White knuckle grip?!?!

[sirgrumps]

I have been told that you may accidentally unlock your liner lock folder if you are using a white knuckle grip? What is this gri and is this rumour true?

 

[Carver]

On some knives that have a bit of the lock exposed to make it easier to release the lock,it may be possible to accidentally disengage the lock if your grip is very tight.Hence the name"white knuckle grip".

 

[misque]

Or you can use the other term, "Gorilla Grip".

BTW, Yes this is most definitely possible, especially on knives that are not stiff or strong enough in the liner/scales area.
If you can pinch the handle area (blade open)and see the scales move appreciably closer together, the possibility that you can cause a "White Knuckle" lock failure is greater, IMHO, of course.

Oh yes, this is also taking Carver's description into account .
I've had this happen on a very popular folder from a well known factory, kind of surprised me, but I did not get cut from the lock failure. Thank You GOD!

------------------
My new bumper sticker:

Let me tell you about my SIFU!

[This message has been edited by misque (edited 02-15-2000).]

 

[cerulean]

That's a good question, sirgrumps. The answer is simply that no one knows what the white knuckle grip is. That's why I hate it when people say, "Knife X sucks because it failed the White Knuckle Grip Test."

When someone says that a particular knife failed a spine whack test, I'll take the results at face value because I pretty much know what they're doing. When they say a knife failed a "white knuckle" test, I have no idea what they're doing; there are too many questions... What grip were you using? How mush pressure was being applied? Where, exactly, were your fingers? How big are your fingers? Can this test be repeated? Can other people make the lock fail? Etc.

The White Knuckle Grip Test is, for a slew of reasons, too subjective and unscientific to serve as a basis for defining the quality of a folding knife. If you feel that you may accidently unlock a particular knife then, by all means, don't use that knife. Unfortunately, many people act like this "test" has some objective value, when it does not.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Assuming you are using your folder to cut material that is capable of resisting being cut, you might have to exert a fair amount of force on the handle in order to complete the motion. While doing this you will very likely tighten your grip far above normal light uses. This is what the white knuckle grip test tries to simulate. Try the blade in the grips you normally use and squeeze so as to check if the lock disengages. You could of course actually do the cutting and see if the blade collapses onto your fingers, the test is just safer and far faster and easier.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 02-16-2000).]