Would The Native be a good knife for me??

[Smudge]

Hello:
I am new to the forum and in the market for a new knife. I am a cop and need a knife mostly for cutting stuff (possibly seatbelts and other things that everyone else cuts) and self defense. I do not want anything expensive in the event that I lose the knife. I like the looks, feel and price of the Native. Some people have told me that this would be a poor choice for me because the lock design could cause the blade to accidentially close during a hand to hand knife fight. I know that the chances of me ever needing the knife for a fight are very very slim, but I want a knife that I could depend on if the situation arose. So, would the Native, given it's lockback design, be good for me? How likely is this lock design to close on my fingers accidentially? If you do not reccommend the Native, could someone reccommend something else in the same price range. Thanks

 

[Carl64]

Lockbacks are not inferior to linerlocks, if that is what the person you spoke to was implying. The most important thing for any folding knife is how well the lock ways designed and made, not the type of lock used. Different lock types have different drawbacks and tendencies to fail in specific ways, almost any of them can be made correctly and work well or made incorrectly and fail miserably.

The US-made native (the one with s30v steel), despite often having parts that don't look like they line up, has a secure lock for several reasons.

The lock bar is easy to push, but all of the angles of the various parts make it so the blade does not close under simple force. Some folding knives use a really strong spring to make up for bad geometry in the locking parts. The native is the opposite. A super strong spring is not necessary because the lock was designed correctly.

The lock release also has the Boye dent, which helps reduce unlocking from a tight fist while also making it easier on your thumb to release on purpose.

The lock release on the US-made native also has to be pushed down further to release than most knives of similar size. A small wrinkle of skin isn't likely to push it far enough to unlock.

It's one of the better lockbacks I have seen as far as lock security. Get one at Walmart so you can make sure the actual unit you receive is a good one.

However, the Native seems like a better general purpose knife than a fighting knife, so depending on how likely that use is to come up, there may be a better knife design.

 

[Smudge]

Lockbacks are not inferior to linerlocks, if that is what the person you spoke to was implying. The most important thing for any folding knife is how well the lock ways designed and made, not the type of lock used. Different lock types have different drawbacks and tendencies to fail in specific ways, almost any of them can be made correctly and work well or made incorrectly and fail miserably.

The US-made native (the one with s30v steel), despite often having parts that don't look like they line up, has a secure lock for several reasons.

The lock bar is easy to push, but all of the angles of the various parts make it so the blade does not close under simple force. Some folding knives use a really strong spring to make up for bad geometry in the locking parts. The native is the opposite. A super strong spring is not necessary because the lock was designed correctly.

The lock release also has the Boye dent, which helps reduce unlocking from a tight fist while also making it easier on your thumb to release on purpose.

The lock release on the US-made native also has to be pushed down further to release than most knives of similar size. A small wrinkle of skin isn't likely to push it far enough to unlock.

It's one of the better lockbacks I have seen as far as lock security. Get one at Walmart so you can make sure the actual unit you receive is a good one.

However, the Native seems like a better general purpose knife than a fighting knife, so depending on how likely that use is to come up, there may be a better knife design.

Any reccommendations on a better fighting knife in the same price range? Also looking at a Benchmade Griptilian. Thanks

 

[Carl64]

Any reccommendations on a better fighting knife in the same price range? Also looking at a Benchmade Griptilian. Thanks

The Griptilian is one of my favorite knives all around. As far as quality and design goes, I can't find any special flaws with it. But I don't have any knife fighting background. The reason I don't think the Native is best for fighting is because the handle basically has two grip options. Using the forward finger choil, you get great control but your index finger rests on a steel tang rather than an acutal handle piece. Fine for general purpose stuff, but I wouldn't want to mash my finger into the tang when stabbing. Not using the forward choil, you don't have as much handle to hold. It also has kind of a short blade, which again is not an issue for boxes and rope, but if your life depends on it you might want a blade that takes up more of the handle space. The Griptilian has a nice simple shape you can make a straight fist around and a little bit longer blade (if you get the large model), so I can't see there being any problem with it.

There are some "tactics and training" forums on this website:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=674

If you like the griptilian, I would just ask the folks in one of those forums if there is any reason why they think it shouldn't be used for that purpose.

You could also consider the spyderco Paramilitary. The handle is G10 with it's standard texture, which provides a really good grip in a bare hand. It has the compression lock, which is sort of like a reversed liner lock with a few benefits.

 

[victory]

The native should work fine as a fighting knife. I practice my ass off with my endura trainer on focus mits with a partner, a bob dummy, even the occasional tree. I have never collapsed the lock. I'll go as far to say with the boye dent in the position the lock is, it's downright impossible. Secondly, with a good grip you don't need gigantic finger choils. I can thrust with my endura trainer (that's a blunted tip) at a hard surface and not slip over the blade. Humans being soft and real knives being sharp....

My EDC for Self defense/handgun retention is an endura 3 wave. Wicked fast. Supposedly they will be coming out with an endura 4 wave soon. That should make for a kickass knife for your purpose.