Knife Locks & Blade Grinds

LOCKING MECHANISMS from knifecenter.com
1) LOCKING LINER - this particular locking system was refined by knifemaker Michael Walker. The actual locking mechanism is incorporated in the liner of the handle, hence the name. If there is a metal sheet inside the handle material, it is called a liner. With a locking liner, opening the blade will allow this metal will flex over and butt against the base of the blade inside the handle, locking it open. Moving this liner aside will release this lock allowing the blade to close. Disengagement of the lock is performed with the thumb, allowing for one handed, hassle free action. Locking liners are commonly found on tactical folders, both production and custom.
2) LOCKBACK - this style of lock has a spring-loaded locking bar with a tooth at the end. The tooth falls into the notch cut into the blade tang and is held there under the spring tension. A cut out in the handle spine houses the release for the lock. These locks generally require 2 hands to unlock and close.
3) Axis lock - A patented Benchmade exclusive, AXIS has been turning heads and winning fans ever since its introduction. A 100-percent ambidextrous design, AXIS gets its function from a small, hardened steel bar which rides forward and back in a slot machined into both steel liners. The bar extends to both sides of the knife, spanning the liners and positioned over the rear of the blade. It engages a ramped, tang portion of the knife blade when it is opened. Two omega style springs, one on each liner, give the locking bar it’s inertia to engage the knife tang, and as a result the tang is wedged solidly between a sizable stop pin and the AXIS bar itself.
4) Frame lock - Similar to a liner lock, but a part of the actual handle flexes over to lock the blade in place.

BLADE GRINDS

1) HOLLOW GRIND 
the most common grind, found on the majority of custom and production pieces. Hollow ground blades have a thin edge that continues upwards, and is the grind is produced on both sides of the blade. Since the cutting edge is relatively thin, there is very little drag when cutting. Examples of knives with hollow ground blades: Spyderco Howard Viele C42 and Kershaw Ti-ATS-34.
2) FLAT GRIND 
Flat grinds are characterized by the tapering of the blade from the spine down to the cutting edge. This style of grind is also referred to as a "V" grind, since the cross section of this grind resembles that letter. The chisel grind, a popular style for tactical blades, is a variation of the flat grind. On a chisel round blade, it is ground on one side, and on the other it is not. These blades are easier to sharpen, because you sharpen one side only. Example of a knife with a chisel ground blade would be the Benchmade 970 Ernest Emerson CQC7. Examples of knives with a flat grind are the Benchmade Mel Pardue 850 and Spyderco's C36 Military model.
3) CONCAVE GRIND
Similar to the flat grind in that the blade tapers from the spine to the cutting edge, except the taper lines are arcs instead of straight lines.
4) CONVEX GRIND
Similar to the flat grind in that the blade tapers from the spine to the cutting edge, except the taper lines are arcs extending outward instead of inward as in the convex grind above or straight lines. If you picture a pumpkin seed, you will get a good idea of what the cross sectional view of this grind is like. Noted custom knife maker Bill Moran is credited for bringing the convex grind into the focus of knife making.
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Types of Knives (from Wikipedia):

Knives as weapons:

As a weapon, the knife is universally adopted as an essential tool. It is the essential element of a knife fight. For example:

Ballistic knife: A specialized combat knife with a detachable gas or spring-propelled blade that can be fired to a distance of several feet or meters by pressing a trigger or switch on the handle.

Bayonet: A knife-shaped close-quarters fighting weapon designed to attach to the muzzle of a rifle or similar weapon.

Combat knife: Any knife intended to be used by soldiers in the field, as a general-use tool, but also for fighting.

Dagger: A double-edged combat knife with a central spine and edges sharpened their full length, used primarily for stabbing. Variations include the Stiletto and Push dagger.

Fighting knife: A knife with a blade designed to inflict a lethal injury in a physical confrontation between two or more individuals at very short range (grappling distance). Well known examples include the Bowie knife and the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife.

Rampuri: An Indian gravity knife of formidable reputation having a single edged blade roughly 9 to 12 inches long.

Shiv: A crudely made homemade knife out of everyday materials, especially prevalent in prisons among inmates. An alternate name in some prisons is Shank.

Trench knife: Purpose-made or improvised knives, intended for close-quarter fighting, particularly in trench warfare, some having a d-shaped integral hand guard.

Butterfly knife: A folding pocket knife also known as a "balisong" or "batangas" with two counter-rotating handles where the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles.

Knives as sports equipment:

Throwing knife: A knife designed and weighted for throwing

Knives as utensils:

A primary aspect of the knife as a tool includes dining, used either in food preparation or as cutlery. Examples of this include:

Bread knife: A knife with a serrated blade for cutting bread.

Boning knife: A knife used for removing the bones of poultry, meat, and fish.

Carving knife: A knife for carving large cooked meats such as poultry, roasts, hams, etc.

Chef's knife: Also known as a French knife, a cutting tool used in preparing food.

Cleaver: A large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is used mostly for hacking through bones as a kitchen knife or butcher knife, and can also be used for crushing via its broad side, typically garlic.

Butcher's Knife: A knife designed and used primarily for the butchering and/or dressing of animals.

Electric knife: An electrical device consisting of two serrated blades that are clipped together, providing a sawing action when powered on.

Kitchen knife: Any knife, including the chef's knife, that is intended to be used in food preparation.

Oyster knife: Has a short, thick blade for prying open oyster shells.

Paring or Coring Knife: A knife with a small but sharp blade used for cutting out the cores from fruit.

Rocker knife: A knife that cuts with a rocking motion, which is primarily used by people whose disabilities prevent them from using a fork and knife simultaneously.

Table knife or Case knife: A piece of cutlery, either a butter knife, steak knife, or both, that is part of a table setting, accompanying the fork and spoon.

Ulu: An Inuit woman's all-purpose knife.

Knives as tools:

As a utility tool the knife can take many forms, including:

Balisong: A folding knife also known as a "butterfly knife" or "batangas", with two handles counter-rotating around the tang such that, when closed, the blade is hidden within the handles.

Bowie knife: Commonly, any large sheath knife, or a specific style of large knife popularized by Jim Bowie.

Crooked knife: Sometimes referred to as a "curved knife", "carving knife" or in the Algonquian language the "mocotaugan" is a utilitarian knife used for carving.

Diver's knife: A knife adapted for use in diving and water sports and a necessary part of standard diving dress.

Electrician's knife: A short-bladed knife used to cut electrical insulation.

Hunting knife: A knife used to dress large game.

Kiridashi: A small Japanese knife having a chisel grind and a sharp point, used as a general-purpose utility knife.

Linoleum knife: is a small knife that has a short, stiff blade with a curved point and a handle and is used to cut linoleum or other sheet materials.

Machete: A large heavy knife used to cut through thick vegetation such as sugar cane or jungle undergrowth; it may be used as an offensive weapon.

Palette knife: A knife, or frosting spatula, lacking a cutting edge, used by artists for tasks such as mixing and applying paint and in cooking for spreading icing.

Paper knife: Or a "letter opener" it is a knife made of metal or plastic, used for opening mail.

Pocket knife: a folding knife designed to be carried in a pants pocket. Subtypes include:

-Lockback knife: a folding knife with a mechanism that locks the blade into the open position, preventing accidental closure while in use.

-Multi-tool and Swiss Army knife, which combine a folding knife blade with other tools and implements, such as pliers, scissors, or screwdrivers.

Produce knife: A knife with a rectangular profile and a blunt front edge used by grocers to cut produce.

Rigging knife: A knife used to cut rigging in sailing vessels.

Scalpel: A medical knife, used to perform surgery.

Straight razor: A reusable knife blade used for shaving hair.

Survival knife: A sturdy knife, sometimes with a hollow handle filled with survival equipment.

Switchblade: A knife with a folding blade that springs out of the grip when a button or lever on the grip is pressed.

Utility knife: A short knife with a replaceable triangular blade, used for cutting sheet materials including card stock, paperboard, and corrugated fiberboard.

Wood carving knife and whittling knives: Knives used to shape wood in the arts of wood carving and whittling, often with short, thin replaceable blades for better control.

X-Acto knife: A scalpel-like knife with a long handle and a replaceable pointed blade, used for precise, clean cutting in arts and crafts.

Knives as a traditional or religious implement:

Athame: A typically black-handled and double-edged ritual knife used in Wicca and other derivative forms of Neopagan witchcraft.

Kirpan: A ceremonial knife that all baptised Sikhs must wear as one of the five visible symbols of the Sikh faith (Kakars).

Kilaya: A dagger used in Tibetan Buddhism.

Kris: A dagger used in Indo-Malay cultures, often by royalty and sometimes in religious rituals.

Kukri: A Nepalese knife used as both tool and weapon.

Puukko: A traditional Finnish or Scandinavian style woodcraft belt-knife used as a tool rather than a weapon.

Seax: A Germanic single-edged knife, used primarily as a tool, but may have been a weapon.

Sgian Dubh: A small dagger traditionally worn with highland dress.