Axis Locks In The Field

V

Vivi

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Dec 4, 2005
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I wanted to hear from members who have used Axis locks and ball bearing locks from their respective companies in the outdoors. I got my first ball bearing lock today (Still haven't used an Axis) and I love the knife. I'm good at keeping them clean, but I'm curious as to how well they stand up to dirt, sand and other debris getting in the tracks of the bearing or in between the bar and tang. Thanks.
 
Use the axis all of the tie. I have taken them on extended beach outings. Flicking them open tends to make them self clean. I have had no problems.
 
I have taken Axis locking BM on many trips wity no problems. Now they havent been subjected to sand storms but through evey thing they keep going. From Montana to West Virginia I have had no problems.
 
I hiked a 60 mile trail along the Canadian Barrier (it's called that for a reason) with a BM axis lock AFCK. The thing got very dirty, but never failed to open/lock/close. The design of the axis and ball beraring lock is that there is not compression point as in a lockback, so there is no chance for reasonable amounts of dirt to cause the lock to fail.
 
It seems like a good design for resisting the elements. I was thinking grit might get in the spring area and tend to build up there. I'm going to take my knife apart to have a closer look, unless anyone has pictures handy of a dissasembled ball bearing lock. Thanks for the responses.
 
I used my BM 710 HS to cut open 75 or so sand bags. A litle runng water, blast of air from my compressor and a shot of oil, no problem. Carried the same one every day for, oh, I dunno, 3, 4, 5 years, heavily used for nearly everything, with o problems.
 
Last spring we backpacked to the Indiana Dunes state park and while there spent lots of time on the dunes. I'd forgotten that my axis lock mini-Rittergrip was in my pocket. It got wet and covered in sand and sandy silt (the really fine stuff). When I got back to the campsite I feared the worst.

I ran water over it from a pump and blew out the axis lock area (with my mouth) and it cleaned up real nice. No problems. The locking mechanism is so "open" that it was pretty easy to clean/blow stuff out of it.

Things might have been different had I opened/closed it a bunch while gunked up, but it works just fine after that.

Ken K.
 
The Axis lock is a good design. Even if both springs failed you could still easily wedge a stick or some other object in behind the lock and make it usuable so it isn't really an issue of survival in that regard I don't think. As to the long term durability? Well, we'll have to give that some time won't we. I have Buck and Gerber lockbacks that have seen 35 years worth of work and use that still function just as they always did. It will interesting to look at the Axis locks this old when the time comes to really find out how good they compare to this kind of durability.

STR
 
This is a most apt thread since it brings to light a knife lock design I had been wanting to ask about!

We've all heard about the design wonders of the BM's Axis lock or Spyderco's Ball lock. But a very similar design and it would seem a lot more "secure" is Grant Hawk's D.O.G. lock folder manufactured by CRKT. It strikes me as more "secure" in the sense that it's sealed unlike the previous 2 locks and very little, if any, chance of gunk or dirt compromising it.

Any experts or users want to comment on how it compares?
 
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