How to Close a Pocket Knife: Every Lock Type, Step by Step

The rule that applies to every lock

No finger goes anywhere the edge can travel. That means the arc the blade sweeps on the way down and the slot where the edge ends up. Kershaw's lock guide repeats a version of this across its entries (Kershaw). Victorinox adds two habits: use slow, controlled pressure, and never flick or snap the blade shut (Victorinox). Find the release, put one digit on it, and keep everything else off the edge side of the handle.

We haven't tested these procedures on every model. This page collects what makers publish (opened October 1, 2026) plus standard handling practice, and your manual wins if it differs. Knife carry rules vary by state and country, so check local rules first; GOV.UK's knife page is one example of an official explainer.

Which lock do you have?

Open the knife fully and look at the handle.

Slip joint: no lock at all

Spot it: nothing to press, pull or slide. A handle spring snaps the blade into open or closed positions "with noticeable stops" (Benchmade).

Close it (two hands): grip the handle with your non-dominant hand, fingers clear of the slot where the blade folds. Hold the back of the blade, away from the edge (Kershaw), and press it down slowly. Around 45 degrees, reposition your fingers so they stay clear, then finish (Victorinox).

Mistakes: pinching the handle across the slot, and letting the spring slam the blade. Nothing holds it open either: one third-party guide notes it "will close with any type of downward pressure on the blade" (The Pocket Knife Guy).

Liner lock

Spot it: a thin steel strip on one handle side springs inward behind the blade's tang when the blade is open. Benchmade says the bar "must be manually pushed back toward the handle to disengage" (Benchmade).

Close it: put your thumb on the exposed liner and push it sideways, typically to the left, until it clears the blade. Kershaw says to press it "so that it is no longer blocking the blade" (Kershaw). Keep it aside while you fold the blade down gently, steering with a finger on the blade's back, not its edge. Beginners should use both hands until this feels automatic.

Mistakes: pushing the liner only partway so the blade binds (stop and reset rather than force it), and letting a finger drift to the handle's edge side the moment the lock lets go.

Frame lock

Spot it: a liner lock whose lock bar is cut from the handle's own metal side. Benchmade calls it a leaf spring cut out of the frame, and Spyderco's name for it is the Reeve Integral Lock (Spyderco).

Close it: find the bar that has sprung across behind the blade, press it sideways, typically to the left, with your thumb until the blade is free, then hold the back of the blade and guide it down, fingers off the edge side.

Mistakes: pressing the handle instead of the bar, then compensating by pinching the blade; and treating it as flick-shut once the thumb releases.

Back lock (lockback)

Spot it: a rocker or bar on the spine at the rear of the handle. Spyderco defines its Back Lock as a spring-driven rocker arm whose forward lug engages a notch in the tang, released by "pressing the back of the rocker downward" (Spyderco). The Delica 4 is a current example (Spyderco).

Close it (two hands): hold the handle with your fingers on its sides, none curled around the edge side. Press the rear of the spine bar down to free the lug, then push the blade shut by its back with the other hand.

Mistakes: this is the lock that tempts a mid-close grip change. One third-party guide warns that a lockback "requires grip repositioning, potentially dangerous if the knife drops" (The Pocket Knife Guy). Learn it with two hands, and if you later go one-handed, pause half closed and check your fingers before you let go.

AXIS and crossbar locks

Spot it: a metal bar through both handle sides behind the blade, usually with grooved or studded ends. Benchmade describes the AXIS Lock as "a small, spring-loaded bar that moves back and forth across the blade's tang" (Benchmade). Its patent has expired, so other makers sell similar designs (Benchmade); Kershaw's DuraLock uses a "solid steel crossbar" (Kershaw).

Close it: thumb and finger on the bar, then pull it back toward the butt. Kershaw words the DuraLock release as pulling the lock "towards the butt end of the handle" (Kershaw). Keep the bar back and guide the blade shut by its spine. Benchmade's Bugout is an AXIS knife (Benchmade), and its ownership guide says the symmetrical design allows one-handed, fully ambidextrous use, even with gloves (Benchmade).

Mistakes: releasing the bar halfway through the close, and treating the swing as free fall. With the bar back the blade may close with very little help, so keep a finger on the spine.

Button lock

Spot it: a button on the handle scale. Urban EDC describes a spring-loaded plunger that engages a cut-out in the blade tang, released by pressing the button (Urban EDC). Pro-Tech lists its Malibu as a "Button Lock Flipper" (Pro-Tech).

Close it: press the button with your thumb ("and hold it down," in Kershaw's push-button wording), keep your fingers away from the path of the edge, and guide the blade closed, or let it fall on well-tuned models, before releasing the button.

Mistakes: the odd one is accidental release in use. Urban EDC flags that a stray button press while the blade is open can let it close onto the fingers gripping the handle, so check your grip before you cut.

Compression lock

Spot it: Spyderco's design, a split liner spring that wedges between a stop pin and a ramp on the blade tang (Spyderco). You see a small lock bar in a cut-out on the spine side of the handle, behind the blade.

Close it: put your thumb on the bar, push it toward the handle scale to release the blade, and guide the blade down with your index finger on its back.

Spyderco says the design allows "the knife to be closed one-handed without placing one's fingers in the path of the edge," and its Para 3 page says "closed easily and safely with only one hand" (Spyderco). The Sage 6 adds a release button on the scale (Spyderco).

Mistakes: assuming a safe-by-design lock makes finger placement optional. The design only helps if your other fingers stay off the edge side.

Locks that aren't on this list

Makers publish more than seven. Kershaw also lists a Mid-Lock and a Hawk Lock (Kershaw); Spyderco adds a Ball Bearing Lock, Bolt Action Lock and Stop Lock (Spyderco). Assisted-opening knives only change the opening, so closing follows the lock underneath. Automatic and OTF knives work differently; follow the maker's manual.

After you close it

Victorinox points out that blunt or dull blades are much more dangerous than sharp ones, so keep the edge in shape; see our pocket knife sharpening guide. Still choosing what to carry? Our EDC knife guide and pocket knife brands comparison cover it.

If you like things in your pocket that click properly, echoPi, which is in development, is an EDC fidget slider with clicks you can set; join the list if you want to hear when it's ready.