Axis Lock broken...New Knife?

B

bobofish

Joined
Nov 22, 2006
Messages
2,640
Gents,
Three weeks ago or so I bought a benchmade 921 and liked it very much. Shortly afterward though, I noticed that one of the springs was broken. I called benchmade and they would replace the springs. I live only maybe 20 minutes from their factory, but it was awkward to take the knife to them to have it fixed, especially since they couldn't fix it right away.

Tonight the other spring broke for no particular reason and there is effectively no lock on the knife.

I got the knife on sale, it is a discontinued knife from I think a couple years ago, and it was a good price. When the first spring broke I figured no big deal, the knife has probably been sitting unused for a while. Now that the lock is totally broken however I'm having second thoughts.

This is my first "quality" folder (besides Leathermans) and I'm having some doubts about A) the benchmade 921, B) axis lock although I love its operation. It seems a little odd that with very light use in 3 weeks the lock would go totally kaput.

So in short I'm going to California as soon as the cold weather clears up in a couple days, and I am able to exchange the knife for an identical knife down in southern Oregon. However, maybe I should just get an alltogether different knife that unfortunately won't be such a good deal.

Thoughts?
 
You live 20 minutes away and they have already offered to fix it.....

Seems there is your best solution.
 
gotta lot of stuff to do and they won't fix it "while I wait." Best scenario is 24 hours at which point I have to either drive there or have it fedexed. That's awkward because in the middle of everything I'm waiting for a good weather window to drive to LA. If I have them ship it to LA it will take up to 6 weeks, oddly enough. Straight from the horse's mouth, not my conjecture.
 
I've heard that some of the early springs were not quite up to specs. Sounds like you managed to get two! Bummer!

If they're offering to fix it in 24 hours, I think that's pretty good service on their part.

Fed Ex it, or drop it off at the factory - and use your old knife on the trip. You'll survive, the knife will come back all shiny and new, and there's not that much special here in LA anyway!

Like they say, life sucks, and then you die.
 
I have a Benchmade 710 D2 being repaired at their shop as we speak. Same problem with the axis lock omega springs. Might be an old batch from what ive heard. I've only had it for a few months and the only thing i did was just open and close it a few times a day. But i still love that knife. Cant wait to get it back when its repaired.
 
FWIW this is the 1st axis lock i've ever heard of that both the omega springs broke.......

i've heard they will send ya the omega springs if ya can install them, if not send the knife back to BM.
 
That is a bummer - but I say give them the chance to make it right. The axis lock is great and my daily user for over a year is a BM with axis lock. Worth a shot to fix it.
 
Though I realize the omega springs are the weakest link in the chain regarding axis locks what gives me complete confidence in the mechanism is that there are two of them. If one spring breaks I would no longer continue to use the knife until it was repaired. If one spring broke while I was out in the woods I would continue to use the knife until I got home. Sending a knife in for repair is a bummer no doubt but check out this threat first

THREAD
 
That sucks!
I would have BM fix it if you can. I have never had a problem with the omega springs in any of my axis locks. And as Grampa said some of the older springs were duds. So give the axis another shot, I think you will be happy you did.
 
Why don't you bring it over, explain the situation and see what they can do for you. It is a simple enough repair. Then just have it shipped to your current address. Take another knife with you to LA.
 
Will BM now send out the Omega springs for the user to repair? I know it used to be that BM would not do that and you had to send it in. Read where some folks made their own omega springs from piano wire.
 
Companies create policies for warranty repairs for a reason. Perhaps they don't want you to show up in person for repairs as it would preclude waiting warranty repairs for other customers who are in queue. Besides, if they make an exception for you and word gets out, they may suddenly get a lot of visitors who want the same treatment. Sure it's inconvenient since it doesn't provide you instant gratification; Benchmade is not the only company in the world with a warranty policy like this.

You got a lemon on your first high-end knife; but it's a minor lemon. No worse than buying a car that had defective brake pads installed. Instead of swearing off cars forever, fixing the problem should give you many future years of use.

You've already stated that the knife is sitting around collecting dust, so what harm is it in sending it to them and waiting?
 
When one spring breaks, the other seems to follow soon thereafter for some reason. Probably odd stress from the unevenly loaded bar.

A number of people have successfully fashioned their own new springs from piano wire and needle nose pliers.

Benchmade will fix it. Not at your convenience, true.

So just fix it yourself or endure the wait from BM.

Phil
 
Unless you want to wedge a stick in behind the lock bar every time you go to use the blade you need a lock so I'd suggest sending it to the company that made it so they can fix it. If you do it yourself you void the warranty for further work on that knife. So, enter at your own risk.

This happens from time to time. FYI the spring longevity of that lock mechanism is the one aspect of it's deisgn that the jury is still out on. For the most part they seem to be holding up well but there are sporatic reports of this happening. In many ways its the best lock design to come around in our liftime but in others many have wondered how many years on average the springs will last before breaking.

I've had several contacts privately over the years regarding the springs in all manner of knives snapping in severe cold from knives left in automobiles overnight or outdoors and those in extreme northern climates that work outdoors also so its all still stuff we will have to watch for years to get a big enough perspective of to see how it pans out for the axis lock compared to other locks such as the lockback, ball lock by Spyderco, and the frame lock.

I have suggested to those in extreme climates having spring break problems that if this repeats itself with the same knife whether it be a lockback or axis lock or whatever type to give thought to a titanium frame lock since its unlikely that the titanium will be affected by the cold or heat or other elements and continue to work as you have expected. So far none of the knives reported have repeated the break problem to my knowledge so chances are once BM fixes the knife for you it will be fine just like many of the lockbacks and other spring type autos were once the spring was replaced.



STR
 
Let’s see if we can find the right forum …
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There was a big ongoing thread here some time ago (over a year?) about broken omega springs, and I voiced my concerns in that thread as well. This is not a new issue- there are complaints about this going back several years. There were at least 20 or 30 threads linked from that one where other folks had broken springs, and an advanced Google search just turned up a whole pile more with these concerns. So I don't see it as exactly a super rare occurance or completely unknown to these forums. I still think the design on the whole is genius, but wish they would have gone with a different spring design.
 
So I guess the consensus is that the axis lock is a perfectly fine lock and although more common than zero, this spring failure is not indicative of some major flaw....in other words I don't need to be paranoid about this knife.

A further question I might have is if there is anything inherently wrong with the 921...since the frame and knife is so thin, is there any inherent problem with the axis lock on it compared to, say a 710 or 940? You never know why knives are discontinued, maybe the 921 was discontinued for axis lock problems, or maybe people just didn't buy many of them?

I know its a whine, but now that I've had this knife I feel naked without it in my pocket. Unlike some of you guys who have boxes of nice knives, at the moment I just have the one.

Cheers
 
As far as the 921 being discontinued, I'm sure it was due to slow or slowed-down sales, not that there was anything wrong with the knife design itself. Every year, lots of knives, including very good ones, are dropped from companies' lines because they aren't selling enough anymore, and to make room for new designs.

In fact, among the modern-style one-hand opening knives, relatively few designs in any knife line seem to last more than a few years before being discontinued. Some models, for example, Benchmade's Griptilians, remain and receive minor upgradings now and then.
Jim
 
I have a BM 921. I have been using it every day at work for about two years. No knife I have ever owned has seen more use. I couldn't be more impressed with this knife.

I also own about 30 Spydercos which I love but none see nearly much use. I have a few other BMs and Kershaws and other brands. I tell you this, I have never owned a better designed knife than the 921. It is just about perfect. I have tried to carry other knives but they are too slow. I can open it, cut something and close it in no time. Most of my knives are fast to open but none are as fast as the Axis lock to close.

I have used mine HARD for two years and my springs are fine. The blade still locks up as well as when new with zero play. It has amazed me at times that it is as tough as it is. I have used it for things that were not normal. Sometimes I put a great deal of stress on the lock by cutting thick plastic zip ties. I have broken a CRKT M-16 by doing this very thing. The lock sheared off. The BM 921 has dealt with this kind of treatment for a long time!

So what I am saying is, don't give up on that 921. It is one of the best knives every made by any factory. I would put it in my top ten of all knives I have ever owned. Probably number one.

Another good one is the Spyderco Centofante 4. It is a similar blade design but much more low tech. It is a simple lock back so there is less chance of anything going wrong. I own one of these as well and it has impressed me almost as much as the 921. It only costs about 1/3 of what the BM costs so I think it is a great deal.

I suggest getting the 921 fixed and buying the Centofante 4 as well. Maybe you can pick up the Centofante 4 while you wait on the 921? That way, you wouldn't feel like you were knifeless.
 
Out of curiosity, how can you tell that 1 of the axis springs is broken? Can you see part of the spring sticking out? Or is the axis bar uneven?
 
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