Benchmade 940 Osborne Axis Lock Problem

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valentin_84

Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
57
So, I spent $140 on a brand new Benchmade 940 Osborne. Not a cheap EDC for me, but I was expecting something pretty flawless from Benchmade and I've heard amazing things about these Axis locks.

Just got it yesterday and I love the blade shape, steel, total weight, and finish.

Two problems though:

#1. Do they not sharpen their freakin' blades anymore? My old Benchmade 42 was ridiculously sharp out of the box. The 940 is so dull I can lightly run my finger down the blade and not cut myself at all! But still, not a big deal, I can sharpen it.

#2. The BIG problem with it is that about 40-50 openings into playing with it and getting used to the feel and the lock, it started to stick...

I would flick it by the thumb stud or flip it open with the wrist and when I go to unlock the Axis is sticks, pretty hard too. I thought maybe it just needed a little breaking in so I just kept playing but it just keeps sticking! If I pull real hard it will work but I know it's not supposed to be like this. What does work is using my index finger to unlock from the other side or pulling both sides of the lock down at the same time. Those methods work smooth, but that's not how I want to work it and I'm not satisfied with "dealing" with a problem like that. Especially when it comes to a knife that cost me tripple what my workhorse Cold Steel folders cost!

Anyway, sorry about babbling but I'm not happy about this.

Does anyone know what the hell is goin' on with this knife? Anyone had this problem or know how to fix it?
 
bm often sharpens to a 40 degree inclusive or wider because of non-knife nuts

sounds like the factory oil is off and you need to re oil

great knife but im not really a fan of...well much of anything about it lol
 
The AXIS lock is designed to be unlocked by pulling both sides of the lock bar. Pulling one side is not.going to be very smooth. Some knives it can be done on but those are not normal. When you pull one side it tries to make the lock bar twist or rotate which causes it to get Hung up and bind. Doing a bench press by only pushing at one end of the bar doesn't work very well either.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
The AXIS lock is designed to be unlocked by pulling both sides of the lock bar. Pulling one side is not.going to be very smooth. Some knives it can be done on but those are not normal. When you pull one side it tries to make the lock bar twist or rotate which causes it to get Hung up and bind. Doing a bench press by only pushing at one end of the bar doesn't work very well either.
Click to expand...

That was my first thought, but I watched a few review videos of this knife and it didn't seem that they were using both sides, but I may be wrong, can't see both sides...

Well, I will continue to use it like that then. Better that I just didn't know and was using it incorrectly than something be wrong with it.

Thanks!
 
Using both sides to disengage the lock is the only way I've ever manipulated an Axis lock, but I just pulled my 940 out of my pocket and tried to unlock it with just my thumb. It disengaged with no problem, so maybe the tolerances are off or the blade tang is a little too rough on your knife.

I also flicked it open as hard as I could and still was able to unlike it with my thumb. I would call BM if I were you.
 
A dull knife is nothing cool, but you can fix it. Some may say, why deliver a sharpened knife? Anyone can put the edge onit he likes. OK, thats quite uncommon.

You don´t need oil on your axis to make it work.

The axis bar moves up the blade tang. If you look closely, you may see, that it can stuck between the tang and axis slot, if used to hard. So, some axis models tend to stick. Some more, some less. It´s not a big problem, because it should wear in. The ones from mine, were ok after a while.

I geuss, BM has tried to make it better. The tang of the 520 has looked different compared to the sticking 550. But, the bar moved not as far, so i was able to unlook the knife with a spine whack. As i have looked on the 520 some years later, i guess, the changed a littel bit, the bar moved more forward.

All in all:

It should become better. If not, contact BM.
 
Just know your knife is covered under warranty no matter the issue. Maybe opening the Axis studs with both thumb and forefinger will resolve the opening problems, agreed oiling doesn't help in this issue.

On sharpening, whether its a benchstone, SharpMaker or Edge Pro, get something you can learn to know and use and sharpening just about anything will no longer be a chore.

I rarely send anything to BM for sharpening, but every once in awhile I'll get something very used or maybe in D2, which is a bear to sharpen sometimes, but other than that I do the rest myself.

Good luck, but no matter what you're covered...and yes, it's another good reason to have backup knives so if and when you send yours in it won't be a problem 'cuz you'll have something else to cut stuff with!
 
I had a similar problem with my BM 950 Osborne Rift. However, my blade WAS sharp! The AXIS mechanism seemed to stick but after I learned to pull down on both sides evenly...no more problems!
 
I had this problem with my 930 Kulgera initially as well. Even when disengaging with both index and thumb, if it had opened up with a little bit too much force then it was clear the lock bar was traveling too far up the tang of the knife and it was getting stuck.

Oiling won't really help, but I would try to clean the lock bar of any kind of crud that's on the liners/rails and the part of it that touches the tang. You might even try rotating it a little inside of the liners, so that a new part of it is engaging the tang of the blade--you might get lucky and find a part that isn't sticking.

Otherwise I would say you can just wait for it to break in since it most likely will, or you can send it in to Benchmade and have them fix it up.
 
I'm with Blop. I've had a lot of axis folders, and some of them seemed to stick the way you describe when they were flicked open really hard. The harder the flick, the more stuck it would get. But this went away after awhile with all of the ones I've had. I do use both sides of the axis bar to disengage, but that's what feel natural to me.
 
I agree with everyone here, just adding my own $.0002.;)

My first Benchmade Axis Lock was a Mini Rukus. First couple of times I used it I had a reaction similar to yours. After adjusting to using thumb and forefinger to relase the lock I had no more issues with binding.

I'll also say the harder you flick with thumb or wrist, the harder the pin is going to wedge on the blade spine. I don't baby my BMs, but I also don't flick them open hard, just an easy sweeping motion with my thumb, no binding, less wear and tear as well.

Enjoy your 940--it's a heck of an EDC knife and a great Benchmade.

Best,

Heekma
 
valentin_84 said:
#2. The BIG problem with it is that about 40-50 openings into playing with it and getting used to the feel and the lock, it started to stick...

I would flick it by the thumb stud or flip it open with the wrist and when I go to unlock the Axis is sticks, pretty hard too. I thought maybe it just needed a little breaking in so I just kept playing but it just keeps sticking! If I pull real hard it will work but I know it's not supposed to be like this. What does work is using my index finger to unlock from the other side or pulling both sides of the lock down at the same time. Those methods work smooth, but that's not how I want to work it and I'm not satisfied with "dealing" with a problem like that. Especially when it comes to a knife that cost me tripple what my workhorse Cold Steel folders cost!
Click to expand...

I had this experience with my new 940 as well. As others above me mentioned, be sure to pull both sides of the Axis bar. It will eventually wear in to the point where you only need to pull one side--and it will also move smoothly. It might take upwards of a couple hundred times for this wear-in to occur.

Secondly, if you put some oil or lube onto the back of the tang of the blade where the Axis bar comes into contact with it, it will also help out. I've found that on brand new BM Axis-locks the "sticking" is actually the still-rough metal rubbing against each other. Putting lube on it will help smooth it out until it wears in.
 
Never had an issue with the axis lock but my 940 was a butter knife out of the box. I was expecting the same thing when I picked up a 707, but that was laser sharp.
 
UPDATE!

I've been carrying the 940 for about half a year now and it's freakin awesome!:eek:

The sticking problem never happened again as soon as I started opening it by holding the lock open and lightly flipping it. I think I was flipping it way too hard and the lock was getting jammed way in there, I was just used to cheaper knives...

The blade is hard to sharpen, but I think I just suck at sharpening. It stays sharp for a long time though!
 
Bummer but that's why I stick to the simplicity of a liner lock, NOTHING to go wrong, EVER. I like the axis and the arc lock knives, but, there is still extra parts that can fail. I know they don't very often BUT.....I want a 100% failure free knife on me.
 
lock just needs to wear a little. there's a point between ~50 to ~1000 openings where it gets progressively stickier, and then progressively smoother until it's just like butter. the harder you flick it, the faster it'll come.

as for butter knives, yeah.
 
Drover said:
Bummer but that's why I stick to the simplicity of a liner lock, NOTHING to go wrong, EVER. I like the axis and the arc lock knives, but, there is still extra parts that can fail. I know they don't very often BUT.....I want a 100% failure free knife on me.
Click to expand...

The only knives I've had fail and the blade close unintentionally were liner and frame locks. There may be less parts but the lock can slip on the blade tang if everything isn't just right. I trust an AXIS lock to never accidentally close and will buy without hesitation. I will never buy a liner lock again if I can help it.

Different strokes and all that.
 
valentin_84 said:
UPDATE!

I've been carrying the 940 for about half a year now and it's freakin awesome!:eek:

The sticking problem never happened again as soon as I started opening it by holding the lock open and lightly flipping it. I think I was flipping it way too hard and the lock was getting jammed way in there, I was just used to cheaper knives...

The blade is hard to sharpen, but I think I just suck at sharpening. It stays sharp for a long time though!
Click to expand...

Does it still stick if you flip it open? My 943's were sticky at first, but loosened up with time.

And yes, the Benchmade factory edge kind of sucks. It's a little annoying because you have to get it sharp before you can use it, but not a huge deal. What kind of sharpener are you using? I've gotten great results with the Sharpmaker.
 
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