Axis Lock

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Manek

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Mar 26, 2016
Messages
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I read somewhere that that Benchmade's patent on their Axis Lock will expire soon. Assuming this is true, and even if it's not, what blade would you like to see with one? I'd dig an Emerson with the Axis since I'm not a huge liner lock fan but totally a Wave fanboy. Also, a Spyderco Sage would be rad and I'd imagine forthcoming as that is the Sage series theme.
 
Manek said:
I read somewhere that that Benchmade's patent on their Axis Lock will expire soon. Assuming this is true, and even if it's not, what blade would you like to see with one? I'd dig an Emerson with the Axis since I'm not a huge liner lock fan but totally a Wave fanboy. Also, a Spyderco Sage would be rad and I'd imagine forthcoming as that is the Sage series theme.
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Soon might be a bit of a stretch, as I think they have a full 2 years left, but I'll be most interested to see what companies like Kizer and Reate would do with something like the Axis lock.

I tend to avoid framelocks and liner locks, but an Axis lock Kizer could be one heck of a nice knife.
 
An Emerson with an Axis would be amazing. I love the wave feature and ergonomics of Emersons handles, but don't think a liner lock is appropriate for a hard use knife (I know, this is isn't entirely rational). I would buy the heck out of Axis-locked Emersons.

I don't think Emerson would re-tool his factory though. It isn't as if his sales are suffering, and he is very resistant to change.
 
AmosPaul said:
An Emerson with an Axis would be amazing. I love the wave feature and ergonomics of Emersons handles, but don't think a liner lock is appropriate for a hard use knife (I know, this is isn't entirely rational). I would buy the heck out of Axis-locked Emersons.

I don't think Emerson would re-tool his factory though. It isn't as if his sales are suffering, and he is very resistant to change.
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Yeah, with the patent on the Wave expiring as well I think waved Benchmades are a more likely scenario than Axis lock Emersons.
 
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I have a feeling that the people behind premium Chinese brands have been using the lock for years.
 
Manek said:
I read somewhere that that Benchmade's patent on their Axis Lock will expire soon. Assuming this is true, and even if it's not, what blade would you like to see with one? I'd dig an Emerson with the Axis since I'm not a huge liner lock fan but totally a Wave fanboy. Also, a Spyderco Sage would be rad and I'd imagine forthcoming as that is the Sage series theme.
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Are you not familiar with the Sage 3?
While not EXACTLY a BM style barrel lock..about as close as it gets.
 
Some say 2016 it ends some say 2018 and then there's ganzo who acts like it was never there in the first place


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Enter into google the patent number that is on your currently produced Benchmade axis lock knife. This isn't that hard to figure out.
 
BluegrassBrian said:
Are you not familiar with the Sage 3?
While not EXACTLY a BM style barrel lock..about as close as it gets.
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I've never had a Sage 3 in my hand but I've played around w/ a Manix 2 a couple of times. While the BBL's lockup is sturdy it didn't have as smooth of an action as the Axis. I dunno, maybe the Spyderco's I've used were not broken in and they become super fast in time.
 
Sosa said:
I have a feeling that the people behind premium Chinese brands have been using the lock for years.
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And it's not illegal for them to do so because patent laws are only legally binding and enforceable in the country they are filed in.

I don't know if Benchmade filed a patent for the axis lock in China or not but if they did not, they have no case against any of the Chinese knife producers. The only way Benchmade can legally enforce its patents against those companies are if they have an American office or store selling those products in the open market. Which they aren't.

Look at Ganzo for example. No US branch, no US store, nothing. The Ganzos that make it in to the country are imports by private collectors and customers. More importantly, they are made in China to be intended to be sold to the domestic Chinese market, not exported. Is their use of the Axis lock illegal if Benchmade has no patent covering it in China, and if the sale is intended to be limited to China?

Totally not. The ethics of them doing so, on the other hand, is another matter completely.

Now, if Kizer, which openly conducts businesses in America with established American resellers, uses the Axis lock in any of their products without a license or approval from benchmade, they will most definitely be slapped with a lawyer's letter.
 
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I had never heard of Ganzo knives, so I Googled them. They are available on Amazon, and are straight up copies of Benchmades, not just the Axis lock.

Edit: I take that back. They are copies of MANY American brands.
 
Manek said:
I've never had a Sage 3 in my hand but I've played around w/ a Manix 2 a couple of times. While the BBL's lockup is sturdy it didn't have as smooth of an action as the Axis. I dunno, maybe the Spyderco's I've used were not broken in and they become super fast in time.
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The bolt action lock on the Sage 3 is easier to operate than the CBBL lock on Manix 2. Not quite as easy to pull back as an Axis lock but, as BlugrassBrian said, it's pretty close.
 
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