[Lone_Gunman]

What brands of folding knives have the best lock up?
How are Cold Steel folders?

[markk]

go here and get the free video for info on Cold Steel knives
It's actually pretty entertaining IMO
http://www.coldsteel.com/moreproof.html

[RyanM]

The Benchmade axis lock thing looks solid. Pretty much any decent lockback will be plenty strong. With liner locks, you have to be a little more careful, but all the "big name" brands should be good.

[hso]

You'll find a lot of opinions on this.

Spyderco, Benchmade, SOG, Cold Steel and others make knives with exceptional lock strength that rate far beyond what a knife should be subjected to and in manners that constitute abuse. They also make more traditional lock systems that are safe as houses for knives that recieve moderate abusive treatment beyond what a folder should be subjected to. And they all make more normal locks.

Some folks don't like liner locks, but a properly made liner lock works just fine (note, properly)

If lock strength is a great concern, use a small fixed blade.

[bobbytm]

I agree with HSO.I would like to mention and include CRKT Knifes too.

[Fosbery]

With modern locks it's not really the strength of the lock that matters. The vast majority of lock failures are not catastropic e.g. the liner breaks, but when the lock becomes disengaged either through vibration or accidental un-locking. Good quality lock back, frame lock, liner lock, ball lock and AXIS lock knives are fine for the work they are designed for.

If you think the lock might fail doing the job you're doing, use a fixed blade. Even heavyduty folding knives are still only designed for light work.