The Atlas Lock

[tess_lawrie_fan]

The Atlas Lock was revealed and GMS claims it is stronger than the Tri-Ad Lock.

I think that the solid spring of the Tri-Ad Lock is more robust and reliable than this one.

Also, I think that the Atlas Lock would be easier to disengage accidentally if the folder get stuck and you pull it back.

Therefore, the new lock may be good and even "stronger", but I still prefer the Tri-Ad Lock.

What do you think?

 

[jlauffer]

I like it. Just wish I liked the knives that use it.

 

[115Italian]

Similar to a shark lock, but different. But similar but not quite the same. Like the same mother but different father.

 

[ferider]

Mechanically, very close to the Shark-Lock.

 

[tess_lawrie_fan]

Mechanically, very close to the Shark-Lock.

Very close indeed, perhaps too close...

But you can't disengage accidentally the Shark Lock, at least in a hammer grip.

 

[jbmonkey]

id like a Demko knives t-shirt......that aside...

I like any new lock innovation that leans towards stronger and easy to use yet harder to disengage accidently while using. Demko is the industry leader lately..but more minds working on it is never a bad thing......

now if gsm had any good knife designers like Demko or Wallace....but alas they dont......

 

[Random Dan]

I like the positioning of the shark lock better. This looks like you'd need your hand further down to comfortably get your index finger on it.

The design has lots of options for where to put the slider, so I imagine we'll see some variations. Some might like it on the sides like an axis or bolt-action lock.

 

[dogstar]

It's okay, I think it is more fidget friendly than the Tri-ad, which is appealing to most knife buyers nowadays. Knives have become very expensive fidget toys.

 

[hermit dave]

 

[WValtakis]

Kinda between a Shark lock and Snecx Recoil lock

 

[dogstar]

That was impressive. What is not impressive was the weak sauce spine whacks at the end.

 

[tess_lawrie_fan]

I'm not impressed at all. I'm no engineer, so my opinion is just that, an opinion: stronger or not, the Tri-ad lock seems to be more reliable than the Atlas lock. The Atlas seems like a worsened, less robust version of the Shark lock.

 

[insta9ves]

Objectively speaking, this is not close to shark lock at all.

For Atlas lock, the motion of the lock bar is linear back and forth, so to unlock, you pull BACK. The lock contact/load bearing points are on the front and middle stop pin.

For Shark lock, the motion of the lock bar is linear THEN curved at the end, so to unlock, you pull BACK AND UP, so that the lock bar clears the tang before the blade can close. The lock contact/load bearing points are on the middle stop pin ONLY. The front stop pin doesn’t bear the load from the lock.

Based in the mechanics, all else being equal(same thickness, same liners, sane materials), I think the Atlas lock is stronger on the static load i.e. weight hang test, since the loads are spread between 2 stop pins and they both need to shear off the handle to fail. However when it comes to impact test, i think the Shark lock is stronger due to the geometry of the lock travel, the fact that it has to be lifted before the blade can disengage. I think it’s easier for the Atlas lock to slip on impact because the lock just need to travel a straight path back for the blade to disengage.

IMO this is more similar to the Snecx’s superlock, with an additional stop pin added in the middle to spread the load. I think this will outperform Snecx Superlock design in every way.

 

[DangerZone98]

Just for the interest of discussion, would you guys like to see this Atlas lock in existing knives? Say the Recon 1 or Voyager. Only occured to me because I’m not too crazy about this new Drifter. It looks too “tame” so to speak. When someone says Cold Steel, I think of folding blades 3.5” and above, preferably 4”.

 

[JAF1973]

I can pass on GSM owned Cold Steel. Thankfully I got some real Cold Steel knives to hold me over.

 

[dogstar]

Just for the interest of discussion, would you guys like to see this Atlas lock in existing knives? Say the Recon 1 or Voyager. Only occured to me because I’m not too crazy about this new Drifter. It looks too “tame” so to speak. When someone says Cold Steel, I think of folding blades 3.5” and above, preferably 4”.

Frenzy, maybe.

 

[DangerZone98]

Frenzy, maybe.

Good idea. I’d personally like to see the Luzon.

 

[dogstar]

Good idea. I’d personally like to see the Luzon.

If it is as good as they say, it should go on the biggest folders.

 

[kakefat]

The spring makes me think it won’t be as durable as the good old triad lock. I guess we’ll see in a few years time when people have gotten some good use out of one.

 

[Shorttime]

We were having a discussion about this over in General, too. I'm keen to see some mechanical engineering applied to this, but I don't have the training. I found myself looking at textbooks on Amazon, which sent a cold chill down my discalculia-related spine.

But, I digress, as usual.

Is there any information about what the pins and lock slide are made of? If they're the same material as the blade, and the same heat treat protocol, then things get easier. I wonder if CS releases those kinds of details, but it can't hurt to ask.

Just from sitting and having a look and think about it, I'm curious about what happens if you try to chop at something with an Atlas Lock. That's going to mean the blade is trying to fold backwards, and then everything is going into the front stop pin, which looks to have about... 45%? Of it's surface area in contact with the blade?

I'm sure it's "strong enough", and you're going to have to do something really silly to get it to fail, and your friends are going to have zero sympathy for your injuries, I would just like to see some numbers to back up the test videos.