Spine whack testing: valid or not?

Is it a fair practice?

  • Yes, it's a valid test.

    Votes: 23 18.0%

  • No, it's a pointless and stupid test.

    Votes: 58 45.3%

  • It's more complicated than a simple "yes" or "no" answer.

    Votes: 47 36.7%
  • Total voters
    128
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Personally, I’m not going to sit there and whack the spine of my knife on the table just to see if it will chop my fingers off. I should run my vehicle into an oak tree to see if the airbags deploy or drop test my pistol to see if will fire. It’s a knife and if you use it as such, you will have no problems, lock or not. Duh.
 
Guy McVer said:
What is your view on testing a folder this way? Does it make any sense to you or not?
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Doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The lock on a locking knife is not meant to be a substitute for a fixed blade knife. It is there only to prevent accidental closure, and it is not meant to withstand that kind of shock or stress.

And it should go without saying that you should *never*, *ever*, *ever* rely on a folding knife of any kind as a self-defense weapon, unless it is a last resort. The risk is simply not worth it.
 
Drop bear said:
I am confused why a decent knife wouldn't survive a spine wack?

What purpose is a lock that doesn't?
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It should, and the vast majority do, a light spine whack or tap, that is.

The problem is that the internet has convinced many that their folders should survive an epic spine thwack and that everyone should constantly be testing their knives.

There is no problem here. Buy decent quality knives and you'll be fine. If you want to give your knife a light tap to check the lock, go for it, but if you obsessively smash the spine of your knife to check strength, buy a cold steel stabinator 3000 and be done with it. That, or use a fixed blade.

We do these threads a lot. Here's one from 2016 that is quite entertaining.

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www.bladeforums.com
 
craytab said:
It should, and the vast majority do, a light spine whack or tap, that is.

The problem is that the internet has convinced many that their folders should survive an epic spine thwack and that everyone should constantly be testing their knives.
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Yep.
 
craytab said:
It should, and the vast majority do, a light spine whack or tap, that is.

The problem is that the internet has convinced many that their folders should survive an epic spine thwack and that everyone should constantly be testing their knives.

There is no problem here. Buy decent quality knives and you'll be fine. If you want to give your knife a light tap to check the lock, go for it, but if you obsessively smash the spine of your knife to check strength, buy a cold steel stabinator 3000 and be done with it. That, or use a fixed blade.

We do these threads a lot. Here's one from 2016 that is quite entertaining.

Loading…

www.bladeforums.com
Click to expand...
Forgot about bodog. 🤣
 
craytab said:
The problem is that the internet has convinced many that their folders should survive an epic spine thwack and that everyone should constantly be testing their knives.
Click to expand...
Seems like the internet has convinced a lot of people of a lot of stupid notions…
 
I just spine-whacked a slip-joint that has a very stiff spring.
It did not fail the spine-whack test...

Well, there you have it!
I can obviously use it to stab tanks and block baseball bats now! :cool:

Totally valid test. :thumbsup:
 
91bravo said:
A spine whack test is perfect if it’s a fixed blade. Folders have no business being spine whacked, not designed to withstand forces from that direction.
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A fixed blade is a good example. I mean there is no reason to be spine wacking a fixed blade either.

But if you did it and it came apart you would have issues.
 
toker said:
What real world scenario is a spine whack supposed to test?
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I have had a rope I was cutting to free an animal and the angle of the cut and trying to avoid cutting something else (ewe)...so quick retrieve motion and the spine hit a pole and closed on my gloves (this is an one of a few but sheep do dumb shit and it's amplified by bad weather). So I personally didn't use that knife again and it cut me a little....with insulated leather gloves. Cuz we like our stuff sharp.

A light tap or two if you want. I personally have only on rare occasion felt any need to do it even after failures because I had a slip joint growing up. My first backlock I was a teenager (1990s).

As I rambled on....it's nice to know
 
Just use the right tool for the job. More importantly, be prepared by having the right tool available.

Can't wrap my head around why people try to force folders to do the job of a hatchet or a stout fixed blade.

It'd be like going deep sea tuna fishing with an Ultralight and then getting mad at the rod when it breaks. The tool is fine, it's just your decision making that is bad.
 
Personal opinion: Treat all folders as if they were slipjoints, regardless of perceived or actual locking ability.
 
Personal opinion: Is a lock really a lock if it doesn’t lock?
 
It looks like we've covered the gamut...

Choose wisely.
 
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