Thread: Folding knives

If the gut hook is exposed when folded it can also ruin a nice pair of pants if you get it caught on the edge of your pocket..... learnt that one the hard way

Agree re Benchmade (top 2) and Spyderco (5 and 6 from top). 2 in between are Boker and also good flippers in VG-10.

Originally Posted by gimp

Why is that? Or do you just mean locking rather than the specific lockback lock.

Benchmade Axis lock or Sypderco Compression lock are stronger/safer lock mechanisms for e.g.

@gimp, I meant lockback (as opposed to liner or frame lock). From a mechanical design point I like 1) simple 2) proven

Axis lock (or Spyderco's ball bearing lock) uses an exposed coil spring and is not what I would call "simple"

Compression lock is really just an inverted liner lock. Sure it is stronger than a standard liner.

So it is more a design thing than a strength thing. A lot of the lock strength tests are kinda subjective, and really depend on how they are testing and what they are doing to resolve variables such as blade / handle strength, how the knife is clamped, and how the force is applied.

I chose the locking design by what you can easily close with one hand! I'm sure that some mechanisms break but unless you are abusing your knife it shouldn't be an issues (or if dirt gets jammed in the wrong places