Patent ID: 7059053

Claim:
A knife comprising: an elongated handle having a front end portion, a rear end portion, and a groove extending lengthwise of the handle from the front end portion to the rear end portion; a blade having a sharpened edge and a tang, said tang being pivotally attached to the front end portion of the handle for swinging of the blade between an open position in which the blade extends from the handle with the sharpened edge exposed for use and a closed position in which the sharpened edge is received in the handle groove, the handle groove having an opening through which the sharpened edge of the blade swings when it is moved between its open and closed positions, the tang having a peripheral cam edge including a first notch opening outward; a locking link having a lock end portion and a pivot end portion, the locking link being pivotally attached to the handle toward the front end portion and adjacent to a side of the handle opposite the groove opening for swinging in the same plane as the blade, the locking link extending transversely of the length of the handle from its pivotal attachment toward the handle groove opening; and a spring biasing the lock end portion of the link to a forward swung position toward the tang of the blade and the front end portion of the handle, the lock end portion of the locking link being manually movable rearward away from the tang of the blade generally lengthwise of the handle toward the rear end portion of the handle against the biasing force of the spring to release the blade for swinging from the closed position toward the open position, the lock end portion of the locking link being received in the first notch so as to interfit with the tang when the blade is in the open position and the locking link is biased forward to prevent swinging of the blade in a direction from the open position toward the closed position.