New to benchmade, few questions.

[AWZ1287]

I got an 810 a few weeks ago, and I liked it so much I bought a crooked river and a 710-1401, this week. Up till now I have only had sub $50 knives. I was blown away with the contego, and the smoothness of the action. I bought it right away.
I have a few questions about them.
1. On the 810 is the grey coating supposed to stop around the the pivot? I saw a disassembly video and it looks like the whole blade is covered. Mine looks like it stops at the "round"(not sure the technical term) part of the blade inside the handle. the area where the axis lock rides as you open it is not coated. I have not had a chance to take it apart but from what I can see it looks like all the blade that is inside the handle is not coated.
If this is the case how should I prevent rust on the inside, how often should I take the blade apart to check for corrosion?
I love this knife it is the smoothest knife of the 3.
2. On the crooked river the axis lock seems very stiff to disengage. Sometimes it will even lock up and I am unable to move it one handed with my thumb, I have to hold the knife and with the other hand use my thumb and pointer finger to slide it down.
Will that work in or is there something that needs tweaking? The other 2 are perfect. This is my favorite looking knife so far.
3. The 710-1401 is very stiff to open and is really off center. How can I fix this? I have to get a set of torx bits from home Depot today. The stiffness I figure is just loosening the pivot but the centering I'm not sure about. When I loosen the pivot do I have to take it all the way out and re apply thread locker?

I can provide pictures if needed for any of the 3.

 

[AWZ1287]

One more thing, how does the crooked river stabilized wood hold up to sweat/moisture?

 

[ostanley99]

One more thing, how does the crooked river stabilized wood hold up to sweat/moisture?

Not sure about the crooked river, but I have a mini griptillian in M4 which isn't nearly as corrosion resistant as the S30V they make the crooked river in and I haven't had a problem

 

[Mick_1KRR]

Centering is usually an easy fix. I always take my benchmades apart (not the axis lock part) just take the scales off and give it all a good coating in wax/oil then put the scales back on. But doing this allows you to tighten all the screws in a nice even fashion, keeping an eye on the blade centering so one screw doesn't leverage the liners or scales to one side pulling things off center. You will get it centered, just play with it, keep the blade pulled to whatever side you need and tighten the lower screws slightly, then keep tightening the others, if one screw pulls things off center, do that one last, do the others instead, never tighten one down 100% by its self, do them evenly like when changing a tire, you tighten the lugs in a cross pattern to seat things nicely. Bla bla, it works. Below is a pic of my 710 -1401, it came off center, now look at it after a simple loosen & re-tighten.

Just take your time, get to know how to take your knives apart, dont get frustrated when putting them back together, get the right tools for the job, always have things like a small toothpick or flat instrument to access small spaces etc. You'll find it's fun once you learn how to service and fix things on your knives.

 

[AWZ1287]

Thanks I will try centering it this weekend. The only torx bits I could find local are the husky brand kit with mini bits and a handle. I hope they hold up. I've had torx bits before that completely rounded out after one use.

 

[Cup4Sharks]

1 - Benchmade won't let M4 leave the factory without a coat of Cerakote. Coating around the tang would just cause the action to be rough or sticky and would wear off anyway. Just keep it lubricated and probably only need to check it after being exposed to a lot of grime or moisture.

2- Yes it will wear in. Sounds like maybe a pivot screw adjustment may be needed. Simply loosen the pivot screw (do not need to take all the way out) and then tight about a 1/8 to 1/4 turn at a time until you reach the desired "flipability". BM pivots are notorious for being really fine adjustments so go slow and repeat if necessary. This is why most people recommend loctite-ing it once you find that sweet spot.

3 - already answered above. Enjoy!

 

[AWZ1287]

1 - Benchmade won't let M4 leave the factory without a coat of Cerakote. Coating around the tang would just cause the action to be rough or sticky and would wear off anyway. Just keep it lubricated and probably only need to check it after being exposed to a lot of grime or moisture.

2- Yes it will wear in. Sounds like maybe a pivot screw adjustment may be needed. Simply loosen the pivot screw (do not need to take all the way out) and then tight about a 1/8 to 1/4 turn at a time until you reach the desired "flipability". BM pivots are notorious for being really fine adjustments so go slow and repeat if necessary. This is why most people recommend loctite-ing it once you find that sweet spot.

3 - already answered above. Enjoy!

Thanks for the info

 

[sharp_edge]

Mick is right and the method he suggested almost always works. Off centering is often caused by different tightness of screws or different orders in which screws are tightened. Tighten all screws progressively; just do not tighten one firmly before moving on to the next one. And yes - folders usually need break in: washers get smoother and detent ball and track get smoother too over time. I am against tuning the pivot of new knives unless it is REALLY too tight or too loose.

 

[palonej]

Mick is right and the method he suggested almost always works. Off centering is often caused by different tightness of screws or different orders in which screws are tightened. Tighten all screws progressively; just do not tighten one firmly before moving on to the next one. And yes - folders usually need break in: washers get smoother and detent ball and track get smoother too over time. I am against tuning the pivot of new knives unless it is REALLY too tight or too loose.

Agree on pivot adjusting on a new knife. If it isn't stupid tight, leave it! Little lube in the pivot when new, I use Ballistol, let it sit couple hours and then flick and flick!! Do this for a couple of days. It will most likely break in nicely.....if not, TINY adjustments!!
Good luck!
Joe

 

[AWZ1287]

I also use ballistol for everything, great stuff...
So it is better to just let it break in naturally, vs adjusting the pivots.
I haven't had a chance to mess with the 710 yet. I have been carrying my crooked river since I got it, I will probably change it up this weekend.

 

[Brandon_Aybar]

Speaking of tools, I received one of these sets yesterday. I won't need all of these for my knives, but the T6 and T10 have come in handy for my Buck, and I'm sure for my mini griptillian and others. They all have those hex screws.

 

[Krav]

Agree on pivot adjusting on a new knife. If it isn't stupid tight, leave it! Little lube in the pivot when new, I use Ballistol, let it sit couple hours and then flick and flick!! Do this for a couple of days. It will most likely break in nicely.....if not, TINY adjustments!!
Good luck!
Joe

This exactly what I do. My Stryker broke in not needing any adjustment. I used blue lube, but I also use ballistol sometimes.

My Osborne broke in well but needed a tiny adjustment. And boom, perfect buttery smooth drop free action and its snug when open.