Lock Up - Tactical Folding Knives
WELCOME TO THE NO BS ZONE OF TEDDY JACOBSON
THIS COMMENTARY AS WELL AS ALL MY PREVIOUS COMMENTARIES ARE MY PERSONAL OPINION AND MY PERSONAL VIEWPOINT ONLY. ALL QUOTES BY OTHER PEOPLE WERE COPIED AND PASTED FROM A PUBLIC FORUM AND OR AN EMAIL SENT TO ME. THEY WERE PUBLIC INFORMATION.
NEW GUN RELATED COMMENTARY WILL BE WRITTEN IN A FEW DAYS
STILL WAITING FOR MY TEFLON TRIGGER TO BE RETURNED TO ME AS PROMISED. JUST TO REMIND EVERYONE I AM A TRIGGER SPECIALIST AND I AM SEMI RETIRED. I CAN DISCUSS THE INTRICATE TRIGGER ACTIONS ON ANY OF THE ONE HUNDRED PLUS HANDGUNS I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH. I DO NOT KNOW ANY ONE IN NORTH AMERICA THAT CAN SAY THIS.
I want to discuss TACTICAL KNIVES and the way they lock up as getting a reliable knife is just as important as getting a handgun. NO, I AM NOT SUGGESTING YOU TAKE A KNIFE TO A GUN FIGHT.
There are a world of knives out there and there are many factors involved in deciding which is the right TACTICAL FOLDER for you.
The majority of the current crop of TACTICAL FOLDERS include a liner lock. Regardless of brands let me clear all this up for you. A liner lock is used on a $50.00 knife as well as a $250.00 Microtech knife which is top of the line in many ways. I have seen people who have had medium priced liner lock knives that folded up on them. They almost lost their fingers. I now have to think long and hard before I would ever purchase the average liner lock TACTICAL FOLDING KNIFE.
I own a lot of knives, ever since I was a kid I wanted the best folding knife I could ever afford. When you look at a liner lock folding knife, the manufacturer uses the inner liner that swings over behind the very rear of the blade where it pivots, and when you close it you just push the liner lock over and close the blade. Its that simple and at first seems like a good idea until there is extreme torque put on the blade from the various angles and then it may not hold. This liner that is holding open your blade is about 1/16 of an inch thick and usually made out of brass.
I am going to explain how some companies have improved their liner lock system. CRKT which stands for Columbia River Knife and Tool Company has a liner lock that has a secondary lock to insure the initial liner lock will not fail. All the model M16 knives have this feature incorporated into every knife of the M16 line. It works and it works very well, these are superb knives for the money and they are made in Taiwan. I have yet to see a CRKT knife I did not like and there are very few people that have my attention to detail. I own $500.00 custom folders that are not as good as CRKT.
MOD stands for Masters of Defense and they are now owned by Blackhawk industries. These are well made premium knives that are hundreds of dollars and they do also make a premium TACTICAL FOLDER that incorporates a secondary lock to back up their liner lock. I think the model is called the DIETER. This premium folder is about $250.00 and very well made. Most of the other companies do NOT have a secondary back up lock to their liner lock design. If I had to say which company has the best liner lock with no secondary back up lock it would be MICROTECH KNIVES, these are first class and very well made and high priced for those that want the very best. They are as sharp as a razor.
Many companies are now going to the frame lock design. What this means is that they are using the entire frame side of the knife that swings over to hold the blade in the locked open position. One of these companies is Camillus which now makes an assisted opening knife that incorporates this frame lock on their premium Titanium folder. This is not a cheap knife, it is very well made and with the assisted opening feature makes it a lot easier to use. This Camillus "DOMINATOR" in the Titanium version is about $200.00 I own one and I really like it. They just came out with one using some type of Zytel handle which is light weight. I have not yet had a chance to see one of these knives.
BENCHMADE makes an excellent knife. They have an extensive line of TACTICAL FOLDERS. They use liner locks and they work well but I would much rather buy their frame lock or the Benchmade AXIS lock that they are famous for. It was designed by 2 knife designers and they have an arrangement with Benchmade to use it on their knives. These AXIS locked folders are superb and if you want to keep your cost down and still get their AXIS lock buy a model called the "GRAPTILIAN" which comes in two sizes and their larger size has about a 3.5 inch blade. This knife has a Zytel type handle and comes in various handle colors, mine is O.D. Geeen.
SOG makes a very superior knife. I personally like their VISION series and they have an ARC lock design that is similar to the Benchmade Axis lock. The Vision series I am referring to comes in two models, one has a Zytel handle and the other is a heavier Titanium handle that runs about $200.00 but is not easy to find. These knives are made in Seki, Japan and they are as well made as it gets. They are easy to open with one hand as is the Axis lock mentioned above. These two folders I am talking about come in a modified Tanto design and are sharp as a razor. SOG makes a very nice line of knives of all kinds and you really should go to their website as well as all the other knife company websites and look around.
NO ONE MAKES A SHARPER KNIFE THAN COLD STEEL. I know the owner and his name is Lynn Thompson and hes been very pleasant with me. If you want a knife for serious purposes this is it. If you go to his website I think you can sign up for a free DVD that covers his very extensive line of knives. I would recommend his VOYAGER model and you can get it in any blade length you want up to a six inch blade. These superior VOYAGERS are made using a Zytel light weight handle and the LOCKING BACK will hold under most any circumstances you can ever think of. These are just harder for me to open because I carry my knives on my right side and I am a lefty, the reason I do this is because my GLOCK is on my left side. For very serious people going into harms way this very large VOYAGER is the way to go. Be sure to check with your local authorities and find out what is the legal length of a blade they will allow you to carry. If you want to see a knife that is ready for hell, look at the LARGE VAQUERO MODEL, WHEN OPENED IT IS ABOUT 13 INCES LONG.
SPYDERCO makes a very good knife that is very easy to open with one hand. They are Razor sharp and make so many models I do not know where to start. These are the knives with the large hole in the blade for your thumb to rotate it open. They usually use a lock back design on their folders. It would be best to visit their website and look around. Their POLICE MODEL has always been one of my favorites and it is a very large knife. I have always like SPYDERCO knives and if you want to see one that is made for serious work, look at their CIVILLIAN MODEL. This is a very unusual knife that is not for everyone, this is not for opening your mail, go see for yourself.
There is no way I can mention every knife model and company I am familiar with. Your personal requirements will tell you what you need. You need a daily carry knife to open mail and or cut cord buy a CASE knife or if you have detailed requirements look for Swiss Army Knives made by Victorinox or Wenger, they are both very good. I know that I have not mentioned AL MAR and GERBER and KERSHAW and BUCK and EMERSON, etc, etc, etc. I have only mentioned the very knives that I like to own. I have really seen most of them at one time or another.
Buying a good Tactical Folder is very important and when my son CHARLES went to BOSNIA I gave him a COLD STEEL VOYAGER KNIFE, that alone should tell you something.
I have tried to concentrate on the various locking mechanisms in this commentary. I have not touched on sharpening or the types of steel and the shape of the blade. What is good for one person is not always good for the other guy. I can only point you in the right direction and I will try and locate many of these knife websites up here either later or tomorrow so you will have the link to add to your favorites. Take this commentary very serious and get a good Tactical folder that will not let you down. I never rely on one handgun, I never rely on one knife. In the end the decision is yours.
My good friend ANTHONY TAYLOR is a knife dealer and if you have any questions about some of these knives he is more qualified to answer these questions about the different models than I am. You can email him at actII@comcast.net In some cases he may have these models in stock or can get you one at a decent price.
http://www.camillusknives.com/
THIS COMMENTARY AS WELL AS ALL MY PREVIOUS COMMENTARIES ARE MY PERSONAL OPINION AND MY PERSONAL VIEWPOINT ONLY.
Teddy
PUBLIC QUOTES BY OTHER PEOPLE
Critterpatriotcustoms.
Registered: Sep xxxxLocation: Augusta, GA
Teddy does first rate work, and it is my understanding his turn time is quite quick these days.
__________________
1911 Online instructorNRA Handgun InstructorIDPA Safety Officer
"It is really hard to be humble when you are as great as I am, so I don't even try. I have built great 1911's for a long time but I build them my way. All new parts. Beat the slides and recievers together with lead hammers".
Hello Teddy! Just wanted to say I wqas playing around last night and pulledthe XXXX you did for me out of the safe. Best trigger I've got, period.Amazing work.
THIS THREAT COMES FROM A MAN THAT JUST GOT HIS FFL LICENSE, I FORGOT MORE THAT HE KNOWS, I DO NOT TAKE KINDLY TO THREATS FROM WANNAABBEESS THAT HAVE VERY LIMITED KNOWLEDGE WHICH IS CONFINED TO 1911 PISTOLS. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A TRIGGER MAN WITH OVER 60 ARTICLES IN PRINT IN EVERY MAJOR GUN PUBLICATION AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER. MANY OF THE NOTED GUN WRITERS IN THE INDUSTRY CARRY HANDGUNS I DID FOR THEM..............TJ
You are here by told to remove references of me. If you insist on putting references of me on your blogger, I will also 'promote' you through pictures of your work and my opinions of it including this picture and MANY others. I will also enlist the help of other people I have helped advise keep a low profile and not 'skull drag' you through the forums.
I am also sending a copy of this to xxxxx so you can 'claim' you were informed by him. You have until 5PM eastern today to comply or I will be obligated to put my full recommendation up in public just to be totally fair.
Thanks,
Bill Zollo (EMAIL SENT TO ME, WRITTEN BY BILL ZOLLO)
It seems like Mr.Zollo thinks he can threaten me after just getting his FFL license and he thinks he is now a major player in the pistolsmithing business, this is the very person that sends his 1911 hammers to another Smith to cut on a milling machine because he does not know how (he said this on a public forum). Mr. Zollo is not a full time professional SMITH, he has not paid his dues like people like me. I suggest you do not quit your day job, as its very difficult making a living as a full time professional Smith. A REPUTATION MUST BE EARNED. A person can get a lot from me with being honest and having high morals and high integrity, some one I can respect. DO NOT EVER THREATEN ME. IF YOU MAKE A PHYSICAL THREAT TO ME, IT WILL BE SENT TO THE FEDS AND THE TEXAS POLICE IMMEDIATELY.
The owners of these forums and their moderators will surely not put up with attacks on a third party if the person is not even able to defend themselves, because they do not go to forums. I have only put up your very own comments and nothing more. This can all go away if you and your cronies get out of my life forever and my Teflon Trigger is returned as promised by Dean Taylor.
posted by Teddy Jacobson at 7:30 PM
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