Thanks, Brian. That makes me think that maybe mine is defective. The liner lock would not engage, but I repaired it by polishing. There may be something out of tolerance that makes the blade bind. Its hard to know when mine is the only example I have tried. Others have posted that it took a lot of effort and technique, so I figured that mine was typical and attributed the poor performance to bad design. Even though I have found two very good replacements for the JYD II, I just love the shape and ruggedness of the knife. I would be very happy with one that opened easily. I am sending it to Kershaw. Maybe they will fix it or replace it with one that opens more easily.