In the era before modern folding knives were widely available, there was less information to sift through before making a purchase.
Early folding knives like the Buck 110 were rare in their respective categories and you could more or less take them or leave them.
Think along the lines of what Ford said of the Model-T: the customer could have any color he “wants, as long as it’s black.”
Well, that era is long past and modern folding knife manufacturers have introduced a dizzying stream of different lock types into the market.
This post will cover some of the more prevalent types, along with their respective pros and cons.
So, what’s the best folding knife locking mechanism type? Let’s take a closer look at each.
Liner Lock
A liner lock takes the form of a small piece of tempered steel that springs open and locks underneath the blade when the knife is open. They are among the most common types of knife locks.
- Pros: Easy to operate, cheap to produce, reliable, can be opened and closed with one hand.
- Cons: Hard for left-handed people to operate, can accidentally disengage under force, not particularly strong, puts the user’s hands in the path of the blade when closing.
Frame Lock
A frame lock is identical in operation to a liner lock except there is no liner and the tempered piece of steel that locks the blade open is an extension of the frame.
- Pros: Easy to operate, affordable, reliable, stronger than a liner lock, can be opened and closed with one hand.
- Cons: Hard for left-handed people to operate, can accidentally disengage under force, puts the user’s fingers in the path of the blade when closing.
Lockback
In a lockback configuration, there is a spring (hidden within the knife) that actuates a bar which opens and locks into a recess in the blade when the knife is opened, preventing it from closing.
- Pros: Very strong, very reliable, usually the user can open the blade with one hand, and the design favors neither right nor left-handed users. Design keeps the user’s hands out of the path of the blade when closing.
- Cons: Usually requires two hands to close.
Button Lock
In a button lock knife, a button is used to depress a plunger, connected to an internal spring that locks the blade open, like a liner lock, only the leaf is internal.
- Pros: Strong, reliable, easy to use, blade can be opened and closed with one hand, usually pretty easy for both right and left-handed users to operate, keeps user’s hands out of the path of the blade when closing, very fidget-friendly, usually don’t need a flipper tab or thumb studs to operate. Some button locks lock the blade closed, making it safer to carry the pocket knife.
- Cons: Expensive, not particularly common, some designs favor right or left-handed users.
Bar Lock (AXIS-Style Lock)
In a bar lock (known as an AXIS lock, thanks to the namesake given to it by Benchmade), an “Omega”-shaped spring holds the bar against a recess in the knife, in either the open or closed position, which can be manipulated by the user by sliding the bar back and forth.
- Pros: Arguably the strongest lock type, equally easy for both right and left-handed users to operate, can be opened and closed with one hand, fidget friendly, almost impossible to accidentally disengage, keeps user’s hands out of the path of the blade when closing, usually doesn’t need a flipper tab or thumb studs to operate.
- Cons: Can be expensive.
Collar Lock
Collar lock knives are rare and now found only on a few different knives like Opinel folders. A collar lock is a ring that encircles the top of the knife handle, and can be rotated to either prevent or allow the blade to swing closed.
- Pros: Simple, can often be removed from a blade to make the blade non-locking in jurisdictions where fixed or locking blades are illegal.
- Cons: Not strong, requires two hands to operate these pocket knives’ locks.
Get the Best Folding Knife at White Mountain Knives
This only scratches the surface of the best folding knife lock types. You still have to consider other features like knife steel, blade length and blade shape, cutting edge retention, local laws, and more. To find a world of opportunities, check out White Mountain Knives. They sell a huge collection of folding knives from the top brands, and many of them are exclusives, plus they offer free shipping on orders in the United States.
