Spyderco Ball Lock Vs Benchmade Axis Lock

David Lowry said:
Not true. My brother in law has a Mini-Grip that he's carried for almost 10 years. It's a D2 Cabela's model. It's been in mud, water, etc. and just cleaned out and oiled and resharpened. Never broken a spring ever.

I have owned both and I honestly prefer the Axis lock. Caged Ball lock is too hard to operate. It's a good try at the Axis but will not beat it in my opinion.

Cheers...
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I have a couple of 710s that are first-year production, so a good ten years old or more. One has been flipped approximately seven trillion times and is still on its original springs.

In theory, as a matter of design, I like the CBL a lot more. In practice, it is basically a two-handed unlock, which can be anything from inconvenient to a very significant problem, depending on the circumstances. Until Spyderco figures out how to make the CBL easier to unlock one-handed, the Axis still rules.
 
JNewell said:
I have a couple of 710s that are first-year production, so a good ten years old or more. One has been flipped approximately seven trillion times and is still on its original springs.

In theory, as a matter of design, I like the CBL a lot more. In practice, it is basically a two-handed unlock, which can be anything from inconvenient to a very significant problem, depending on the circumstances. Until Spyderco figures out how to make the CBL easier to unlock one-handed, the Axis still rules.
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I never use two hands to close my Manix 2. The thumb and index finger slide the ball back while my other three fingers pinch the knife against the heel of my palm.
 
+1

My M2 is also not a two-handed lock. Two fingers and it works just fine. It's designed that way on purpose.
 
I have a few 710's and a few 806's. Have opened them 1000's of times. No problems. I have 2 manix's in bound. Can't wait cuz I'm a die hard spydie fan. I assume both locks will perform as designed with hard use in mind.
 
Knifezoid if you get the Manix2 I learned this near little trick, take your middle and thumb and use those to pull down the lock. Place your pointer finger on the jimping on the blade. When you pull down it will snap closed. And when you do it, warm up your fingers mine hurt for days after breaking it in. And congrats on almost 1k posts.
 
What?! Woah, I didn't even know I had that many posts!
That's crazy. I guess I gotta find something to give away
huh? hehe
 
JNewell said:
In practice, it is basically a two-handed unlock, which can be anything from inconvenient to a very significant problem, depending on the circumstances. Until Spyderco figures out how to make the CBL easier to unlock one-handed, the Axis still rules.
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Not so for me. With some practice and 'conditioning' on my part, I've found it very simple to slide the CBBL back with thumb & forefinger, with the butt of the handle nestled into my palm (the tip-up clip location also nicely facilitates holding it there with my middle, ring and pinky fingers), and simply let the blade pivot closed on it's own. The pivot bushings in this knife are extremely slick, which makes it that much easier to close. The lock spring is definitely stiffer on the Manix2, but that's a plus as far as I'm concerned.

I have a couple of axis-lock Benchmades (710 and a 960 Osborne), and they're nice, but the one thing that always worried me a bit was the relative ease with which the lock could be disengaged. The omega spring's not nearly as stout as I wish it was, and the lock only needs to be moved a tiny fraction of an inch to release the blade. To me, that's an accidental closing waiting to happen. I like Benchmade's designs overall, and I keep hoping that they'll eventually make the axis lock (or at least the spring) a bit more stout and add a little more travel to the lock's mechanism before releasing the blade.
 
I've mentioned before 10 years on the same omega springs, no breaks, after hard use, gritty conditions, abuse, wet conditions.

Both locks are tough, tougher than you, both so tough that it shouldn't even come into the equation.

Knowing how to use the knife is far more important.
 
For the record, I have a Benchmade 710HS and just experienced a broken omega spring, so it can/does happen. I've been carrying it everyday for 7 1/2 years, never abusing it, and regularly taking care of it. One issue with the omega springs is that it isn't obvious when one fails, because they're covered by the scales. If one spring breaks and you don't notice it, and then the second spring breaks, the knife can't lock open or closed, making it useless and dangerous.
 
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AXIS Lock on the Benchmades win this comparison For Me.. They by far the smoothest operating locking system on a manuel assisted knife IMO.. I still have alot of respect for Spyderco for they make great knives too..
 
Ball lock is my favorite. No need to worry about omega spring failure. Yeah yeah i know omega springs don't fail for some but it failed on me and will spydie ball lock, now it's not a case of hit and miss as with axis.
 
BenLankford said:
Knifezoid if you get the Manix2 I learned this near little trick, take your middle and thumb and use those to pull down the lock. Place your pointer finger on the jimping on the blade. When you pull down it will snap closed.
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Thanks for the technique :thumbup:

I was a bit worried about how stiff the Manix 2 spring is when I first got it. It's broken in very nicely. I really like how it puts bias on keeping the blade closed, and when I open it with my thumb that bias gives it a nice snap.
 
Ive had my 940 for 11years and havent broken n omega spring. And ive edc it all this time except for when its out getting a new blade or i bought another knife that didnt end up liking and sold
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Not so for me. With some practice and 'conditioning' on my part, I've found it very simple to slide the CBBL back with thumb & forefinger, with the butt of the handle nestled into my palm (the tip-up clip location also nicely facilitates holding it there with my middle, ring and pinky fingers), and simply let the blade pivot closed on it's own. The pivot bushings in this knife are extremely slick, which makes it that much easier to close. The lock spring is definitely stiffer on the Manix2, but that's a plus as far as I'm concerned.

I have a couple of axis-lock Benchmades (710 and a 960 Osborne), and they're nice, but the one thing that always worried me a bit was the relative ease with which the lock could be disengaged. The omega spring's not nearly as stout as I wish it was, and the lock only needs to be moved a tiny fraction of an inch to release the blade. To me, that's an accidental closing waiting to happen. I like Benchmade's designs overall, and I keep hoping that they'll eventually make the axis lock (or at least the spring) a bit more stout and add a little more travel to the lock's mechanism before releasing the blade.
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This is how I close my BBLs too.

I prefer the BBL but only because it tends to be stiffer than the Axis. If function was my top priority I'd choose Axis.
 
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