Patent ID: 8375589

Claim:
A folding knife comprising: a handle portion having a first side member and a second side member; a blade, the blade having a tang portion that is pivotably coupled to the handle portion between the first and second side members and operable to pivot between a closed position and an open position; a cross-bolt disposed in the handle portion and having an operating button exposed at a surface of the first side member of the handle portion, the cross-bolt being moveable between an unlocked position and a locked position to retain the blade in at least the open position, the cross-bolt being moveable in a direction generally perpendicular to a plane formed by the blade; a safety mechanism having a manually operable exposed portion that extends from a surface of the second side member, the safety mechanism being moveable between a release position and a safety position, wherein when the safety mechanism is in the safety position, it blocks the cross-bolt from moving to the unlocked position, and wherein when the safety mechanism is in the release position, the cross-bolt can be moved to the unlocked position; a biasing mechanism configured to resiliently urge the safety mechanism to the safety position; and a motion limiting member coupled to the handle portion and configured to restrict movement of the cross-bolt between the unlocked and locked positions, wherein when the blade is in the closed position, the motion limiting member is in a first position that prevents the cross-bolt from moving to its locked position, and pivoting the blade to the open position is effective to move the motion limiting member to a second position that does not prevent the cross-bolt from moving to its locked position, the motion limiting member being movable relative to the blade and cross-bolt.