Which came first, the Puma or the Kershaw?

[Arathol]

Maybe it has to do with Buck making it in the way they did without the lock bar sticking up.
Since the 110 came out nobody would ever think of making a new lockback with a protruding lock bar I would guess.

The difference is in the construction. The 110 lock has a rocker bar and a wire spring. Its easier to make and more reliable than the older two part back spring locks. Both look quite similar from the outside, but look closely inside and you can see the difference.

BRL didn't say Al Buck invented the lock back knife...what he said was Al Buck rethought the design and made it popular....LG4, PG128.....

 

[Hickory n steel]

The difference is in the construction. The 110 lock has a rocker bar and a wire spring. Its easier to make and more reliable than the older two part back spring locks. Both look quite similar from the outside, but look closely inside and you can see the difference.

BRL didn't say Al Buck invented the lock back knife...what he said was Al Buck rethought the design and made it popular....LG4, PG128.....

Sounds about right, I knew Bucks lockback was definitely different.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

If it has blade play, the Puma’s desigh with the exposed rivets allow for easy adjustment using a small hammer and the anvil on a vise. It’s a design feature I like and used once or twice since mine is old and used constantly for many years.

That thought occurred to me, in seeing the proud ends of the pivot pins. I was eyeballing it yesterday, in seeing how much room it might have for adjustment.

This knife is one that I'd basically not used or carried in all the time I've had it. So I haven't seriously considered tweaking it, in all those years. But in getting reacquainted with it this time around, I might take a run at peening those pins a little bit as you described, in beginning a process of 'making it my own'. I'm already considering reprofiling the edge as well, to suit my preference. The blade already has some scratches on it from many years ago, left there from my weak attempts at sharpening back then, before I really learned how to do it properly. So, there's not much to lose anymore, in tuning it up now.

 

[herder]

The difference is in the construction. The 110 lock has a rocker bar and a wire spring. Its easier to make and more reliable than the older two part back spring locks. Both look quite similar from the outside, but look closely inside and you can see the difference.

BRL didn't say Al Buck invented the lock back knife...what he said was Al Buck rethought the design and made it popular....LG4, PG128.....

We are not talking about any lock back knife (there are several types), but rather a specific type of lock back knife. The lock back mechanism that a Buck 110 uses is a one piece rocking bar which operates off a captive spring. The 1800s Henckels model shown previously works in exactly the same manner. Bernard Levine has the respect of many, but that doesn't mean he is always correct. Levine certainly knows that different types of lock back knives existed in the 19th century, but I believe he either misremembered or misquoted when stating that Buck came up with the new idea "A brilliant design" of a rocking bar lock back mechanism. One of his quotes is provided below, and I can provide others. I am not trying to discredit Levine, but rather to correct some wrong information.
I would like to think that one purpose of this forum is to educate and provide the best possible cutlery related information. Additionally, the Buck section in LG4 was written by Vern Taylor, and not Bernard Levine.
Also enclosed is a picture of a typical 19th century English lock back knife with the lock in the middle of the handle as was most commonly found. It does operate differently that the Buck model and I'm certain that it is the style that Levine was thinking of when making his incorrect statements.

View attachment 1490966

View attachment 1490967

 

[brownshoe]

That thought occurred to me, in seeing the proud ends of the pivot pins. I was eyeballing it yesterday, in seeing how much room it might have for adjustment.

This knife is one that I'd basically not used or carried in all the time I've had it. So I haven't seriously considered tweaking it, in all those years. But in getting reacquainted with it this time around, I might take a run at peening those pins a little bit as you described, in beginning a process of 'making it my own'. I'm already considering reprofiling the edge as well, to suit my preference. The blade already has some scratches on it from many years ago, left there from my weak attempts at sharpening back then, before I really learned how to do it properly. So, there's not much to lose anymore, in tuning it up now.

For me, up and down play is sometimes due to dirt in the lock. Back and forth responds to pin adjustment. My Puma has a nice edge out of the box so I’ve just kept it sharp.