940 Benchmade Osborne reverse tanto S30V

V

VVhiterice

Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
26
I have had my 940 Benchmade Osborne for about 4 months now. I love the S30V as it holds and edge like no other knife I have in my collection. I also really like the reverse tanto. I find it requires less of an angle then a drop point when cutting on a flat surface. This blade was my first exposure to the AXIS lock and I have really enjoyed some of the AXIS's properties. I have 2 complaints though.

1, The main tightening screw does come loose often (1-2 times a day) and is loose enough the blade wiggles left to right when deployed. I have been carrying a torques wrench in my wallet to solve this. Also for the record I do compulsively open and close it throughout the day and sometimes even do the occasional knife clapping with it (opening and closing it to the speed of clapping) so this could be my fault.

2, Today the AXIS lock broke. The spring that pushes in to place seems not to be hooked up at all. I actually cut myself when reaching in to my pocket and the blade was partially open. Called BMK and they said to send it in the mail with $5 US and they will send it back fixed. This I guess is ok but now I am left to question the reliability of the knife. I guess I had hoped it would last a little longer than 3 months.

Kind of perplexed now not knowing my preferred folder safety mechanism, like am I suppose to go back to liner locks?? ewwwwww
 
How many times do you open and close it? 10, 50, 100 times per day? "Knife Clapping?" Once a second for 5 minutes is 300. 100 times per day over 3 months is 9000 openings and closings. Use causes wear. You may have worn your omega springs disproportionately to the rest of the knife.
 
I have one in my pocket right now. It sees more pocket time that just about any other I have (8-10 edcs). It came NIB with an obtuse edge so... after reprofiling it is a laser.

Blue loctite your pivot and your problem will probably fix itself, as for the omega spring I would theorize that if everything was snug in the knife, you would be much less likely to pop a spring off. I have heard of them breaking after extreme cold or wear but I don't recall one popping off. That is a new one to me.

SO blue loctite has made mine about maintenance free.

BTW I love the knife, slim, strong, love the lock, that's why I carry it around
 
hlee said:
How many times do you open and close it? 10, 50, 100 times per day? "Knife Clapping?" Once a second for 5 minutes is 300. 100 times per day over 3 months is 9000 openings and closings. Use causes wear. You may have worn your omega springs disproportionately to the rest of the knife.
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I would agree with this. BM makes a LOT of omega springs and a few are going to break. There are other posts here about this. But the thing to remember is that the broken omega springs are a very tiny percentage compared to the unbroken. How do I know this? I don't, but it makes sense to me!:D

Btw, it should still function with the remaining omega spring, or did both break? This is one place where I think BM falls down at in that BM will not send out omega springs. The entire knife must be returned. I wish BM was more like Kershaw in this respect.
 
I suspect that it could be close to 9000 opens and closes especially as it has been 4 months. I do really like this knife but the idea of the omega springs wearing out so quick doesn’t quite settle well with me. Both do not work I guess one might have broken and I had not noticed although never notice a performance drop. Also I think it broke on its own as I first noticed it in my pocket.
One other complaint that I had noticed before but forgot to mention was that a pin on the inside of the knife was loose and would travel about a millimeter in and out, from flush to protruding. It never to my knowledge affected the performance of the blade but I will check it when I get home to see if it is still there. When the knife is closed it would be right were the edge starts, near the tang.
I think the answer for me is to try it again after they fix it, but if it fails once more I am going to make my EDC a fixed blade.
 
cutter17 said:
BM makes a LOT of omega springs and a few are going to break.
Click to expand...
I doubt they make springs of any kind, but it would indeed be nice if we could get spares.

I've been carrying the 940Ti since 2003, and it is my favorite folder. Hate to hear of one having a problem, but stuff happens. I repeatedly flick mine open and shut on occasion, and will not be surprised if I end up sending it in for a spring at some time or another. I'm not going to NOT use it or play with it over concern about the spring, though.
 
As a side note, I find it amusing how Benchmade refers to the blade style as a reverse tanto...it always reminded me more of a modified spey blade. Guess it just doesn't sound "cool" enough that way. Beautiful knife though. :D
 
I had a spring pop loose like you describe. The other one was fine and the knife functioned normally. I sent it back in and no problems since. This knife was my first axis lock and I also flicked it open and shut incessantly. After awhile the newness of the axis wears off and I don't flick it as much as before. Certainly no other lock style have I ever owned that I put so many cycle on it without cutting anything. I started to do that with one of my BM butterfly knives but I stopped after realizing that I was going to cut the crap out of myself if I kept it up much longer. I own and edc many axis locks and that one was the only one that has ever had any issues.

Pete
 
So I got a letter today from Canadian customs saying that my 940 and a mini ambush have been deemed prohibited imports since they can be opened with centrifical force. hmmmmmmmmmm. These models are widely distributed in Canada and the models are legal. I guess BM didn't tighten them to OEM standards. As I am sure one could imagine I am a little annoyed as 1/8th more of a turn would have made them legal. My options are to appeal, abandon or export. Leaning towards export back to BM and ask them to tighten so they don't open with centrifical force. To export though the letter says I have to find a Customs bonded carrier willing to transport Prohibited goods. Man I wish BM would have just sent the 4 Omega springs I had requested. Any one have any trouble like this before? Or have any recommendations

Cheers
 
VVhiterice said:
One other complaint that I had noticed before but forgot to mention was that a pin on the inside of the knife was loose and would travel about a millimeter in and out, from flush to protruding. It never to my knowledge affected the performance of the blade but I will check it when I get home to see if it is still there. When the knife is closed it would be right were the edge starts, near the tang.
Click to expand...


A very small pin? It sound like it is the Axis spring, the ends of which protrude on the insides of the liners. If the spring was broken is would explain why there was the travel that you experienced.

I'm sorry that you have had issues with both the knife and Canadian customs.

I have over twenty Axis Lock knives and have found them to be 100% reliable. Every new Axis Lock that I receive gets "tuned". I lube the tang and washers with Militec-1, put a dab of Loctite 243 on the pivot screw and I then adjust pivot tension so that the knife glides open smoothly but locks up with zero play. This process only takes a few minutes but sets the knife up so that I will get the best results from it.

Here's my 940. I modded the spine to make the hump more gentle:
 
Thanks for the advice Steven, when I do get my knifes back i will follow you suggestions. Although part of me does appreciate uber reliability which has yet to be proven by BM for me unfortunately. In the time that my knifes have been missing I have taken to carrying a Active duty Busse and it has yet to fail me. Although I do sometimes feel a little out of place wearing it in my office or in downtown Toronto. I have yet to have any problems but I fear I may and would hate to have the beautify blade ceased and "lost in the evidence room".
 
Also I really like the clean lines on your blade. You modded for ascetics right not for any functional reason?
 
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