Titanium Lock Surfaces on Steel Tangs

B

BellatorCordis

Joined
Mar 1, 2012
Messages
48
I am in the market for a new heavy duty folder, and have been eying a few TI frame locks, namely the ZT 0560, LionSteel SR1, and DPX HEST/F 2.0.

I am concerned with the 0560 and HEST/F, as the titanium lock bar is making direct contact with a much harder steel blade tang. Over time (under hard use), won't the hard steel wear the titanium down and cause blade play/locking issues? I know there have been issues specifically with the HEST/F.

I really like that the SR1 has a steel insert on the locking bar, but have noticed most TI locks do not have this feature (even really high quality 'hard use' knives like CRKs, Striders, XM18s, etc all do not).

Any thoughts on this? Is the steel insert unnecessary?
 
Buy what you want but dont let that persuade you to not buy a 0561, crk, hinderer.

With a well made ti framelock w/o steel insert its nothing to really be concerned about imo
 
The steel insert is beneficial. At the least, the lock face of the Ti lockbar needs to be treated to prevent premature wear. CRK has actually solved this issue by adding a ceramic ball-bearing into the lock face to prevent wear on the soft Ti.

Ti is very soft, and will deform and cause blade play and bad lock up well before steel liners/lockbars, especially if used hard or flicked open with heavy force, repeatedly. It's really not ideal, despite the popularity of Ti framelocks.
 
i own a spyderco military titanium framelock with a stainless steel insert. the lockup is so solid it feels like a fixed blade. however, that quality has nothing to do with your question :D lemme just repeat the forumers' answers to similar questions regarding ti lockbars:

1. "i've been using my ti framelock (without inserts) for ____ years now. i flick it often. all i noticed is that lock-up has gone deeper from 20% to 50%."
2. "a lot of the high-end" framelocks have anodized lockbar faces to improve wear-resistance (find out more about the knife you're buying.)"
3. "a well-concaved tang will simply increase % engagement as the titanium wears down, so there's very little to fear."
4. "there is greater risk of side-side play due to heavy use than lockbar wear. also, constant flicking affects the stop pin, not the lockbar."
5. "if the manufacturer says 'don't flick often,' you better not do so. if it says the lock is tested to 200 pounds, don't experiment."
***
good luck on your decision.
 
Thanks for the input everyone! It sounds to me like it is unnecessary, but beneficial. I wish more manufacturers and designers would include them. The only knives that have them as far as I know are the SR1s, Spydercos (Military, Lionspy, and a few others), and ZT 0777.
 
I have a ZT 0300 born on Jan 09. It is one of the first 1,000 made and It is my most used/carried knife.

The lockbar and tang both have no noticable wear, and zero play.
 
BellatorCordis said:
Thanks for the input everyone! It sounds to me like it is unnecessary, but beneficial. I wish more manufacturers and designers would include them. The only knives that have them as far as I know are the SR1s, Spydercos (Military, Lionspy, and a few others), and ZT 0777.
Click to expand...
Microtech Socom Deltas and Whalesharks have them. Also, the CRK Umnumzaan has a ceramic ball bearing in the lock face that functions similarly.

P9140002.jpg


Image from this thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/675664-simple-design-yet-so-complex
 
imo a ti frame lock isn't a "heavy duty" type of lock compared to other kinds out there today.
 
I've been banging away at my #112 first run hest/f since day one and haven't noticed any significant lockbar movement. Since they upgraded it to 2.0 for free, quite shortly after I got it initially, it's been nothing but great. That's a big fat lockbar and tang to work with. I can't imagine it ever getting it to a "worn through" point. At worst you're going to get it a tad more under there, resulting in an even larger contact patch and even more win.
 
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