Strongest Folding Knife Lock?

I've never understood the obsession over the "strongest folding knife" thing. I've used a huge number of folding knives through out my adult life and never had a folder fail. Even the strongest locking mechanism on a folder, when pushed to extreme limits might not fail but the blade or the handle along the pivot will break.
 
Oh boy... hide yo CRKT's, hide yo spyderco's cuz dey suing errebody up in here!

But really, as much as I hate Cold Steel right now for the garbage they are pulling the Tri-Ad probably is the strongest. But is that really what you need? Because I would say that the compression lock is the safest and stronger than you could ever need it to be. With the compression lock you have your fingers out of the way when you operate it and there isn't a risk of a guillotine like detent sucking the blade back in when it is already 40% open and slicing your fingers.

Plus I would honestly say the compression lock is the most reliable as well because there isn't a spring to break or multiple small parts like there are on an axis lock, a tri-ad lock or other more complex locks. So strongest is Tri-Ad but that is also probably the worst measure for the overall performance and quality of a lock and the Tri-Ad really only excels at strength. In my opinion the compression lock hits all of the key points where it counts (strength, reliability, ease of use, safety etc.) and is a superior lock.

Also like others have said on almost any of these the blade is likely to snap before the lock. If you apply the pressure just right like in Cold Steels tests and you're perfectly putting the force in the right direction the lock may fail first but we've still seen the blades fail. Especially in cold steels case they seem to do a poor job with their heat treatments and their blades are particularly prone to failure..
 
Fire_Brand said:
Oh boy... hide yo CRKT's, hide yo spyderco's cuz dey suing errebody up in here!

But really, as much as I hate Cold Steel right now for the garbage they are pulling the Tri-Ad probably is the strongest. But is that really what you need? Because I would say that the compression lock is the safest and stronger than you could ever need it to be. With the compression lock you have your fingers out of the way when you operate it and there isn't a risk of a guillotine like detent sucking the blade back in when it is already 40% open and slicing your fingers.

Plus I would honestly say the compression lock is the most reliable as well because there isn't a spring to break or multiple small parts like there are on an axis lock, a tri-ad lock or other more complex locks. So strongest is Tri-Ad but that is also probably the worst measure for the overall performance and quality of a lock and the Tri-Ad really only excels at strength. In my opinion the compression lock hits all of the key points where it counts (strength, reliability, ease of use, safety etc.) and is a superior lock.

Also like others have said on almost any of these the blade is likely to snap before the lock. If you apply the pressure just right like in Cold Steels tests and you're perfectly putting the force in the right direction the lock may fail first but we've still seen the blades fail. Especially in cold steels case they seem to do a poor job with their heat treatments and their blades are particularly prone to failure..
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I think this response nails the most importants points that need to be stated. 10-12 years ago, I was obsessed with which knives had the strongest locks. At that time, the biggest debate in that arena seemed to involve framelocks vs. Axis style. I fell on the Axis side of the camp and carried a mini Griptilian. About a year in on my mini Grip, one of my omega springs broke. I had to send the knife in and get it replaced. While this didn't sour me on BM or the Axis lock, it did bring about a realization of sorts that lock strength is not the only important concern when selecting a folding knife lock.

I agree with Fire_Brand that the compression lock by Spyderco excels in all of the most important lock criteria. It is extremely strong, has virtually no failure points (by failure points, I mean springs that could break thus rendering it ineffective), is safer by keeping your hands out of the blade path and not having a self close (although some people prefer a self close), and is easy to operate (unlike the Triad whose lockbars can be a nightmare to depress). While it may not exceed other locks in sheer strength, it does excel in almost every area of lock evaluation.
 
Balisong. Once locked open, it will not close while using it. You will have to close it yourself.
 
DJC72 said:
I've never understood the obsession over the "strongest folding knife" thing. I've used a huge number of folding knives through out my adult life and never had a folder fail. Even the strongest locking mechanism on a folder, when pushed to extreme limits might not fail but the blade or the handle along the pivot will break.
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You don't really need to.understand. All it is is a choice by a knife nut. Which he has all.the right to have.
 
Velitrius said:
Balisong. Once locked open, it will not close while using it. You will have to close it yourself.
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A fact that is often forgotten by many :D

Other than this, the Triad lock is about as strong as it gets, but like others have mentioned, at a certain point you will cause the rest of the knife (usually the blade) to fail in many cases before you actually get a failure from the lock on some of the stronger designs, so it doesn't really matter past a point.

Realistically, most knives will handle far more than they ever reasonably need to. I have framelocks that are designed and manufactured well enough that they will take quite the beating without any failure or damage, but they never will need to take that beating, so it doesn't matter.
At the end of the day, its usually better to get what works best for your preferance and just get something of a high quaility in whatever lock design you decided you wanted. For me, that is usually framelocks, since they require no external maintance (unlike the axis lock) when they are made properly, and they are very simple to deal with if anything does go wrong for some reason. Not to mention, they are easy to get right now, and probably will be for quite a while. Between those, Balis, and some light-use slip-joints, I have just about everything I need for a long time ;)
 
I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, it's a bit like the feather that Dumbo the Elephant had.

Yeah, I saw it in the theatre.

Anyways, for those not familiar, Dumbo was given a "magic feather" that allowed him to fly.

Of course, it was his enormous ears, but he believed that the feather was doing the work.

Same thing, here. I can make a slipjoint work for everything I do, but I want to believe that I need a locking mechanism with the strength of a railroad trestle.

It may be as silly as a magic feather, but it makes me happy.

While we're talking a little about Cold Steel's legal hijinks, I think it would be interesting if they pushed the issue to a court case, because then we might see empirical tests of various blade locks against both strain and shock loading.

But then we wouldn't need threads like this, anymore. :p
 
I concur with the Tri-Ad lock and Bali-song.

However, if you are looking for the performance of a fixed blade, you should buy a fixed blade.
 
K.O.D. said:
I concur with the Tri-Ad lock and Bali-song.

However, if you are looking for the performance of a fixed blade, you should buy a fixed blade.
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Very, VERY true. I hate people trying to find a folder "as strong as a fixed blade". BUY A FIXED BLADE AND LEAVE IT ALONE. Either that, or it's like 99% of us, who just want something strong for no actual reason, just like Shorttime said, and it won't matter for them either way if they had a slip-joint of a .25" thick fixed blade with actual use.

Of course, there will still be another thread within a week asking about this, so what the hell does it matter? :rolleyes:
 
Friction folders get my vote. IMO it's as close as a folder can get to a fixed blade.
 
K.O.D. said:
I concur with the Tri-Ad lock and Bali-song.

However, if you are looking for the performance of a fixed blade, you should buy a fixed blade.
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This. Love them or hate them (I'm not currently a fan), Cold Steel makes one hell of a strong lock.
 
skyhorse said:
No locking mechanism can replace common sense.
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This.

I kind of understand the desire for a strong lock. People like to have things that are considered "good". We also like to be able to compare on numbers, and know that "bigger is better", etc.

Myself, I do like locking knives, but I still always treat them like a slipjoint. Because it is a folding knife by design, there is always a chance that something could happen, and the knife could close on my hand. Therefore, I just "pretend" that it doesn't lock, and use it as always. I also want to point out that this doesn't cause a problem, and never once have I felt I was relying on the lock, nor felt that I was unable to cut/do something because of the lack of lock strength.

So, I get the idea, I guess I just don't think its very important :).

Extended tang friction folders like the svord peasant are quite strong (because they are essentially short tanged fixed blades with folding handle extensions), then ballisongs, axis/triad/compression (there always seems to be big arguments about which of these are "best"), then lockback, framelock, linerlock. Personally all of those meet my needs, so I just buy based on preference, even if there is a lack of empirical stack ranking.

Cheers :).
 
Triad lock. If there us a stronger, better lock (possible) I sure have not seen or heard of it.

No extra parts to screw through, or multiple secondary locks.

I wish I could get a version of that lock on all my folders.

I have the Recon 1 clip point.

I have a fantastic Spyderco. Flat grind Delica. Light, slicey, love the feel, except the lock back. It has vertical play. No heavy use. Light slicing only. Cut a few pieces of fruit, and paper. The triad lock has been used hard for years, and is still solid in every direction.

I've had liner lock, lock back and frame locks slip and close under use. I have not been seriously injured, but I take note, and it is not cool. I've had a family member sever his tendon in his dominant hand thumb. That took surgery and a cast. It was the same model liner lock as I had close and cut me a few times.

I've had brand new liner locks and frame locks who's tolerances were off. I was able to close them easily with slight spine pressure. No wacks of hits. Just moving my fingers clear, and light pressure on the spine. Ask how many times those knives got carried?


You don't "need" the strongest lock. But if you "need" it, you really do.

I happen to enjoy a my fair share of knives with out very strong locking mechanisms.

I carry slip joints, liner locks, lock backs, etc.

I'm a knife nut.

But believe you me, the triad lock is a significant improvement in strength, and for me, feel. It just feels solid.

I only wish the design was available for license by other makers.
 
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Well, since this thread will be back next week anyway how about a minor wrench in the gears?

How do OTF's fit into the equation? I realize there is only a small tang holding them in the handle, but if it's bolted in between two slabs of metal
how would that rate on the strength test? I guess the handle would have to bust apart, or blade break but it couldn't really close on your hand, right?
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Velitrius said:
Balisong. Once locked open, it will not close while using it. You will have to close it yourself.
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Shotgun said:
Friction folders get my vote. IMO it's as close as a folder can get to a fixed blade.
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But neither of those are locks. ;)

If you pick those--and there are reasons that can be given--then what you are saying is that the strongest folder lock is hand. :D
 
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