Question about the Benchmade 943

Scurvy092

Scurvy092

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Jan 31, 2012
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I just got my 943 in the mail. It is my third Benchmade (I'm a Kershaw/ZT guy mainly).

My first was a mini-barrage which quickly fell out of favor (not a fan of assisted knives anymore).

Then I got a 530 and I LOVE it. Nice and smooth and amazingly thin.

So the 530 made me want to try other Benchmades and I ordered a 943. It appears to be quite a different knife though.

-On the 530 if I pull back on the axis lock while the knife is closed it will force it part of the way open. This does not happen on the 943.

-On the 530 if I hold back on the axis lock the blade will swing relatively freely. The 943 does not move.

-The Omega springs are nice an quite on the 530. When I pull back on the lock for the 943 it is quite loud and squeaky.

Is the knife just incredibly dry? Is this typical?
 
Not typical IMHO. I have had a couple 94x's and all of them were smooth as butter and locked up like a vault (meaning, I did not have to loosen the pivot too much to get them to be smooth). Did you get yours brand new?
 
Axis locks behave differently opening and closing due to different tang ramps and lobes and different angles in the liners for the lockbar, so most of what you describe is normal design differences. Loud & squeaky is not normal - maybe needs a little (just a little) oil?
 
I threw some oil in it and it helped a little. Can't get the axis lock bar to quiet down though. Hopefully it will break in over the next few days.
 
Not usual. The only time this has happened to me was when my knife wasn't cleaned for 2 years. I took it apart and cleaned it inside out. Then oiled it down (washers and all). When I put it back together, thing was smooth as butter again. Chances are that it requires some oiling (washers, axis, and maybe pivot).
 
Scurvy092 said:
So the 530 made me want to try other Benchmades and I ordered a 943. It appears to be quite a different knife though.

-On the 530 if I pull back on the axis lock while the knife is closed it will force it part of the way open. This does not happen on the 943.

-On the 530 if I hold back on the axis lock the blade will swing relatively freely. The 943 does not move.
Click to expand...
This is simply a matter of having more tension on the pivot screw. Just a slight loosening of the pivot screw will have the 943 blade doing what the 530 blade does.

-The Omega springs are nice an quite on the 530. When I pull back on the lock for the 943 it is quite loud and squeaky.

Is the knife just incredibly dry? Is this typical?
Click to expand...
It could be dry, but it could also be the springs rubbing on the aluminum scales as opposed to the G10 scales on the 530. Different material, different sound. The last 940 that I handled didn't have any squeaking. Definitely oil it with some Tuff-Glide, Weaponshield, Blue Lube, or CLP. One other thing you can do is take the scales off and put some teflon tape on the inside pockets where the omega springs sit.
 
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If it is a coated blade, it will not swing as freely when the axis is pulled back until it has had a good amount of wear in time. Also, like many have said the pivot screw may be overly tight.
 
a 943

3768314222_f97bfdaef0_z.jpg
 
The axis lock on my 943 makes some sound. It is a little squeaky compared to my 810 Contego. I would guess, as loonybin suggested, that the difference comes from the omega springs rubbing against aluminum instead of G10. Honestly though, until I came across this thread I didn't really notice or pay attention to that sound.
 
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