So, I Bought A Benchmade Apparition

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DamnedDirtyApe

Joined
Feb 17, 2008
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then discovered the "slap the spine against my open palm" test. The liner lock failed miserably - it took almost no effort at all. I wish I had done it at the knife dealer's table. I read later on the Benchmade web site that this is a common problem with these knives.

I sent it to Benchmade and two weeks later it came back, liner lock adjusted and all sharpened up even though it was new. No cost to me other than shipping.

The liner lock is much better, but it still fails when I slap it against a tabletop, using a rag as a buffer. It doesn't take as much effort as I would like, and much less effort than it take the locks on my Gerber Mini-Covert or my lower-priced Buck folder to fail.

Is there a barometer for force/failure with liner lock knives such as this? I wonder how safe this knife would be if I had to stab something or somebody with it, not that that's a plan or anything.

Thing is, I love it - it's beautiful and functional in all other respects but this.

Thoughts?
 
Just don't stab with it and you'll be fine. There's no reason during day to day cutting chores for it to fail.
 
Mine seems nice and tight and I whacked it a few times against my palm and it held. That's about as much as I care to whack it. The blade tang base is cutout pretty good with the liner over the cutout. Does yours go over this far?
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Brutus013 said:
Just don't stab with it and you'll be fine. There's no reason during day to day cutting chores for it to fail.
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He pretty much hit the nail on the head, I have never had a lock fail or even a slippie close on me during normal use, just dont do any stabing and you should be good. If you think you might need to stab bring an Axis lock benchmade with you and you will be fine.
 
Does the lock fail if you put closing pressure on the blade, but don't disengage the lock?

The "spinewhack" test is (IMO) not a reliable test for a liner lock's lock-up/strength.
 
You cut with the other side, it should be a little sharper. Leave the spine alone, and the edge will leave you alone.

If you punch any dog hard enough, it will bite you in your face.
 
Actually, that came across a little snobby, and I didn't realize you were a new member.

What I'm trying to say is that it is okay if it fails the whack on the table test. First step: stop doing it, it will wreck your liner lock very fast! I have been carrying knives for years, and have never had one close on me. Like Ozy said, you shouldn't need a lock. Never pry with your knife, never whack anything with it. You should always be cutting, which puts pressure on the cross bar and removes pressure from the liner lock. Benchmade makes very nice knives, be proud of your knife, and don't let a silly test wreck that experience.

If you are still concerned about the lock, trade it on this forum here. Or become a gold member and sell it. Then take the money you make, and buy a Benchmade with an axis lock. The axis lock is a work of wonderful engineering.
 
It doesnt sound like something I would feel safe using I don't care what anyone says injuries are something I do not want or need.
I generally don't bother with liner locks anymore I have had a few of mine fail some actually bounced back closed after flicking open. My understanding is if these are not perfectly made, fitted, and lined up they can fail. I wonder if this type of detail is ill suited to mass production.
I have had many more that did not fail and it used to be my favorite lock. I thought due to it's apparent simplicity it must be very reliable. Ater having experienced failure from some knives made by very reputable manufacturers as well as fiddling with a few, I now belive I was wrong.
 
The Apparition is the biggest pile of crap that BM released.

A knife weighs a ton, has that wonky modified wharncliff blade, plastic scales and a handle that barely fits a three year old. It is as ergonomic in the hand as a steel Twinkie.

Can you tell I really dislike this knife?
 
Unless you're really in love with that exact Benchmade, I say get rid of it and look for a similar model with an axis lock. It is just an all around vastly superior
locking mechanism, from functionality to safety, IMO.
 
Ozy said:
If you 'need' a lock, you shouldnt be using a knife.
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I disagree. For those individuals who carry for self defense and would more likely attempt to stab in those scenarios, I would say that one would "need" a lock and that it's perfectly fine to have that need in that context.
 
Kaizen1 said:
I disagree. For those individuals who carry for self defense and would more likely attempt to stab in those scenarios, I would say that one would "need" a lock and that it's perfectly fine to have that need in that context.
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More than just this, how about for just a simple accident. Sometimes no matter how careful you are, you make a mistake. I've been driving for 25 years and haven't had an accident, should I remove the air bags in my car?
 
i have had three apparitions, no problems at all( two were limited editions though, whether they have better quality control i am not sure of), but i have had issues with nearly all the other benchmade's with liner locks i have owned, save for the mini's( had a 905 mini-stryker and an 885 mini-darkstar) they were pretty tight. The larger ones (880 darkstar and 910 stryker i sold and shelved respectively because i didn't trust the locks and had them both close on my hand during "hard use". I had a few other's that I purchased for collectability reasons and never put them to the test, however it has been my experience that production liner-locks and lock-backs are not be trusted.( not including semi-customs like striders, cause my STRIDER AR i can barely unlock when its open, thickest liners i have ever seen)
 
There was an Apparition passaround a while back, which I participated in. I wasn't impressed with the lock, and neither was somebody else down the line. It got sent back to BM, and they tweaked it and reportedly it was much better.

I suggest contacting BM and sending it in.
 
Thanks for the interesting replies everyone.

I guess I'll keep this for awhile, maybe see the guy I bought it from at the next gunshow and see if he'll trade. There's something about the safety aspect of this knife that makes me uncomfortable

But I still think it's a cool piece of work. I bought an Edsel, that's all!
 
My buddy has an Apparition and that knife has the nicest, most satisfying sounding opening of any knife I've seen. It's got this amazing metal on metal click when it opens. It almost sounds like a pump shotgun chambering a round. The thing sounds like a machine.
 
I have an Apparition, and I really like it. The Optimiser opening is just too cool not to play with.

Did the liner lock have to "wear in" a little bit to fit perfectly? Yes, but I'm finding that's true of alot of different company's knives lately, and a few minutes of working with the knife is all it takes.
 
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