effects of dirt, lint etc on Axis lock?

Lobo103

Lobo103

Joined
Jul 14, 2003
Messages
645
How well does the Axis lock stand up to dirt, sand, lint, etc? I've had liner locks operat while clogged w/ a fair amount of sh-t. How does the axis stack up?
 
At the time I was in sniper school and we spent a lot of time on our faces worm crawling through stuff. The instructors were also fond of submerging us in streams and puddles, rolling down hills etc. A lot of grit ends up jammed into everything.
 
Are you still doing that? I'd recommend a fixed blade if you're still doing that stuff.

The axis lock is pretty damn reliable, it kina just pushes lint out of the way. I have never put any of my knives in mud, or crawled on the ground with them.
 
I can't speak to sniper school type exposure, but in day to day use in normal conditions, I've never even thought of a lock jam on any of my Axis lock knives (several variants of the 941). One of the cool things about most Axis designs is that they're open and don't collect much crap. If you find some lint in one, just blow it out with a big breath of hopefully fresh air. A compressor works even better.

John
 
Underaged- At the time a fixed blade wasn't really an option. Most of the training was conducted sans LBE, and hanging a fixed blade off the belt would have just drawn unwanted attention from the instructors. I packed a Chris Reeve 5.5 Yarburough just in case, but it lived in my locker the whole time while my SERE 2000 was used for everything from eating to breaking down boxes and cutting burlap and local vegetation for ghillie suits. When i was stationed in Korea carry of a fixed blade on base was severly frowned upon, so I ended up carrying a folder (Benchmade 910 and 975) for all of my field exercises and entry team work. Thats the great thing about folders...their actually there when you need them! In general though I agree w/ the fixed blade being preferable.

Thanks to those that have contributed thus far for the useful info.
 
I have used my BM 941 a number of times in fairly messy situations without any problems; mud, dirt, grit, etc.; not to the extreme that you are talking about though. If I was concerned about it needing to survive a sniper school type environment, I would make some mud pies, bury the knife in them and see what happens. Or whatever realistic simulation you can come up with. Better to find out in a benign situation whether it will hold up or not.
 
my BM 5000 (auto) uses the AXIS lock and has served me quite well. i carry it left hand side on duty and alsthough i haven't had to roll in the mud and really abuse it, it has gone through several knocks when dealing with uncooperative subjects where i have rolled over it on the cement. it does show the battle scars on the handle that sticks out of my pockect, and has gone through a front loader washing machine (that was rough on it...) and has opened EVERY time without hesitation. the lock is also solid, probably helped out by the spring for the auto function. nice thing about the BM 5000 is that if the spring fails, it reverts back to a regular AXIS folder. :p
 
maybe a frame lock would be better for you....no little springs to jam or break......in fact nothing to break:

the frame IS the lock
 
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