$350 with a liner lock?

hhmoore said:
If I liked it enough and felt it was worth the price, I would pay that for a knife without a lock (slipjoint). TRM Atom is a great knife, and that's a slipjoint.
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You're thinking of the TRM Atlas? The Atom is a liner lock.
 
Very interesting. I much prefer the look and feel of a frame lock. Liners just look, feel and sound cheap. But in the two forums I've asked this question the overwhelming results were that more people actually preferred the liner lock to a frame lock. Consider my mind blown officially.
 
In terms of "worth" one needs to evaluate (1) functional capability (2) cost of manufacture (3) subjective characteristics. Liner locks function well if properly executed, cost only marginally less to make than many other lock types, and the rest is just personal preference.
 
JayDeep said:
Very interesting. I much prefer the look and feel of a frame lock. Liners just look, feel and sound cheap. But in the two forums I've asked this question the overwhelming results were that more people actually preferred the liner lock to a frame lock. Consider my mind blown officially.
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I just about guarantee that if you spend >$350 on a liner lock knife it is not going to feel or sound cheap. IME a well executed liner lock cannot be surpassed for smoothness.
 
JayDeep said:
Very interesting. I much prefer the look and feel of a frame lock. Liners just look, feel and sound cheap. But in the two forums I've asked this question the overwhelming results were that more people actually preferred the liner lock to a frame lock. Consider my mind blown officially.
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Well, liner locks allow both side of the knife to look the same. Some people like that. Frame lock needs has that metal handle, which is not the best for some people.

Lock wise, it is not a super strong lock, but it works well enough, it is easy to operate like one hand closing, stay out of sight from the scale. It fits for most daily tasks and therefore becomes very common. It looks cheap and feels cheap maybe because it is too common you see it too often. If slip joint can be expensive, so can be liner lock.
 
No not for me. Liner locks used to be my favorite but after a lot of experience (lock failures) with them I grew to hate them and I still do. I will not buy anything with a frame of liner lock.

I know they can be made well but someone else can be the one to find out if theirs is or is not.
 
greater said:
No not for me. Liner locks used to be my favorite but after a lot of experience (lock failures) with them I grew to hate them and I still do. I will not buy anything with a frame of liner lock.

I know they can be made well but someone else can be the one to find out if theirs is or is not.
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Would you mind elaborating on what these knives were and the nature of these failures?
 
greater said:
No not for me. Liner locks used to be my favorite but after a lot of experience (lock failures) with them I grew to hate them and I still do. I will not buy anything with a frame of liner lock.

I know they can be made well but someone else can be the one to find out if theirs is or is not.
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Yes, I am also interested in this, how it happened, as well as the brands and models that failed you, for safety's sake. Also, different era, if applicable. Had a liner lock from BudK basically explode upon opening, lock slipped to the other side, but I take that with a grain of salt.

I definitely understand the aversion to a typical linerlock or framelock even, and though I do trust well-made models reasonably, like the RAT or Spyderco Military, Advocate or Cricket, I see the flaws in some models, such as the Military, where I can feel that if the meat on my finger hits the lock with a certain pressure, it can disengage. This is one source of failure I have heard of, unexpected pressure or twisting of the knife in the wrong direction closing the knife.

This is an issue, not having the lock totally blocked off without putting a finger under the scale. I think nested liners in the compression lock help a lot. I trust it more and prefer the way it works. Backlocks or Triad are my next preferred folder lock, though I also have been loving the Shark lock, but it is of course not widely available. Hon. mention to the ball lock, like on the Manix or Dodo, but I only have a Dodo. Trust it a lot more than an axis lock.
 
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If I like the knife, absolutely. I actually prefer a good liner lock to frame locks because it allows for warmer material like Micarta on both sides and puts material between the lock bar and my grip. I'd like to see more premium knives going the way of the TRM Atom, GiantMouse Ace Jutland, and Cheburkov Leader Light.

Speaking of the latter, check out this beauty:

breathtaking-steel.com

Cheburkov Knife Leader Light New, Steel M390, Handle Marble Carbon wit – breathtaking-steel

Unlike a fixed blade knife, a folding knife can be used daily. The size of a folding knife allows you to carry it in a pocket of trousers, sportscoat or jacket. A folding knife is always useful and should be at hand. You can perform various operations with this tool. Cutting food at a camping...
breathtaking-steel.com breathtaking-steel.com

I'm not opposed to a good frame lock and I do carry them regularly. They just don't have anything to offer me over a good liner lock. A good liner lock is sturdy enough for my needs and honestly, any activity that would come down to the difference in lock strength between a liner and frame lock is not an activity for a folder in the first place.
 
LLRJ17 said:
You're thinking of the TRM Atlas? The Atom is a liner lock.
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I'm not sure how/why that happened - I remember noticing that my stupid phone had corrected it to longer something, and starting to fix it. I was quite surprised when I looked now and saw that it said slipjoint. Fixed it, thank you!
 
I do have a small phobia against liner locks but I also have a couple relatively expensive knives that have a liner also.
 
Some people prefer a liner lock, including me. I have large hands and there are many framelocks that interfere with my grip. Having a linerlock totally negates the whole “adjusting your grip to not engage the framelock” issue

Some makers feel it’s a better lock than a framelock, and more difficult to craft

Try a Shirigorov F3NS and you may change your mind about linerlocks
 
I spent over a grand on knives that I bought for our son before he deployed to Iraq; Randall, CRK Camillus etc. Most of them were fixed blades. I would have bought him a premium folder from Reeve at $350-$400+, but I knew he would lose a folder (he id) so I got him CRKT M-1 for the pocket.
 
Still on the subject of liner lock. The liner material matter, too. High wear resistance liner will last longer. Plain carbon steel liner is very cheap, but should be avoided. Stainless is preferred because you don't need to open and clean often, and they naturally have better wear resistance than most spring steels and plain carbon.

Titanium is more expensive and fancy sounding, good wear resistance and corrosion resistance, looks cool on frame lock. Though, its retail price is too expensive sometimes for people to use it on a boat.
 
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A murdered out (meaning a dlc blade, all black hardware, liners, lock and g10 scales) Spyderco military is $231 dollars now.




And yes I’d buy it, or any other knife I like (like a rat 1) with a liner lock any day.
 
RBB2 said:
Thanks! Given your username I'll take that! I've been baking sourdough breads of various types for years but am just getting into more pastry making. I've been using David Lebovitz's recipes as a jumping off point as they seem well adapted for the home baker, generally use more fresh ingredients and less premade stuff, and seem to be less focused on being super sweet and more on good flavor combinations. And his recipe blog intros are actually interesting to read for the most part, compared to most of them that I skim for any tips and skip the rest.
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Yep, Lebovitz is money

Geesh, now look what you've caused :D:D


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