Yeah, you're right. That CF on the presentation side is really thick, so this knife will be VERY stiff. You wouldn't be able to notice a rigidity difference between this knife with or without a metal liner. Even if it had CF (without metal liners) on both the presentation and lock sides, it's so thick, that rigidity would be a non-issue. But it'll be very stiff the way it is (assuming no metal liner), especially since the lock side is all metal.