Liner Lock Folding Knife, Hand Forged 1095 with Black Micarta Handle

A liner lock folder is the plain modern pocket knife build. The blade turns on one pin at the front of the handle, and a small post on its side lets you push it open with a thumb. A steel leaf inside the handle springs across behind the blade to hold it out. This one is a 3.5 inch drop point in hand forged 1095, 8.25 inches open, with black canvas micarta scales.

Specification

The blade

The steel is 1095 high carbon, forged and ground by hand and left dark gray from the fire, with the bevel taken up bright against it. The shape is a drop point, so the spine curves down to the edge and the point sits low with a belly for slicing. The trade with 1095 is worth knowing. It takes a keen edge and comes back on a stone quickly, and it darkens and rusts if it is put away wet.

How it opens and closes

It opens with one hand. The thumb stud is a small round post on the side of the blade near the base, so you set a thumb on it and roll the blade out until it stops. Inside the handle a thin steel leaf sits under tension, and when the blade swings clear that leaf springs across behind its base. That is the lock. To close it, push the leaf sideways with a thumb until it moves off the blade, then fold the blade down into the handle.

The handle

The scales are black canvas micarta, layers of cotton canvas set in resin and ground back, so the weave shows faintly under a matte face with a fine tooth. That tooth gives a hand something to hold when the scales are wet. There are no bolsters here, so the scales run the full length. Three rivets pass through into the liners, ground flush so nothing catches in a pocket.

What it is for

This is a knife for ordinary cutting. It opens boxes and mail, breaks down cardboard, cuts twine and tape and slices an apple at a desk. It is not a kitchen knife and it is not a pry bar, and running the edge into staples will chip it.

The leather pouch

The pouch is a flat sleeve rather than a fitted case. The closed knife drops in mouth first and a snap strap closes over the mouth. The vegetable tanned leather is stitched by hand down both sides in cream thread, and the face is tooled with a stamped herringbone pattern inside a double border line. Each stamp is struck by hand.

Who it suits

This is the knife people buy when they want one folder to keep in a pocket and use without thinking about it.

• Anyone wanting one folder for daily jobs
• Buyers who want a handle that shrugs off damp
• People who like opening a knife with one hand
• First time buyers of a hand forged folder

What comes in the box

• The liner lock folding knife
• The tooled leather slip pouch
• A care card

Every piece is different

Each blade is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small and no two come out the same. The weave in the micarta and the leather stamping vary from the photographs.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry after use and never put it away wet. Carbon steel darkens with use, and that gray patina is normal and protects the steel. A drop of light oil in the pivot keeps the action smooth. Never a dishwasher. More in our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece and you add it on this page. Around 30 characters fits on the blade. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

What is a liner lock? A thin steel leaf inside the handle springs across behind the base of the blade when it opens. You push it sideways to close the knife.

What is a thumb stud? It is the small round post on the side of the blade that your thumb pushes to open it.

Can it be opened with one hand? Yes, that is what the thumb stud is for.

Is it legal to carry? Knife carry laws differ by state, city and country, so check the rules where you live before you carry it. We cannot advise on that.

Is it a spring assisted or automatic knife? No, it opens by hand.

Will 1095 steel rust? It can if left wet. Dry it after use and oil it.

For the same steel in a farm pattern try the sodbuster folding knife in walnut, and for Damascus on a lock back the Damascus folding pocket knife in rosewood. More sits in folding knives, everyday carry knives and 1095 high carbon.