Spyderco Ball Bearing lock vs BM Axis

To be honest...they're both one in the same as far basic deployments and standard use is concern. Yes the axis is a little easier to disengage but one should also be more cautious concerning this. What would seem like an advantage in one scenario could prove to be just as great a weakness in another.
 
Agreed. These discussions for the most part are like agonizing over whether to take the Ferrari or the Maserati to the supermarket. :D

Noctis3880 said:
This.

Still, I think a better reason to go for one over the other is the blade shape and the task you have in mind. The leaf blade shape is good enough for EDC and certain types of cutting, but I found that a shape like the Endura, para2, or Gayle Bradley is better suited for cutting thick and wet mediums like corn as it provides less resistance. Of course, cutting dry mediums like wood might be an entirely different story.
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jill jackson said:
The reason beating the handle hard over the lock area and spine whacks may cause problems for the BB lock, IMO is because it's a long coiled type spring holding the ball and the shock makes it move. That's just my theory of course . But it seems to stand to reason a spring would vibrate if shock is transmitted and repeatedly striking it over and over would make the ball move out of lock-up.
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While this sounds plausible upon first reading I really don't think it would happen. The vibrations through the spring may slightly decrease the force the spring is applying to the ball bearing, but it is never going to completely stop pressing on the BB and definitely never allow a space between spring and BB. So the BB is always going to be being forced forward into the lock, maybe just slightly less from a jarring impact.

Also, the BB would have to be pushed backwards, over coming the spring for the lock to accidentally unlock. That means there would have to be a force pushing the BB backwards and there is not. Forces are transmitted tangent to the flat on the blade tang since the blade rotates about the pivot. This is going to apply any forces through the ball bearing to the back spacer. It doesn't matter what shape the BB is as it is just acting as a spacer or link to transfer forces through. The blade tang can only move in one direction so the fact the BB is spherical doesn't really matter. If the blade could move in many directions then it might be unstable but it doesn't. It's not like trying to stand on a ball where you can teeter in any direction which would not be very stable. It's like placing a bowling ball under the seat (end) of a see saw and then jumping up and down on the end of the see saw. The see saw isn't going to slip off the ball and go down. It doesn't matter what shape the object is under the see saw as the force is just going through the object and downward motion being stopped. It could be a log on end, or a log laid on the ground (AXIS lock) or any other shape and movement downward is going to be stopped.

Hopefully all that was clear enough to understand and I'm not trying to pick on you Jill as it does sound plausible at first.
 
I sure don't know for fact, that it could be forced out of lock-up by the springs vibrations. But, there is some reason it was broken after being rapped hard under the lock repeatedly then whacked on the blade spine. Somebody should be able to figure it out.
 
Are you talking about that "destruction test" video of the Manix 2? If so there is a very good reason it broke.
 
I'll add to Jill's why with it has to be some thing besides the slightly loose pivot. That's not enough to justify it closing from those baby taps (which is why there was plan/action on slight design change).
 
Under impact BB moves to squeeze between gaps of blade and liner. Unlike axis locks where movement in this direction is prevented, the BB is free to travel in any direction. The squeezed into the sides statement is based on Ankerson's observation after failure. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Imagine if you place BB on tang of blade (naked without rest of folder) by hand, it'll roll and fall to the floor and it's difficult to keep it still. In folder form the BB will move under spinewhack until finally escaping from tang into gap of liner and blade. Spyderco needs to restrain one axis and this can be done by grinding the tang of blade to a curved channel which will stop movement in undesirable direction. The backspacer's already with a curved channel for this affect. After that I believe it'll survive spinewhacks :)
 
I Thought Sal said the hitting of the handle was what caused problems when Spyderco tested it? Spyderco always tested by spine whacking at least I remember reading they did some years ago.
 
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