Benchmade AxisLock Spring Failure

Maybe the OP is concerned about his past taking apart of the knife? If your handy enough to be constantly taking your knives apart to clean them, why all the fuss about just getting a guitar string as suggested and making your own spring?

We get that you wish Benchmade had a different policy, no need to keep repeating it.
 
OP needs to look into getting a fixed blade (assuming it's legal for him to carry one). Deliberately abusing a folding knife by getting sand in it, requiring frequent disassembly and cleaning, is just silly. Especially with $100+ knives. Or at least get a folder with a simpler mechanism, like a framelock or a backlock. Easy to flush out with some hot water, WD-40, a blast of canned air, and a few drops of lube. No fiddly springs or tiny nooks for crud to build up in.
 
The axis lock is my favorite by far. But it does concern me, because even being rare, it can break.
I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and, not only the shipping costs are involved, but import taxes aswell... If i send a item to repair outside Brazil, when they ship it back, I´ll have to pay the import taxes again, even over the value of the shipping !!!!
And yes, there is a procedure to send the item for maintenance without configure a new import, but it is so costy and bureacratic, that is surely more expensive than the price of a us$300 knife.
That said, I have more than 30 axis lock BMs, since 2002, and never had a failure or breakage. And my 2003 806D2 is one of the most used knives I own.

I'll try to make some springs from guitar strings, as soon as can :)

Regards,

Andre Tiba
 
Planterz said:
... Deliberately abusing a folding knife by getting sand in it, requiring frequent disassembly and cleaning, is just silly. Especially with $100+ knives. Or at least get a folder with a simpler mechanism, like a framelock or a backlock. Easy to flush out with some hot water, WD-40, a blast of canned air, and a few drops of lube. No fiddly springs or tiny nooks for crud to build up in.
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Hmm... "Deliberately abusing a folding knife by getting sand in it" - Are you implying that accidental sand in a folder is "deliberate abuse" or that deliberately getting sand in the folder is "abuse" or that doing so "fequently" is abuse?
If your "use" of a tool results in sand and problems associated there-with, I agree that the wise course is to select an appropriate tool for which sand is not a problem. All gears are subject to greater wear when tiny abrasive particles are involved, but Benchmade designs folders to handle stressful environmental conditions and backs their tools with their lifetime warranty. So is using a folder where sand might appear really "abuse". I doubt it, but it depends on the folder I guess.

As a side-note, the single spring present in back-locks and frame/liner/mono/button/compression, etc. locks does not seem that much simpler to me than the two omega springs present in the Axis-lock. The complicated part or such locks, to me at least, is in the amount of milling of tang & liners required to effect the lock-function and then the operation there of. I find the axis-lock quite simple.

I also find flow-through handle designs more of an annoyance on pocket knives as they more easily collect debris and the edge is exposed to damage from other items in your pocket. Compare that to a closed-design with "tight"-fitting blade - there is no entry point for debris when the blade is closed, your hand covers the open portion when the blade is open, and all collected debris is easily cleaned out with a Q-tip :thumbup: Closed design = cleaner, better protected knife.
 
Snigel said:
That's not the point, ....but since I'm not in the US, sending it back is too damn expensive.
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I am with you. It costs a lot to get the knife over to the US from here.

But my experience was, you should try to get the thing on a individual basis. I once have had a defective knife and talked to BM about it. Coming to sending it back, i said, that would cost near as much as a new knife, so they returned me a replacement without sending it back. Having an 5000A i was asking, just in case, what to do for sending the knife back for warranty without any "police card" or something, they demand and the answered it would be handled on a "individual basis. In another thing i could have been going over the official retail dealer, so i spend national mail costs. In a very different point someone here realised, that on some 5000A knives there were missing bronze washers on one side. BM was sending him some new washers for self service. I got mine form him. Yes, it was a pain to get the knife together :).

I didn´t have had much contact to BM the last few years, but i guess, they still are as friendly as the were nearly 10 years ago.

Bottom line: From out of the US try to get it on an individual basis.

I have copied a thread in the german speaking forum about making springs yourself and feel better with that option instead of getting new ones shipped.

BTW, reading what is known about warranty issues before buying, is an important thing.
 
Replacing the springs is not for the faint of heart. Both springs broke on my 530 and, being a compulsive tinkerer, I had to do it myself. I used a spring from a ballpoint pen since since it had the same diameter wire as the 530, although they're probably different in other models. Use a high quality torx bit since the screws can be very tight. It took a while to form the spring to the proper shape since there's not a lot of room between the scales and the liner. My knife is now good as new, but there's lots of ways to screw it up, so I mostly understand Benchmade's policy
 
Planterz said:
OP needs to look into getting a fixed blade (assuming it's legal for him to carry one). Deliberately abusing a folding knife by getting sand in it, requiring frequent disassembly and cleaning, is just silly. Especially with $100+ knives. Or at least get a folder with a simpler mechanism, like a framelock or a backlock. Easy to flush out with some hot water, WD-40, a blast of canned air, and a few drops of lube. No fiddly springs or tiny nooks for crud to build up in.
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Wait, so getting your knives dirty is "Deliberate Abuse" now?

cant-tell-if-joking-or-just-stupid.jpg
 
chiral.grolim said:
Hmm... "Deliberately abusing a folding knife by getting sand in it" - Are you implying that accidental sand in a folder is "deliberate abuse" or that deliberately getting sand in the folder is "abuse" or that doing so "fequently" is abuse?
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Dorito Monk said:
Wait, so getting your knives dirty is "Deliberate Abuse" now?
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By the OP's own admission.

Slowrid-Der said:
My working knives get abused. I get sand in them and have to take them apart to do a proper cleaning.
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I have a BM 940 and an omega spring broke within the first 2 months, so I sent it in and they were awesome about it. Got it back fixed exactly two weeks later. I was very happy :)Then within another month of use guess what... Breaks again, I sent it back in and I'm currently waiting for it to come back. I use it pretty hard but honestly I think it's because I play with it too much...
 
An omega spring in one of my BM broke too. They told me the same thing. Sent it in without the omega spring bc I had already thrown it away after disassembling it.. So I sent it in it came back with new screws, new springs and very sharp! Great customer service if you ask me!
 
While I would not be opposed to fixing it myself, I would also not be opposed to sending it in to them to have it professionally fixed by them, leaving the liability on their hands, especially with other knives to carry in its absence... This hardly an issue I personally would see as a deal breaker for future purchases, but if it is for you, then who am I to say otherwise.
 
Slowrid-Der said:
I have no choice in the matter. I must send it back or have a broken knife.

When I purchase a knife, I use it for a week or so to be sure nothing is wrong with it. After that time, I disassemble, clean and lubricate it properly. My warranty is void at that moment. I just want a replacement spring without sending my knife away for two weeks. I should be able to do that if I want.
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How are you in anyway surprised by this Benchmade policy that has been in place for over 20+ years? If they sent out omega springs, their customer service department would be over whelmed by people sending in knives in various stages of assembly. Then they would have to charge for assembly. It is a correct policy.
 
fetzer85 said:
Poor thread, waken up from a 3.5+yr nap...
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It was resting so comfortably. I hope the OP figured out his problem by now.

BTW, never had an Omega spring break on any of the 20 or SO BMs I own or have owned.
 
Now let's see what isn't broken on this knife :D

[video=youtube;72CyuYHuIm4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72CyuYHuIm4[/video]
 
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