Removing the Axis-Assist on an Emissary

eschwebach

eschwebach

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Can the assist be removed from a BM Emissary? Just looking I don't see any kind of detent? Has anyone done this? Thanks!
 
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I'm going to assume that it functions the same as the 585. If this is the case, you just need to open the knife and remove the coil s spring from the blade tang.

Keep in mind, this will void your warranty.
 
It's your knife and if you sharpen it, there's no need to care about the warranty. I have de-assisted my mini-Barrage and I personally didn't like it. It's easy to de-assist but hell to re-assist it. Haha
 
Like others have said, just removing the coil spring will do the trick. The axis lock is its own detent, so you should be fine.

Keep in mind that it will void your warranty and you may not be happy with the result and going back will be very difficult.

Also, I have not deassisted one so I can't speak for the level of smoothness it will have. I wouldn't expect it to be like a mini 943 though.
 
Thank you, good to know that it is hard to go back. That surprises me a little.
 
Of course I have to say don't do it as it will void your warranty. Also from an service standpoint the 470 has its own set of specially designed tools that we use on them. So be careful if you decide to give it a go. Of all of our current models the 470 and the 580/585 series are the most difficult from a Product Services (Our warranty and Lifesharp department) side of things in regards to disassembly, assembly, and tuning.
 
I removed the assist-spring from my Mini-Barrage and it was relatively easy, but I looked at doing the same on my old Emissary and it appeared as if the Axis-Lock was actually holding the scales together, so I never went through with it all the way (I was most likely mistaken, but I didn't want to ruin a good knife).

I have to say that I like assisted knives and don't personally have any issues with them, but the Axis Lock knives seem to lose that ease of one-handed closing when becoming assisted - and I don't think the trade-off is personally worth it for me.

I would love to have seen a non-assisted mini-barrage or Emissary.
 
Benchmade said:
Of course I have to say don't do it as it will void your warranty. Also from an service standpoint the 470 has its own set of specially designed tools that we use on them. So be careful if you decide to give it a go. Of all of our current models the 470 and the 580/585 series are the most difficult from a Product Services (Our warranty and Lifesharp department) side of things in regards to disassembly, assembly, and tuning.
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Good information, thank you! I will leave it "as is", I don't mind the assist just prefer it without.
 
This thread got me curious, so I had to take a look at mine...
the 470 appears to be very different from all the other axis lock knives... I never realized before that it didn't have liners.
I looks like the axis lock does indeed need to be disassembled to get the scales off - which probably wouldn't be any too easy without the special tool set.

Anyway, I'm not about to try taking mine apart and I've removed the spring from every other axis assist I've owned.
 
I've had my 585 apart, and it is a little tricky to reinstall the blade with the spring in place... Best way I found to do it was to start with the blade rotated up beyond where the stop pin is, hold it to the scale and rotate it downwards, then put the stop pin in, and then the other washer/scale on top. It took me a couple tries to get it right, but it's not impossible.

FWIW, I took mine apart to polish the bushings, oil the spring, and a good overall cleaning. It got a little bloody while removing the backstraps from a doe.
 
Anyone brave/foolish enough to try this yet?
There is a very well done video up on YouTube by Hardevilnetwork that explains how to re-load the assist-spring tension if you want to reverse the process.
The part that makes me nervous with the emmissary is getting both omega springs back into place. Since there are no liners it seems like you have bring the top scale (with omega spring attached) down askew, hook the other side of the spring onto the lockbar, and line the scales up. Then it would be a simple matter of replacing the endcap of the lockbar and screwing it in with your third hand...
I really like this knife, but I also really hate the assist. Strongly considering giving it a whirl.

-Steve
 
I was not brave... I sold the knife instead. I really feel there is no need for assist on ANY axis lock knife. They deploy super quick without.
 
I agree Erik, the regular axis is plenty quick to open AND to close. I don't really need a 3 inch gentleman's knife to snick open like the emmissary does.
I received this knife in trade. Once the other party receives his end and confirms satisfaction I will be taking it apart and seeing what's what.
Any guidance would be appreciated but I am comfortable in pioneer territory.
-Steve
 
EZ Bake said:
I removed the assist-spring from my Mini-Barrage and it was relatively easy, but I looked at doing the same on my old Emissary and it appeared as if the Axis-Lock was actually holding the scales together, so I never went through with it all the way (I was most likely mistaken, but I didn't want to ruin a good knife).

I have to say that I like assisted knives and don't personally have any issues with them, but the Axis Lock knives seem to lose that ease of one-handed closing when becoming assisted - and I don't think the trade-off is personally worth it for me.

I would love to have seen a non-assisted mini-barrage or Emissary.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. I love my new Volli, but I hate that I can't flip it closed.
 
I have been eyeing the Emissary as well and the idea never crossed my mind till this thread. :mad: :p Recently I just de-assisted my BM 581 and it easily became my absolute favorite Benchmade. The thing rivals a Sebenza IMHO. Now it opens just as fast, if not faster and closes one-handed like a breeze. It is hard to imagine a better looking, easier to use, more comfortable-with-better blade steel-3.5" folder. However, the 581 does have liners where if the Emissary does not, the assisted process could be a more tricky thing to dabble in. Interested to hear how it goes.
 
I have taken apart my Emissary and I've had no luck de-assisting it. I'll try to post a picture later if I get a chance, but it is like no other assist I have seen.You can just unscrew one lockbar cap (the pivot side on mine) and proceed from there. I was looking into it because my assist is pretty much shot. Any help with the weird assist would be welcomed.
 
nsthebaconator said:
I have taken apart my Emissary and I've had no luck de-assisting it. I'll try to post a picture later if I get a chance, but it is like no other assist I have seen.
Click to expand...

I found it surprisingly different too. Taking the knife apart is no big deal once you get the lockbar cap off. I couldn't find an external torx socket that small but a spanner bit worked fine.
The problem is that the assist spring is enclosed. This enclosure is larger than the pivot hole so the blade can't just be lifted off. I'm thinking benchmade might use a special three prong bit to unscrew the enclosure. A regular spanner bit might work but I really didn't want to mess it up.

On the flip side, the spring being enclosed means it is easy to reassemble the knife. The only tricky parts are getting the omega spring back on without bending it and fitting the somewhat rectangular lockbar back into the handle slot.

Any ideas?
Benchmade can we get a hint please? :p
D49E3358-7041-434A-9089-87A4DD11FAE9-3135-00000258DBF649BA.jpg
 
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EZ Bake said:
I have to say that I like assisted knives and don't personally have any issues with them, but the Axis Lock knives seem to lose that ease of one-handed closing when becoming assisted - and I don't think the trade-off is personally worth it for me.

I would love to have seen a non-assisted mini-barrage or Emissary.
Click to expand...

I'm going to join the chorus. FWIW, I will NEVER own an assisted Axis Lock knife. And I too would love to see a non-assisted Emissary.
 
spketch said:
Benchmade can we get a hint please? :p
D49E3358-7041-434A-9089-87A4DD11FAE9-3135-00000258DBF649BA.jpg
Click to expand...

That looks pretty similar to the 585, at least at first glance. That small protrusion in the cut out on the blade tang is one end of a coil spring. The other should be inside that metal cylinder that is surrounding the pivot hole. Have you pulled the blade off of the pivot? I would bet the spring is housed on the opposite side of the blade. The 585 also has the same "cover" on the screw side of the pivot.
 
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