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Locking blade

Also called lock blade, locking knife, lockback, liner lock, frame lock

What is a locking blade?

A locking blade is a folding knife blade that a mechanism holds rigidly open until you release it, so it cannot snap shut on your fingers. Lockbacks, liner locks, frame locks and locking rings are the common types, and most backpacking folders longer than about two inches have one.

Locking blade at a glance

Job
Holds the blade open until released
Common types
Lockback, liner, frame, AXIS, ring
Worth having
On any folding blade over about 2 inches

Why does a folding knife need a lock?

A folding blade without a lock is held open only by spring tension. Press down hard on something tough, or catch the spine on the cutting board, and the blade can swing closed across your fingers. A lock turns the folded knife into something that behaves like a fixed blade while it is open.

Small blades on keychain tools usually skip the lock, and that is fine for slicing tape and food bags. For anything you grip hard, a lock is the safety feature that matters most.

What are the common types of knife lock?

A lockback has a rocker bar along the spine of the handle that drops into a notch on the blade; you press the bar to close it. A liner lock uses a springy strip of the handle liner that slides behind the open blade, and a frame lock does the same with the handle itself.

Benchmade's AXIS lock uses a spring-loaded bar across the handle that you pull back with a thumb from either side. Opinel's locking ring is a steel collar you twist over the blade. All of them do the same job; they differ in how easy they are to close with one hand.

What this means when you're choosing

  • A lock that engages fully with no wiggle in the open blade
  • A release you can work with cold or gloved hands
  • A one-hand close if you often cut while holding food

The common mistake

Treating a locked blade as a pry bar

A lock stops the blade folding under normal cutting pressure. It is not built for twisting or prying, which can bend the lock or snap the tip. Use pliers or a stick for prying.

Common questions

Is a liner lock or a lockback better?

Neither is clearly stronger in normal use. A liner lock is easy to close with one hand; a lockback is usually closed with two. Choose on how the knife feels to open and close, not on the lock type alone.

Does a Swiss Army knife have a locking blade?

The small models such as the Classic SD do not. Some larger Victorinox models add a lock to the main blade. A small non-locking blade is fine for light slicing.

Where this is defined

Where this comes up

Guides on Tom's Hiking where locking blade changes which product is right for you.

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Permethrin

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By Tom · Last reviewed . Back to the glossary