Thank you for watching everyone, i love you all. This was a huge blow to me, to find out a lot of these various knives are failing. i dont believe that I have all the answers or that i have figured it all out. It is something I wanted to bring to light because we all work hard for our money and spend a lot of money on these knives. As a collector i have spent a lot of money on knives and to come to this conclusion is hurtful. Hopefully we can get this figured out as a community and continue to hold these companies responsible to give us the product we deserve. Dont forget to smash that Like button! Subscribe to the channel & let me know your thoughts and conclusions on this whole ordeal. -GBall
@@andrewlinn11I hate to shatter that impression, but I in fact have never bought or have even heard of Glass Brigade before now. But after some considering and puffs off my crack pipe, I am now stealing and trademarking the name Glass Brigade! Thanks for the awesome suggestion!
Hey GBall just watched you whole video and this really sucks to see. That being said if you are interested in selling your Gripper or Relative get in contact with me
It is geometry related for sure. Brass Brigade Gripper was bought when they came out or shortly after. Glass Brigade is 😎😂 I may consider selling the gripper, which is on my list to sell eventually anyways. The relative is #002 in Magnacut, I'm not selling that 😂 it's one of my babys either way
its all about lock face geometry, the thinnest liner can take more load than the thickest framelock if the lockface geometry is off, thank you for this video i will be testing more, i used to doit every time but stopped, now i will doit more often, one thing you want to make sure is that your lockface is dry, oiled lockface can slip as theres less friction, to fix liners or frames you can scuff up the lockface with 300 grit sandpaper lightly and that can fix it but sometimes it needs a bit more
Isnt a a framelock safer in everyday use when the knife is open? the hand naturally applies pressure to the lock bar making these issues almost non-important in an edc setting?
@@nicodiaz627that's a myth! The vibration is also a factor! For example if you check for Bladeplay and you press up and down and it's super strong, but than you spinewack it and it fails! And yes geometry is also one factor of it
@@lionknives3 Is it a myth that you apply pressure to the lock bar in a framelock knife? I doubt thats a myth its simple common sense. It might be false that liner locks are less safer than framelocks...
U have to make sure that your detent isn’t tuned too loose on frame locks and liner locks. On most of these that fail I bet if you just bent the lock bar in a bit it wouldn’t fail. Especially when u say that some pass and some fail of the same knife. That’s why. Same goes for button locks it all comes down to how the spring under the plunge is tuned
This shows how important lock-face geometry is. The thickest frame or liner can fail if the geometry is off just a little. I believe with button locks it's a little more to do with machining tolerances and making sure the button can't slip through the collar. Thank you for the video!
You are on point I believe. I think the 2 most important things are lock geometry and blade geometry. It needs to stay locked up and it needs to cut well. Comfort is third. Action and all that are secondary really to the major things
Great work Greg. Old issue that is easily forgotten - almost always a design issue. Good to raise awareness periodically. Sucks on $300 knives, regardless of planned use
Thank you sir! I will be testing all of my knives this way, and will dispose of the ones that fail. Even if they cost $500 - $600 or more, they aren't worth their weight if they will close on my hand !
thanks brother! its an issue that needs fixed for sure - i will be thoroughly testing all the knives i have and will get. i have a lot of knives to test lol :(
To me a lock should stay locked no matter what I am doing with it! I'm a big, big fan of the Gripper and I'm shocked & sad that my favorite knife failed! Well, that's why you're my favorite channel, thanks brother Gbizzle no cap! 🙏🏾👊🏾💯
You are totally in the right to be alarmed. And all these companies should be put on blast and called out. Give us a detailed list (make and model) of each knife that fails. There's no excuse for an issue like this. Reviewers will point out blade centering issues left and right, and completely overlook this aspect (lock securty) which is far more important. As far as I'm concerned, you're doing the community a major service by highlighting this issue. Thank you. I really appreciate this video and your take on the whole matter.
@@GBall_VisionI just started watching you and collecting knives for 4 weeks and have a total of 2 hogues and 2 Spydercos and was just getting ready to order 2 kizers but now I’m a little scurd lol don’t know what to do
Knives are fun to play with and collect but its a good reminder that its a cutting tool and room for these kind of errors can be scary and humbling. Absolutely no excuse for locking failures. Very informative and mindful video gball. Appreciate all you do for the community!
Finally! Agreed! These test need to be done. Most of the popular knife reviewers never do it. All that money for these premium knives, looks and fidget factor isn’t everything.
ive lost dealing with a few companies because of my honesty, i say that before anyone ever sends anything. im very open minded and can always find a use for even something cheap or what have you, but im going to be honest and do it in the kindest way possible. it is what it is brother!
Anyone who doesn't agree with you, and says that spine wack tests are stupid have no idea what a "locking" knife even means. I 100% agree with you that locks shouldn't fail with small spine wacks. These companies are wanting to get their product out so fast that their not even worried about correct lock geometry. It's actually really sad.
Thank you brother I appreciate it man and I agree. Function has been taken over by form. So worried about action that blade and lock geometry get pushed to the side. The two things that really matter
I'm the same. I've been a user of knives as tools for roughly 30 something years since my childhood as a scout where my first real pocket knife was a slip joint. I could probably still count with my fingers how many times I've received an actual knife cut and only 1 was "serious". (As a teen I was sharpening a small chisel ground knife on one of those nail file tools from nail kit and my brother startled me. Cut straight to the bone and still have the scar on my thumb. Left me with serious respect for edged objects.) It just makes the most sense to me in practice to act as the knife could close on me at any time... and use the knife in a fashion that prevents it from doing so. This means not prying with my folding knives (carry a prybar for that) or stabbing with them (use a fixed blade if you absolutely have to stab and pry with a blade.) If I'm making a piercing cut with a folding knife... I usually have the blade in a pinch grip along the spine and use my thumb as a "depth stop".
@@m.b.593 - A slip joint is the spring mechanism that keeps the knife open or closed.The way the base of the blade at the joint and a back spring interact keep the knife open or closed... some of them are shaped to have a "half-stop" as well. It was used on the majority of older non locking traditional folding knives. Most Victorinox Swiss Army knives, Case knives, Great Eastern Cutlery, a large amount of traditional Buck knives... and the like are all slip joints.
Awesome video man! You’re right about everything. We shouldn’t have to worry if our knives are dangerous. I’ve been testing all my knives since my Benchmade Adamas 275 failed and cut me. I had to do a spine wack video to show people about a SOG. This is an important topic. Good stuff man.👊
That whole situation with those and that company is trash …🚮… never in my live have dealt with such shit from another maker and Iv been carry knives since I was a child and dealing with the other creators my hole life - Just bad business taking advantage of the community with someone right along shilling that bullshit and it just sad and disappointing some people aren’t who they are pretending to be and people are falling for it - Thats how I feel about it and I don’t think I’m too far off honestly -
Dont think a knife is supposed to do that. Sucks to be so disappointed when spending so much coin. Gotta bring attention to it though so they can be held accountable or at least avoided.
Right.. it burns me up for sure. I hope they go back to basics and get lock geometry blade geometry and the main ideals for knives down before action is concerned
This is a big deal. We spend a lot of money for these knives, and we use them. I want to trust my tools. Thanks for bringing this more out in the open. I subscribed to your channel to follow this.
Got to be honest, I made the assumption that frame and liner locks are much stronger than button locks and were not prone to fail. Good to know! Thanks!
Imo I always assumed button/pluge locks were stronger than frame and liner locks, I have no fancy explanation other than the button 90 degrees to the blade, moving the force in a different direction...
@@tacmechanic that's not a bad assumption to make really. In my testing experience - it's a high volume of button locks that fail, but with that said. I have some button locks that are built like tanks so they are capable of being very strong no question
This is very concerning. The one good thing about a frame lock is that your hand acts as a secondary lock, not allowing the Lockhart to move as long as you are griping it. When you turn it over and tap the spine, you're not holding the lock bar in place. Either way, it's pretty concerning.
Thank you for making this video. I ALWAYS make sure either knife is strong lock wise or there’s a large long finger choil in case it does close when I buy knives. This way you don’t get injured. Or it’s not gonna send me to the hospital if it does. Great vid. More knife guys and gals need to look at this. It’s a big issue to me. Thanks again
"your hand acts as a secondary lock" No it doesn't, the pressure from your squishy hand is nothing compared to the forces pushing the lock out. The only way this would be remotely true is if the lockbar has a big "saddle" mounted on top of it for the pad of your finger to apply pressure over a larger surface area.
Ok here we go! I did a few myself after seeing this vid thanks Gball 😂 1-Protech Mordax button lock -Failed 2-TwoSun TS 270 ti frame lock -Pass 3-TwoSun TS129 ti frame lock -Pass 4-Kubey 322A steel liner lock -Pass 5-Kubey Tityus ti frame lock -Pass 6-PKW - Wharntac ti frame lock-Pass 7- QuietCarry Drift ti frame lock - Pass 8-Bridegport 395 ti steel liner lock -Failed 9- Vosteed Raccoon g10 frag cross bar lock-Pass 10- Benchmade Super Freek crossbar lock -Pass 11-Benchmade bugout m390 aluminum scales crossbar lock -Pass 12-Spyderco Manix2 15v Rockscale ti scales crossbar lock -Pass 13-Spyderco Shaman Fly carbon scales M4 compression lock -Pass 14-Spyderco Smock , Kevin Smock ti scales compression lock-Pass 15-Spyderco Yojimbo 2 Fly rain drop scales compression lock -Pass 16-Medford TFF-1 ti frame lock -Pass 17- Medford Smooth criminal button lock -Pass Keep in mind anything that passed I couldn’t get to fail no matter how hard I tried, but the 2 that failed the Mordax and the Bridgeport they don’t fail right away it takes quite a few whacks at different positions to make them fail , I feel there still very safe to use
Hell yes dude. Thanks for the information! Agreed if it takes effort to get them to fail they are fine. Even if they fail with that test, they are still usable but I just keep it in mind and don't do much hard use with them. I plan on testing over 300 knives this week so we will see what happens 😂 thanks brother I appreciate it man 🤜🏻💥
@@GBall_Vision You know I’ve done this years ago and was why I never liked liner locks , but I really never thought a premium or newer up to date knife would have these problems, This is great that you reintroduced this as a possible problem , I was cringing when I was blasting my TFF-1 hoping it wasn’t gonna fail 😂, Maybe lock stick might be a good thing after all
Definitely a big issue. I have a feeling as a mechanical engineer those knives that fail an impact test would fail from a lower static load too. I especially want to test any of my knives with lock bar inserts. Thinking the inserts create a point for the blade to force the lock over compared to a full steel frame lock.
Just tested about 30 knives (all of my button locks and I think most frame/bolster locks) and my only two failures were Civivi Voltaic and Civivi Hypersonic. Two of the later ones I got to and it was surprising how easy they failed after 20 or so passed fine.
Unfortunately, regardless of how unlikely that motion might be in everyday use of our folding locking knives…. It is still a deal breaker. For me, anyway. Thanks for the video, bud! I’m sure this was as hard for you to shoot as it was for me to watch….
Couldn't agree more man. Lots of companies produce knives that don't fail like this. It is definitely not something I want my knives to do. Regardless if it's unlikely, it's still possible. Thanks brother it was definitely tough to do. Got a lot more to do too sadly
It’s poor design crossed with quality control because everyone just wants the next new thing and they eat it up more focused on fidget than function …🖌
I was really surprised after a couple years with my Spartan Blades Pallas, I started having lock rock. No failure just lock rock. I tried fixing it multiple times. I was about to send it back to Spartan and decided to take another look. The spring inside the button was weak. I stretched it out and have had better lockup than with any other button locks. I'm sure it's going to wear out again and I might have to buy a stronger blade.
Thank you. I just got a Spartan Pallas and the lock up fails. I can push it close from full open and lock position. With just the pressure of my thumb on the jimping. I am saddened. I had waited for so so long to finally get a Pallas. To only have it fail immediately.
Thank you for bringing this to everyone's attention. I'll have to think about everything you asked about. Really dont know at this point. What I do know is I have about 40 knife spines to whack against a board. Mostly liner/frame locks, a few button locks, and even fewer crossbars. Pretty much all made within the last few years. Mostly budget, couple $200 guys in the mix though.You interested in a pass/fail list or anything if I get around to it?
Yes man! I am recording and documenting all of the info I receive from you guys and I am going to test 300 + of my own! Thank you brother keep me posted 🤜🏻💥
I had a feeling these people whacking button locks were singling them out. Other locks should be tested just the same. The reason it cant be force closed is because your hand is holding the lock bar. I’m wondering if most youtubers won’t test them because they want to keep getting free products
That's a very real possibility, very real. Idc I am going to be honest and transparent no matter the cost. I've already lost dealings with companies over not saying what they wanted or being honest. Which I told them I would be. That's one thing I'll always be on my channel is upfront and transparent 🤜🏻💥
It's not an issue for me because my use is pretty light duty, but I've been noticing this for a while. Some in my collection that will fail a modest spine whack: SBD Mini Tempest (Reate), GOM (Reate), ZT 0526, Kizer Original, Kunwu Zen, Varga VBR (Reate), Vosteed Racoon button lock, American Blade Works Model 2.... FWIW, my Voodoo passes, as does my Microtech Stitch ram lock. Demkos are good, McNees is good, Les George is good, AB is good, CJRB and Civivi button locks are good, all Spydercos are good, all Quiet Carries are good, and I have other Reate frame locks that are good as well.
Fantastic video. Everyone knife enthusiast should see this. I hear so many people saying "Well, what am I really gonna use the knife for? They are so willing to accept something that is subpar and mediocre. I tell these people "You know what you get from the market when you accept the subpar and the mediocre? More of the same (or worse.)" It's ironic cuz they do the opposite with knife steels, demanding better and better steels. So what do we get from the market? Better and better steels. It makes me shake my head that they don't do the same for knife locks. Great job here.👍
Great video. As depressing as these kind of videos are to make, this is the most useful thing a reviewer can do. I'm going to have to check a few of my framelocks. As far back as three years ago, I was having issues with nearly ever Kizer I handled having lock up issues. Turned me off of them for awhile. This year I reviewed the Towser-K, a knife that had been hyped up so much to me. The lock up is not secure and I don't carry it. It's a shame. Keep up the good work!
@@GBall_Vision this is probably the best thing I will read today. I still recall a video where Lynn Thompson (love him or hate him) states he "loves his customers fingers" or something like that. Yea we do too and appreciate a safe lock 😂
I’m glad you’re bringing this to our attention! Only thing that I can think of that would change how that frame lock fails is during “normal” use your hand/fingers would be wrapped around the handle and helping hold in the frame lock. I know most frame locks are susceptible to death lock out when a small amount of pressure is applied on the lock bar when opening. Maybe a test where you apply a small amount of pressure(or even a varying degree of pressure) on the lock bar, it may not fail as badly as you might think. I think things like that need to be tested, within reason, which I think you tried your hardest to do and went about it in a fair and balanced way. It’s really interesting and I appreciate videos like this! Thanks G!
Cold Steel has been doing the tests you're talking about for years. I'm not a Lynn Thompson fan, but the tests are valid. Even the mighty Sebenza failed. I'm just trying to save you folks time and money. I've gone through every phase of collecting from slipjoint jack knives, the Boot and Rambo knife craze, butterfly knives, Spyderco/BM/Cold Steel, Customs. I've ended up with the Yojimbo with the Compression Lock as my EDC.
@@LAG3 it's worth noting that the sebenza produced one of the worst results ever seen in cold steels testing, with even the kershaw leek proving to be stronger than the sebenza.
LOP thanks brother. I am going to fully be testing out some of the various theories over the next days and weeks. One of which will be a standard grip and see what happens. Try and see what I come up with anyways. Thanks for the input and being here brother 🤜🏻
Very disheartening… VERY much appreciate the Time and Info uve put in to this Greg. Definitely with ANY price in point, a solid efficient knife is crucial especially when u have ur hands & or LIFE on the line. 🥵☑️😈✌🏼
Have you noticed a correlation with the percentage of lockup you have on these liner and frame locks that are failing? I would imagine that it has something to do with the amount of surface area contacting and overlapping between the lock bar and the blade. Glad to know this info
It's something I'm going to document. I'm going to go through my entire collection which will give me several hundred examples to digest thanks brother
My vosteed thunderbird and button lock racoon have these issues (as everyone knows already). I still use them and I have never had real world problems with them. Nonetheless, I think this critique is justified and acceptable.
This is very eye opening! I hope more knife channels add this test to their reviews. These companies need to make this a priority, unsafe knives are unacceptable!
Agreed 💯💯 more channels have started doing SOME type of testing since I released this video. If you noticed over the last few months some have been checking them or talking about it. It's because of this video 😆
I hope it's something that continues as well. If we as consumers hold the production companies feet to the fire, they will tighten quality control on this issue. That's why the knife community ROCKS, we can spread the word on issues like this! Thanks for bringing it to the forefront!
This should concern everyone. This is a hobby. You're spending money that you could be spending elsewhere on these. Doesn't matter if you only open mail, you should know if your knife's quality is crap.
But just because spine whacks can disengage your knife doesn’t mean that the knife itself is crap, and it absolutely matters what you use your knife for.
Yeah technically not crap, just not properly finished id say. It's a blow but they're still usable, but this all goes back to companies designers and consumers picking form over function. We need to go back to function first and if great action comes with it then great thanks brothers 🤜🏻💥
After watching the fails demonstrated in your video, I felt compelled to test the 4 knives I have with me using the same spine test you used. I didn't have a 2X4 handy, so I just used the edge of my desk. the 4 knives tested were (1) GiantMouse Ace Biblio frame lock (2) Mikkel Willumsen Chibs liner lock #'2 3 & 4 are both new from CJRB and are (3) Mica button lock & (4) Resource liner lock. None of the 4 failed the test, although the GiantMouse looked to be close to failing. After examining it carefully, I see that it has the least positive lock up of the 4, with barely 1/16" lock/blade match up. Even with these positive tests I feel it necessary to test each of my knives as I carry them. I have LOTS of knives, and keep many of them in my EDC rotation. Thanks for the heads up, safety definitely comes first!
I have the Resource, a Big Banter, and Artisan Snody Xcelerator. All 3 lock up solid as a brick with no blade play and still smooth to open. I'm impressed they can mass produce this kind of quality at the prices they sell for. I am a fan of steel liner locks. They hardly wear at all unlike some Ti linerlocks I've owned. I had several of the number one hard use knives in the world where the Ti liner wore across the steel blade in a few months. I just won't spend money on a maybe. Especially a quite expensive maybe.
Had to relate the test from my newly acquired Bestech Fairchild, a knife that is in the $325 neighborhood. Testing in the same manner as the above described (and shown) tests, the Fairchild failed when struck near the tip virtually every single time. It held up much better when the strike was made nearer the pivot. This is a frame lock knife, and I discovered that if I manually push the lock bar in an effort to secure the lock up it does not fail the test. I did not notice any visual difference in the lock up, but I'm old and don't see as well as I used to. In neither scenario did I strike with a great deal of force. I honestly don't know how many folders I have, probably somewhere between 300 & 500. I've got a lot of testing to do...
As far as the frame lock and the liner lock goes. it's a geometry issue if you have 2 square pieces of metal that are in alignment with each other it's strong. but when you push one at an angle to fraction of the edge that is actually touching the back of the blade where it's supposed to lock. it's a very minute piece of metal and when you're talking about titanium On a very hard steel is a very slippery surface.
Agreed brother. It's a Geometry issue, production issue, quality control issue. If I was designing and producing a knife. I would make a proto first and make sure the blade geometry is right, the lock geometry is right and go down the list. It seems a lot is rushed nowadays and if it has good action its good to go
good observation.... liner locks are weaker than frame locks... the liner lock has to be a super steel too.. steel can compact together by force of regular wear so the retention wears away.. God Speed
I don't want to make up for a manufacturer's lack of quality control and due diligence. These knives aren't sold as slip joints. It doesn't matter what angle the pressure or shock comes from they should stay locked within a reasonable margin or the industry should stop using that lock type. My brother-in-law is a fan of car racing. He has educated me on their improvements in safety. They didn't say, "Well don't run into the wall!" They said how can we make the car and helmet safer in case a crash happens. I don't want to have to disassemble every knife I get and dry off the lock face or take sandpaper to the lock face. They have engineers. How can they possibly not understand lock face geometry and not account for it in the design? Are knife manufacturers really listening to the community? I have only been watching knife reviews for 6 months and every reviewer complains about the continued use of T6 screws, the failure to create a proper choil, and the lack of jimping. Did the knife manufacturers buy millions of T6 screws in the 70's and just haven't run out of them yet? Lol!
Agreed 💯💯. I'm hoping things change for the better for sure. On a lot of different accounts. Things are getting better for sure, still lots to get right though for sure
I believe it is the geometry of the mated surfaces of the lock faces. It's all about design. It doesn't really concern me much, however. I grew up with traditionals with no lock whatsoever and never cut myself with the blade closing. Never spine whack a folder. If i question lock strength then i grab a fixed blade.
Definitely a geometry issue. I would say 9/,10 times it's a non issue as far as a hazard or injury. But still an issue at least to me, when I no they can be solid I've expected them all to be ya no. I get where your coming from as well. Definitely something to keep in mind though
Grea video! This is important and we don't often see this test. You're right in that regardless of the lock strength, pulled down in a traditional test , pulling the knife & or wiggling it out of wood or another material could still result in lock failure and this test proves that well.
That is something I discuss later in the video brother. But that is correct so far, applying pressure that way, i have not been able to get them to fail. none the less though, buying a locking knife, it should stay locked up. It can be done, other companies/knives hold up completely fine, in my opinion there is no excuse for it man
Interesting topic man. It made me check my VooDoo. I'm glad to say that mine is solid. If we all had the knowledge and or know how....I'm quite sure we'd all be disappointed in a lot of the heat treats of most of this steel being sold to us.
Agreed 💯 percent man! I'm going to disassemble the knives failing and clean them and re check. I'll update if things change. And yes I think we'd be disappointed with a lot of what companies do to pull one over on US consumers. Thanks brother 🤜🏻💥
I would be more worried about a liner lock failing VS a frame lock when you're gripping the knife you're actually exerting force on the frame lock in my theory
Cold Steel has done all these tests. And as a CRK fan, I was saddened that even the mighty Sebenza failed. Their current Lock is still very similar to the good old fashioned Lock back. I did a test. I made myself carry a Spyderco Delica as my primary folder with my goal being a year. That ended up being about 3 years. I worked at Lowe's, a furniture store, then at Sam's Club. The Delica absorbed it all. I had no problems with the full flat grind. I am now carrying a Yojimbo 2 with the Compression Lock. I had a couple of them 5-6 years ago. When I saw the all blacked out version I had to give it another try. My fingers nor the meat of my hand comes anywhere near the lock. There's zero blade play. Once broken in it's been smooth to open. I accumulated 6 or 7 of them. I ended up finding the one I had with Brown G-10 and S90V for a reasonable price and couldn't be happier. I also have 2 Exclusives from DLT in 20CV. That Steel gets SO sharp. Literally shaving sharp.
In today's world form has taken precedent over function and it's destroying things. If it looks good and has good action its pushed out the door. We need to go back to basics, lock geometry blade geometry is it comfortable will it hold up then worry about multiple deployments and action once the main ideas of the knife are taken care of. Just my 2 cents
This is exactly the point of a framelock there has been much written about how worthless this test is for framelocks. Button locks failing would be the most concerning.
@@Josh-jw7cb i disagree, whoever has written that is covering up for their own failures. after testing 100s and 100s of knives at this point, frame locks can be extremely resilient, a frame lock failing from some simple taps is not remotely okay in my opinion.
Definitely an interesting video brother, appreciate the spine whack testing. I personally won’t test my knives but i understand the concern. Thanks Gweg!!
Seems like the Gripper needs to change the lock face geometry on the V2 or V3 or whatever it’s on. As other have said at least on a frame lock your grip makes the lock stronger. That is way too easy to fail though. I’d send that in for warranty.
great video bro. I've been going through this for a while. I had one on lifting from what I was cutting that failed and cut across 3 fingers, yes, a fking issue. but the manufacture which is small USA co. who I contacted fixed the problem. asap and even upgraded the blade from 20cv (which I actually loved) to magnacut. but if an inexpensive knife holds. well, a high dollar knife better perform to perfection. I also seem to find a difference with lock bar angle. but like you I'm still testing. surprisingly button locks seem fairly strong. which I didn't expect.
Nah man that' never happens, to anyone, EVER!! It's not logical, it's not possible!! At least according to some people here in the comments 🤣 on a real note, we have a lot to learn and find out. I'm going to be going through several hundred knives and test them in different ways over the coming days and weeks . See what happens. Thanks for your info and input. Keep me posted on your findings as well brother 🙏🏻🤜🏻💥
I've had an Axis Lock failure loosening bags of ice cubes that were stuck together and almost lost a finger. As soon as I could get back to work, I used my Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter without a thought using my other hand without any fear. I sold all my folders that could not pass the lock tests I put them through. All that Benchmade fan boys could tell me that I can buy new Omega springs. How would that stop the failure that already happened? None of my Cold Steel knives ever had this problem, nor my other lockback knives. And YES, I use my knives. I'm not a collector and don't need a kids fidget toy. Thanx for the video my Bladed Brother 👍 ⚔️ ✝️ 🇺🇲
Great video! Have you compared frame locks with a steel insert to non-insert frame locks? As a Spydie fan man, it's good to see the compression lock hold up.
Hey bud. I had a thought. How new are the premium folders you tested? How many times have they been opened? I was thinking about my Giantmouse Biblio, it’s a liner lock. When I first got it the lock up was suuuper early. In fact, I’m still breaking it and it’s been almost a year. But at first it would fail, if spinewacked. Now it doesn’t. This maybe a dumb question, but the knives that are failing. How early is the lock up? I wonder if that has anything to do with it. Also, I saw a spinewack test on another coated Gripper, and it passed. Maybe coating the blade/lock face, would prevent failure. Maybe a light spritz of a durable clear topcoat of would fix it?
Im going to try and do some different things concerning the knives, cleaning, coating with some graphite maybe. See what happens. Most of those are pretty new with not a ton of opening and closing. All from this year. Definitely a lot to diagnose man. Thanks for the info brother 🤜🏻💥
Thank you for the video! I have watched many of some very pricey knives that I'm interested in, and been very happy so see some fail just like this before the purchase. So much money to spend on something that you genuinely feel is a tank of a knife. Spine testing all mine tonight.
Look at the lock face. Its angled in such a way that downward force would push the lock bar out. And its only half or less under the blade. The ones that aren't failing appear to have a flatter contact area, and/or the lock passes the halfway point of the blade stock. Even if its just 51%. Just my guess from what I'm able to see in the video. I don't know about button locks. Edit: Wrote before you explained the same thing. Oops.
Some of mine do that too, I test them like that when I get them so I know. Currently using a slip joint with half stop. Don’t rely on a lock, it can fail. If you need a lock you should go with a heavy duty lock such as a lockback.
Thank you for this comprehensive video on this issue. Just FYI, I have a fairly recently manufactured (5 months old) Vosteed Raccoon, and am happy to report that it is not failing this test (so far). I actually contacted Vosteed when I learned of this issue, and they told me that they strive to improve their products with each batch produced. Hopefully there is some truth to that statement. Good luck with your other samples!
After watching this, I grabbed 10 random knives of varying brands & lock types from my collection, & spine whacked each with light to medium pressure. All passed. I've had only one knife out of hundreds that had failing issues, & it was one that was known for it, the Kizer Towser K WMK Exclusive Button Lock in 3V with Richlite scales. But that knife is also known for this problem. I sold it under full disclosure at a huge loss. This type of lock fail is absolutely a legitimate concern. When cutting certain types of material, if the blade gets stuck & youy need to pull up to remove it from the material, the risk of injury to your hand is a serious one. And if you keep your knives sharp, this could easily be a trip to the hospital. Imagine this happening with a knife that comes as sharp from factory as a Spyderco, Yikes. Not that I believe there's a Spyderco that has this issue, though I haven't tested all of mine. I will be testing the rest of my knives, though, most likely on something less hard than wood. I have some nicer knives that I'm not real thrilled about marking up the spines. Anyway, thanks for this PSA, we should all expext manufacturers to be making knives under the assumption that they'll actually be used. We shouldn't accept a mindset among companies that tolerates knives to look nice & be good fidgeters without being able to withstand even moderately hard use.
Thank you for the input and all the information brother. I will be keeping track and documenting everything that everyone sends in via comments, emails and messages, it is a huge blow. When some of these knives we expect to be solid end up failing. From my experience the compression lock so far has been the one that has never failed, I haven't had a crossbar lock fail yet. Either frame, lock liner lock and button locks. Locks I've all had fail and I have not had any triad lock scorpion lock or back locks to fail yet. But I think one of the back locks that I currently have would fail. I just need to get around to testing it, thanks for being here brother and the info
After watching this I was curious about one of my favorite knives, trivisa lynx s35vn and you are right it failed after 3 spine whacks. I never really knew this was that big of an issue. One thing that I noticed is that it may be possible some aren't locking up right because the lock needs to be just a fraction of a little bit shorter for the lock to engage into the blade more
Guess im just lucky. Checked all my vosteeds back when all this started and all good for mine. Tried my mini malice and sencut watuga i got today and all good too. Good stuff man
Thank you for the info. I'm documenting all the info you guys put in. That just tells me they no how to design and construct the proper geometry. Thanks brother
Fantastic video. Want a real shock and awe test? Try smacking a Sebenza 21. Despite being one of the most highly praised knives in the world, described as bank vault lockup, it's lock is incredibly feeble and weak with the lock face slipping under even the lightest pressure. Testing from Sal Glesser showed its weakness, as well as Cold Steel's testing (where it spectacularly failed and produced one of the worst results ever). Of course, what you will find doing these types of tests is that the only thing stronger than the locks themselves will be the strawman arguments and emotional responses from the fanboys when their particular choice of knife does not do well in your testing.
"the test is not valid" 😂 well it is when there's tons of knives passing... And the people who know me, know that I'm an EMPEDC fan boy, which is why I tested them and showed one failing, same for null knives. Just to show I wasn't being a dick. I care about the people in the community and the stuff we buy and I think secrets can destroy a community or people in it. Thanks for being here brother 🤜🏻💥
CJRB Knives are fantastic. I agree it can be done and it should be done. There's no excuse for them to fail when lots are made that pass. Thanks brother
I use the spine of my knife to scrape all the time. Piercing material can also cause a lock to fail ( which I do a lot). Lock strength is pretty important to me. Can afford to cut my fingers
Absolutely great point! The fact is too it just shouldn't be an issue. Even if the person doesn't find it to be a problem for themselves. It's still a problem with the knife. Thanks brother 🙏🏻
@@KandKo it is no doubt still going on with them. a lot of companies have gotten back on board and are now testing their locks before they leave. which is great
this might be the obvious answer , but i cant think of any other reason. its the vibration caused by the spinewhak and how it reverberates thru the material of the knife. or its the shape, or the geometry of the mechanism. whats crazy is that these companies arent checking the locks!! wtf is going on here! this is insane!! awesome video! thanks for your concern.....
Àround 4-5 years ago I remember a few companies would test the locks by doing a light spine whack test, I think over the course of time and the "drop shut" action and all of this, they stopped testing them. I believe it's a geometry issue, when they are failing due to the lightest of taps, it's geometry. Thanks for being here brother 🤜🏻
My nephew recently cut his hand quite badly, requiring stitches in hospital due to a folding knife closing on his hand. I don't know under what circumstances the knife closed other than that it closed on his hand.
Pretty sure it’s the angle of the tang where lock meets blade. There’s not enough flat to hold it in place so when pressure like that is applied because of the angle it slides out and blade closes. They need to execute blade tang better.
Last year, when this frame lock failure story started to break, I tested all my knives no matter the lock. I had a Sativien with a crossbar lock that failed ($25 out the window). It was on bearings and a great knife EXCEPT it failed the spine thwack test. I had a Kershaw-Emerson CQC-4KXL D2 (one of my faves!) with a frame lock that failed too. I don't use knives that might fold. I cut a lot of heavy cardboard carpet tubes. I will put a lot of pressure on the knife in the wrong way getting the knife out of the tube when I reset the knife position halfway. I don't trust frame locks anymore or cheap Chinese knives either. I have a CJRB Chord button lock- tha was dead solid no matter how much I thwacked it. I'm not crazy about the steel but it has nice action and won't fail the spine thwack
Yeah I started a war without knowing it 😂 but I think companies started to get things figured out. I have through testing figured or some of the failures were either due to coated liners/blades or both, oil on lock face or debris. It's not a bad idea to take them apart and sand the lock face a little bit And the Tang then clean them up and see what happens. I fixed three like that
I've got the first iteration of the Vosteed Thunderbird and it did not Fail. I had seen that Metalcomlex had problems with Vosteed Button Lock. I think it might be a problem in the tolerances in production.
Definitely an issue in production/the rush of production and the geometry. I think rushing the knives out the door brings a lack of attention to detail, quality control and manufacturing in general. Thanks for the info and being here brother 🤜🏻💥
Great video , I think most knife enthusiasts and collectors including myself just don’t think to test our knives and maybe we just trust the quality control & integrity of the manufacturers a little to much . The reason I like flippers so much is the flipper tab can act as a guard preventing the blade from moving far enough to cause an injury if lock fails . A firm grip on a frame lock can prevent lock from disengaging the blade . Cold Steel knives had some interesting testing of competing brands & lock types and how easily many of them failed , never herd of an issue with a Tri ad lock failing with spine whacks , not a Cold steel fan boy just saying . Anyway thanks for pointing this issue out as I’ll be checking all of my knives
Waiting for the couch commandos to come in and say “you don’t spine wack a knife!” Lol. No knife should fail this test. If you stab into something those knives that failed will cut you bad.
💪🏻🙏🏻🤜🏻💥 dude it's "vibration" lmao 🤣 I agree man. I have knives I can smash in to a 2x and they laugh. When a knife folds up because of a light tap, there's an issue. Especially if you plan on using the fcker, that's the thing. Alot of people don't use them, they flick it all day, they just choose form over function. I'm a carpenter and have been one for over 15 years now, I get to use and test a lot of knives when I want on whatever I want. It's getting out of hand. We need to go back to basics and get blade and lock geometry right then if it's fidgety then fine but this shit is killing me 😂 thanks brother 🙏🏻🤜🏻
It would be very easy to do, for example, you're standing next to a table holding your open knife in your hand, arm roughly hanging to the side of your body. You go to use your knife bringing your hand up. Ordinarily your hand would have cleared the table edge without hitting it but because you were holding the ready to use knife in your hand, the extended blade bangs on the table edge causing it to close on your fingers if lifting hand up or worse, potentially between your thumb and forefinger on a downward swing, depending how you were holding the knife.
Recently, I found my new Vosteed Thunderbird in Frag Titanium button lock failed with very light taps. I made sure I was not near the button while testing. I tested other button, frame and liner locks and they passed. Out of curiosity, I tested some slip joint knives, even upping the impact, and they remain open, even without a lock. Still, the Vosteed Thunderbird fails even light taps.
It's an odd circumstance. Something that shouldn't be happening for sure. With any of the locks. Of course depending on severity locks will fail but not under light or medium taps is not ok. Thanks brother
Pretty much all locks can fail. Thickness of material helps resist lock failue or release. Lock geometry is of primary importance. If that is correct for any lock, failure, slippage or release is less likely. The spine whack test is a good test, but not the end all test. If you do a spine whack and get the correct resonance/vibration between blade and lock this will cause the lock to release. It isn't the lock so much failing as physics doing its thing. This is one reason why spine whack test isn't the definitive test. Button locks require very tight tloerances to not fail. But if tolerance are that tight, it isn't easy to operate. That is why a button lock knife shouldn't be a hard use knife. Crossbar locks are a good system but still require correct geometry. they can also be subject to resonance but less likely. Back locks, done properly are excellent. Few get them right.
Thanks for the insight And info Dirk. One thing that I don't understand is I have knives that have very tight tolerances and do not fail their lock up, but they are also very smooth and easy to open as well as easy to move the lock bar and disengage. Disengaging the lock and then the other thing that I don't understand is as far as vibration and that sort of thing. Why can I take two frame locks from the same manufacturer and one will fail due to a very light tap and another one I can smash like I'm swinging a baseball bat and it doesn't close but with equally good opening action, closing action and disengagement. Of course, I understand quality control issues and knives slipping through the cracks, but I don't believe knives should fail their lockup due to such a lightweight test on their spine. Especially when lots of knives with the same locking mechanisms pass the same exact test
@GBall_Vision I am with you. Folders shouldn't fail. We can make a long list of why they fail. For manufacturers, I think the big thing nowadays is QC. That isn't just for the lock geometry of a folder but also how everything else is fitting together. Also materials, are they getting consistent heat treat, are they maintaining their tooling, or do they use it a bit longer to save a few bucks. As for your knives with tight tolerances, that function well and don't fail. That is the result of proper design, skilled machining, and attention to detail. Doing these things right take time and cost money. That is why you don't see this as an industry standard.
I had 2 Olamic Wayfarers that failed light spine whacks, also had a McNees Mac 2 3.5" that failed as well. Lock strength/reliability is important to me so I always check knives for this when I get them, price doesn't matter. The only knives I would fully trust even without testing them are from Demko and CRK, maybe Hogue but I've seen issues before with axis style locks.
Thank you for watching everyone, i love you all. This was a huge blow to me, to find out a lot of these various knives are failing. i dont believe that I have all the answers or that i have figured it all out. It is something I wanted to bring to light because we all work hard for our money and spend a lot of money on these knives. As a collector i have spent a lot of money on knives and to come to this conclusion is hurtful. Hopefully we can get this figured out as a community and continue to hold these companies responsible to give us the product we deserve.
Dont forget to smash that Like button! Subscribe to the channel & let me know your thoughts and conclusions on this whole ordeal.
-GBall
Pretty sure it’s the angle on the tang. Not enough flat where lockbar meets tang.
Question for you...when did you buy the glass brigade frame lock?
@@andrewlinn11I hate to shatter that impression, but I in fact have never bought or have even heard of Glass Brigade before now. But after some considering and puffs off my crack pipe, I am now stealing and trademarking the name Glass Brigade! Thanks for the awesome suggestion!
Hey GBall just watched you whole video and this really sucks to see. That being said if you are interested in selling your Gripper or Relative get in contact with me
It is geometry related for sure.
Brass Brigade Gripper was bought when they came out or shortly after.
Glass Brigade is 😎😂
I may consider selling the gripper, which is on my list to sell eventually anyways. The relative is #002 in Magnacut, I'm not selling that 😂 it's one of my babys either way
its all about lock face geometry, the thinnest liner can take more load than the thickest framelock if the lockface geometry is off, thank you for this video i will be testing more, i used to doit every time but stopped, now i will doit more often, one thing you want to make sure is that your lockface is dry, oiled lockface can slip as theres less friction, to fix liners or frames you can scuff up the lockface with 300 grit sandpaper lightly and that can fix it but sometimes it needs a bit more
Isnt a a framelock safer in everyday use when the knife is open? the hand naturally applies pressure to the lock bar making these issues almost non-important in an edc setting?
@@nicodiaz627that's a myth! The vibration is also a factor! For example if you check for Bladeplay and you press up and down and it's super strong, but than you spinewack it and it fails! And yes geometry is also one factor of it
@@lionknives3 Is it a myth that you apply pressure to the lock bar in a framelock knife? I doubt thats a myth its simple common sense. It might be false that liner locks are less safer than framelocks...
@@nicodiaz627definitely not a myth. It’s simple physics
U have to make sure that your detent isn’t tuned too loose on frame locks and liner locks. On most of these that fail I bet if you just bent the lock bar in a bit it wouldn’t fail. Especially when u say that some pass and some fail of the same knife. That’s why. Same goes for button locks it all comes down to how the spring under the plunge is tuned
Everybody involved in knives making knives, designing knives, and owning knives should be aware. Great video, Greg.
Agreed 💯 thanks brother I appreciate it man 🤜🏻
This shows how important lock-face geometry is. The thickest frame or liner can fail if the geometry is off just a little. I believe with button locks it's a little more to do with machining tolerances and making sure the button can't slip through the collar. Thank you for the video!
You are on point I believe. I think the 2 most important things are lock geometry and blade geometry. It needs to stay locked up and it needs to cut well. Comfort is third. Action and all that are secondary really to the major things
Great work Greg. Old issue that is easily forgotten - almost always a design issue. Good to raise awareness periodically. Sucks on $300 knives, regardless of planned use
Thanks brother I appreciate it man 🤜🏻💥
Thank you sir! I will be testing all of my knives this way, and will dispose of the ones that fail. Even if they cost $500 - $600 or more, they aren't worth their weight if they will close on my hand !
thanks brother! its an issue that needs fixed for sure - i will be thoroughly testing all the knives i have and will get. i have a lot of knives to test lol :(
To me a lock should stay locked no matter what I am doing with it! I'm a big, big fan of the Gripper and I'm shocked & sad that my favorite knife failed! Well, that's why you're my favorite channel, thanks brother Gbizzle no cap! 🙏🏾👊🏾💯
Thanks Bama, I agree 💯💯 thanks brother I appreciate you man
You are totally in the right to be alarmed. And all these companies should be put on blast and called out. Give us a detailed list (make and model) of each knife that fails. There's no excuse for an issue like this. Reviewers will point out blade centering issues left and right, and completely overlook this aspect (lock securty) which is far more important. As far as I'm concerned, you're doing the community a major service by highlighting this issue. Thank you. I really appreciate this video and your take on the whole matter.
Thanks brother I will be documenting everything I encounter along with any info given by you guys. I appreciate it man. Glad you are here 🤜🏻💥💪🏻
The only thing we can do is consistently (as a community) test out all of our knives and hold manufacturers accountable 🤔
I couldnt agree more. That is all I want, what is best for the knife community and what is best for the knives. Well said brother
@@GBall_VisionI just started watching you and collecting knives for 4 weeks and have a total of 2 hogues and 2 Spydercos and was just getting ready to order 2 kizers but now I’m a little scurd lol don’t know what to do
@@christurnerct49 what Kizers? I wouldn't be scared. If you like a design and materials get it. The chance there's an issue is pretty slim
You’ve got every knife guy on RUclips spine testing knives now 😂. Nice work man.
😂 all across the world every RUclipsr and everyone in the community is at home smacking the shit out of their knives 🤣 thanks brother 🤜🏻💥
Knives are fun to play with and collect but its a good reminder that its a cutting tool and room for these kind of errors can be scary and humbling. Absolutely no excuse for locking failures. Very informative and mindful video gball. Appreciate all you do for the community!
Finally! Agreed! These test need to be done.
Most of the popular knife reviewers never do it. All that money for these premium knives, looks and fidget factor isn’t everything.
I will not be assuming anymore that is for sure, I will be testing every knife I own and any future knives I get. Thanks brother I appreciate it man
It seem a lot of RUclips knife reviewers are salesman and don't want to talk too bad about a knife they are getting a commission on
ive lost dealing with a few companies because of my honesty, i say that before anyone ever sends anything. im very open minded and can always find a use for even something cheap or what have you, but im going to be honest and do it in the kindest way possible. it is what it is brother!
Anyone who doesn't agree with you, and says that spine wack tests are stupid have no idea what a "locking" knife even means.
I 100% agree with you that locks shouldn't fail with small spine wacks. These companies are wanting to get their product out so fast that their not even worried about correct lock geometry. It's actually really sad.
Thank you brother I appreciate it man and I agree. Function has been taken over by form. So worried about action that blade and lock geometry get pushed to the side. The two things that really matter
It's dangerous also that could cost a finger or worse. I'm glad this problem was found.
@@sterlingstoots3215 thanks for being here brother 🤜🏻
I'm a Slip Joint guy! I just use every knife like it's a Slip Joint!
That's not a bad idea brother. Thanks man
I'm the same. I've been a user of knives as tools for roughly 30 something years since my childhood as a scout where my first real pocket knife was a slip joint. I could probably still count with my fingers how many times I've received an actual knife cut and only 1 was "serious". (As a teen I was sharpening a small chisel ground knife on one of those nail file tools from nail kit and my brother startled me. Cut straight to the bone and still have the scar on my thumb. Left me with serious respect for edged objects.)
It just makes the most sense to me in practice to act as the knife could close on me at any time... and use the knife in a fashion that prevents it from doing so. This means not prying with my folding knives (carry a prybar for that) or stabbing with them (use a fixed blade if you absolutely have to stab and pry with a blade.) If I'm making a piercing cut with a folding knife... I usually have the blade in a pinch grip along the spine and use my thumb as a "depth stop".
All my slip joints have lock failure😢
I’m new to the whole knife thing, what’s a Slip Joint?
@@m.b.593 - A slip joint is the spring mechanism that keeps the knife open or closed.The way the base of the blade at the joint and a back spring interact keep the knife open or closed... some of them are shaped to have a "half-stop" as well. It was used on the majority of older non locking traditional folding knives. Most Victorinox Swiss Army knives, Case knives, Great Eastern Cutlery, a large amount of traditional Buck knives... and the like are all slip joints.
Awesome video man! You’re right about everything. We shouldn’t have to worry if our knives are dangerous. I’ve been testing all my knives since my Benchmade Adamas 275 failed and cut me. I had to do a spine wack video to show people about a SOG. This is an important topic. Good stuff man.👊
Thanks brother I appreciate it and the info/input. 🤜🏻💥
I just checked my Gripper. It does the exact same thing. Slight tap on the spine of the blade and it disengages the lock. 🤔
It's sad to experience. Especially with knives you love dearly. Thanks brother
That whole situation with those and that company is trash …🚮… never in my live have dealt with such shit from another maker and Iv been carry knives since I was a child and dealing with the other creators my hole life - Just bad business taking advantage of the community with someone right along shilling that bullshit and it just sad and disappointing some people aren’t who they are pretending to be and people are falling for it - Thats how I feel about it and I don’t think I’m too far off honestly -
Dont think a knife is supposed to do that. Sucks to be so disappointed when spending so much coin. Gotta bring attention to it though so they can be held accountable or at least avoided.
Agreed brother thanks man 🤜🏻💥
Lock geometry.. a problem that has been fixed a long time ago 😢😢😢
Right.. it burns me up for sure. I hope they go back to basics and get lock geometry blade geometry and the main ideals for knives down before action is concerned
You pay for a knife that locks, locking is what you expect it to do, regardless of how hard you work it.
Man I agree so badly with this. Spot on brother 🤜🏻💥
This is a big deal. We spend a lot of money for these knives, and we use them. I want to trust my tools. Thanks for bringing this more out in the open. I subscribed to your channel to follow this.
Thanks redroad glad you are. Welcome to the family 🤜🏻💥
Got to be honest, I made the assumption that frame and liner locks are much stronger than button locks and were not prone to fail. Good to know! Thanks!
It's for sure an odd set of circumstances, definitely something to be aware of. Thanks brother
Imo I always assumed button/pluge locks were stronger than frame and liner locks, I have no fancy explanation other than the button 90 degrees to the blade, moving the force in a different direction...
@@tacmechanic that's not a bad assumption to make really. In my testing experience - it's a high volume of button locks that fail, but with that said. I have some button locks that are built like tanks so they are capable of being very strong no question
This is very concerning. The one good thing about a frame lock is that your hand acts as a secondary lock, not allowing the Lockhart to move as long as you are griping it. When you turn it over and tap the spine, you're not holding the lock bar in place. Either way, it's pretty concerning.
Agreed on all accounts, I hope they get it figured out. Get on the same page as the models that are solid 🤜🏻💥
Thank you for making this video. I ALWAYS make sure either knife is strong lock wise or there’s a large long finger choil in case it does close when I buy knives. This way you don’t get injured. Or it’s not gonna send me to the hospital if it does. Great vid. More knife guys and gals need to look at this. It’s a big issue to me. Thanks again
Also if I’m paying $65+ for a knife it should be strong and not fail these light spine whacks period
@@Edgekeeper747I don't think price should come in to it dude, any knife that risky should never have made it to retail.
"your hand acts as a secondary lock"
No it doesn't, the pressure from your squishy hand is nothing compared to the forces pushing the lock out.
The only way this would be remotely true is if the lockbar has a big "saddle" mounted on top of it for the pad of your finger to apply pressure over a larger surface area.
I'm glad to see the CJRB button locks are so reliable!
They definitely do man! In my experience anyways, they all have passed and I own everyone of them until the mini Pyrite came out. Thanks brother
Ok here we go! I did a few myself after seeing this vid thanks Gball 😂
1-Protech Mordax button lock -Failed
2-TwoSun TS 270 ti frame lock -Pass
3-TwoSun TS129 ti frame lock -Pass
4-Kubey 322A steel liner lock -Pass
5-Kubey Tityus ti frame lock -Pass
6-PKW - Wharntac ti frame lock-Pass
7- QuietCarry Drift ti frame lock - Pass
8-Bridegport 395 ti steel liner lock -Failed
9- Vosteed Raccoon g10 frag cross bar lock-Pass
10- Benchmade Super Freek crossbar lock -Pass
11-Benchmade bugout m390 aluminum scales crossbar lock -Pass
12-Spyderco Manix2 15v Rockscale ti scales crossbar lock -Pass
13-Spyderco Shaman Fly carbon scales M4 compression lock -Pass
14-Spyderco Smock , Kevin Smock ti scales compression lock-Pass
15-Spyderco Yojimbo 2 Fly rain drop scales compression lock -Pass
16-Medford TFF-1 ti frame lock -Pass
17- Medford Smooth criminal button lock -Pass
Keep in mind anything that passed I couldn’t get to fail no matter how hard I tried, but the 2 that failed the Mordax and the Bridgeport they don’t fail right away it takes quite a few whacks at different positions to make them fail , I feel there still very safe to use
Hell yes dude. Thanks for the information! Agreed if it takes effort to get them to fail they are fine. Even if they fail with that test, they are still usable but I just keep it in mind and don't do much hard use with them. I plan on testing over 300 knives this week so we will see what happens 😂 thanks brother I appreciate it man 🤜🏻💥
@@GBall_Vision You know I’ve done this years ago and was why I never liked liner locks , but I really never thought a premium or newer up to date knife would have these problems, This is great that you reintroduced this as a possible problem , I was cringing when I was blasting my TFF-1 hoping it wasn’t gonna fail 😂, Maybe lock stick might be a good thing after all
We definitely need more lock test videos, the lock on any knife is much more important to me than looks,materials or even size. ❤ great video
Hell yeah man I do have 1 up testing a bunch. Maybe I'll do another
Definitely a big issue. I have a feeling as a mechanical engineer those knives that fail an impact test would fail from a lower static load too. I especially want to test any of my knives with lock bar inserts. Thinking the inserts create a point for the blade to force the lock over compared to a full steel frame lock.
Just tested about 30 knives (all of my button locks and I think most frame/bolster locks) and my only two failures were Civivi Voltaic and Civivi Hypersonic. Two of the later ones I got to and it was surprising how easy they failed after 20 or so passed fine.
Thank you for the information and input man. I'm documenting all of your guys info that you give. I appreciate it and glad you are here brother 🤜🏻
Great video, excellent reminder. It's still a knife and no matter what I pay I want my knife to be safe.
You got it man. I want it to lock if it has a lock 😆
Here we gooooo.... thanks for the video. The live was great when you brought this to attention. 👊
Thanks brother I appreciate it man 🤜🏻💥🙏🏻
Unfortunately, regardless of how unlikely that motion might be in everyday use of our folding locking knives…. It is still a deal breaker. For me, anyway. Thanks for the video, bud! I’m sure this was as hard for you to shoot as it was for me to watch….
Couldn't agree more man. Lots of companies produce knives that don't fail like this. It is definitely not something I want my knives to do. Regardless if it's unlikely, it's still possible. Thanks brother it was definitely tough to do. Got a lot more to do too sadly
One of the most hyped knives of last year and none of the reviewers checked that 🤦🏻♂️
My Voodoo and others are good but the grippers a loss and went back 3 times …🖌
@@onemooncollective thanks brother I have a lot of knives to check. I'm hoping it's just a couple, worried it may be many
You shouldn’t and that’s the problem … I understand shit happens in mass production but this is bullshit -
It’s poor design crossed with quality control because everyone just wants the next new thing and they eat it up more focused on fidget than function …🖌
That explanation of cutting in tight spaces was a perfect example of what can happen
I was really surprised after a couple years with my Spartan Blades Pallas, I started having lock rock. No failure just lock rock. I tried fixing it multiple times. I was about to send it back to Spartan and decided to take another look. The spring inside the button was weak. I stretched it out and have had better lockup than with any other button locks. I'm sure it's going to wear out again and I might have to buy a stronger blade.
Dude thanks for the info. I really appreciate it man. Glad your here brother 🤜🏻
Thank you. I just got a Spartan Pallas and the lock up fails. I can push it close from full open and lock position. With just the pressure of my thumb on the jimping. I am saddened. I had waited for so so long to finally get a Pallas. To only have it fail immediately.
Thank you for bringing this to everyone's attention. I'll have to think about everything you asked about. Really dont know at this point. What I do know is I have about 40 knife spines to whack against a board. Mostly liner/frame locks, a few button locks, and even fewer crossbars. Pretty much all made within the last few years. Mostly budget, couple $200 guys in the mix though.You interested in a pass/fail list or anything if I get around to it?
Yes man! I am recording and documenting all of the info I receive from you guys and I am going to test 300 + of my own! Thank you brother keep me posted 🤜🏻💥
I had a feeling these people whacking button locks were singling them out. Other locks should be tested just the same. The reason it cant be force closed is because your hand is holding the lock bar. I’m wondering if most youtubers won’t test them because they want to keep getting free products
That's a very real possibility, very real. Idc I am going to be honest and transparent no matter the cost. I've already lost dealings with companies over not saying what they wanted or being honest. Which I told them I would be. That's one thing I'll always be on my channel is upfront and transparent 🤜🏻💥
It's not an issue for me because my use is pretty light duty, but I've been noticing this for a while. Some in my collection that will fail a modest spine whack: SBD Mini Tempest (Reate), GOM (Reate), ZT 0526, Kizer Original, Kunwu Zen, Varga VBR (Reate), Vosteed Racoon button lock, American Blade Works Model 2.... FWIW, my Voodoo passes, as does my Microtech Stitch ram lock. Demkos are good, McNees is good, Les George is good, AB is good, CJRB and Civivi button locks are good, all Spydercos are good, all Quiet Carries are good, and I have other Reate frame locks that are good as well.
Thank you for all the information and input I greatly appreciate it. Thanks brother 🤜🏻💥
Send that Model 2 back to Michael Martin and he will fix that lockup. Very good guy
Really the ZT failed?!? wow..
@bladelabmiami who is AB? Arno Bernard or someone else?
Thanks
@@danjones7 I checked mine after reading this. Mine did as well. Brand new too
Investigative journalism at its best 😎
Welcome to GBall Vision 😂 where the fun don't stop until I drop 🤣 thanks brother
Fantastic video. Everyone knife enthusiast should see this. I hear so many people saying "Well, what am I really gonna use the knife for? They are so willing to accept something that is subpar and mediocre. I tell these people "You know what you get from the market when you accept the subpar and the mediocre? More of the same (or worse.)"
It's ironic cuz they do the opposite with knife steels, demanding better and better steels. So what do we get from the market? Better and better steels. It makes me shake my head that they don't do the same for knife locks. Great job here.👍
Thanks Lou 🤠
Great video. As depressing as these kind of videos are to make, this is the most useful thing a reviewer can do. I'm going to have to check a few of my framelocks.
As far back as three years ago, I was having issues with nearly ever Kizer I handled having lock up issues. Turned me off of them for awhile. This year I reviewed the Towser-K, a knife that had been hyped up so much to me. The lock up is not secure and I don't carry it. It's a shame.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Gideon I appreciate it man, shit was tough to realize and it'll be tough testing all of them that I own. Thanks brother
I trust my Triad Locks even more now 😂
Love me some triad lock too man 😂 All demko locks even. Thanks brother 🤜🏻💥
@@GBall_Vision indeed. I have great confidence in all of Mr Demkos work. Shark Cub is the carry of the day
@@RookCAF agreed I consider him the godfather of locks 😂
@@GBall_Vision this is probably the best thing I will read today. I still recall a video where Lynn Thompson (love him or hate him) states he "loves his customers fingers" or something like that. Yea we do too and appreciate a safe lock 😂
Couldn't agree more 😂😂
I’m glad you’re bringing this to our attention! Only thing that I can think of that would change how that frame lock fails is during “normal” use your hand/fingers would be wrapped around the handle and helping hold in the frame lock. I know most frame locks are susceptible to death lock out when a small amount of pressure is applied on the lock bar when opening. Maybe a test where you apply a small amount of pressure(or even a varying degree of pressure) on the lock bar, it may not fail as badly as you might think. I think things like that need to be tested, within reason, which I think you tried your hardest to do and went about it in a fair and balanced way. It’s really interesting and I appreciate videos like this! Thanks G!
Cold Steel has been doing the tests you're talking about for years. I'm not a Lynn Thompson fan, but the tests are valid. Even the mighty Sebenza failed. I'm just trying to save you folks time and money. I've gone through every phase of collecting from slipjoint jack knives, the Boot and Rambo knife craze, butterfly knives, Spyderco/BM/Cold Steel, Customs. I've ended up with the Yojimbo with the Compression Lock as my EDC.
@@LAG3 it's worth noting that the sebenza produced one of the worst results ever seen in cold steels testing, with even the kershaw leek proving to be stronger than the sebenza.
LOP thanks brother. I am going to fully be testing out some of the various theories over the next days and weeks. One of which will be a standard grip and see what happens. Try and see what I come up with anyways. Thanks for the input and being here brother 🤜🏻
@@SaltMakerE I've heard that many times about the sebenza - cold steel is the icon of strong lock 🤜🏻
@@GBall_Vision awesome! Can’t wait to see what happens next! Good luck!
Very disheartening… VERY much appreciate the Time and Info uve put in to this Greg. Definitely with ANY price in point, a solid efficient knife is crucial especially when u have ur hands & or LIFE on the line. 🥵☑️😈✌🏼
Agreed B, hopefully it gets corrected man. Thanks brother I appreciate it 🤜🏻💥
Have you noticed a correlation with the percentage of lockup you have on these liner and frame locks that are failing? I would imagine that it has something to do with the amount of surface area contacting and overlapping between the lock bar and the blade. Glad to know this info
It's something I'm going to document. I'm going to go through my entire collection which will give me several hundred examples to digest thanks brother
My vosteed thunderbird and button lock racoon have these issues (as everyone knows already). I still use them and I have never had real world problems with them. Nonetheless, I think this critique is justified and acceptable.
I say, if you pay premium ..it better NOT fail...Vosteeds aren't too pricey tho. I have the Vosteed Gator and Bellamy, with no issues
@@Monsoonpain Agreed! Unfortunately most of the time you're paying for materials and fit and finish, not lock strength.
Agreed they can still be used. It's just definitely something to keep in mind.
I have the gator and mine is a tank as well
Thanks brothers
Who else paused the video to check thier knives 😂. Great video man. New sub 🤘
Glad you are here brother! welcome man
@@GBall_Vision Thank you. Checked all 25 of my knives. Whew no fails. I did not check my cold steel triad locks for obvious reasons 🤣
This needed to be made. Great video GBall 👊
Thanks brother I appreciate it 🤜🏻
This is very eye opening! I hope more knife channels add this test to their reviews. These companies need to make this a priority, unsafe knives are unacceptable!
Agreed 💯💯 more channels have started doing SOME type of testing since I released this video. If you noticed over the last few months some have been checking them or talking about it. It's because of this video 😆
I hope it's something that continues as well. If we as consumers hold the production companies feet to the fire, they will tighten quality control on this issue. That's why the knife community ROCKS, we can spread the word on issues like this! Thanks for bringing it to the forefront!
This should concern everyone. This is a hobby. You're spending money that you could be spending elsewhere on these. Doesn't matter if you only open mail, you should know if your knife's quality is crap.
But just because spine whacks can disengage your knife doesn’t mean that the knife itself is crap, and it absolutely matters what you use your knife for.
Yeah technically not crap, just not properly finished id say. It's a blow but they're still usable, but this all goes back to companies designers and consumers picking form over function. We need to go back to function first and if great action comes with it then great thanks brothers 🤜🏻💥
After watching the fails demonstrated in your video, I felt compelled to test the 4 knives I have with me using the same spine test you used. I didn't have a 2X4 handy, so I just used the edge of my desk. the 4 knives tested were (1) GiantMouse Ace Biblio frame lock (2) Mikkel Willumsen Chibs liner lock #'2 3 & 4 are both new from CJRB and are (3) Mica button lock & (4) Resource liner lock. None of the 4 failed the test, although the GiantMouse looked to be close to failing. After examining it carefully, I see that it has the least positive lock up of the 4, with barely 1/16" lock/blade match up. Even with these positive tests I feel it necessary to test each of my knives as I carry them. I have LOTS of knives, and keep many of them in my EDC rotation. Thanks for the heads up, safety definitely comes first!
I have the Resource, a Big Banter, and Artisan Snody Xcelerator. All 3 lock up solid as a brick with no blade play and still smooth to open. I'm impressed they can mass produce this kind of quality at the prices they sell for. I am a fan of steel liner locks. They hardly wear at all unlike some Ti linerlocks I've owned. I had several of the number one hard use knives in the world where the Ti liner wore across the steel blade in a few months. I just won't spend money on a maybe. Especially a quite expensive maybe.
Had to relate the test from my newly acquired Bestech Fairchild, a knife that is in the $325 neighborhood. Testing in the same manner as the above described (and shown) tests, the Fairchild failed when struck near the tip virtually every single time. It held up much better when the strike was made nearer the pivot. This is a frame lock knife, and I discovered that if I manually push the lock bar in an effort to secure the lock up it does not fail the test. I did not notice any visual difference in the lock up, but I'm old and don't see as well as I used to. In neither scenario did I strike with a great deal of force. I honestly don't know how many folders I have, probably somewhere between 300 & 500. I've got a lot of testing to do...
Thanks Curtis I appreciate the information and thanks for being here brother 🤜🏻
Best video yet.
Thanks brother I appreciate it
As far as the frame lock and the liner lock goes. it's a geometry issue if you have 2 square pieces of metal that are in alignment with each other it's strong. but when you push one at an angle to fraction of the edge that is actually touching the back of the blade where it's supposed to lock. it's a very minute piece of metal and when you're talking about titanium On a very hard steel is a very slippery surface.
Agreed brother. It's a Geometry issue, production issue, quality control issue. If I was designing and producing a knife. I would make a proto first and make sure the blade geometry is right, the lock geometry is right and go down the list. It seems a lot is rushed nowadays and if it has good action its good to go
good observation.... liner locks are weaker than frame locks... the liner lock has to be a super steel too.. steel can compact together by force of regular wear so the retention wears away.. God Speed
Hell yeah man thanks for the info and input. I appreciate it brother glad you are here
I don't want to make up for a manufacturer's lack of quality control and due diligence. These knives aren't sold as slip joints. It doesn't matter what angle the pressure or shock comes from they should stay locked within a reasonable margin or the industry should stop using that lock type. My brother-in-law is a fan of car racing. He has educated me on their improvements in safety. They didn't say, "Well don't run into the wall!" They said how can we make the car and helmet safer in case a crash happens. I don't want to have to disassemble every knife I get and dry off the lock face or take sandpaper to the lock face. They have engineers. How can they possibly not understand lock face geometry and not account for it in the design? Are knife manufacturers really listening to the community? I have only been watching knife reviews for 6 months and every reviewer complains about the continued use of T6 screws, the failure to create a proper choil, and the lack of jimping. Did the knife manufacturers buy millions of T6 screws in the 70's and just haven't run out of them yet? Lol!
Agreed 💯💯. I'm hoping things change for the better for sure. On a lot of different accounts. Things are getting better for sure, still lots to get right though for sure
I believe it is the geometry of the mated surfaces of the lock faces. It's all about design. It doesn't really concern me much, however. I grew up with traditionals with no lock whatsoever and never cut myself with the blade closing. Never spine whack a folder. If i question lock strength then i grab a fixed blade.
Definitely a geometry issue. I would say 9/,10 times it's a non issue as far as a hazard or injury.
But still an issue at least to me, when I no they can be solid I've expected them all to be ya no. I get where your coming from as well. Definitely something to keep in mind though
Grea video! This is important and we don't often see this test. You're right in that regardless of the lock strength, pulled down in a traditional test , pulling the knife & or wiggling it out of wood or another material could still result in lock failure and this test proves that well.
thanks brother frank, im glad you enjoyed the video. i appreciate you
It's also the shaking from tapping. If you just were to put constant pressure, it probably would not fail.
That is something I discuss later in the video brother. But that is correct so far, applying pressure that way, i have not been able to get them to fail. none the less though, buying a locking knife, it should stay locked up. It can be done, other companies/knives hold up completely fine, in my opinion there is no excuse for it man
@@GBall_Vision I spoke before I finished the video. And I agree. Especially for 2 to 400 bucks. Thanks
Agreed 💯 thanks brother
Interesting topic man.
It made me check my VooDoo. I'm glad to say that mine is solid.
If we all had the knowledge and or know how....I'm quite sure we'd all be disappointed in a lot of the heat treats of most of this steel being sold to us.
Agreed 💯 percent man! I'm going to disassemble the knives failing and clean them and re check. I'll update if things change. And yes I think we'd be disappointed with a lot of what companies do to pull one over on US consumers. Thanks brother 🤜🏻💥
I would be more worried about a liner lock failing VS a frame lock when you're gripping the knife you're actually exerting force on the frame lock in my theory
Yes! Some common sense in this chat.
Cold Steel has done all these tests. And as a CRK fan, I was saddened that even the mighty Sebenza failed. Their current Lock is still very similar to the good old fashioned Lock back. I did a test. I made myself carry a Spyderco Delica as my primary folder with my goal being a year. That ended up being about 3 years. I worked at Lowe's, a furniture store, then at Sam's Club. The Delica absorbed it all. I had no problems with the full flat grind. I am now carrying a Yojimbo 2 with the Compression Lock. I had a couple of them 5-6 years ago. When I saw the all blacked out version I had to give it another try. My fingers nor the meat of my hand comes anywhere near the lock. There's zero blade play. Once broken in it's been smooth to open. I accumulated 6 or 7 of them. I ended up finding the one I had with Brown G-10 and S90V for a reasonable price and couldn't be happier. I also have 2 Exclusives from DLT in 20CV. That Steel gets SO sharp. Literally shaving sharp.
In today's world form has taken precedent over function and it's destroying things. If it looks good and has good action its pushed out the door. We need to go back to basics, lock geometry blade geometry is it comfortable will it hold up then worry about multiple deployments and action once the main ideas of the knife are taken care of. Just my 2 cents
This is exactly the point of a framelock there has been much written about how worthless this test is for framelocks. Button locks failing would be the most concerning.
@@Josh-jw7cb i disagree, whoever has written that is covering up for their own failures. after testing 100s and 100s of knives at this point, frame locks can be extremely resilient, a frame lock failing from some simple taps is not remotely okay in my opinion.
Definitely an interesting video brother, appreciate the spine whack testing. I personally won’t test my knives but i understand the concern. Thanks Gweg!!
Thanks for checking it out brother I appreciate it man 🤜🏻💥
Seems like the Gripper needs to change the lock face geometry on the V2 or V3 or whatever it’s on. As other have said at least on a frame lock your grip makes the lock stronger. That is way too easy to fail though. I’d send that in for warranty.
Agreed Brandon, I want to check all of them and then I'll decide what to do. Thanks brother 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
CJRB's button locks are on point. Now, if you want button lock failure, get you a vosteed Thunderbird 😂
Exactly 💯💯💯 thanks brother 🤜🏻💥
Damn, my MSI FAILED
I've heard that many times since this video sadly. Thanks for the info brother
great video bro. I've been going through this for a while. I had one on lifting from what I was cutting that failed and cut across 3 fingers, yes, a fking issue. but the manufacture which is small USA co. who I contacted fixed the problem.
asap and even upgraded the blade from 20cv (which I actually loved) to magnacut. but if an inexpensive knife holds. well, a high dollar knife better perform to perfection. I also seem to find a difference with lock bar angle. but like you I'm still testing. surprisingly button locks seem fairly strong. which I didn't expect.
Nah man that' never happens, to anyone, EVER!! It's not logical, it's not possible!! At least according to some people here in the comments 🤣 on a real note, we have a lot to learn and find out. I'm going to be going through several hundred knives and test them in different ways over the coming days and weeks . See what happens. Thanks for your info and input. Keep me posted on your findings as well brother 🙏🏻🤜🏻💥
i was hoping for this video lol
Here it is 😂
Good morning GBall, that you for this information and keep the good content coming.
Thanks brother I appreciate it 🤜🏻
So glad I never ordered that brass brigade knife regardless of the many times I’m almost did….. it’s a beautiful knife but failures are a no go.
Agreed 💯 it's sad to see. Thanks brother I appreciate it
I've had an Axis Lock failure loosening bags of ice cubes that were stuck together and almost lost a finger. As soon as I could get back to work, I used my Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter without a thought using my other hand without any fear. I sold all my folders that could not pass the lock tests I put them through.
All that Benchmade fan boys could tell me that I can buy new Omega springs. How would that stop the failure that already happened?
None of my Cold Steel knives ever had this problem, nor my other lockback knives.
And YES, I use my knives. I'm not a collector and don't need a kids fidget toy.
Thanx for the video my Bladed Brother 👍 ⚔️ ✝️ 🇺🇲
The best thing to use for hard use is always a Fixed blade and now we see why!
Yessir I agree 💯💯 thanks brother
Very concerning to see this happen on 200-300$ knives.
Hard to argue that! Yet there's people here doing that 😆 it's definitely a bummer that I hope gets reconciled. Thanks brother
Great video! Have you compared frame locks with a steel insert to non-insert frame locks? As a Spydie fan man, it's good to see the compression lock hold up.
The compression locks are doing fantastic. I'm in the process of testing around 300 knives and documenting all of it
I'm guessing alot comes down to geometry. Thanks for putting this info out. Great video brother 👍
Thanks brother agreed it is geometry without question
Hey bud. I had a thought. How new are the premium folders you tested? How many times have they been opened? I was thinking about my Giantmouse Biblio, it’s a liner lock. When I first got it the lock up was suuuper early. In fact, I’m still breaking it and it’s been almost a year. But at first it would fail, if spinewacked. Now it doesn’t. This maybe a dumb question, but the knives that are failing. How early is the lock up? I wonder if that has anything to do with it. Also, I saw a spinewack test on another coated Gripper, and it passed. Maybe coating the blade/lock face, would prevent failure. Maybe a light spritz of a durable clear topcoat of would fix it?
Im going to try and do some different things concerning the knives, cleaning, coating with some graphite maybe. See what happens. Most of those are pretty new with not a ton of opening and closing. All from this year. Definitely a lot to diagnose man. Thanks for the info brother 🤜🏻💥
my TwoSun and Benchmade’s passed we gold
Sitting on them doesn't count as testing brother
@@GBall_Vision I spun too
Ok ok we golden then 😂
@@FBallSupervision where you been at sissy boy
Thank you for the video! I have watched many of some very pricey knives that I'm interested in, and been very happy so see some fail just like this before the purchase. So much money to spend on something that you genuinely feel is a tank of a knife. Spine testing all mine tonight.
Thanks brother
Look at the lock face. Its angled in such a way that downward force would push the lock bar out. And its only half or less under the blade.
The ones that aren't failing appear to have a flatter contact area, and/or the lock passes the halfway point of the blade stock. Even if its just 51%.
Just my guess from what I'm able to see in the video. I don't know about button locks.
Edit: Wrote before you explained the same thing. Oops.
All good brother!! I hope we can get the issue sorted out with these companies. Thanks man
Some of mine do that too, I test them like that when I get them so I know. Currently using a slip joint with half stop. Don’t rely on a lock, it can fail. If you need a lock you should go with a heavy duty lock such as a lockback.
Or a cold steel of any kind lol 😂 or a compression lock! Never had one fail yet
Thank you for this comprehensive video on this issue. Just FYI, I have a fairly recently manufactured (5 months old) Vosteed Raccoon, and am happy to report that it is not failing this test (so far). I actually contacted Vosteed when I learned of this issue, and they told me that they strive to improve their products with each batch produced. Hopefully there is some truth to that statement. Good luck with your other samples!
That is good on vosteed. They were supposed to of revamped it. I'm glad they tweaked it. I want what's best for us and the knives
After watching this, I grabbed 10 random knives of varying brands & lock types from my collection, & spine whacked each with light to medium pressure. All passed.
I've had only one knife out of hundreds that had failing issues, & it was one that was known for it, the Kizer Towser K WMK Exclusive Button Lock in 3V with Richlite scales. But that knife is also known for this problem. I sold it under full disclosure at a huge loss.
This type of lock fail is absolutely a legitimate concern. When cutting certain types of material, if the blade gets stuck & youy need to pull up to remove it from the material, the risk of injury to your hand is a serious one. And if you keep your knives sharp, this could easily be a trip to the hospital. Imagine this happening with a knife that comes as sharp from factory as a Spyderco, Yikes. Not that I believe there's a Spyderco that has this issue, though I haven't tested all of mine.
I will be testing the rest of my knives, though, most likely on something less hard than wood. I have some nicer knives that I'm not real thrilled about marking up the spines. Anyway, thanks for this PSA, we should all expext manufacturers to be making knives under the assumption that they'll actually be used. We shouldn't accept a mindset among companies that tolerates knives to look nice & be good fidgeters without being able to withstand even moderately hard use.
Thank you for the input and all the information brother. I will be keeping track and documenting everything that everyone sends in via comments, emails and messages, it is a huge blow. When some of these knives we expect to be solid end up failing. From my experience the compression lock so far has been the one that has never failed, I haven't had a crossbar lock fail yet. Either frame, lock liner lock and button locks. Locks I've all had fail and I have not had any triad lock scorpion lock or back locks to fail yet. But I think one of the back locks that I currently have would fail. I just need to get around to testing it, thanks for being here brother and the info
After watching this I was curious about one of my favorite knives, trivisa lynx s35vn and you are right it failed after 3 spine whacks. I never really knew this was that big of an issue. One thing that I noticed is that it may be possible some aren't locking up right because the lock needs to be just a fraction of a little bit shorter for the lock to engage into the blade more
There's definitely fixes
Thats not good or safe. Last thing you want is for your knife to close on your finger or something
Exactly brother. Lock geometry is major issue
It’s a real world test. Period!
🙏🏻 I agree 💯 💯 it might not be the, be all end all but it has value for sure. thanks brother I appreciate it man 🤜🏻💥
Guess im just lucky. Checked all my vosteeds back when all this started and all good for mine. Tried my mini malice and sencut watuga i got today and all good too. Good stuff man
You are a lucky dog brother 😂 thanks man 🤜🏻💥
I love the riff. So good
Yeah brother I agree man. Great knife
None of my 24 TwoSuns or SixLeafs fail.
All types: button, frame, liner, Axis, etc., no failures
Thank you for the info. I'm documenting all the info you guys put in. That just tells me they no how to design and construct the proper geometry. Thanks brother
Fantastic video. Want a real shock and awe test? Try smacking a Sebenza 21. Despite being one of the most highly praised knives in the world, described as bank vault lockup, it's lock is incredibly feeble and weak with the lock face slipping under even the lightest pressure. Testing from Sal Glesser showed its weakness, as well as Cold Steel's testing (where it spectacularly failed and produced one of the worst results ever).
Of course, what you will find doing these types of tests is that the only thing stronger than the locks themselves will be the strawman arguments and emotional responses from the fanboys when their particular choice of knife does not do well in your testing.
"the test is not valid" 😂 well it is when there's tons of knives passing... And the people who know me, know that I'm an EMPEDC fan boy, which is why I tested them and showed one failing, same for null knives. Just to show I wasn't being a dick. I care about the people in the community and the stuff we buy and I think secrets can destroy a community or people in it. Thanks for being here brother 🤜🏻💥
I’ve personally tested the large pyrite and the Bestechman Goodboy. Spine whacked the crap out of both. And they are strong.
CJRB Knives are fantastic. I agree it can be done and it should be done. There's no excuse for them to fail when lots are made that pass. Thanks brother
Awesome Video!!! New thought about it this way!!!
Thanks brother I appreciate it man 🤜🏻💥
Good video my friend!
Thanks brother I appreciate it man 🤜🏻💥
I use the spine of my knife to scrape all the time. Piercing material can also cause a lock to fail ( which I do a lot). Lock strength is pretty important to me. Can afford to cut my fingers
Absolutely great point! The fact is too it just shouldn't be an issue. Even if the person doesn't find it to be a problem for themselves. It's still a problem with the knife. Thanks brother 🙏🏻
Do you remember when almost all ZT knives were doing the same thing
i do brother! We need to get this figured out for sure!
Still. I figured there was no way they hadn't fixed that issue and bought a 0545 when they came out. Same issue.
@@KandKo it is no doubt still going on with them. a lot of companies have gotten back on board and are now testing their locks before they leave. which is great
this might be the obvious answer , but i cant think of any other reason. its the vibration caused by the spinewhak and how it reverberates thru the material of the knife. or its the shape, or the geometry of the mechanism. whats crazy is that these companies arent checking the locks!! wtf is going on here! this is insane!! awesome video! thanks for your concern.....
Àround 4-5 years ago I remember a few companies would test the locks by doing a light spine whack test, I think over the course of time and the "drop shut" action and all of this, they stopped testing them. I believe it's a geometry issue, when they are failing due to the lightest of taps, it's geometry. Thanks for being here brother 🤜🏻
My nephew recently cut his hand quite badly, requiring stitches in hospital due to a folding knife closing on his hand. I don't know under what circumstances the knife closed other than that it closed on his hand.
Pretty sure it’s the angle of the tang where lock meets blade. There’s not enough flat to hold it in place so when pressure like that is applied because of the angle it slides out and blade closes. They need to execute blade tang better.
Neeves showed similar conclusion. He goes over why it happens.
Definitely a geometry issue and an issue for me. I no solid locks exist across all mechanisms, I want em tight! Like my women 😂
Last year, when this frame lock failure story started to break, I tested all my knives no matter the lock. I had a Sativien with a crossbar lock that failed ($25 out the window). It was on bearings and a great knife EXCEPT it failed the spine thwack test. I had a Kershaw-Emerson CQC-4KXL D2 (one of my faves!) with a frame lock that failed too. I don't use knives that might fold. I cut a lot of heavy cardboard carpet tubes. I will put a lot of pressure on the knife in the wrong way getting the knife out of the tube when I reset the knife position halfway. I don't trust frame locks anymore or cheap Chinese knives either.
I have a CJRB Chord button lock- tha was dead solid no matter how much I thwacked it. I'm not crazy about the steel but it has nice action and won't fail the spine thwack
Yeah I started a war without knowing it 😂 but I think companies started to get things figured out. I have through testing figured or some of the failures were either due to coated liners/blades or both, oil on lock face or debris. It's not a bad idea to take them apart and sand the lock face a little bit And the Tang then clean them up and see what happens. I fixed three like that
I've got the first iteration of the Vosteed Thunderbird and it did not Fail.
I had seen that Metalcomlex had problems with Vosteed Button Lock.
I think it might be a problem in the tolerances in production.
Definitely an issue in production/the rush of production and the geometry. I think rushing the knives out the door brings a lack of attention to detail, quality control and manufacturing in general. Thanks for the info and being here brother 🤜🏻💥
Great video , I think most knife enthusiasts and collectors including myself just don’t think to test our knives and maybe we just trust the quality control & integrity of the manufacturers a little to much . The reason I like flippers so much is the flipper tab can act as a guard preventing the blade from moving far enough to cause an injury if lock fails . A firm grip on a frame lock can prevent lock from disengaging the blade . Cold Steel knives had some interesting testing of competing brands & lock types and how easily many of them failed , never herd of an issue with a Tri ad lock failing with spine whacks , not a Cold steel fan boy just saying . Anyway thanks for pointing this issue out as I’ll be checking all of my knives
Agreed 💯💯💯
Waiting for the couch commandos to come in and say “you don’t spine wack a knife!” Lol. No knife should fail this test. If you stab into something those knives that failed will cut you bad.
💪🏻🙏🏻🤜🏻💥 dude it's "vibration" lmao 🤣 I agree man. I have knives I can smash in to a 2x and they laugh. When a knife folds up because of a light tap, there's an issue. Especially if you plan on using the fcker, that's the thing. Alot of people don't use them, they flick it all day, they just choose form over function. I'm a carpenter and have been one for over 15 years now, I get to use and test a lot of knives when I want on whatever I want. It's getting out of hand. We need to go back to basics and get blade and lock geometry right then if it's fidgety then fine but this shit is killing me 😂 thanks brother 🙏🏻🤜🏻
It would be very easy to do, for example, you're standing next to a table holding your open knife in your hand, arm roughly hanging to the side of your body. You go to use your knife bringing your hand up. Ordinarily your hand would have cleared the table edge without hitting it but because you were holding the ready to use knife in your hand, the extended blade bangs on the table edge causing it to close on your fingers if lifting hand up or worse, potentially between your thumb and forefinger on a downward swing, depending how you were holding the knife.
Recently, I found my new Vosteed Thunderbird in Frag Titanium button lock failed with very light taps. I made sure I was not near the button while testing. I tested other button, frame and liner locks and they passed. Out of curiosity, I tested some slip joint knives, even upping the impact, and they remain open, even without a lock. Still, the Vosteed Thunderbird fails even light taps.
It's an odd circumstance. Something that shouldn't be happening for sure. With any of the locks. Of course depending on severity locks will fail but not under light or medium taps is not ok. Thanks brother
Pretty much all locks can fail. Thickness of material helps resist lock failue or release. Lock geometry is of primary importance. If that is correct for any lock, failure, slippage or release is less likely. The spine whack test is a good test, but not the end all test. If you do a spine whack and get the correct resonance/vibration between blade and lock this will cause the lock to release. It isn't the lock so much failing as physics doing its thing. This is one reason why spine whack test isn't the definitive test. Button locks require very tight tloerances to not fail. But if tolerance are that tight, it isn't easy to operate. That is why a button lock knife shouldn't be a hard use knife. Crossbar locks are a good system but still require correct geometry. they can also be subject to resonance but less likely. Back locks, done properly are excellent. Few get them right.
Thanks for the insight And info Dirk. One thing that I don't understand is I have knives that have very tight tolerances and do not fail their lock up, but they are also very smooth and easy to open as well as easy to move the lock bar and disengage. Disengaging the lock and then the other thing that I don't understand is as far as vibration and that sort of thing. Why can I take two frame locks from the same manufacturer and one will fail due to a very light tap and another one I can smash like I'm swinging a baseball bat and it doesn't close but with equally good opening action, closing action and disengagement. Of course, I understand quality control issues and knives slipping through the cracks, but I don't believe knives should fail their lockup due to such a lightweight test on their spine. Especially when lots of knives with the same locking mechanisms pass the same exact test
Dirk btw I love a lot of your designs brother. I have several of them. Keep up the good work my man
@tacticalcenter8658 That is unfortunate. However, if everyone liked the same stuff, life would be quite boring.
@GBall_Vision I am with you. Folders shouldn't fail. We can make a long list of why they fail. For manufacturers, I think the big thing nowadays is QC. That isn't just for the lock geometry of a folder but also how everything else is fitting together. Also materials, are they getting consistent heat treat, are they maintaining their tooling, or do they use it a bit longer to save a few bucks. As for your knives with tight tolerances, that function well and don't fail. That is the result of proper design, skilled machining, and attention to detail. Doing these things right take time and cost money. That is why you don't see this as an industry standard.
Heck yeah it's a big deal to me
thanks for your input and being here brother!
I had 2 Olamic Wayfarers that failed light spine whacks, also had a McNees Mac 2 3.5" that failed as well. Lock strength/reliability is important to me so I always check knives for this when I get them, price doesn't matter. The only knives I would fully trust even without testing them are from Demko and CRK, maybe Hogue but I've seen issues before with axis style locks.
I would say Demko, Cold Steel, and every spyderco compression lock I've tested has passed. I've heard even crk knives failing. But not done by me