Is there a wrong/bad way to open a Benchmade axis lock?

S

Stoneage

Joined
Nov 25, 2001
Messages
38
I know this has been asked countless times, please bear with me. I recently bought a Benchmade 710 from New Graham knives after they got in stock again. New Grahams lived up to thier reputation and I recieved outstanding service. The 710 also lives up to it's reputation in every respect, I love this knife.
From the first day I took it out of it's box, I can give the stud a flick with my thumb and the blade is open and locked. It seems to open as fast as my Ken Onion scallion. My question is, should I be disingaging the axis lock befofe I open the knife? Am I going to ruin it in some way? At a little more than a 100 bucks the 710 was a very expensive purchase for me (worth every penny) . I'll kick myself in the arse if I break this knife by doing something stupid.
 
Nah. In fact, disengaging it is MORE wear and tear. The friction of the lock bar against the tang will slow it a little, if you disengage it and flip it/flick it open, it would just pound into place like nothing. Also, disengaging it to open it will wear out the Omega springs. Even using the disengaging technique isn't terrible to do, though, as long as you don't sit there and do it 200x over and over. Fast or slow, the only metal-wearing difference is the speed that the lockbar hits its spot. So while I try to avoid "knifesturbating" roughly with my 550, flicking, flipping, disengaging, and whatever else you can throw at it, won't be detrimental for the most part. Enjoy your Benchmade. :)

Edit: Also, I want to add that you won't BREAK the knife flipping it. All you're doing losing metal, but not quickly. I've had my Griptilian Axis since Christmas, I've opened it all sorts of ways hundreds of time, and there has been NO vertical blade play (the only thing that would result from flipping). I think that Benchmade created the Axis so that if there is a little less metal the spring will just engage the bar further to compensate, if you know what I mean. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that there has to be at least some slack in order for all of their knives to leave the shop with no play.
 
nope, no need to pull the bar back. But doing so makes for a very fast opening. BM says there's no worries flicking an Axis knife. The lock wears in, not out.
 
The lock wears in, not out.
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I like that :cool:

Can we get a commercial from Benchmade that plays off of the Reese's campaign? It can show knuts flipping, flicking, dropping, and standard opening their BM's and at the end it can say "There's no wrong way to open a Benchmade". :D
 
Just to add to the encouragement -- the way you describe is the standard way to open any thumbstud folder.

The way I open my axis locks is to pull back the bar and shift my wrist. Snap! the blade's locked open. Pull back the bar, shift the wrist, and Snap! the blade's closed again. This is not the most wear-friendly method, but the Benchmades are sooo strong, it really doesn't hurt enough to notice! :D
 
Stoneage,

I agree with the guys - you are just fine. What you are doing by not disengaging the lock is analagous to the blade sliding over the ball detente in a liner or framelock before the lockbar snaps into position.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Just to add to the encouragement -- the way you describe is the standard way to open any thumbstud folder.

The way I open my axis locks is to pull back the bar and shift my wrist. Snap! the blade's locked open. Pull back the bar, shift the wrist, and Snap! the blade's closed again. This is not the most wear-friendly method, but the Benchmades are sooo strong, it really doesn't hurt enough to notice! :D
Click to expand...
So true! ;)
 
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