Pivot Strength Important?

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wheelgunrambo

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Sep 1, 2016
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I was looking for opinions on the importance of pivot strength. You look at a Strider vs say a Griptillian or most knives and there is such a drastic difference in the size of the pivots. Is it important to making a knife stronger? I would think so but am I missing anything? I like the idea of a folder that in a pinch would do nearly what a fixed would. Thanks in advance for the input.
 
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Don't be fooled by the size of the outside presentation pivot cap. A lot of the time the actual male/female pivot mating rod is pretty skinny in comparison. As long as it's not ridiculously thin you'll be fine. A lot of those pivots are for looks, not function, unless you plan on using your knife like a bolster to split rocks :) Also using a folder like a fixed blade in a pinch is a fantasy many people get caught up in, like having to suddenly pry yourself out of a downed aircraft safely with a folder...this will also depend a lot on the blade stock, steel type, lock and yes the pivot and scale construction. Knives are also the sum of their parts, many look tanky and cool, but have weak, easy to disengage frame locks...hardly a good idea to pry with or to use as a fixed blade. A Cold Steel 4max or Demko AD-10 might be your best bet.
 
I'd suggest fixed blade EDC. I made the transition and your post is one of the factors in the decision.
 
Pivot strength is important in the strength of a knife but it is usually not the weakest part of a knife. A folding knife will rarely (almost never) fail at the pivot before it fails somewhere else.
 
SpySmasher so is there a trend of weakness? I see a lot of overbuilt blades but a chain is only as strong as the weakest link. What are those links?
 
wheelgunrambo said:
SpySmasher so is there a trend of weakness? I see a lot of overbuilt blades but a chain is only as strong as the weakest link. What are those links?
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Lock strength / accidentally disengaging
Stop pin shearing (the stop pin is nearly always smaller than the pivot)
Tang breaking where the pilot hole is.
 
Locks will typically fail first on a folder. Then, presumably, the fasteners holding the frames together and blade stop pins which are smaller than the pivot. Followed by the pivot. Then the frame elements.

When you see a folding knife fail catastrophically, it's almost always at the lock. Of course, the most common failure point for a knife is the blade edge. But those don't tend to fail catastrophically. They just need to be resharpened. ;)
 
wheelgunrambo said:
I was looking for opinions on the importance of pivot strength. You look at a Strider vs say a Griptillian or most knives and there is such a drastic difference in the size of the pivots. Is it important to making a knife stronger? I would think so but am I missing anything? I like the idea of a folder that in a pinch would do nearly what a fixed would. Thanks in advance for the input.
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:) You might like to view some of the "hard use " and destruct testing videos on youtube . Russian guy " vininull" IIRC and many others .

As Charlie Mike said , for ultimate strength you need to go fixed . Lots of fairly cheap fixed blades are very sturdy but may sacrifice slicing ability being very thick . But short of pry bar or other extreme misuse , it's hard to break many available folders from Cold Steel and others . It all depends on what you think you need to do with your knife . Might look at the various pry knives and cop tool devises . The one ultimate knife that does everything the best is still a dream , a fevered fantasy ! ;) Also consider how much weight and size/ thickness you are willing to lug around EDC . The strongest knife you never carry is no good .
 
Among my favorite hard use folders are Cold Steel with the Triad lock . But I have had that type lock fail to lock-up due to dirt in the works . No problem in "normal" life maybe . But a fixed blade is just simpler and more fool proof than any folder . The only advantage of a folder is that it folds . Ease of carry . I personally don't EDC a fixed blade these days ,but I do carry at least TWO folders . If I know I'm going to need a knife for more serious work , I'll trouble myself to carry a fixed blade appropriate to the job .:cool:
 
The pivot strength should not be the deciding factor for a folder, it just needs to be strong enough.

Nothing crazy

You will not notice

And if you do

Then it's not the right tool for the job and your wasting money.

Besides any use that puts a pivot and lock to extreme stress is prematurely wearing out the components making it loose and sloppy.

Besides why pay for a fancy knife if all your using it for is a overpriced cold chisel?
 
Personally, I think the pivot is a relatively strong part of many folders. I worry more about the tip and blade edge if I accidentally put too much twisting or prying motion into a cut (usually accidentally). I worry more about small things that might happen over time, such as my Omega spring breaking if I do the fidgeting thing with opening and closing the blade 100 times per minute, or wearing grooves or bending washers with knives having ball bearing systems.
 
DeadboxHero said:
The pivot strength should not be the deciding factor for a folder, it just needs to be strong enough.

Nothing crazy

You will not notice

And if you do

Then it's not the right tool for the job and your wasting money.

Besides any use that puts a pivot and lock to extreme stress is prematurely wearing out the components making it loose and sloppy.

Besides why pay for a fancy knife if all your using it for is a overpriced cold chisel?
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^ +1 :thumbsup:

^ It never ceases to amaze me, seeing/reading some of the incredibly stupid things some people post, regarding the abuse they've inflicted on their knives. o_O

Whether we're in the demo, foundation, framing or finishing stages, while building a custom home; as much as I would love to use one of my awesome knives, I rarely find a reason to.

Why would I use one of my knives for doing demo or carpentry work, when I have precision tools that will produce a significantly higher quality finish product?

FWIW: I've never had a knife fail (either at the pivot or the lockbar). When I do feel the need to hard use a knife, I heed the advice of Charlie Mike, ^ and use one of my indestructible fixed blades. :thumbsup: :)
 
Charlie Mike said:
I'd suggest fixed blade EDC. I made the transition and your post is one of the factors in the decision.
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If you're not doing anything crazy with your knife the pivot will almost never fail. SAK's get the snot beaten out of them and hardly ever fail at the pivot and they only use 2mm thick brass pivots.

However if strength is something you're likely to worry about or you're likely to put a lot of force on your knife....fixed blade is the only way to go just like Charlie Mike said.

For light duties you'll never need strength. For heavy duties, the less parts the better. Especially moving parts.
 
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