An amazing or questionable 5000 lb lock

razorburn

razorburn

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I saw this awhile ago,there's a Benchmade rep named Scott Hayes saying the axis lock can withstand 5000lbs of pressure from closing.Is it really believable.
Griptilian
[youtube]NrRBEYOrWkQ[/youtube]
 
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It sounds like way too much. Seems the entire knife would break under such a massive weight. Even if the lock held. That's 2 and a half tons.
But, I don't know why they'd say it if it's not so. So, it's something I'd have to see more proof of to believe. (I think SOG claimed their Arc Lock held 1000 pounds and it's a modified copy)
 
I found this-
For EDC or field use, we recommend the AXIS folders like the knives shown above. A key feature of all of the field-use Benchmade folders that we carry is the patented AXIS Lock, which has earned rave reviews by knife authorities. The AXIS Lock is totally ambidextrous and allows for easy one-handed opening and closing of the blade without your fingers ever crossing the blade's path. The design is very intuitive to operate with little or no instruction needed on how the lock functions. As simple as the AXIS Lock is, perhaps its most important feature is its brute strength. In Benchmade's testing, the AXIS Lock supported a negative load of over 200 pounds without damage. When the lock does finally fail, the double stainless steel liners simply crack over the AXIS bar, but at no time in Benchmade's testing would the blade have closed on the user's hand. Is the AXIS Lock the strongest lock made? That is difficult to say with certainty. However, the AXIS Lock is certainly more rugged than the vast majority of the current lockback and liner-locking knives. The AXIS Lock is also very reliable and features two "Omega" shaped springs that provide functional redundancy. The springs are lightly stressed and Benchmade's tests show they should last indefinitely. In the unlikely event that one of the springs fails, the other will still operate the knife just fine.
http://www.expeditionexchange.com/benchmade/indexmain.shtml
That claims a mere 200 pounds.
 
5000lbs ? Would a FB even hold up to that much pressure being put on the mid point of the knife?

He said a few times that the Blue and Black class have blade material and handle material made in the US, does that mean the rest of the parts in the knife are made elsewhere?
 
I remember seeing this number advertised for the first auto Axis lock the Purdue 5000 model when it first came out.
 
"...is their Axis lock. This is a patented design that Benchmade built."
Helloooo? Plus, the BM156 is a freaking fixed blade, not a mini-Grip. Thank goodness their customer service people are a lot more competent!
I think the 520 was advertised to hold something like 6 or 800lbs.
 
The issue could be explained by the use of the term "pressure", which is force per unit area.

Remember, "weight" is mass times the acceleration of gravity.

And I mass 5 slugs :).

So, most locking knives probably could take such pressure, since no area is given (it could be in reference to the contact of axis bar to blade - small area).
 
that guys a dumbass.
Thats impossible for any folder...:jerkit:
 
I don't buy it or understand why he is doing this. There is no need whatsoever to exaggerate the legitimate strength of the Axis lock but thats what this is IMO. I know they are strong. I've tested them. Like others they can come from the factory faulty, with less connection than they need to be relied upon although it is rare. A good one can hold me and I weigh over 225 pounds. I know others that have used one, and a small one at that, (HK14210) for a leg up after first forcing it in a mortar joint in a brick wall. Maybe it was stone I forget now but it was forced in the mortar between two of them and it held him long enough to get on top, get back down, pull it out close it and continue to carry and use it. Try that with anything else, including your big chunky frame locks with paper thin lock cuts and see what happens.

With folders you reach a point where you weigh the balance of reliability with strength trying to get sufficient of both in the system and design. Many have great strength but poor reliability, while others have lesser strength but still plenty to suffice in all but extremes (read above) and even greater reliability while others still like the axis and ball locks offer about as equal a balance of both as you could hope for. In the end they are still folding knives though and sudden shocks even in otherwise strong reliable locks can sometimes prove to be a weak area in the locks and yes even the Axis locks.

Keep in mind that just because you apply 50 or 100 pounds of pressure on a lanyard end of any folder it does not mean you are applying equal weight to the lock. It translates over the length of the body and ends up being more leveraged weight pressure on the contact where the blade and lock meet. How much weight pressure is dependent on the length of the body and the blade. There are a couple different formulas used to try to guesstimate the total weight the lock can hold. All are educated guesses though and nothing more. Sounds like this gent did the math different than anyone else I've seen.


STR
 
??? Sounds like the guy on that video was given a two minute rundown of Benchmade knives and it's his first time trying to sell anything.
Mike on NGK TV does a much better job.
 
I'd guess that Ortho has it right. He may have meant 5,000 pounds per square inch.
 
Not sure if I am right, but I would like to see the industry standardize a test with results based on torque applied about the pivot of the blade, e.g. the XXX fails on average at 225 ft.lbs over ten samples. The force to apply the torque could be applied slowly and/or relatively quickly (different tests), but should be constant.

Spyderco's tests were pretty close to such.
 
The lock might last , but the rest of the knife would fly apart in pieces .

Chris
 
if the 225 lbs wee applied 2 inches from the pivot, and say the axis pin engages 1/4" behind the pivot, wouldn't that be 1800 pounds of force? Then, you have to figure out the contact area of the lock. The blades are usually 1/8" thick, the liners thinner, and the contact is tangential to the cylindrical pin. That should be considerable pressure.
 
hardheart said:
if the 225 lbs were applied 2 inches from the pivot, and say the axis pin engages 1/4" behind the pivot, wouldn't that be 1800 pounds of force? Then, you have to figure out the contact area of the lock. The blades are usually 1/8" thick, the liners thinner, and the contact is tangential to the cylindrical pin. That should be considerable pressure.
Click to expand...

Good point, the pivot pin could act as a fulcrum and the blade could act as a lever, amplifying the force exerted on the lock. When you factor in the size of the lockbar that could add up to 5,000lbs of pressure on the lockbar. This is going off an eighth grade knowledge of physics, we did not get to levers or pressure yet in honors physics.
 
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