Which lock is stronger?

[Kwon Kwang]

For what it's worth, i have 2 axis-lock knives, a 520 & 585. Both omega springs eventually broke on the 585 and I had to send it in, but it was a year before I even realized that the 1st spring had snapped! The 585 does have a safety catch that keeps the lock-bar behind the tang in both opened and closed positions, so it functions fine without springs! But even without this feature, one could shove a rolled-up bit of paper or a stick behind the bar to keep it locked open or closed. It takes a LOT of effort to actually break the lock. In addition, I have a CS Recon 1 with Triad-lock and the back-spring is failing on that! The lock-bar no longer decends fully without me pressing on it. I can spine-whack it loose. Sooner or later I'll take it apart and see if I can fix it - Cold Steel does not have Benchmade's warranty.

What is my point? Springs break.

As to lock-slip, a properly built knife with either lock where springs are functioning correctly will not experience this. My 520 axis-lock bar travels quite far up the tang. Some of the gentlemen folders (e.g. 940, 710) have very short axis-bar paths, meaning that the lock-bar has only a short distance to travel to slip the tang, much like a liner-lock or regular back-lock. That said, for every vid of a failing axis-lock there is one like these:

[video=youtube;Y5BnjdPUIgA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5BnjdPUIgA[/video]
[video=youtube;bkRr7452KmI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkRr7452KmI[/video]
[video=youtube;pKol-A0fX7E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_813390&feature=iv&src_vid=IqcQsTfgUMk&v=pKol-A0fX7E[/video]

Just wanted to note here that Cold Steel's warranty has improved, and this is a problem I have never heard of in a Tri-Ad lock folder. Probably a QC issue, I guarantee that if you call their customer service, they'll hook you up.

I do love those tests on the Griptilian. Part of why I bought one. I really like mine.

 

[chiral.grolim]

Just wanted to note here that Cold Steel's warranty has improved, and this is a problem I have never heard of in a Tri-Ad lock folder. Probably a QC issue, I guarantee that if you call their customer service, they'll hook you up.

Well, I am out of town this weekend, maybe I'll give them a call... Probably best that I do that before taking the knife apart, huh? I know a lot of companies may service but won't warranty knives that have been disassembled, and I tend to disassemble things that stop functioning normally to see if I can fix it myself

By the way, though not related to the locks per-say, I like that CS uses AUS-8 based on ease of sharpening - it responds much faster to my hones than BM's 154CM and is less prone to chipping when I accidentally (or necessarily) contact harder materials :thumbup:

 

[Kwon Kwang]

Well, I am out of town this weekend, maybe I'll give them a call... Probably best that I do that before taking the knife apart, huh? I know a lot of companies may service but won't warranty knives that have been disassembled, and I tend to disassemble things that stop functioning normally to see if I can fix it myself

By the way, though not related to the locks per-say, I like that CS uses AUS-8 based on ease of sharpening - it responds much faster to my hones than BM's 154CM and is less prone to chipping when I accidentally (or necessarily) contact harder materials :thumbup:

They *definitely* will do you right. Once I had an issue with the edge on one of their machetes. Called them, and they offered to sharpen it for free after explaining to me how I could fix the problem. I politely declined and opted to fix it myself. I also called them numerous times just to ask questions, and they were very helpful. Cold Steel's customer service is awesome. Just don't take it apart.

I'm one of the few AUS8A lovers on BF, I think. I have also had great experiences with its ease of sharpening, and I think its edge retention is adequate for my uses. I just don't think there's anything bad to say about it. It's no super steel, but it's not bad by any means - it can be put into any role you would expect out of a blade <12" and perform well. What more could I possibly ask for at the price point? Sure, they could use a "super steel"...but then we'll also be paying super prices, and for many knife users, the different steel won't justify the price increase.

 

[jjoanty01]

Okay so where does the Spyderco Compression lock fit in with this in strength? Is it as strong or stronger than the Axis and Triad locks?

 

[Kwon Kwang]

Okay so where does the Spyderco Compression lock fit in with this in strength? Is it as strong or stronger than the Axis and Triad locks?

Good question. Mr. Glesser says that the compression and caged ball locks are relatively new and they're still working on improving them. What they are now, may not what they will be in five years - at least as far as performance is concerned.

As they are now, I own neither (going to change this soon), but I feel like I can trust them.

 

[Atakdog]

The question in this thread was whether the Tri-Ad or Axis lock was stronger, not about folder vs. fixed blade. If you have a comment about how folders shouldn't even need locks and if you want to actually use your knife get a fixed blade, please take your comment elsewhere.

 

[untamed]

Any folder is a broken knife, and the pivot will often fail before any quality built lock.

1st - ^ This. The pivot is going to take the brunt of the punishment.

2nd - There are actually 2 components to consider: lock strength can be debated until kingdom come since in theory, it can be designed bigger/stronger. The thing is, the other side of the equation is lock reliability when it comes to real world, actual use/performance (i.e. - Sure it's plenty strong but will it accidentally disengage under hard use? Is it's design complicated with too many moving parts? Just how tight are the tolerances of the parts and how much stress can the folder structure take?)