I've never had an Axis lock develop vertical blade play I had SOG PE 2 Arch lock that did after years of flipping. I know the Axis self adjusts over time does the Arch lock not do the same? If I remember the Arch lock does not have the extra space to adjust like the Axis but I could be wrong. I was thinking about getting the VG-10 version of the PE 2 but was on the fence due to the old model getting sloppy.