Folding Knife Lock Types: Understanding the Best Pocket Knife Locks
A locking pocket knife has important safety features that can help prevent accidental injury by securing the blade in the open position. This makes it a safer and more versatile tool than a slipjoint knife, which can close accidentally if pressure is applied to the blade. Locking pocket knives are also more suitable for heavier jobs than non-locking knives.
Having trouble deciding which locking mechanism is best for you? This primer of some of the most popular locks on the market should help.
Types of Pocket Knife Locks
Lockback Pocket Knives
A Lockback (or back lock) pocket knife uses a spring loaded lock bar inline with the blade with a “tooth” on the end. This tooth fits into a notch in the blade and keeps the blade from closing. A cutout in the handle spine allows you to push down on the lock bar to lift the tooth out of the notch and close the blade, usually needing two hands to unlock.
The Buck 110 is a classic example of a lockback folding knife. Released in 1964, it was advertised as the first folding knife that could do the work of the fixed blade thanks to the durability of its lock, and it still stands up today as a hard working knife.
Cold Steel’s popular Tri-Ad Lock is an even stronger version of a back lock with proprietary changes that improve the strength and longevity of the mechanism. Their AD10 is a perfect example of how robust a knife can be with this mechanism. You can find Cold Steel’s Tri-Ad Lock knives under our lockback knives section.
The Lockback is also known as: Back Lock
Liner Lock Pocket Knives
A liner lock pocket knife uses the metal liner that supports the handle as a leaf spring to lock the knife. When the blade is opened, a portion of the liner flexes over and clicks into place against the tang of the blade. This type of lock can be closed using one hand by pushing the liner out of the way with your thumb and slowly closing the blade with your index finger.
Custom knifemaker Michael Walker is credited with refining and popularizing the modern version of the liner lock mechanism that is used across the entire industry today.
The CIVIVI Elementum is a modern flipper pocket knife that uses a liner lock. The Elementum is one of our go-to recommendations for an affordable EDC pocket knife with very high build quality and sharpness.
The Liner Lock is also known as: Walker Lock
Frame Lock Pocket Knives
The frame lock is an evolution of the liner lock knife that uses a portion of its handle, usually steel or titanium, to flex into place against the tang of the blade when it is opened. This allows more metal to secure the blade than a liner lock and is generally seen as stronger. A frame lock can be easily closed with one hand in the same way as a liner lock.
Chris Reeve introduced the world to the frame lock with the Sebenza in 1987 and it continues to be a high-quality model prized by collectors and users around the world.
The Frame Lock is also known as: Reeve Integral Lock
Button Lock Pocket Knives
A pocket knife with a button lock, also known as a plunge lock, uses a spring-loaded post to secure the blade in the open position and is used on both manual and automatic knives. This post sticks out of one side of the handle to form the button that you push to disengage the lock. One advantage of a button lock is that your fingers never cross the path of the blade when operating the lock, and they are typically easily used by both left and right-handed users.
The CJRB Pyrite is one of the best affordable everyday carry (EDC) pocket knives using a button lock. It is popular thanks to a versatile blade, high-quality construction, and smooth operation thanks to the button lock and ball-bearings in its pivot.
The Button Lock is also known as: Plunge Lock
Crossbar & AXIS-Lock Knives
Crossbar Lock is the industry-standard name for the lock originally offered by Benchmade with the AXIS-Lock name. This lock uses a metal bar that sticks through both sides of the handle with springs that push the bar forward and into the back of the blade. This type of lock is fully ambidextrous since the crossbar protrudes from both sides of the handle for easy operation with either hand while keeping your fingers out of the path of the blade.
The Benchmade Bugout is a Crossbar Lock knife prized for its low weight, efficient blade, and its AXIS-Lock which provides smooth operation, reliability, and strong lock strength.
The Crossbar Lock is also known as: AXIS, ABLE Lock, XR Lock, Clutch Lock, Pivot Lock, Dura Lock, more…
Slide Lock Pocket Knives
Slide Locks use a sliding switch to open and close the blade and are almost exclusively seen on double-action out-the-front automatic knives (DA OTFs). Here, the blade is held in both the open and closed positions by a locking gate that digs into a notch or notches in the blade. When the slider is pushed in the direction you want the blade to go, a spring is compressed against the gate until a groove in the mechanism causes the gate to fold and release the spring tension, allowing the blade to open or close.
The Microtech Combat Troodon is considered by many to be the ultimate tactical OTF knife with a Slide Lock thanks to its capable size, superb build quality, and strong spring-fired action.
Compression Lock Pocket Knives
Originally invented by Spyderco, the Compression Lock is similar to a liner lock but it adds a small tab to the end of its leaf spring that fits into a matching notch in the blade when opened. This allows the locking force to be spread in multiple directions rather than just the single plane of the liner lock.
The Compression Lock is released by a cutout on the spine side of the knife, although sometimes a button can be used to pass through the handle and release the lock. Both have the advantage of keeping your fingers out of the blade’s path when closing the knife.
The Spyderco Paramilitary 2 is easily the most recognizable Compression Lock knife on the market. It takes the tactical power of the popular Spyderco Military model and packages it in a more nimble knife more suited for everyday carry.