Locking Systems

A Locking Blade is a blade on a folding knife that has a special mechanism (Locking System) such that when the blade is opened it Locks in place and cannot be closed without manually "opening" (or Releasing) the lock to allow the blade to be folded closed. Knives that contain a Locking Blade are often referred to as Lock Blades, and are often treated differently in government knife regulations. A number of Swiss Army Knives contain a Locking Blade, and they use a variety of Locking Systems to lock the blade.

Table of Contents

Victorinox Locking Systems
- Slide Lock
- Liner Lock
Wenger Locking Systems

Victorinox

Victorinox Locking Systems

Slide Lock

The Slide Lock is used on a number of 111mm model Victorinox knives. This mechanism has a small spring loaded metal shaft that is pulled "upwards." When the blade is opened, an area behind the base of the blade is exposed and the shaft clicks upward. After the shaft has moved into place it prevents the blade from rotating back down, and thus closing. On the side of the knife, built into the scale, is a gray slide approx. 1cm square that is used to Release the lock. When the Release is slid down the metal shaft behind the blade is pulled down, freeing the blade to rotate or fold closed.

An email from Victorinox in response to the Strength of the Slide Lock. Aug 2008

''The blade releases via the slider on the rear shell of the handle. It is comfortably and easy to operate and as you mentioned only for accidental closing. The bestsellers in this series are the Picnicker, Rucksack and the Outrider. The model Workchamp xl is aimed at knife collectors.

At the moment we are developing an improving the spring for the locking blade and slider system. During testing of an material sample the stress strain curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between stress,derived from measuring the load applied on the sample and strain derived from measuring the deformation of the sample i.e. elongation, compression, or distortion. Steel generally exhibits a very linear stress-strain relationship up to a well defined yield point. The linear portion of the curve is in the elastic region and the slope is the modulus of elasticity or Young`s modulus. A torque in physics, also called moment, is a vector that measures the tendency of a force to rotate an object about some axis(center). The magnitude of a torque is defined as the product of a force and the length of the lever arm(radius) M=FxI. To stay in the elastic region a torque of maximum 10,8Nm should not be exceeded.

However we found them to be insufficiently robust and sturdy for the fire brigades, the rescue services the police and army forces. For this reason we developed a knife (0,83-0,84) of the same shape and size but much stronger, with thicker rivets and blades, Liner-lock for the blade and powerful screwdriver. In this range you will find the Victorinox lock blade for one hand opening (e.g. Rescuetool ).''

Liner Lock

Liner Lock on Main Blade

Locking Caplifter

The Liner Lock mechanism is the second locking system used on Victorinox Swiss Army Knives. According to Victorinox the Liner Lock mechanism is more robust and can handle greater stress or load before failure. A nice attribute of this locking system is that the Cap-Lifter/Screwdriver also locks. This is a welcomed addition and makes the tool very robust as both a screwdriver and small pry bar.

Wenger

Wenger Locking Systems

Liner Lock

Some models in Wenger's original Ranger series featured a liner lock system. The lock on these models is released with a sliding button on the bottom scale.

Wenger's NewRanger series of knives employ a standard liner lock to lock the main blade open. Release of this lock is accomplished by depressing the white and red Wenger cross button on the side of the handle.

Packlock System for Main Blade

Wenger uses their Packlock system on some 85mm knives.

Tool Interlock Release

Some 65mm Wenger knives feature a locking knife blade that is interlocked with the nailfile tool. To release the lock, the nailfile must be opened to the 90 degree position.