Have you had a broken Omega spring in an Axis lock folder?

Have you had a broken Omega spring in an Axis lock? folder?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .
Same amount of movement so I'm guessing same amount of stress is 'felt' by the single remaining spring if the other has failed.

The reliability of the omega springs are questionable. The percentages of failure is too high. I prefer the helical springs of Spyderco's ball bearing locks instead of the Omega to push something to wedge open a blade (which is what it's basically doing).

Gave away a Griptillian to a pal of mine after a spring broke. I always oiled the spring so rust was never an issue. Had no confidence after the break so I traded my 710 and am in the process of getting rid of my Rukus.

If Benchmade came up with a better mechanism to push something to wedge open a blade (in a nutshell) then I'm game again. Benchmade fit and finish is nice but no Omega springs for me.
 
Cotherion said:
...I always oiled the spring so rust was never an issue...QUOTE]

Unless ya displace the moisture, (either by disassembly or usin' a chemical water displacer) the oil sits on top of the moisture and rust will develop, remember oil floats on water so the moisture would still be in contact with the steel.

I'm not sayin' that's the only reason they break, I've had my Ares for 10 years and never a problem, it's an EDC user too not a safe queen.
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I do have a 555 mini grip that has a broken spring. It broke about 6 months after I got it. Still works fine though, so no worries. That is the only issue out of 2 full size grips, 2 mini grips, 2 rukus, and a 710
 
We should remember the nature of the attitude some have towards Benchmade on this forum...

I just really doubt that one fifth of Benchmade owners have experienced lock failures.
 
darthsoaker said:
We should remember the nature of the attitude some have towards Benchmade on this forum...

I just really doubt that one fifth of Benchmade owners have experienced lock failures.
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Agreed :thumbup:

I think the ratio is is way better than that in B'mades favor.

Of course I'm probably premature by saying that and could be killing this thread but that is what I believe.

I worked for a large award wining manufacturing company for over a decade.

If they had any where near a .5% rate of problems with a product it was gone.

In my mind the study here isn't the amount of actual spring failures ....

Again ... cut my throat! ;)
 
Cynic2701 said:
I think we need further qualifications so before we can get a better picture of how frequently this happens.

I said "Yes" to this poll. I have three knives with the Axis-lock, and out of those three, I've had two Axis-lock's break: I have actually only had two broken springs, one on each knife. The first was on a 943 which I conservatively estimate I cycled ~3-5 million times over four years. The second was on a 940 that I cycled ~100,000 times in two months.

The omega springs of the Axis-lock fail not because of excessive force, you can't deform them any further than the distance that the Axis-bar can travel, but because of fatigue limits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue_limit

Steel and titanium springs have distinct fatigue limits below which the probability of failure is unlikely. My first broken omega spring was most likely because I actually did reach the theoretical fatigue limit: I obsessively opened/closed the knife while I read for ~6 hours each day, every day. For four years. A few million cycles isn't really that many if you think about how many times you can open/close an Axis-lock knife in 20 minutes (1 cycle per second for 20 minutes = 1,200 cycles).

My second broken omega spring occurred far below this limit. Probably inconsitancies in spring production.
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6 hours a day is a lot of reading, even without compulsive Axis lock cycling. I am impressed, in a strange sort of way.
 
Bill1170 said:
6 hours a day is a lot of reading, even without compulsive Axis lock cycling. I am impressed, in a strange sort of way.
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Thanks for saying it for me. :thumbup: lol


I'll edit to say that i do a lot of reading and flicking in my spare time so all good Cynic. I have one B'made that I've flicked since 1999..
 
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Bill1170 said:
6 hours a day is a lot of reading, even without compulsive Axis lock cycling. I am impressed, in a strange sort of way.
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To clarify, I was an English and Philosophy double major in my undergraduate, and am currently an English grad student. Literally all I do is read, and write.

Trust me, even with all the reading I do, I'm always feeling like I haven't read enough. There will always be somebody who is more well read in a specific area, and keeping up with my very specific focus in a current scholarly debate is a chore.

I almost always have a knife in my hand--except when I'm in places where that would be frowned upon. I guess I'm somewhat of an extreme "knifesturbator".

I'm being completely honest, and, I feel, conservative with my estimates on the 943 cycles. It may very well be above 3-5 million. Again, spend even 4 hours a day cycling once per second (60 x 60 x 4 = 14,400) will quickly add up if you do it every day for four years. (60 x 60 x 4 x 365 x 4 = 21,024,000).

I don't really have a "real job" outside of being a student, so I have a lot more time to "knifesturbate".
 
Cynic2701 said:
To clarify, I was an English and Philosophy double major in my undergraduate, and am currently an English grad student. Literally all I do is read, and write.

Trust me, even with all the reading I do, I'm always feeling like I haven't read enough. There will always be somebody who is more well read in a specific area, and keeping up with my very specific focus in a current scholarly debate is a chore.

I almost always have a knife in my hand--except when I'm in places where that would be frowned upon. I guess I'm somewhat of an extreme "knifesturbator".

I'm being completely honest, and, I feel, conservative with my estimates on the 943 cycles. It may very well be above 3-5 million. Again, spend even 4 hours a day cycling once per second (60 x 60 x 4 = 14,400) will quickly add up if you do it every day for four years. (60 x 60 x 4 x 365 x 4 = 21,024,000).

I don't really have a "real job" outside of being a student, so I have a lot more time to "knifesturbate".
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That is really super cool! Probably not the norm for knife grunts ... but I like the blend. It takes serious focus to read and retain... and still cycle the Axis.

I call that love.

No, I'm not hitting on you but I get it! :foot:
 
This is my first 720 ... first run.

Bad old pics of a knife that has been rode hard an put up wet.

Someday she might give an Omega to a brother like a kidney ... she has two.

.... but don't bet on it. :p

100_0341.jpg


100_0343.jpg


100_0342.jpg
 
Sargent 666 said:
That is really super cool! Probably not the norm for knife grunts ... but I like the blend. It takes serious focus to read and retain... and still cycle the Axis.

I call that love.

No, I'm not hitting on you but I get it! :foot:
Click to expand...

Thanks, :)

After about a year of really intense reading, somehow you train your brain to retain a seemingly miraculous amount of information. Plus, it also makes reading a habit. But you are right, it is love.

Just a quick personal anecdote: when I was little, when my parent's grounded me, my punishment was that I wasn't allowed to read.

To anyone who doubts the 3-5 million cycles on my 943 in four years, think about it this way: 5,000,000 / 4 / 365 / 24 = ~143 cycles an hour. Some people, like my roommate, click pens obsessively while thinking--I open/close a knife. You can click a pen several times a second; and in timing my average 943 cycling just now, I cycle ~2.2 times per second. Assuming I only cycle the 943 during a 6 hour period, and the average needed cycles per day is (143 x 24 = 3,432), then I need to cycle 3,432 times in 6 hours. If my average cycle time is ~2.2 cycles per second, then I can reach 3432 cycles in 1,560 seconds--or 26 minutes of continuous opening/closing cycles at 2.2 times per second.

Spread that over 6 hours. Or even four hours. It's not too difficult to achieve. I'm not saying that I sustain a 2.2 cycles per second average over the entire 6 hours; rather, that obsessive 'knifesturbation' adds up a lot more than one would think.

I will say that my left thumb has a MASSIVE callus.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
Cotherion said:
...I always oiled the spring so rust was never an issue...QUOTE]

Unless ya displace the moisture, (either by disassembly or usin' a chemical water displacer) the oil sits on top of the moisture and rust will develop, remember oil floats on water so the moisture would still be in contact with the steel.

I'm not sayin' that's the only reason they break, I've had my Ares for 10 years and never a problem, it's an EDC user too not a safe queen.
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In my case I oil them out of the box but I get ur point, didn't think about that.

Back then the spring under inspection had no rust. I'd be sure to mention if it had cause it's my mistake then. But give me a sturdy framelock and I'll be happier.
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Cynic2701 said:
I will say that my left thumb has a MASSIVE callus.
Click to expand...

Lets just say your thumb is Massive ... chicks love it!

My wife has the trunk of the car full of books .... we have three kids ... I have to shove the baby stroller in there when we go out.

The family and friends call it the "mobile library".

Learning is earning ... means you get more blades.
 
I have 7 axis lock knives. The first three since 2003. The next two since 2004 or 2005 and the last inbetween the last two years. Not every knife was used the same way. Just three of them made it for a longer time as edc. I actually edc the 520, wich i get 2004 or 2005 and that is the knife i edc for the most time. I never had a broken spring.
 
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