whats the big deal about lock strength?

The only people who I believe, when that say to them, lock strength does not matter in a folder, are those who only use slip joints. I consider anyone else who goes on tangents about lock strength not mattering, and only "using the sharp end" to be hypocritical, if they are using a locking knife at all.
 
From a logical standpoint, in that the knife does not close until you tell it to-it matters to a point. That point being that in every direction, be it sharp impacts, or gross weight, the blade will always snap before the lock fails. There are only 2 locks on the market that have the requisite strength. The Triad Lock, and the Powerlock.
 
ursamajor said:
The only people who I believe, when that say to them, lock strength does not matter in a folder, are those who only use slip joints. I consider anyone else who goes on tangents about lock strength not mattering, and only "using the sharp end" to be hypocritical, if they are using a locking knife at all.
Click to expand...

I grew up with slipjoint folders, and i'm also a hypocrite so i agree.

A lock is a good thing as accidents still happens due to me being stupid enough standing on a slippery rock cutting snappy twigs under the moonlight or what not but i find the debate of the knife's lock would withstand 600 lbs or not to be a bit crazy, 250 pounds would be enough to protect my delicate fingers from the worst accidents with my twigs :)
 
I can place some value on the spine whacking videos because I could potentially see a situation where you're using your folder and something might possibly fall and hit the spine, causing it to close. However the weight hanging tests prove completely artificial to me. I never put all my force on the very end of the knife handle, it's either focused in the middle or even closer to the pivot where my thumb is. The closer you hang weight to the pivot the more the lock can hold, so when you see a Cold Steel video showing a PM2 lock fail @ 135 lbs, it's going to be considerably stronger than that in a real life application.
 
This is one of the reason why I like flippers. They have the added safety factor of the flipper acting as a finger guard. As long as you are putting pressure on that, it helps keep the blade from getting close to your fingers. Having said that, I agree that, if given a choice, a folder should not be used where a fixed blade is required. Unfortunately, carrying a fixed blade isn't always feasible. Hate me for this (or not) but for what I need to do with a knife, I put my faith in my frame locks (hinderers and ZT's mostly). Out hiking, I carry both folder and fixed.
 
Depends on what your doing with your knife. If you are using a folding knife for "HARD USE", then you want something that has a strong lock so that you don't hurt yourself. Imagine yourself using your knife as a make shift ax outdoors to say chop a branch off a tree. Your using another piece of wood to strike the spine, if your lock fails while your holding the handle as you whack that spine imagine what could happen to your phalanges. If your just edc the blade as box cutter, simple food prep tool, or letter opener the locking mechanism doesn't really matter as those simple tasks.

Take a look at Benchmade Axis Lock, quite strong and simple. Yes there have been claims the omega springs fail, never had one fail on me. Here are some tests with the axis lock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3X64SYObO8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=874q2iFsvb8
 
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Most of my knives are slip joints. In over 55 years of using slip joints, I've yet to have a blade close on me when using them.
The only blade lock I "trust" is the Buck 110 type lock back, although I do have a couple liner lock "truckstop specials" as well. I've never had a lock fail on me.
The blade lock is only there to help protect you if you are doing something wrong while using the knife.
 
ursamajor said:
From a logical standpoint, in that the knife does not close until you tell it to-it matters to a point. That point being that in every direction, be it sharp impacts, or gross weight, the blade will always snap before the lock fails. There are only 2 locks on the market that have the requisite strength. The Triad Lock, and the Powerlock.
Click to expand...
You don't think the Axis counts as well?

It looks like the liners and scales would have to rupture to allow a failure.
 
I dunno, you tell me.
[video=youtube;J-7M94TwfKc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-7M94TwfKc[/video]
[video=youtube;LYQRxArvYmQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYQRxArvYmQ[/video]
Sadly not the only lock failures i have had in expensive knives
 
Vicarious Reality said:
I dunno, you tell me.
[video=youtube;J-7M94TwfKc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-7M94TwfKc[/video]
[video=youtube;LYQRxArvYmQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYQRxArvYmQ[/video]
Sadly not the only lock failures i have had in expensive knives
Click to expand...

Those are some pretty unacceptable failures IMO, and a reason why these knives, like most other folders, should only be put into a light utility role.

I maintain that an EDC folder doesn't generally need to lock at all, but I do feel that if you're going to put a lock on a folder, it should be strong enough to handle the kind of light pressure and impacts the knives in these videos were subjected to.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I've never once had a lock fail on me, even when piercing things. When piercing resistant material it's often possible to orient the point in such a way that lock strain is kept to a minimum, and I usually hold the knife by the flats of the scales so that if the lock somehow did fail my fingers wouldn't be in the way. Any time you do something with a tool that puts strain on it, it's important to "listen" to the tool to identify when it's approaching its working limits. If you can feel the knife responding in a way that indicates strain, either get a better tool for the job or modify your technique to reduce that strain as much as possible while planning for how to respond to potential failure.
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Yup. Listen to the tool. Save major grief.

After years only using slipjoints, locking folders were a hallelujah experience because piercing cardboard was suddenly safe to do, plus other practical things.
 
I have had liner locks fail on me, and frame locks. I have had back locks fail but only when crud or lint were in the works. Liner locks have failed with little provocation and I do not trust them in a working knife. Lock strength matters because my fingers matter. It is illogical to say that lock strength does not matter, unless that person is irrationally into pain or cares less what happens to other people.
 
For most uses, lock reliability matters more than ultimate strength. Nobody wants a lock that fails occasionally under light load. Such a lock can't be trusted. A lock that locks securely every time but fails when lifting 600 pounds, that I can live with.
 
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