How does the "compression lock work ?

[Allen E. Treat]

To Sal / All ;

I'm ordering the Frank Centofante "Vesuvius" in August and was

just wondering how the "compression lock"

mechanism works ; I know, being a Sypderco, it must be easy ( and sturdy )



Sincerely,



A.E.T.

[Jeff/1911]

A.E.T,

I'm glad you asked that...I've been wondering this myself.

Jeff/1911.

[Joe Talmadge]

First, go to:

http://www.spyderco.com/education/anatomy.asp?sts=7%2F24%2F2001+4%3A52%3A16+PM&mscss id=K9PE1E91R4XT8LF5P0RHLX6HGQTG94V4

See the compression lock? If the link didn't work, go to www.spyderco.com, hit edge-u-cation, then hit the knife anatomy button.

Okay, now, see the compression lock? It's on the vesuvius diagram. Here are the relevant features:

See the liner on the bottom? As you can see, it's split like a liner lock. But notice that at the very front of the split part, there's a little finger of metal sticking out, labelled "compression insert".

Okay, now look above that at the diagram of the blade. At the back of the blade, see the little surface labelled "compression surface". Also note just above that is the anvil pin.

So, the compression lock is basically like a liner lock, but the little finger projection on the liner fits in the notch between the compression surface and the anvil pin.

Now, we all know how liner locks fail. They fail when they are whacked on the spine, or or torqued. That causes the liner to travel along the back of the blade spine, and you end up with accidental disengagement of the lock. With the compression lock, the compression insert gets pinched between the compression surface and the anvil pin, so the lock is pinned in place. The beauty here is, the more stress you put on the blade spine, the harder the compression insert is pinched, and the more firmly the lock stays in place. So, you make a subtle change to a liner lock, and end up with a lock that is significantly more reliable.

That's the theory anyway, I don't have one yet to test first-hand, but there have been some knowledgeable testers who were unable to make it fail. A friend just picked up a Vesuvius for me, so I'll get my first look at a compression lock this week!

Joe

[ftkinney]

joe--i look forward to hearing about your reaction to the compression lock.

FTK

[Jeff/1911]

Joe,

Thank you for your excellent and thorough explanation. I appreciate the effort.

Jeff/1911.