Whack Test - 5 Knives

Originally posted by spartan_ajax
To be technically correct the AR Striders are not framelocks, they are liner locks the SNG Striders are true framelocks.



However I was amazed to read that the AR failed! I went out to my garage and proceeded to duplicate what your tests involved. I used my Strider GB folder and wacked the hell out of it, against the wall and my work bench and a 2X4 no problems from any side, I used all my force and varied the angles I had on a glove just in case :o

I would send that AR back, it might depend on when the knife was made as there were some problems with the fisrt ones Strider put out.

Also if the AR is new or the liner lock has not broken in, my GB liner sits full on the blade when I first got the GB the blade and liner only engaged about 25% The liner was designed that way for wear in application.

Snap that AR open hard and try the testing again report what you find

Good thread though very informative
Click to expand...

spartan_ajax,

I´ll check out the AR more this night. I´ll check the engagment of the lock, but 25% seems to be where the lock is now. I´ve had the AR afew months and carry it most days so it should be broke in.
Prior to testing, I opened the blade as normal with the thumb stud. I´ll try snapping the blade hard open before whacking.

Steve
 
I repeat, this issue with the AR has nothing to do with the design, liner engagement or wear, it has everything to do with the angles that the lock and tang faces were cut at, if one is off, the geometry is off and that is what causes a lock to fail the spine whack test. On this AR, one or both of the angles needs to be corrected. My AR passes whack tests easily.

As for greasing the lock face on a Sebenza, i do it too, and never had a problem, oil/grease in the lock doesnt matter as long as the geometry is correct.

Its pretty simple actually, if the geometry is correct, any pressure on the blade will cause the lock to move, if at all, FURTHER to the right and further into engagement, if the angles are off, then pressure on the blade causes the lock to move to the left, and ultimately out of engagement. So, grease will actually INCREASE engagement IF the angles are correct, facilitating the lock moving slightly to the right and further into engagement, and will exacerbate things if the angles are off, helping the lock to move to the left and out of engagement.

Its true, for a non knife maker, i think WAY too much about locks. :)
 
Hm...I guess I should consider myself lucky.
I've never had any lock fail on me, not even cheaper ones. And I spine-whack all my locking folders frequently (especially after they've been disassembled or used for hard work) with varying degrees of force and from many different angles.
And while my Mini-CQC-7's liner lock doesn't operate as smoothly as I want it to, even very hard tests won't disengage it.
 
Quiet Storm:
We must have gotten strong/good Emerson CQC7s...my Mini-CQC7, Black-Ti tanto point will not fail...IT JUST KEEPS GOING!!! and I progressively got harder and harder on the strike...that's good enough for my...incidently, Kershaw e-mailed me back and as I have read on this Forum...said the mating surfaces of the liner and the blade may be off...send it in and it will be fixed to my satisfaction...GUARANTEED!
Bill:cool:
 
this has sparked my interest, i always give my new knives a spine whack test when i receive it but i usually don't re test it down the line. I'll test out my knives and post a result tomorrow or so
 
.45acp, Thanks for sharing your test results.
This is one of the main reasons I don't like liner-locks that much. With all the other locks available, there is just no reason to have a knife that you're not confident in using.

The real shame is that there are so many great knives being built that I'm very interested in, but they have the liner-lock.
Thankfully, Spyderco still makes some great lock-backs and Benchmade has the Axis-lock.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
Megalobyte is right! This is EXACTLY what the rep at Kershaw told me is the reason my Avalanche failed the whack test...and I thought they would tell me they are all like that or the whack test is invalid...nope...send it in and it will be fixed!:D :cool:
 
More whacking::D


BO (before outage) I intended to degrease the AR and rewhack. I also snapped the knife open, not hard, but enough to set the liner well before whacking. These actions did improve the whack results. Of 5 whacks on the spine lock side only 2 failed. A huge improvement, maybe the AR I have is still breaking in.

BTW; These test have not stopped me from carring the AR, nor has it caused me a loss of confidence in the blade. It is still a great knife and if I get the chance I'll send it back to Strider, I have no doubt they will retune and recondition without issue.

I have been thinking about spine whack test: how applicable are they to everyday usage?


Steve
 
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