Tyrade lock failure

J

Jay S.

Joined
Dec 7, 2005
Messages
406
While sharpening a few knives last night I was fooling around with my Tyrade and threw it into my picnic table from about a foot away and not very hard at all. The lock failed and the knife folded up. I thought maybe I did not have it all the way open before I threw it so I did it again with the same results. The lock failed about 5 out of eight times. Now I understand folders are not meant for throwing so I tapped the pivot area against the table and it failed again several times. I then gave it the spine whack test (not hard at all) and it failed every time. I am wondering why it failed so easily? Is it due to the large blade size and weight? Is this common for the Tyrade?
 
Well, you've probably damaged the lock by throwing it into a table. That would probably account for it 'failing so easy'. They're really not designed to do that...
 
You are throwing a frame lock? :eek:

The results are as expected....
 
Folding knives, especially frame and liner locks, don't like being thrown at trees, tables, anything, etc...
The first throw probably damaged the lock and that's why it fails so easily now. They're not designed to take abuse like that.
 
I know it is a framelock and not designed to throw - I just wanted to try it to see what the results were. I did not think it would fail that easy though. I am not exaggerating when I say that I threw it very lightly - still throwing it I know- but not hard at all. I found out what the limit of the lock is though.:D I think it has to do with the size and weight of the blade. Seems like there would be a lot of inertia.
 
abuse
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wouldn't this be very similar to say...using a knife at work and dropping it? If I buy a Tirade should I be prepared to have the lock get damaged if I accidentally drop it?
 
viva la said:
wouldn't this be very similar to say...using a knife at work and dropping it? If I buy a Tirade should I be prepared to have the lock get damaged if I accidentally drop it?
Click to expand...

The force at which I threw the knife was not much harder than if I were to have dropped it tip down on the floor. This may be just my knife that fails this easy and all the other Tyrades will not. It could also be that it hit the table at just the right angle. Not sure.
 
I have g10 Tirade with steel liners there is no friction between blade and lock , even small hit on back side of the blade will close the knife . :thumbdn:
my friend has Tirade with same problem , this is just a design flaw
 
Unless you guys are throwing your knives with a substantially different technique it's hitting harder than a drop on the floor. In addition, there's a turning force that could cause shearing.

The bottom line is the knife broke because it was thrown like a throwing knife. IIRC, the warranty talks about throwing the knife, but I'm not real sure.
 
I have g10 Tirade with steel liners there is no friction between blade and lock , even small hit on back side of the blade will close the knife .
my friend has Tirade with same problem , this is just a design flaw
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Trix, with probably the best warranty service in the industry why don't you get it taken care of? Joe
 
I've become a liner/frame lock hater, myself, but jesus, WHY ARE YOU THROWING YOUR FOLDER AT THINGS?

If you wish to be taken seriously about this subject (which I believe is relatively important, considering the commonness of frame/liner locks) then I would suggest that you refrain from throwing your folders.
 
I assume it is the Ti and not G10 Tyrade? I will go against what everyone else is saying, that it should not have failed if it was done as light as you say and from a foot away. I have done similar with zero problems just lightly getting the tip to stick in wood. Everyone always talks about hard use knives and all the abuse they are supposed to take but then lightly sticking the tip in a table is suddenly major abuse that should cause a knife to fail.

Too bad you didn't lightly spine tap the blade before that to see if it failed before that. Can you see any deformation of the lock bar where it engages the blade? I highly doubt it if it was as light as you say you did. That is why I don't like liner and frame locks. Some lock up tight and some will slip off the blade for no reason, and you don't know what you are getting when you buy it. I have had this happen to me multiple times with brand new knives. On top of that the lock bar does wear after use and repeatedly opening and closing the knife. When it wears so much that the lock bar travels to the other scale there is nothing that can be done to fix the knife. The lock bar has to be replaced or the knife tossed. I have a knife that was used lightly for less than a year that does this. The blade has vertical play because the lock is worn so much that it no longer touches the blade tang tightly. I personally think there are much better designs and wish companies would move away from liner and frame locks. I think the only reason they are used is because they are easy and quick to make. I'm sure I am in a small minority with that opinion though. I pass on a lot of knives that I like the design because the use this lock type.

If there is not deformation of the lock bar metal I would contact Kershaw about the knife. If there is metal deformation then you must have thrown it really hard and it is your fault. But most likely it did this before you played with it. Kershaw should also be able to look at it and tell if it was abused and then should not repair, even thought they probably will anyways because they are such a good company. Good luck with it and I guess it was a lesson in some way.
 
viva la said:
wouldn't this be very similar to say...using a knife at work and dropping it? If I buy a Tirade should I be prepared to have the lock get damaged if I accidentally drop it?
Click to expand...

Well, yes, dropping a knife is abusing it, just not deliberately.
 
I don't think dropping a knife is abuse. I've done worse to cell phones, with touch screens, thin plastic bodies, and batteries that go flying when they fall four feet and hit a concrete floor in a convention center or parking lot :(, but still work fine after. These things (portable electronics) are usually tested for drops

A fine abrasive rod, or some sandpaper wrapped around a pencil should actually fix the issue. I've done the same to steel liner locks that fail a light spine tap, a quick adjustment to the mating surfaces is all that's needed if there's no damage. Just don't remove too much and screw up the lock. Better to ask the warranty department first if they will fix it.
 
I guess "abuse" really requires intent to be considered abuse rather than just accidental misuse, but I wouldn't call dropping a knife (or my cell phone, with its screen cracked in 2 places) "normal use".
 
darthsoaker said:
I've become a liner/frame lock hater, myself, but jesus, WHY ARE YOU THROWING YOUR FOLDER AT THINGS?

If you wish to be taken seriously about this subject (which I believe is relatively important, considering the commonness of frame/liner locks) then I would suggest that you refrain from throwing your folders.
Click to expand...

i also have NO TRUST WHATSOEVER IN LINER/FRAMELOCKS they have just failed too many times on me (even high end liner locks and Ti framelocks). i'll just stick to lockbacks and AXIS locks from now on.
 
Planterz, I agree. I just think we need to expect hand tools to work within an envelope of activities, including being dropped accidentally, or even being thrown one foot. I wouldn't call dropping one off a roof while working an act of abuse either, but I wouldn't expect it to survive. Now, a roofing hammer? Yeah, that better make it, designers have to be aware of ladders, scaffolding, and gravity.

"Tactical" knives ought to be able to handle hard stabs. "Survival" knives ought to be able to chop or baton without snapping. Designers and manufacturers have to be responsible in their marketing just as users need to be responsible in selection and use of their tools. If I snap an axe handle chopping firewood, I'm going to say there was a problem with the axe, not with what I was doing.

I do not think that throwing is part of regular use for folders, but I do think that there are designs that can handle it better than others. Some I think could be thrown with a certain force before it constitutes abuse, others should not be thrown at all. Every working knife should be able to fall off a table without breaking.

And again, I think this is just a minor issue with the mating surfaces, and probably an easy fix.
 
I agree that throwing a frame lock is not the best idea, and throwing it "gently" enough to stick in a wooden table is not the same as dropping it. Aside from one action being accidental; there are forces at play when the blade sticks in the wood and the rest of the momentum shocks through the lock that rarely happen with a simple drop.

That being said; I'd recommend giving Kershaw's customer service a call...(503) 682-1966.
Let them know that the lock is failing and then report back with what they do for you. :thumbup:
 
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