Page 59 - Blade (February 2020)
P. 59
ockbacks are some of the old-
est locking-blade folders extant.
LBefore the linerlock, the AXIS™
Lock, the Compression Lock®, the fra-
melock and more, there were lockbacks.
Operating off a lever principle, the
lockback has a spring bias that places
a tooth in the end of the bar into a
corresponding notch in the tang,
which in turn prevents the blade from
inadvertently folding closed. Th e release
or lockbar is situated at the rear of the
handle, though some lockbacks have the
release in the middle* for ease of one-
hand closing. Lockbacks appear more
in the outdoor, hunting and EDC folder
genres and rarely in today’s tactical
models. They cost less to manufacture
than most other locks as well.
FEATURE CREATURE
SOG’s Salute line of lockbacks exhibits
several hallmarks of modern tactical
folders: one-hand opening, pocket-clip
carry, a textured black G-10 handle and
a bead-blasted blade finish. Th e new
Salute Mini shrinks the Salute down
to a nice EDC size while retaining the
features that make SOG tactical folders
The wharncliffe blade of the V Nives Rocky excels at scoring famous. The 3-inch clip-point blade
materials such as linoleum. The defi ned point cuts with authority is 8Cr13MoV stainless steel and holds
and the straight edge is easy to sharpen.
an edge well while remaining easy to
sharpen in the fi eld. The clip point’s
defined blade tip makes it good for
scoring and penetrating.
A notable feature is the ambidextrous
thumb stud that sits inside an oblong
slot in the blade. The setup enables
you to position the stud to personalize
the opening action to your taste. Th e
stud has a slot you can loosen/tighten
with a flathead screwdriver. You can
position the stud anywhere within the
slot and torque it down, personalizing
the opening action of the knife to your
liking. I know of the feature on no other
knife of the type.
The heavy-duty handle has two
stainless steel liners with a textured
black G-10 handle. The SOG logo is
machined into both sides. Scallops
cut into various areas of the liners
The thumb stud of the SOG Mini Salute has a slot promote a nonslip grip. A deep-carry
that loosens and/or tightens with a small fl athead clip sports the SOG logo. I’d like to see
screwdriver. You can position the stud anywhere a more plain-looking clip used as the
in the slot and torque it down, personalizing the
opening action of the knife to your liking. cutouts that form the SOG logo may
compromise the clip’s durability.
Another Salute Mini feature—it’s on
FEBRUARY 2020 blademag.com 59
