What locking mechanism of pocket knives is the best? Why?

Triad lock, not just because it’s strong, but it’s also simple. It doesn’t require full or partial liners to function(unlike axis-style lock), and liners only make it stronger.
It also does not depend on a specific handle material to make it work, unlike framelock/liner lock that requires steel or titanium liner to provide the structural strength. So triad lock works well with any handle material, g10, aluminum, plastic, titanium etc.
Triad is also ambidextrous, and have strong self-close without relying on detent ball which means they have consistent detent unlike most liner and frame lock knives.
 
Triad lock, not just because it’s strong, but it’s also simple. It doesn’t require full or partial liners to function(unlike axis-style lock), and liners only make it stronger.
It also does not depend on a specific handle material to make it work, unlike framelock/liner lock that requires steel or titanium liner to provide the structural strength. So triad lock works well with any handle material, g10, aluminum, plastic, titanium etc.
Triad is also ambidextrous, and have strong self-close without relying on detent ball which means they have consistent detent unlike most liner and frame lock knives.

Good points. I would also add the longevity factor of the triad, zero maintenance, and it’s resilience in any weather/ environmental condition. I carried a well made liner lock to work a few times ( I manufacture motor and industrial oil) and got a slight amount of oil in between the lock face and blade tang which made the lock worthless. I could overcome the lock with hand pressure easily and had to take it apart and degrease it to hell. That knife went into storage after that. Button locks, axis locks and compression locks work well in the elements but a triad is reliable no matter what. At least my experience.
 
Good points. I would also add the longevity factor of the triad, zero maintenance, and it’s resilience in any weather/ environmental condition. I carried a well made liner lock to work a few times ( I manufacture motor and industrial oil) and got a slight amount of oil in between the lock face and blade tang which made the lock worthless. I could overcome the lock with hand pressure easily and had to take it apart and degrease it to hell. That knife went into storage after that. Button locks, axis locks and compression locks work well in the elements but a triad is reliable no matter what. At least my experience.
Wouldn't a compression lock slip if it had oil on it like the liner lock did?
 
I haven’t experienced that. The compression lock works completely different from a liner lock. I have seen test videos of liner locks with mud and crud in the pivot area still function so I may just have bad luck, but it def made me reconsider using one at my job.
Wouldn't a compression lock slip if it had oil on it like the liner lock did?
 
Good points. I would also add the longevity factor of the triad, zero maintenance, and it’s resilience in any weather/ environmental condition. I carried a well made liner lock to work a few times ( I manufacture motor and industrial oil) and got a slight amount of oil in between the lock face and blade tang which made the lock worthless. I could overcome the lock with hand pressure easily and had to take it apart and degrease it to hell. That knife went into storage after that. Button locks, axis locks and compression locks work well in the elements but a triad is reliable no matter what. At least my experience.

what kind of knife was it?
 
Wouldn't a compression lock slip if it had oil on it like the liner lock did?

When downward pressure is put on the blade of a liner lock, force travels through the tang and then directly onto the lock bar, with nowhere else for it to go. Because the force is directed straight back, if the lockbar is too weak (or as oxman said, the interface becomes too slippery), it can get pushed right out of the way.

Lock.jpg

A compression lock is very different. The force travels through the lock bar, straight up, not back, and into the stop pin. It is called a compression lock (presumably) because the lock bar is compressed between the tang and stop pin. So even if the interface became very slippery, I doubt you'd end up with a lock failure like you could with a liner lock. Maybe it could happen in theory, but I think the same circumstances that would cause a liner lock failure would need to be significnatly multiplied before they'd cause a failure in a compression lock.

Compression Lock.jpg
 
When downward pressure is put on the blade of a liner lock, force travels through the tang and then directly onto the lock bar, with nowhere else for it to go. Because the force is directed straight back, if the lockbar is too weak (or as oxman said, the interface becomes too slippery), it can get pushed right out of the way.

View attachment 1307579

A compression lock is very different. The force travels through the lock bar, straight up, not back, and into the stop pin. It is called a compression lock (presumably) because the lock bar is compressed between the tang and stop pin. So even if the interface became very slippery, I doubt you'd end up with a lock failure like you could with a liner lock. Maybe it could happen in theory, but I think the same circumstances that would cause a liner lock failure would need to be significnatly multiplied before they'd cause a failure in a compression lock.

View attachment 1307578
Nice!! So clear!
 
When downward pressure is put on the blade of a liner lock, force travels through the tang and then directly onto the lock bar, with nowhere else for it to go. Because the force is directed straight back, if the lockbar is too weak (or as oxman said, the interface becomes too slippery), it can get pushed right out of the way.

View attachment 1307579

A compression lock is very different. The force travels through the lock bar, straight up, not back, and into the stop pin. It is called a compression lock (presumably) because the lock bar is compressed between the tang and stop pin. So even if the interface became very slippery, I doubt you'd end up with a lock failure like you could with a liner lock. Maybe it could happen in theory, but I think the same circumstances that would cause a liner lock failure would need to be significnatly multiplied before they'd cause a failure in a compression lock.

View attachment 1307578
That is a great explanation!
 
Appreciate your honesty and spending time with the community, I for one can always appreciate a company that listens and constantly striving to bring the best value/QC/tolerance to us as customers.
Thank you, and come back to see us sometime, we might have what you like;)
 
I wish Kizer should come out with at least one knife in original axis style lock now that the patent is no longer applicable. Keep the knife thin behind the edge (0.010") and use VG-10/N690/14C28N with micarta / CF scales
We will try this and tell our designer what you wants, but they may not happen or may be need a bit long time.;)
 
The best is really subjective, but the strongest, the one that must be near full tang fixed blade strong is the frame lock with security pin made by Miller Bros blades. When the security pin is engaged, it’s impossible for the knife to close in your hands (if the pin is hardened (and not brittle) steel and the frames are strong (and we know titanium sure is)). Really close second will be Andrew Demko Tri-Ad lock. And this would be my first pick, because of simplicity (if you loose the security pin in your Miller Bros blades folder, you will end up with a regular framelock), the genius behind this idea and the fact that this design has been here for years and it’s been tested over one million times!


Fyi
Extreme Ratio used the pinned folder concept on their RAO knife. Which was made and issued to the Italian Air Force, as part of the survival kit for the Eurofighter Typhoon. The knife was issued with a pouch sheath that could double as a fixed blade sheath, if you wanted to leave the pin in place. I am just saying Miller Bro’s Blade’s likely borrowed the idea from Extreme Ratio.

n2s
 
As for the strongest folder:
I would suggest the US Imperial folding bail out machete issued during the 1950s (type A-1). The thing had a powerful back spring, a huge liner lock, and a hinged steel blade guard that folded over the liner lock to further impede the blades motion.






n2s
 
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I like them all but prefer the Axis lock, one advantage I haven't seen mentioned, is the fact that even if both springs broke, the knife could still be made usable by putting a stick or something in behind the bar so it cannot move back. Most other locks, if broken, make the knife almost useless.
 
Fyi
Extreme Ratio used the pinned folder concept on their RAO knife. Which was made and issued to the Italian Air Force, as part of the survival kit for the Eurofighter Typhoon. The knife was issued with a pouch sheath that could double as a fixed blade sheath, if you wanted to leave the pin in place. I am just saying Miller Bro’s Blade’s likely borrowed the idea from Extreme Ratio.

n2s

You’re absolutely right, they “borrowed” this idea from Extrema Ratio, but they made it even more overbuilt, using thick titanium frames instead of Anticorodal(???) aluminium, like Extrema Ratio uses. Andrew Demko was able to break RAO handle, when testing it against Cold Steel 4 Max. If Extrema Ratio used 1/4” thick titanium on RAO frames (can’t understand why not to!), he would have to put his entire weight over the 800+pounds of plates he used to test to break it!

Having said that, my favorite locking mechanism will always be Demkos Tri-Ad lock. No need to use security pins that you can loose, all the strength is there already.
 
Having said that, my favorite locking mechanism will always be Demkos Tri-Ad lock.

Things can change. Until Andrew Demko came along, I'm sure nobody else ever engineered and popularized a stronger back lock. I'm guessing most people just thought the back lock was the strongest, and needed no improvement. With that out of the way, I can't really think of how one might improve on the Triad lock design. And to this day it is still my favorite lock as far as the incredible amount of security it inspires.
 
Things can change. Until Andrew Demko came along, I'm sure nobody else ever engineered and popularized a stronger back lock. I'm guessing most people just thought the back lock was the strongest, and needed no improvement. With that out of the way, I can't really think of how one might improve on the Triad lock design. And to this day it is still my favorite lock as far as the incredible amount of security it inspires.

Nowadays, I’m more a fixed blade guy. I always carry a 7 inches long 5/16” full tang fixed blade in A8mod as my EDC and this little beast is stronger than any folding knife ever created. But Tri-Ad lock would be my choice, regarding dependable folding knives.
 
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