AXIS lock stuck!!!

Originally posted by curious2003
I KNOW for a fact the serration chipped on paper. Might have been a magazine I "sawed" vertically down the pages...
Click to expand...
I'm not trying to cast you as a lying idiot, but is there any chance at all that you accidentally hit a staple in the magazine?

However I can see how a bunched up magazine could be hard enough to snap off a very thin serration, like Cliff Stamp described.
 
no I am careful to avoid staples

the mag wasn't bunched up. I just cut down the length of it (with all the pages) near the part where it opens and away from the spine. I am sure it didn't touch any staples whatsoever. I also cut newpapers pages by page.

However I only noticed the chip after cutting a transparent plastic garbage bag. It was a bit stretchy so maybe it was that which pulled off the bit. Though I thought it would be the mag since I sawed a bit with the serrated portion of the endura
 
The 806 is fine as long as I don't open it too hard with the thumboval. If I flick it open 100% of the time it will get stuck. My 710 does not get stuck but I tried to duplicate it once by flicking the blade out REALLY hard and it did jam up too.

The 806 is very sensitive to that though. However usually if I flick it by pulling back on the AXIS bar first then it's fine.

It's just that I can't flick the blade out like I normally do with lockbacks, etc

It had this problem BEFORE I added anything to the pivots, AXIS parts, etc so you don't have to worry. I decided to use Militec Grease instead of Militec-1 b/c I wasn't sure if I would keep a defective knife if it was in fact defective and didn't want to waste my sample :D SO what ended up happening was that the grease accidently got onto the handle and left spots smudged all over the G-10. I still don't know what to do about it since nothing works. I think most ppl use WD-40 for INSIDE the knife and not on the handles. I'm unsure if that stuff will make it all nasty and smell too :D

I might try oxi-clean or something similar later

If you look really carefully at threads you will find that this is a common occurance on 806's and some other BM's (the AXIS sticking problem). I think the Professor was the one who said that on most of them they will get stuck if you flick it without pulling back on the AXIS bar first. Hope that helps...
 
As I mentioned before, one of my 710's, and the only one of several axis locks I've owned, had a sticking problem almost exactly as what you describe. All other axis locks I've had can easily be disengaged with one finger and don't stick no matter how their opened. The one that I got that did stick however, stuck no matter how clean it was or with anything that I tried for lube. I went down several roads to try to fix mine before sending it back to BM to fix. As I said earlier, they did fix it, but it took two trips. I couldn't visually see any difference between my 710 that worked fine and the 710 that stuck. Must have been something just a few thousands out of spec. I'd be real curious to know what you find that fixes it if you can do it without sending it to BM because I sure as hell couldn't figure it out. I love the Axis lock. Every now and again you're just going to run across a oddity though.
 
Curious2003 - I agree with notifying Benchmade and having them fix the problem.

Haven't met a knife company yet that is free from an occasional QC problem - this includes high end production knives and hand mades.

It is a PITA to return the blade, but I accept that as part of being a knife knutt.
 
Curious just to clarify a bit.

The considerations Cliff refers to there regarding shipping to BM from Canada etc occurred to me from the outset. They are the sort of thing an Au would also have in mind, after all.

But after weighing it all up, as it seemed to be, I said "contact" BM. I'd be interested to know what if anything BM would propose in the circumstances, in order to address those sorts of concerns, for example.
 
I agree with everyone who suggested contacting Angie at Benchmade Warranty Department (A.K.K Angieland)
 
in cases where knives have problems do you guys usually return them to the store/online retailer you bought from or to the company that makes the knife? I know you all have told me to send it into BM but usually if you buy say clothing or shoes which are defective from the onset you return them to the store and not to say, Nike right? Just wondering...

btw is "angie" really a person or just a way of referring to the BM warrenty department?

nobody

I don't know enough about the construction of the AXIS mechanism but I noticed that on the 806 on the side where I would use to disengage the lock with the right hand, the G-10 cutout where the button/bar resides is not symmetrical with the other side. The cutout is not horizontal like it is on the other side and on the 710 but rather slanted downwards. It looks to me like a mistake. However I do not know if the G-10 cutout affects the performance of the lock in any way but it seems as if the steel "discs" around the buttons move along with the G-10 acting as "tracks". If this is the case then maybe the sticking is b/c the lock is diagonal slightly due to one side being different from the other.

When you got your knife back did it look like they changed the G-10? Maybe the problem ones are ones that have a AXIS bar that is slanted?
 
Yes curious Angie is a real person - the centrepiece of BM's warranty section. The Rolling Stones are huge BM fans, incidentally.

At law, both the manufacturer and the retailer will be subject to warranties. So you could go either way. But in this instance, I'd suggest rather strongly you are likely to have greater joy from BM. I'm not saying send it off right away. Ring them up, explain what happened AND your Canadian situation, then see what they say. You never know.

Good luck.
 
curious,

i know how PITA it is to send back to manufacturer. I got a CRKT Point Guard brought down in person from US, due to the fact of shipping them in would risk of 'stolen' on top of the tax/shipping cost. If i have to do that, the cost would be enough to get another CRKT i think ...

that's why when i decided to do the purchase, i chose 1sks cause i know being a member of this forum i could email Spark and asked him to ensure the one to be shipped to me was perfect ..and indeed it was!!! THANKS SPARK! It is now in my hand .. i have inspected everything, and everything functional is perfect. Some minor finish (i.e. Zytel casting bordering around the edge of liner not fully smooth) is acceptable given the price and it is a production knife, not a custom.

Also, knowing the AXIS working mechanism, i think using it for hunting (with blood etc.) getting into the knife would be tough on teh maintenance dept IMO. Balisong, lockback and liner lock would be much easier to clean ..
 
I couldn't visually tell exactly what they'd done either time I sent it back. The first time it came back it was still sticking but not quite as bad. The second time it came back, it no longer had a problem.

When I buy a knife, if there's a clear problem right after I've received it, I first deal with the retailer where I purchased it and I contact the company as well so they know of the problem for their own QA/QC info, not that I've had too many problems. The retailer usually will take a knife back that's clearly defective from the onset and they'll deal with company after they've replaced my knife. If a problem develops after I've owned the knife for "a while", I go directly to the company that made it and also contact the retailer where I bought it so they know about my problem if they keep records of common product issues. I generally try to keep everyone in the communication loop. For myself, I've found it's generally easier to solve problems when everybody's involved up front.

If you do end up having to send it back to Benchmade, I'd definitely ask Angie if there's a way to offset your extra shipping situation. It shouldn't hurt to ask.

Good Luck!
 
well when I first got the 806 it got stuck numerous times just from opening with the oval with moderate force.

then after a few days it only got stuck almost all fo the time when I flicked the knife open without pulling back the AXIS bar first

now when I open it slightly more forcefully witht the hole it doesnt' get stuck the way it was solidly wedged before but the bar is harder to pull back and I definitely need two fingers to do so.

so basically right now it seems as if the only time it gets really stuck the way it used to before is when I flick it open without pulling back the AXIS bar.

Is this normal for AXIS knives? Do they normally overengage when flicked open? or is my knife still abnormal in some way? Thanks.
 
None of the other eight axis locks my wife and I own, or rather have owned, have had any sticking issues when opened in any way, including flicking. All of them, with the exception of the problem child 710, would disengage easily with one finger.

Back to your earlier question about what BM did to fix my 710.... I'd said that I didn't notice a visual difference but after some thought I do recall that there were some fine G10 shavings on the blade and in the blade recess which I had to wash out. At the time I thought it was just junk off of their workbench and that they hadn't cleaned off my knife since on the outside it didn't appear they'd removed any of the handle material. Maybe they did enlarge the lock tracks or the inside of the G10... who knows? :)
 
The harder you flick it, the harder it'll jam...not hard to reason, is it?

My 550 will jam from flicking without pulling back on the AXIS bar. If I "wave" it open, it'll jam open, and will require two hands to close. Which is why I don't flick it from a closed position anymore.

As the AFCK has a heavier blade, it's probably more prone to jamming when opened with excessive force. I fail to see the problem.
 
Hmmm.... I'm really surprised at some of the stuff I'm hearing from folks other than 'curious'. I don't think that any sticking or having to use both fingers when disengaging the lock is normal at all. Of course, this is based on my own measley experience with the axis under actual use. Mind you, this is my experience in working with the following sets of knives (my knives, my wife's, a co-worker's, and my dad's). My dad and my co-worker use their knives pretty darned hard, to the point I'd call somewhat abusive. These are my experiences on all these knives with HARD flicking/inertial opening and one fingered lock disengagement afterwards.

# Model Finding
2 - 705, no problems
2 - 710, 1 stuck constantly even under normal operations, worse
when flicked.
1 no problems
1 - 551, no problems
2 - 555, no problems
1 - 556, no problems
1 - 943, no problems
2 - 730, no problems
1 - 770, no problems
1 - 806, no problems

Granted, I don't routinely beat my knives up and slam them open, however, from my experience it appears that 92.3 % of them can handle it just fine without "sticking" or having other problems.

At the very least, you should be able to disengage the axis lock with you thumb and flick the knife open without sticking. With enough practice, you can do this without using excessive force in the "flick".

:D
 
pyramid

if you go back a bit and read what I wrote, it is not just a matter of the lock being tighter and requiring two fingers (although like nobody stated most AXIS knives do not jam up). When it jams on the 806 two fingers aren't enough alone to move the lock. I need to use oven mitts or sth else with force from my arms pulling back as hard as I can muster. Not just a slightly tougher lockup that needs two fingers instead of one to disengage.

Anyways BM warrenty department replied but I"ll wait for a few more days and see if anybody else can share some experiences before I contact the dealer as well and see what option I have...
 
btw

interestingly I also asked if the 710 spacer being non-symmetrical was a defect and the reply was that it wasn't. I guess 710 spacers have to be more rounded and cut lower than the liners on the left side (from spine view)?
 
Yeah, the 710 backspacers are not symmetrical. Doesn't appear to be any functional reason, so it's probably a manufacturing consideration.

About the sticking... I think something is wrong. I have 2 710's and a 921 and had another 710 that I sold. No matter how hard I open them, they can all easily be unlocked with 1 finger. Some of them have axis bars that are really tight side-to-side, others are loose allowing some diagonaling (is that a word?) of the lock bar. But they all work 100% under all conditions.
 
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