Friday, August 05, 2005
Liner Locks
I am going to try and explain a liner lock in my own words and why I do not like them for a serious tactical folding knife.
Most of the companies that make Tactical Folding Knives have Liner Lock Models, they may be medium priced knives or they may be very high dollar knives.
Liner Lock knives use the inner liner to snap over to the very rear of the blade when it is in the full opened position and your life now depends on this 1/16 of an inch liner which is usually made of brass, to keep the blade from folding up on your fingers.
I have talked with a number of people and have seen one persons hand where this liner lock did not hold. There are two companies that I know of that use a secondary lock to back up their liner lock design.
One of these companies that use this secondary lock is "CRKT" knives, it is installed on all their M16 models. These are very well made knives in the medium price range, most are made in Taiwan.
The other company is MOD which stands for MASTERS OF DEFENSE and they only have this secondary safety on one of their models that I know of. This is a $250.00 knife and it is made very well.
When I saw this mans hand and he told me that his well known brand of knife folded up on him and he almost lost his fingers I began to research it like I do everything else. This is a very well known company, and I can not tell you who it is because of legal problems that could arise.
I own a number of Liner Lock folding knives and the best ones I have seen are made by Microtech. We are talking about a $200.00 plus tactical folder. They are razor sharp and are very well made.
I no longer carry a liner lock as I prefer carrying one of the better designed locking folders regardless of cost. I personally depend on my knife daily, I very seldom have a use for the large folder I carry but its personal security that I care about and the cost is not a factor to me.
I have very few requirements for a locking folder, the following is critical to me, one is that is easy to open with one hand and it must lock open securely. It must hold a razor edge for any emergency. I never use a knife like this to open packages.
If need to have a utility knife that is a different ball game. My Tactical Knife is only for personal defense that I hope I never have to use. I do not feel comfortable carrying a liner lock any longer after seeing what I have.
I hope this series about knives will be of interest to you as I will try and write more as often as time allows.
Teddy
Most of the companies that make Tactical Folding Knives have Liner Lock Models, they may be medium priced knives or they may be very high dollar knives.
Liner Lock knives use the inner liner to snap over to the very rear of the blade when it is in the full opened position and your life now depends on this 1/16 of an inch liner which is usually made of brass, to keep the blade from folding up on your fingers.
I have talked with a number of people and have seen one persons hand where this liner lock did not hold. There are two companies that I know of that use a secondary lock to back up their liner lock design.
One of these companies that use this secondary lock is "CRKT" knives, it is installed on all their M16 models. These are very well made knives in the medium price range, most are made in Taiwan.
The other company is MOD which stands for MASTERS OF DEFENSE and they only have this secondary safety on one of their models that I know of. This is a $250.00 knife and it is made very well.
When I saw this mans hand and he told me that his well known brand of knife folded up on him and he almost lost his fingers I began to research it like I do everything else. This is a very well known company, and I can not tell you who it is because of legal problems that could arise.
I own a number of Liner Lock folding knives and the best ones I have seen are made by Microtech. We are talking about a $200.00 plus tactical folder. They are razor sharp and are very well made.
I no longer carry a liner lock as I prefer carrying one of the better designed locking folders regardless of cost. I personally depend on my knife daily, I very seldom have a use for the large folder I carry but its personal security that I care about and the cost is not a factor to me.
I have very few requirements for a locking folder, the following is critical to me, one is that is easy to open with one hand and it must lock open securely. It must hold a razor edge for any emergency. I never use a knife like this to open packages.
If need to have a utility knife that is a different ball game. My Tactical Knife is only for personal defense that I hope I never have to use. I do not feel comfortable carrying a liner lock any longer after seeing what I have.
I hope this series about knives will be of interest to you as I will try and write more as often as time allows.
Teddy
