AXIS lock functions differently on different knives?

FlaMtnBkr

FlaMtnBkr

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Oct 20, 2004
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Has anyone noticed the AXIS lock to behave differently on various knives?

I have a mini grip that is not that smooth. I think part of it is that the blade does not have much heft to allow inertia to assist much in opening/ closing.

My dad has a 710 that does not open/ close all that easy. It is like the AXIS bar has to be pulled all the way back for it to open and close. It has to do this to get completely out of the way of the blade for it to rotate. The blade rotates smoothly, its just that the lock has to be pulled all the way back to the extent of its travel. This is difficult because the spring tension increases and the range of motion is great.

I have a 14205 that requires me to just lightly pull back on the AXIS bar and not all that far for the blade to swing open/ shut. I can easily do it with just my thumb on one side. Its really easy to flip.

So do some knives just have slightly different geometry that causes the AXIS lock to behave differently? Or could something on the 710 need to be adjusted slightly? After using the 14205 I think I would be quite disappointed if I were to get another knife that is not as easy to operate and I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this kind of variation?

Thanks for any input!

Ryan
 
Definitely. It's subtle, but I notice the same thing.

For instance, on the HK 14210, when you pull back a little on the axis lock, it actually pushes the blade forward out of the handle.

On the standard mini grip, it doesn't.

It also feels on some of the knives like the axis holds the blade shut better.

It has something to do with the angle of the slot in the blade the axis bar rides in and out of. It's kind of unusual that there's that much variation between models. I would think they'd just standardize the dimensions of the axis lock mechanism across the board.
 
enderwiggin said:
when you pull back a little on the axis lock, it actually pushes the blade forward out of the handle.
Click to expand...

That definitely happens on my 530 but definitely doesn't happen on my 710. But for flicking open purposes, the weight of the blade in the 710 seems to compensate for the lack of a mechanical push. I like 'em both :D
 
Thanks for the replies!

At least I know this is somewhat normal. That being said, I am disappointed in the 710. Maybe his is exceptionally hard to open/close using the axis lock but it is not nearly as easy to use.

I will have to try and track down another to see how the 'action' is on it.

Any other experiences? Anyone else notice their 710 to be more difficult than other models?

Thanks again,

Ryan
 
I think with all production knives, even featuring the same lock or other features, you'll notice a difference in engagement and other charateristics from time to time.

The Axis lock varies in its characteristics but as steels do from their heat treat batches and etc. It is always hard to replicate the "perfect" result with 100% consistency.
 
steelscout30 said:
I think with all production knives, even featuring the same lock or other features, you'll notice a difference in engagement and other charateristics from time to time.

The Axis lock varies in its characteristics but as steels do from their heat treat batches and etc. It is always hard to replicate the "perfect" result with 100% consistency.
Click to expand...

While I don't know for sure, of course, that sounds like a pretty good explanation. B/M's, while very good production knives, are production knives & are going to have differences from knife to knife. That being said though, dirt, lint, etc. can vastly alter the difference on an open lock system like the axis-lock.

While blade weight & size can play a part, I think it's more the tightness/looseness of the lock/pivot that probably plays a bigger part. On a well functioning axis/arc-lock (Yes, SOG's arc-lock plays in it, too), you'll notice differences on ease of opening/closing just from small amounts of adjusting the blade's pivot.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
Thanks for the replies!

At least I know this is somewhat normal. That being said, I am disappointed in the 710. Maybe his is exceptionally hard to open/close using the axis lock but it is not nearly as easy to use.

I will have to try and track down another to see how the 'action' is on it.

Any other experiences? Anyone else notice their 710 to be more difficult than other models?

Thanks again,

Ryan
Click to expand...

I just returned a Rift that I was having some bladeplay issues with. I have a couple mini grips and a couple grips that lock up rock solid, but for some reason the Rift had the slightest amount of play in the locked position. If I "pulled" the axis lockbar forward towards the blade in the opened position, there wouldn't be any play. But, if I just flicked the knife open, there was about 1mm of vertical play.. almost like the axis lockbar hadn't completely settled onto the blade tang.

Maybe this is too obvious, but could your problem have to do with the tightness of the pivot screw? Or is it in how the axis lockbar fits onto the blade that your having the issue? I've found on my griptilians that there is very specific tightness of the pivot screw that doesn't allow play, but allows for the blade to still swing freely. It took me a bit of time to find that medium, but when I did the axis lock worked superbly.

EDIT: Sorry, didn't realized that CL01 suggested basically the same thing as me, only about 45 minutes earlier. Let us know if it's a pivot issue.
 
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It is definitely not a pivot issue. The blade swings very freely and is smooth on the 710. It has to do with the AXIS lock bar having to be pulled all the way back to the extent of its travel to get out of the way of the blade tang.

My mini-grip not being as smooth may have to do with the blade pivot but it is as loose as I can get it without there being play. However, it still produces quite a bit of 'friction' causing the blade to not open freely.

I compared the mini-grip and the 14205 and there is definitely some differences in the geometry. I would think they would settle on a configuration that works good and then maybe scale it for different size knives but it doesn't appear to be this way. One big difference is that the 14205 has a much longer slot for the AXIS bar to travel. This allows it to easily be moved out of the way with room to spare.

I will have to wait until I can get a few of my dad's AXIS knives so I can compare them all, but it looks to me like they are not all created equal.

And I can see some variations in manufacturing would account for a particular knife's smoothness, but it appears that it is more than that from the small sample I have access to.
 
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Maybe it is just me, but why are you pulling the Axis-bar back to open a knife?

I use the thumbstud or hole.
 
Maybe this will help (it was the first video I found, not sure who it is).

[youtube]9y6AKZsApqo[/youtube]
 
Yeah, I've seen that stuff (I did forget about it though - thanks for the reminder). Not the technique I recommend nor use when regularly opening an axis-lock equipped knife.

I rarely used the technique except for show. I admit, though, that it is impressive to throw your knife away when your hands are wet, though.
 
You don't have to flip it hard. I find I can get a more secure grip with my fingers further out of the way when doing it this way. This guy looks like he is a full on ninja in training but you don't have to do it as fast or hard as that.

Even using the thumb stud it seems more difficult because you encounter more spring resistance through out the travel of the blade.

To each his own...
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
Maybe this will help (it was the first video I found, not sure who it is).

[youtube]9y6AKZsApqo[/youtube]
Click to expand...

Guy looks like he's whipping a donkey.
My Axis lock knives open much smoother with much less force (flip) than that guy shows.
 
I'm glad to hear that the 14205 is working out :thumbup:

As for the 710, you could check to see if it appears that one side is being pulled back a lot more than the other.

For example, when you put your thumb on the axis lock to close it, look at it from above and see if the lock bar is even or if one side is noticibly pulled farther than the other. That usually happens with older models (from what I've seen and IMO), perhaps new or stronger springs could fix that problem. I've heard of people using piano wire to make their own springs, but BM is usually willing to ship new ones if needed. Just a suggestion :)

Hope that helps, J.
 
The lock bar is being pulled evenly. It does it when you pull it on one side or both.
 
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