benchmade 530......broken

gundude73

gundude73

Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
10,338
well after about a solid year of use the omega spring that makes the axis lock work broke. i guess it will get a vacation to the benchmade factory. it is just a little sad because it was my first benchmade and i hope everything works out well with the warranty process. does anybody have any experience with benchmades warranty? and if so was it good or bad.
 
The omega spring broke on my mini grip 555 only about a month after I got it. I sent it back to BM and they replaced it. No problem, good warranty service.

The problem is that it was only about a month old. I like the axis lock, but little parts break and I've become somewhat wary of them since this incident.

I also have a 530, cool knife. I've had it about six months, no problems so far but I haven't used it real hard.

I'm sure BM will take care of you.
 
Benchmade will honor the warranty and repair the springs on the 530, most likely will sharpen and tune it while there. I've sent many up and none have come back less than what I expected.

While the Axis design is all it's advertised to be, I'd wish for stronger springs, many of us have to send their knives in for them to be replaced, as BM will not send out replacements, but on the other hand I've a number that have been flipped and used for years without failure.

Yet it's another reason to have more than one knife, and I assume that's the case for many of you as it is for me.
 
I've had many AXIS knives and have never had any issues with them. After comparing them to other locks for a while now I've found that I really like them. Not because of the over the top hype associated with them but I have really found them to be a superior lock to many out on the market right now. Sure its hard to beat a RIL framelock or a backlock but the axis has really spoiled me. I've found that the only locks that I can reliably use with gloves on are the AXIS lock and the Kershaw Stud Lock. Anyways I'm sure the guy will chime in soon that made a replacement omega spring out of guitar spring. If I remember right it needs to be .025 diameter.
 
well i had been wanting to have it lifesharped but the omega spring breaking will give me more resolve to do so. i hadn't really used it all that hard. i mostly opened and closed it. which probably wore it down. but i didn't abuse it. thanks for responses
 
If you don't want to send it back you can make a new spring like what was mentioned.

I couldn't find any piano wire so I used MIG welding wire. I took the good spring out and used it as a template and made 2 springs in about 10 minutes using 2 needle nose pliers. Like was mentioned the wire was 0.025 inch for my Rift but I think the smaller knives use a smaller spring so you might try to measure it if you have some micrometers. I put in both home made springs so that they were about the same strength. Just 1 loaded the lock bar unevenly.

I have since found that ACE hardware sells piano wire in the correct size. I would also save the broken and good spring and if you ever need to send it to Benchmade put them in. That way they can't say you took it apart. The home made ones have been in the knife for close to a year and still work perfect.

If you are handy I would suggest making them yourself so that you don't have to rely on Benchmade and have to go with out your knife for 3 -4 weeks. It wasn't that hard and while they didn't look perfect they work great.

Let us know what you end up doing and how it all turns out. Good luck!

Ryan
 
Id just sent it in. BM has a great warranty service in my experience. I busted a clip, and they sent me a new one in the mail, free of charge.
 
Thalestin said:
Id just sent it in. BM has a great warranty service in my experience. I busted a clip, and they sent me a new one in the mail, free of charge.
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Good to see that the excellent customer service extends across the border. :thumbup:
 
Don't make your own or open the knife up, it will void the warranty. The warranty service is really quick and not anywhere near 3-4 weeks. I've sent knives in for various reasons 3 times and they came back in 7-10 days.
 
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mongomondo said:
Don't make your own or open the knife up, it will void the warranty. The warranty service is really quick and not anywhere near 3-4 weeks. I've sent knives in for various reasons 3 times and they came back in 7-10 days.
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i wasn't planning on making my own. one because so much could go wrong and like you said the warranty would be voided
 
The only reason they have that in the warranty is so that they don't get a bag full of parts from some idiot who couldn't figure out how to put the knife back together, or stripped out all the threads or cross threaded screws.

If you are the least bit competent with some hand tools it is an easy job to pull the scales off and replace the spring. The knife doesn't even have to be completely taken apart. Once it is back together there is no way of knowing it was disassembled.

But some people don't even know which way to turn a screw or are not handy at all. If you aren't comfortable doing this then send it in. Otherwise it is an easy do it yourself fix.

I love AXIS locks and also like to know I can easily make and replace a broken AXIS omega spring which is the only complaint about the system. To each his own.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
The only reason they have that in the warranty is so that they don't get a bag full of parts from some idiot who couldn't figure out how to put the knife back together, or stripped out all the threads or cross threaded screws.

If you are the least bit competent with some hand tools it is an easy job to pull the scales off and replace the spring. The knife doesn't even have to be completely taken apart. Once it is back together there is no way of knowing it was disassembled.

But some people don't even know which way to turn a screw or are not handy at all. If you aren't comfortable doing this then send it in. Otherwise it is an easy do it yourself fix.

I love AXIS locks and also like to know I can easily make and replace a broken AXIS omega spring which is the only complaint about the system. To each his own.
Click to expand...

I agree with every word.

If you can do so, be self sufficient. Making and installing a omega springs is simple. Go to a hobby shop or hardware store and buy 30' of .025" piano wire for about $3-4 and you'll have a lifetime of omega springs.

One last thing, it works better if you replace both springs at the same time.
 
I had a thread a while back about making an omega spring for a BM 943.

Buy some guitar strings, specifically the low E string, and unwrap the core. Bend that into the shape of the original omega springs (it's going to be a little rough) and that has worked fine for me so far. No signs of rust, and it still has the same amount of tension as when I first put it in. It will take a little practice to figure out how to do it right, I'd recommend trying it with some of the smaller gauge wires until you feel comfortable doing it with the low E string - that way you don't waste any of the wire you are actually going to use.
 
A.P.F. said:
Good to see that the excellent customer service extends across the border. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Benchmades customer service even extends even accros the pond. I had a problem on a 556 tip that broke while sharpening. The handle broke near the axis lock that was my fault due to dropping and stepping on it (I am not the lightest of people) I send the knife through a dealer. Took ten weeks but it came back perfect! They fixed everything. I just paid 12 dollars for handling and shipping by the dealer.

What I love about the axis is even if both springd fail one can still manupilate the lock by pushing a stick behind the lock and it will still function
 
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