Which knife locks do you trust the most?

Kill me. I think I trust my Endura's lockback than my Kershaw Lahar's liner lock although both have withstood the "chores" I have put them thru.
 
Framelock & lockback. The Axis lock is neat, but I don't have a lot of hands on experience with them.
 
There's no folder and no locking folder in this world nor ever will be that I trust. If it folds, it's broken already, and not worth trusting. I always use a folding knife as if it didn't have any lock, because even the best locks fail. I trust a fixed blade not to fold on my fingers, though.
 
Compression lock.
I like most of the common lock styles, and don't hesitate to use any of them. That said, over the years, I have returned for repair or replacement examples of the liner lock, lockback, frame lock, and Axis lock.
I don't like the compression lock. My Paramilitary has an unacceptable amount of vertical play, and has always had some. One day I will send it back to Spyderco, but I doubt that lock is ever going to fail. I don't see how it can.
 
I tend to trust the manufacture more than the lock. But that said i prefer the folders i purchase to be either lockback framlock or axis.
 
How do you guys mean "I treat my knife as if it didn't have a lock?" Doesn't everyone anyway, pretty much? I always use the edge of my knife to cut anyway; I don't recall any times I apply force to the spine unless I'm going to close the knife in the first place (just like a slipjoint).
 
Framelocks (or other types) with an INTEGRAL GUARD. Such as Kit Carson or Chad Los Banos designs. On the Trance for example, even if the lock fails the sharp edge of the blade will not contact your fingers as the guard catches you forefinger and prevents further foldup.

Also I feel warm and fuzzy about the secondary steel pin lock threaded into the Extrama Ratio Rao...

:D
 
THG said:
How do you guys mean "I treat my knife as if it didn't have a lock?" Doesn't everyone anyway, pretty much? I always use the edge of my knife to cut anyway; I don't recall any times I apply force to the spine unless I'm going to close the knife in the first place (just like a slipjoint).
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Think of how you would use a slip-joint (jackknife). You would never use it in a way that would risk folding the blade inadvertently. For that reason locks, for many of us, are superfluous. My latest lock-blade is a BM 740. It's a great knife but I'm finding that I'm carrying it less and less. My D-2 Arclite fixed-blade is simply much stronger; I don't worry about introducing blade play, or whatever. So, I guess I'm agreeing with those who say "screw locks".
 
I'm a little surprised at how many people that are responding don't care about locks. I've read so many great reviews about locks over the couple of years that I've been a part of these forums and most of the responses are that people here don't care for locks at all. No one's saying that we should do wreckless things with these knives just because they have locks.

And for those giving their favorite locks, give some specific knife models that you like. I don't care how many people hate locks here, I'd go with a Military liner lock over a China made liner locking folder anyday.
 
I trust lock backs, or sometimes called rocker locks, the most. However i do trust some liner locks and frame locks if they are made by a good company like Spyderco!,,VWB.
 
Kaizen1 said:
I'm a little surprised at how many people that are responding don't care about locks. I've read so many great reviews about locks over the couple of years that I've been a part of these forums and most of the responses are that people here don't care for locks at all. No one's saying that we should do wreckless things with these knives just because they have locks.

And for those giving their favorite locks, give some specific knife models that you like. I don't care how many people hate locks here, I'd go with a Military liner lock over a China made liner locking folder anyday.
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Well I like locking knives better simply because:

1. I can carry them (can't carry fixed blades of any reasonable size in CA)
2. They're nice to be able to carry without a holster/sheath anyway
 
I prefer a locking back, because with a good knife, it should lock up tight like a vault until the back is press to release the blade. Second be the liner lock. As said before though, these are just mechanisms and should be treated as though they can fail at any time. No machine or tool is guaranteed from breaking. Best and safest knife to avoid any problems with closing would be a fixed blade knife.
 
Although I love my Enduras and Delicas, the lockback is not one of my favorites, due to being so easy to get it clogged with lint and not engage properly. I've had good experiences with some liner locks, some framelocks, and a compression lock. But my overall favorite is the self-adjusting Axis lock.
 
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