Which lock mechanism do you think wears quicker?

S

Sami P

Joined
Aug 7, 2011
Messages
76
There has been discussion about the strongest folder lock mechanism and there seems to be an agreement on the backlock. But which type do you think would wear sooner with use if we assume that all were built to the same high quality standards?
 
Assuming high quality standard, both mechanisms would outlast you and your grand children, so this is purely academic. In theory the locback would last longer. If 1/16" of the lock tab is worn out, a lockback would still work safely (but sloppily). Remove the same amount of metal from a liner/frame lock, and the locking arm could lose the friction that helps to keep it closed. Worse still, if the wear doesn't maintain the proper angle, the lock would cease to work.
 
I don't think the backlock is the strongest unless you are talking about the Triad lock which adds a stop pin. I personally think the Triad, AXIS, and Compression lock are all at the top and close enough to trust all will be stronger than the rest of the knife. A regular backlock won't come close to the absolute strength of the others unless beefed up and over built. The pin that the lockbar pivots on will take the majority of the forces applied to the blade and it is usually a lot smaller than the average stop pin.

As for which lock wears out the quickest, in my experience it is the liner lock followed by the frame lock. It also depends on the materials used and the design but that is on average. I've had a frame lock wear out in about a year and I think an AXIS lock will last a lifetime of hard use in combination with daily flipping open and closed while watching TV.
 
Liner type locks tend to wear out faster on average, if the manufacturer or knifemaker nails the correct geometry and material hardness, they'll last almost forever. Despite appearing simple it's actually quite tricky. The locks that should last longest without play (assuming no abuse) are the ones that can self adjust for wear, like the Axis Lock and Spyderco's Ball bearing Lock. Lockbacks, Bolt actions, and well designed button locks are also pretty resistant to "wear" in general, though they all seem to develop or have some inherent vertical play.
 
a piece of crap will wear out faster than a quality piece. at this point, almost every locking mechanism will outlast you, and you will probably grind the blade away before you wear out the lock. pick the knife that you like, regardless of the lock.
 
I also think that linerlock and/or framelock will be the ones what wear out quicker than any other. And I do not think it would take ages... But that is my personal opinion only - I hope that does not offend anybody. Do not want all that crap - as in that topic about linerlock/framelock strength... :(
 
Has anyone here actually worn out a liner or framelock? I have always heard about the wear but have never experienced it. My oldest linerlock is a benchmade Stryker that I purchased in 2000. It lasted me through 4 of my years in the navy. I gave it to my father before i deployed overseas and then it was put to work on a farm for the next six years. I recently got it back and while the coating is worn off the blade and the knife has been well used, the liner hasn't moved noticeably. The knife still locks up solid with no play. Is this a fluke? I have yet to wear out any of my knives.
 
Seems the axis lock would last forever, relatively speaking. Only thing I'm not sure about is the omega springs. Would they last multiple lifetimes? Guess our heirs will find out.......
 
The strongest lock is going to be the demco tri ad, hands down. Lock longevity if you will is an entirely different matter. It all depends on quality of materials and workmanship, design/engineering, not to mention use and or abuse. If the lock is good to excellent in terms of materials and workmanship, well designed and the knife isn't abused most locks even liner locks will last 10 years or better.

Look up "folder longevity" in this forum, it was a topic started by me years ago and lots of good members chimed in with plenty of anecdotal evidence. The link to folder longevity is below but also just search the general forum for same as there are lots of good threads that come up.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/543352-Folder-longevity?highlight=folder+longevity

I just went back and read the entire thread, this is exactly what your looking for, read em all they have some great stuff about make, models and actually how long they lasted or were still going and how they were used, etc.
 
Last edited:
MikeC said:
The strongest lock is going to be the demco tri ad, hands down. Lock longevity if you will is an entirely different matter. It all depends on quality of materials and workmanship, design/engineering, not to mention use and or abuse. If the lock is good to excellent in terms of materials and workmanship, well designed and the knife isn't abused most locks even liner locks will last 10 years or better.


Look up "folder longevity" in this forum, it was a topic started by me years ago and lots of good members chimed in with plenty of anecdotal evidence. The link to folder longevity is below but also just search the general forum for same as there are lots of good threads that come up.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/543352-Folder-longevity?highlight=folder+longevity

I just went back and read the entire thread, this is exactly what your looking for, read em all they have some great stuff about make, models and actually how long they lasted or were still going and how they were used, etc.
Click to expand...

A good thread. And most examples as I have noticed come from backlock and slipjoints. That are the types I would personally consider as prime suspects for extreme longevity. ;)
I think another question to ask is: which lock would be easier to restore?
I have had one liner-lock with extreme wear. Granted it were not very best materials/quality and it was used a lot - I was not the first owner... The liner was all the way to the opposite side and there was a blade play. So I took the knife apart and squashed the stop pin into oval shape using hammer (I did not actually care about the knife that much, as you can imagine...) When putting it back I have used Dremel and a drop of glue to fix the pin in the position for earlier blade stop... It worked...
So, it is never final!
But please do not try it with your own knife - or do it on your own risk!
 
Last edited:
From my experience, liner lock wears faster than back lock. However, no matter how i test a liner locking knife, it only fails upon high impact/vibrations from throwing. Sure, the liner moved all the way to the other end of the blade tang... but it didn't fail under normal usage.
For back lock (in exception of tri-ad), when they fail, they become slip joints...
No other locking mechanism has failed me so far.
 
Whichever lock is on the knife that you play with the most while watching movies, tv, paint dry and surfing the web.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top