IMO they should have just made the locking liner engage deeper since you dont really get a lot of wears for hardened steel-on-steel interface.
I have 2 0350, one serrated and another plain, and they are both like that(gotta love the consistency). I have been using them for years and the thick steel liner locks remain at the same position as when i first got them. I was even using one of them to baton heavily and after a lot of abuses the lockbar never wear enough to travel further. So i dont really see the point of them having such early lockup.
In fact the 0350 is known for lock slippage(multiple youtube videos). IMO this is due to
1. Harden steel liner is less likely to bind with the tang, like how titanium always cause lock stick and
2. because the liner is so thick that it's hard to bend, so the only way to disperse the force is by slipping.
I can personally make both my 0350 disengage by doing moderate spine whack. In my experience, they could really improve the lockup by having deeper engagement without sacrificing any longevity.
This basically applies to framelocks that use hardened steel lockbar insert. I dont get why people are crazy about having super early lockup nowadays, perhaps it makes more sense for titanium lock face, but definitely not steel-on-steel IMO.
In before the knife ethicist start yelling about proper knife uses: yes, you shouldn't spine whack, okay, got it. But when you can make something better without costing additional $ or time, why not?