The Spyderco Brouwer and the Surefire Titan Plus

As we endure the reign of the TFF for what now is the second decade, its time to look at things that could be done to improve the King of Locks. Over the years since the first Chris Reeve Sebenza, the titanium frame lock has come to dominate the custom market. Aside from fixed blades and slipjoints about 90% of the locks on customs are frame locks. If you exclude the high end art knives that number rises to about 95%. In all that time there have been many iterations and improvements on the frame lock.

The Overtravel Stop

Frame locks rarely suffer catastrophic damage. When they do, it usually has to do with the lock bar coming out of alignment-either overflexing outwardly ending or getting bent up or down too much. Either way, without something to prevent the lock bar from swinging out of alignment, the frame lock, at least in theory, is susceptible to knife-ending damage. Rick Hinderer invented the overtravel stop. You can find them on all of his knives and all of the ZT collabs he did including the pretty decent ZT0562. This small button shaped stop on the middle of the lock bar ensures that everything remains exactly where it should be. The result is a much more stable lock. It is a bit of an eye sore, adding yet another fastener and component to a knife when it doesn’t need it, but the overtravel stop does solve a problem endemic to the form.

The Overlay

In addition to the possibility of the lock bar wandering, lock bars can also be a bit to slick. Without any grip enhancements, the raw titanium, even when blasted, eventually wears down to a smooth surface promoting insufficient grip. One solution, used by a lot of companies and most easily seen on the Spyderco PPT is the use of an overlay of material. That way you get the benefit of a frame lock without the slick grip of a frame lock. The overlay also reduces the ugliness and asymmetry of a frame lock.

The Lock bar Interface

In addition to the lock bar coming out of alignment, it is also possible for the lock bar to wear in too much and lose its ability to stop the blade without introducing blade play. The solution here, of course, has been the introduction of the often-replaced lock bar interface. This small bit of extra hard steel is a cap on the end of the lock bar that makes sure that the ultra hard steel does not mar the comparatively soft surface of the lock bar. Some designs even combine the insert and the overtravel stop for a pretty clever solution to the two most common problems with a frame lock.

Amazingly though, there is yet another solution, one often overlooked that solves all three problems at once. Its called a liner lock. As seen on thousands of designs, this brilliant design is just better than a frame lock, yet for reasons that I hope have been made clear in this tongue and cheek post, it remains less popular than it should be, especially with the custom knife crowd. Like gut hooks and Tec Track inserts, my hope is that we see the frame lock wan. Its pretty bad, honestly and while none of these problems are anywhere near as common as the inventors their solutions suggest they are, why bother when the liner lock is easier to make and lacking the main flaws. And its not about robust design—its a folder, after all, if you want robust get a fixed blade.

I can’t wait for the TFF reign of terror to end and all of us come back to our collective senses. There is a cheap, easy, and smart solution. And it has been right under our noses for decades.

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