats how the framelock came to be. Chris Reeve had an excellent idea and other makers/producers used his idea because it was excellent, and continues to be one of the most popular lock styles today.
Click to expand...
And he gave the blessing for others to use it.
 
pinnah said:
Can you imagine were we would be if the slip joint or lock back design were protected from cloners and copy cats?
Click to expand...

Patent protection didn't stop the cloners from coypying the Axis lock so I'm not sure how protection for slip joints or lock backs would have changed anything.

I don't want to hijack the original topic of this thread but I suspect the reason we haven't seen much cloning of the Tri-Ad lock is it's difficult to execute tolerances and still have the lock work well. Hell, in my opinion, Cold Steel barely executes the Tri-Ad lock :D.
 
mtngunr said:
One day....one day....somebody will produce a solid lock not held in place by spring pressure.....any sprung lock can bounce out of partial or full engagement under shock, ask anybody who batons for long with a folder...then a second shock when not fully locked tears holy hades out of lock surfaces.

I have come up with several ideas, and am sure that many here have, or could, come up with same, of a folder limited only by handle and/or blade strength, making it as strong as any fixed blade.

However, lack of tooling, lack of machine shop skills, lack of ability to even make the blade, keeps such ideas out of the market. But, am sure there are many many more out there, as truly viable as anything I could dream up...
Click to expand...
Would you mind elaborating how you would do such a thing? I mean a lock without any spring.
 
craytab said:
Can you imagine where we would be if cloners and copy cats stopped thieving and come up with their own ideas. Some think that is too much to ask I guess but we would have a bunch more lock types.
Click to expand...
Why fix it if it ain't broke. There's situations like for example proprietary fasteners on screws that kinda embody what you preach here and it isn't good in any way. As long as the guy designing it is fine with it and the guy using the design isn't like "yeah this is totally a lock designed by me" I don't see anything wrong with it. I'd rather have a lock that's well executed because it's simple and time proofen rather than some fancy lock like the ones from G&G Hawk just to see new locks. Sure there's a beauty in a fancy lock but not every knife needs it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top