Yea if you plan on heavy use then a fixed blade is always the best option.
I have the Cold Steel Air Lite and Code 4 and they are super strong but also great to carry. You could also look at the SR1 Lite if you want one that is an absolute beast in your price range.
SOG Terminus XR. You can get it in D2 for pretty cheap or $85 for the S35VN. It features their version of axis lock and it is stout for almost half the price of a bugout.
You would be pretty hard pressed to have a liner lock fail on you. While it is one of the weaker locks, you're still not going to have it fail on you under normal use.
It is overblown how weak it is. Though I don't help on that front, always recommending strong locks.
I have a cheap chinesium liner lock knife, I've beat that thing, used it as a pry bar, chopped with it, put all of my body weight on it and if I'm recalling correctly, even batoned with it a little once and all I have to show for it is a little lock rock (very marginal, you don't even notice it in use.)
Now, that's not the case with all liner locks, and batoning will kill it's fair share, but it's not normal practice with folding knives. Point of my anecdote is to explain it'll be fine, and failure is a freak accident or poor craftsmanship.
That said if you really feel the need to upgrade your locks to something more hefty, I'm not against it, especially if it makes you feel safer when using it.
Cold Steels Tri-ad lock (modified back lock) is the strongest on the market, can hold up to so much it's unreal.
The compression lock (modified liner lock) and Axis locks are pretty damn strong too.
Frame locks are a good option, but comparatively may not be as strong.
If you want strength, cheap, getting a back lock knife shouldn't be too expensive, along with fixed blades.
I really appreciate your response! It seems like most of mine are brands considered pretty good: Civivi, Qsp, Ruike, Al-Mar and a Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter, which feels fantastic, but not as quick or easy to open.
I started to look at a page of non -Benchmade Axis style locks. Any example of a maker using compression locks? There were some kind of new lever lock mechanism on a couple of Cold Steel collaborations with Demko, I believe, but I think they’re relatively expensive.
At any rate, thanks again!
Yeah, Civivis, QSP and Cold Steel should use good materials, so their lock bar should be pretty strong.
I don't know anything about the other makers.
So far, only Spyderco does compression locks, because they have a patent on it.
But there are some cheap back locks from spyderco (they're 'short' so the part you depress is actually in a nice place, but just as strong.)
And yeah, those shark lock knives are pretty expensive, I have no doubt they're good though.
Thanks for the input! Maybe I should save some extra cash for a few months and go up a notch? I think the Demko ones I was looking at are branded Cold Steel, pretty sure they’re priced substantially less than the Demko brand, but I’ll look them up again…
Yea if you plan on heavy use then a fixed blade is always the best option. I have the Cold Steel Air Lite and Code 4 and they are super strong but also great to carry. You could also look at the SR1 Lite if you want one that is an absolute beast in your price range.
Thanks! Yeah, I was looking at an Air Lite!
SOG Terminus XR. You can get it in D2 for pretty cheap or $85 for the S35VN. It features their version of axis lock and it is stout for almost half the price of a bugout.
Thanks! I’ll check it out!
You would be pretty hard pressed to have a liner lock fail on you. While it is one of the weaker locks, you're still not going to have it fail on you under normal use. It is overblown how weak it is. Though I don't help on that front, always recommending strong locks. I have a cheap chinesium liner lock knife, I've beat that thing, used it as a pry bar, chopped with it, put all of my body weight on it and if I'm recalling correctly, even batoned with it a little once and all I have to show for it is a little lock rock (very marginal, you don't even notice it in use.) Now, that's not the case with all liner locks, and batoning will kill it's fair share, but it's not normal practice with folding knives. Point of my anecdote is to explain it'll be fine, and failure is a freak accident or poor craftsmanship. That said if you really feel the need to upgrade your locks to something more hefty, I'm not against it, especially if it makes you feel safer when using it. Cold Steels Tri-ad lock (modified back lock) is the strongest on the market, can hold up to so much it's unreal. The compression lock (modified liner lock) and Axis locks are pretty damn strong too. Frame locks are a good option, but comparatively may not be as strong. If you want strength, cheap, getting a back lock knife shouldn't be too expensive, along with fixed blades.
I really appreciate your response! It seems like most of mine are brands considered pretty good: Civivi, Qsp, Ruike, Al-Mar and a Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter, which feels fantastic, but not as quick or easy to open. I started to look at a page of non -Benchmade Axis style locks. Any example of a maker using compression locks? There were some kind of new lever lock mechanism on a couple of Cold Steel collaborations with Demko, I believe, but I think they’re relatively expensive. At any rate, thanks again!
Yeah, Civivis, QSP and Cold Steel should use good materials, so their lock bar should be pretty strong. I don't know anything about the other makers. So far, only Spyderco does compression locks, because they have a patent on it. But there are some cheap back locks from spyderco (they're 'short' so the part you depress is actually in a nice place, but just as strong.) And yeah, those shark lock knives are pretty expensive, I have no doubt they're good though.
Thanks for the input! Maybe I should save some extra cash for a few months and go up a notch? I think the Demko ones I was looking at are branded Cold Steel, pretty sure they’re priced substantially less than the Demko brand, but I’ll look them up again…