Back Lock

The back lock (or mid lock or front lock) is a lock which loks the blade by using a notch in the blade and a springloaded lever to go into the notch. By pushing on the lever in the handle, the lever is free from the notch in the blade and can be closed.

The front lock is hardly new. The Boker knife company of Germany was using a front lock in about 1903, but its origin may be a century or more previous. Its use was popularised in the current generation by the late custom maker Harvey McBurnette, but the concept was never patented. McBurnette introduced the front lock to Oregon designer Al Mar, who began using it on his knives in the 1970s. Sal obtained permission from Mar to use the lock design and to include it in his patent application, then under the name the Mar/McBurnette front lock.