A knife for every lock type

B

bobshoy

Joined
Jul 22, 2017
Messages
103
Hey guys n gals. I'd like to eventually get one knife for every kind of lock

Firstly what kind of locking mechanisms are there?

Back lock, frame lock, liner lock, axis lock, slip joint and friction. Is there any others?

If you were to choose only one knife for each type, at a budget of $180 each, what would you choose?
 
Scorpion lock, lever lock, button lock just to name a few more. Crkt has done a crap ton of different locks I'd use some Google fu and track them down.
 
Compression, ball, ant, clasp, lever, mid, ring, tri-ad, power, arc, button, collar, David boye dent, phantom, roll, spring, wood, snap, hawk, deadlock, cross fire, ET, strong

Add lock to the end of every word above.

Their's even more than this too.
 
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It's a very cool goal, but be warned there are an amazing number of locks out there. A few that haven't been mentioned are the Hawk Lock, strap lock, D.O.G. lock and the mechanism in the Griploc.
 
Then there's the Ron Lake Tail Lock. I would love to own one of these!
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Some of them almost defy definition - what do you call the Paragon Warlock's locking system, if you can even call it that? Then you have knives like balisongs, funny folders, and friction folders that don't technically lock, but will not close when you are using them.

It's not a bad idea for a sort of themed collection. Fidgeting with unique locking mechanisms tickles that part of my brain that loves neat engineering stuff.
 
Don't forget the Walker Blade-lock, Paul knives and the Sawby self-lock (I still don't understand how that one works).

Unfortunately, unless CRKT did a collaboration version a lot of the really oddball ones are only available in a full custom (just a bit over your $180 budget).

I really wanted to like the Paragon Warlock, but all the ones I've handled had a ton of blade play (like rattles when locked open :( ).

Comeuppance said:
It's not a bad idea for a sort of themed collection. Fidgeting with unique locking mechanisms tickles that part of my brain that loves neat engineering stuff.
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That's pretty much the definition of my collecting nowadays. At this point, something has to be unique/interesting for me to justify adding it to the pile.

Here's an old pic of some of the weird ones...


And another recent similar thread:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/weird-uncommon-locking-mechanisms.1446395/

~Chip
 
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There's a boat load of knife locks and related mechanisms. You should get the book: Knife Mechanisms just for the fun of it

For example, there are many ways to build a lock back knife, I have at least 4 w/o trying. There is a host of assisted opening knives and some of them use the spring action to hold the knife open. There's the Hawk knives Grip Lock, only locked when you grip the knife.

A lot of it depends upon what you mean by "lock".
 
bobshoy said:
Hey guys n gals. I'd like to eventually get one knife for every kind of lock

Firstly what kind of locking mechanisms are there?

Back lock, frame lock, liner lock, axis lock, slip joint and friction. Is there any others?

If you were to choose only one knife for each type, at a budget of $180 each, what would you choose?
Click to expand...

Personally, I would start with what you have listed. Get those and then move forward. But, let's take the idea in a slightly different direction, shall we? What if you focused on what is considered the best or first of its type? You could get a Buck 110 as your back lock, for example. Or maybe a Sebenza as your frame lock. You would end up with a small but, amazing collection that would be the envy of collectors world wide. Or, you could search for the best ergonomics within each lock type. The possibilities are endless.
 
Yeah, I think I'll stick with the more common ones, then add from there. I imagine some very peculiar ones are out there, that would far exceed my budget.

I'm somewhat restricted on what knives I do get by my countries laws.
  • Any knife having a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring, or other device in or attached to the handle of the knife (sometimes known as a flick knife or flick gun).
  • Any knife having a blade that is released from the handle or sheath by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force, and that, when released, is locked in place by means of a button, spring, lever, or other device (sometimes known as a gravity knife or butterfly knife).
 
From my knowledge, none of the locks listed so far are exclusively used on auto/gravity knives except the Deadlock so you're good to go:)

~Chip
 
bobshoy said:
Yeah, I think I'll stick with the more common ones, then add from there. I imagine some very peculiar ones are out there, that would far exceed my budget.

I'm somewhat restricted on what knives I do get by my countries laws.
  • Any knife having a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring, or other device in or attached to the handle of the knife (sometimes known as a flick knife or flick gun).
  • Any knife having a blade that is released from the handle or sheath by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force, and that, when released, is locked in place by means of a button, spring, lever, or other device (sometimes known as a gravity knife or butterfly knife).
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That's no big deal since you're focusing on the lock not the release mechanism. Two separate processes.

About the only type of folding mechanism that places like that have issue with is the balisong.

Since you're focusing on locks you can look at the most esoteric and complex types and not worry about coming afoul of the local regulations.
 
brownshoe said:
There's a boat load of knife locks and related mechanisms. You should get the book: Knife Mechanisms just for the fun of it

For example, there are many ways to build a lock back knife, I have at least 4 w/o trying. There is a host of assisted opening knives and some of them use the spring action to hold the knife open. There's the Hawk knives Grip Lock, only locked when you grip the knife.

A lot of it depends upon what you mean by "lock".
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griploc on the boker production version has a spinner cam, for a lack of a better term, that locks the knife without being gripped.
 
Klecker lock, Crawford lock, Schrade's Wire Lock, Bolt, Gorski, Rolling, ... and there's even more that are slipping my mind.

I love lock mechanisms and while I don't quite focus on them as collectibles I own quite a few knives JUST for their interesting locking mechanisms. (I'll post some pics when I get a chance.)

One thing you'll notice about many of them is actually how similar they are, or at the very least based on similar, older designs. For example, Axis locks, DOGs, Hawks, Ball Bearings, Rollings and probably others are all evolutionary developments of the Bolt lock. Triad locks, Mids, ANTs, Powers, Stops and Scorpions are developments of the Back lock. Allen Elishewitz's E-Lock is a Back lock turned on it's side. Scrade's Wire lock is a Strap lock turned on it's side (and one of the least confidence-inducing locks I've ever tried, LOL). The Crawford lock (and it's AG Russell derivative) are Strap locks with Back lock tang interfaces. The crazy-looking Ed Van Hoy Snap lock (posted above) is really just a modified, integral strap lock with a fancy actuator.

I could go on and on. :)
 
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kniferbro said:
Basically you have the normal locks you see all the time, then you have the Hawks' inventions :D
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That is not even close to true. They do have a number of great designs and I like all of them, but don't discount the likes of Michael Walker, Ed Van Hoy, Paul W. Pohlman, Thomas Klecker, etc.

~Chip
 
WValtakis said:
From my knowledge, none of the locks listed so far are exclusively used on auto/gravity knives except the Deadlock so you're good to go:)

~Chip
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One could argue that the Paul lock you mentioned might fall under the one of the bulleted items listed above.

Its a tough one to categorize, isn't it?

If I recall it opens by pressing a button on the handle and the handle falls away from the blade and locks, does it not?
 
marcinek said:
One could argue that the Paul lock you mentioned might fall under the one of the bulleted items listed above.

Its a tough one to categorize, isn't it?

If I recall it opens by pressing a button on the handle and the handle falls away from the blade and locks, does it not?
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Good point, that ones open to interpretation. As I see it, you're using a button attached to the blade (passing through the handle) and as you say, the handle falls open. Definitely a weird one that takes some getting used to, but very convenient once you get the hang of it;)

And, unless you know how it works (and how to hold it in order to use it that way) your going to be holding it in a normal position, pushing the button and shaking it until your arm falls off:D

~Chip
 
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