Quote Originally Posted by Wildtim View Post
Really sad huh. Locking isn't a combat feature, it is a safety feature to keep the blade open under pressure when in use, yet the idiots have assumed its a combat feature because all folders of the type they think looks evil do this. Never mind that all modern folders have some type of locking mechanism for safety (even the folding garden saw I own locks open).

Spring assisted knives are illegal in my home state too. Though once again for no good reason, that thumb stud works just as fast and sometimes more reliably than a spring action.
Yea Tim, you're right. The lock is purely a safety feature. The first lock blade knife I owned was a Boy Scouts of America Whittling Knife. I had the BSA logo and a liner type lock on one of the blades so it wouldn't accidentally close down on the little scout's fingers.

To your second point, although I love a good switchblade (and I own more than a few), the Axis Lock on my Benchmade EDC gives me such control over the blade I can open and close it faster, much faster than the Foster automatic I opened this thread with.