Patent ID: 8286356

Claim:
A folding knife having a handle; a blade with a tang, spine and a knife edge, said blade being pivotal approximately 180Â° between a closed position with the blade received in the handle and a fully opened position with the blade extending forwardly from the handle, said knife comprising: (a) a folding guard defining a ring gear with an inner and outer side having a plurality of teeth disposed on the inner side of the ring gear, said ring gear having a generally smooth outer side; (b) a safety finger extending from said ring gear having a front and a rear surface; (c) said handle defining an arcuate seat rotatably receiving the outer surface of said ring; and (d) a lift gear on said blade tang area, said lift gear located within the ring gear and having gear teeth engaging the teeth on the ring which will cause the folding guard to rotate to a locked position generally perpendicular to the handle when the blade is fully opened and will cause the guard to rotate to a position against the handle when the blade is pivoted to a closed position.