I love the axis lock... but hate the Omega springs.

[pbcg]

I really wish I had taken a pic now. I pulled the broken spring out and tossed it in the trash and after tonight's dinner, I didn't really want to dig thru it, but mine broke at the very bottom at the largest bend. Not sure if that's any help. I'm praying this doesn't happen to my others. Maybe it was just a fluke, I know it happens sometimes. I really hope BM makes it right because the mini grip has been one of my absolute favorites of all my knives and one of the few knives I ever considered buying 2 of.

I can assure you with almost absolute certainty that if the only issue is a broken spring as you say they will make it right and fix it for free.

Spring breakage does happen but it's very rare. A lot rarer then it may seem. If it makes you feel any better in the years I've been reading these forums I've read far more, and by a very large margin, reports of Liner lock and Frame lock slippage / failure then broken Omega spring's. And even if one spring breaks the lock will still function and not fail.

I have complete confidence in the lock, more so then any other and I also have absolute confidence in BM's customer service. They genuinely want to help.

Best of luck!

 

[T. Erdelyi]

Does BM use any tamper indicators on their knives? If not and you use the right, (not cheap but quality) tools and your reasonably mechanically inclined, (something fewer and fewer people seem to be) they would never know.

I've taken mine apart at least 50 times since new, mine was the first Axis locks a 730 Ares, you still can't tell unless you're really critically examining it that it's ever been apart.

I think it comes down to the Buck 186 Titanium folder mentality, they made a folder and advertised it as a knife you could take down/apart to service and clean. It was a major selling point when they marketed it that turned out an epic fail and was discontinued/reengineered within a year or release.

If something's not idiot proof it'll prove how many idiots are really out there and nothing is idiot proof.

There a lot more parts to your typical Axis lock knife than a Sebenza which is one of the reason CRK includes the tools to take it apart and are confident enough in the simplicity of their design to encourage their customers to disassemble it for cleaning and repair. If your not comfortable enough to do it seems it in, they'll know if it was messed up by the customer, something BM might want to reconsider about their warranty.

One last thought, I pretty much understand what G-10 is but I have to wonder how stable it is and does it outgas at all? Because of the high demand for G-10 are they letting it cure as long as needed to completely stabilize? I'm no chemist or chemical engineer but I've worked with a lot of them and one thing I've learned is the longer you let something set that outgases before you use it with anything it could react with the better your chances are it won't affect it. There are a lot of chemicals out there that are corrosive/reactive with most metals to some degree.

Again I'm no chemist and I don't know what the exact chemicals or exact process to make the modern composite, epoxy infused scales they make today, I'm just asking questions and tossing out ideas. Still JMHO.

 

[JNewell]

Spring breakage does happen but it's very rare. A lot rarer then it may seem.

Definitely true. I own one of the first 710s, purchased back in late 98 or early 99, right after Doug Ritter published his enthusiastic review. That knife and a 710T have been cycled countless times, no broken springs. I have dozens of others, lots of different models. No broken springs, ever. If you read posts here you get the idea that this is common - it isn't. Common sense, logic and basic economics indicate that if this were a big problem, Benchmade would have dropped the Axis lock or fixed whatever the problem was rather than incurring the soft and hard costs of bad design or bad manufacturing.

 

[BMCGear]

Definitely true. I own one of the first 710s, purchased back in late 98 or early 99, right after Doug Ritter published his enthusiastic review. That knife and a 710T have been cycled countless times, no broken springs. I have dozens of others, lots of different models. No broken springs, ever. If you read posts here you get the idea that this is common - it isn't. Common sense, logic and basic economics indicate that if this were a big problem, Benchmade would have dropped the Axis lock or fixed whatever the problem was rather than incurring the soft and hard costs of bad design or bad manufacturing.

Agreed.

 

[pbcg]

Definitely true. I own one of the first 710s, purchased back in late 98 or early 99, right after Doug Ritter published his enthusiastic review. That knife and a 710T have been cycled countless times, no broken springs. I have dozens of others, lots of different models. No broken springs, ever. If you read posts here you get the idea that this is common - it isn't. Common sense, logic and basic economics indicate that if this were a big problem, Benchmade would have dropped the Axis lock or fixed whatever the problem was rather than incurring the soft and hard costs of bad design or bad manufacturing.

Couldn't agree with you more.

I think, and this is just my best guess that between knives I've sold, traded, gifted and still own I have or had between 30 to 40 AXIS knives. Possibly more. That's a pretty good sampling over many, many years and I've never had a broken spring. And I'm not alone. If this were such a common problem certainly I would have had a problem by now.

 

[Benchmade]

Hi WillardCorspe,

What country are you in? We definitely would like to help you out with your issue.

Thank you!

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

I agree as well; I know the lock isn't inherently a bad design. As I have said before I really like the axis lock. Been carrying the 940 again with no problems so far. Also greased up the locks on my other Benchmades with the new bearing grease, should have done it a while ago.

So, this has been the break point for all my omega springs; most I had long since thrown out, this one I found in the bottom of my trash bin.

And some close up shots.

 

[BMCGear]

Hi WillardCorspe,

What country are you in? We definitely would like to help you out with your issue.

Thank you!

Boom. Thanks Benchmade!

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

Hi WillardCorspe,

What country are you in? We definitely would like to help you out with your issue.

Thank you!

I'm in Canada! Thanks for putting the offer out there.

Gotta say, again, love the axis lock!

 

[pbcg]

@ Willard

Thanks for posting up the pic's. I'm hoping more will do so and we can try and see if there is anything consistent with these breaks or if they are random.

From your pic's there doesn't seem to be any presence of corrosion. That answers one question people have had.

BTW: Looks like BM is standing by to help you.

Hope it all works out!

 

[cross1178]

I agree as well; I know the lock isn't inherently a bad design. As I have said before I really like the axis lock. Been carrying the 940 again with no problems so far. Also greased up the locks on my other Benchmades with the new bearing grease, should have done it a while ago.

So, this has been the break point for all my omega springs; most I had long since thrown out, this one I found in the bottom of my trash bin.

And some close up shots.

Exact same spot mine broke in as well.

 

[MrPocketsOfSteel]

Agreed.

I am glad to hear that. As the owner of only one Benchmade knife (Contego) - - my wife laid claim to it half of year or so ago. But if that spring broke and ole Husband couldn't fix it she would be one pissed woman. And then next she'd be wanting my Emerson Super7 and that ain't happening. Not in my lifetime at least.

 

[MobileFireLord]

I am glad to hear that. As the owner of only one Benchmade knife (Contego) - - my wife laid claim to it half of year or so ago. But if that spring broke and ole Husband couldn't fix it she would be one pissed woman. And then next she'd be wanting my Emerson Super7 and that ain't happening. Not in my lifetime at least.

Don't forget, Benchmade will fix it for you.

 

[GaryC]

I had a few springs break over the years, BM has excellent service, love the axis lock. Gary

 

[BMCGear]

I am glad to hear that. As the owner of only one Benchmade knife (Contego) - - my wife laid claim to it half of year or so ago. But if that spring broke and ole Husband couldn't fix it she would be one pissed woman. And then next she'd be wanting my Emerson Super7 and that ain't happening. Not in my lifetime at least.

Your wife rocks a Contego?

 

[chiral.grolim]

...Not in my lifetime at least...

Don't type that! It's just begging for the universe to answer...



My 585S had a similar break, first on one spring and then, months later, on the other, whereupon I sent it in and got the knife back a couple of weeks later as good as new with the blade resharpened as well :thumbup:

 

[pnsxyr]

The answer is because a large number of people can't take a knife apart and get it back together safely and in this insane culture we live in people sue, and win big judgments, when they injure themselves through their own stupidity and negligence. The point about firearms is good, though. They're more dangerous, and no one would suggest that owers/users shouldn't clean and disassemble them...

Spyderco has the same policy on disassembly, but (like Benchmade) applies it on a common-sense basis. If you didn't cause the problem by disassembling the knife, they disregard the fact that it's been disassembled.

It is remarkable that so few knife companies encourage disassembly. Chris Reeve comes to mind immediately. I believe DPX has a similar approach. Other than that, no other companies leaps to mind.

AXIS lock in particular disappoints me that disassembly is not encouraged. It's an unusually tough locking mechanism, capable of withstanding damned near anything and able to hold up to long-term wear from even the most intense and prolonged usage. And like the frame locks on Sebs, taking it apart and putting it back together many, many times does not induce things like blade play or malfunctions from being out of spec because the design cannot handle disassembly (which can happen with some other locking mechanisms.) And despite the strength, it's one of the most simple systems on the market, and in a world where simpler locks tend to be the most reliable. AXIS was built for this and Benchmade should be bragging about this left and right given that most locking mechanisms on folding knives are not capable of handling this (the ability for the Seb takedown by the user is one of the most admired traits of the Seb!)

 

[Tinbasher]

Your local hobby shop should have spring steel wire that is used on model aircraft.
Richard

 

[JNewell]

AXIS lock in particular disappoints me that disassembly is not encouraged. It's an unusually tough locking mechanism, capable of withstanding damned near anything and able to hold up to long-term wear from even the most intense and prolonged usage. And like the frame locks on Sebs, taking it apart and putting it back together many, many times does not induce things like blade play or malfunctions from being out of spec because the design cannot handle disassembly (which can happen with some other locking mechanisms.) And despite the strength, it's one of the most simple systems on the market, and in a world where simpler locks tend to be the most reliable. AXIS was built for this and Benchmade should be bragging about this left and right given that most locking mechanisms on folding knives are not capable of handling this (the ability for the Seb takedown by the user is one of the most admired traits of the Seb!)

Yep. All I can tell you is a lot of people manage to get it wrong, and some actually break parts. OTOH, the whole knife industry is deeply weird about disassembly. It's like an alternate reality.

 

[pbcg]

AXIS lock in particular disappoints me that disassembly is not encouraged. It's an unusually tough locking mechanism, capable of withstanding damned near anything and able to hold up to long-term wear from even the most intense and prolonged usage. And like the frame locks on Sebs, taking it apart and putting it back together many, many times does not induce things like blade play or malfunctions from being out of spec because the design cannot handle disassembly (which can happen with some other locking mechanisms.) And despite the strength, it's one of the most simple systems on the market, and in a world where simpler locks tend to be the most reliable. AXIS was built for this and Benchmade should be bragging about this left and right given that most locking mechanisms on folding knives are not capable of handling this (the ability for the Seb takedown by the user is one of the most admired traits of the Seb!)

How many threads have we seen where the OP posts, help! I took my knife apart and can't figure out how to put it back together? Or, I can't get the blade centered now, it has play and didn't before. I'm hearing a funny noise, I lost a washer, stripped a screw, how do I get a new one?

I've seen enough of these posts that I've noticed. Couple of weeks ago someone posted they couldn't refit a washer.

I think this is the reason many companies don't encourage their users to take apart their knives. Too many people end up messing something up and then sending it back or blaming the manufacture for their mistake. Not to mention the possible liabilities.