starting to seriously hate the axis lock

[Folderguy]

I sent in my BM 527 for warranty work. I called them and explained to them that I broke the tip of my knife because I dropped it on a tile floor. I was fully expecting to have to pay the $25 fee to replace the blade. He basically said "we can replace it for you this time, just be more careful". He didn't even make me pay the normal $5 shipping fee. Let's remember guys: a warranty is a guarantee against defects, not misuse. A knife, especially a folder, isn't designed to be used as a prybar, a screwdriver, a can-opener, and breaking your knife while you are doing any of those things is probably not going to be considered a defect, but rather, misuse.

If that had happened to me, I'd have simply changed the tip shape, maybe shorten the blade a little, and take advantage of the fact I'd be redoing it all, to give the blade a nice, hand rubbed finish. And who knows, perhaps make a set of scales for the knife, and totally personalize it.

Folderguy

 

[yerscattergun]

I've had warranty work done by Benchmade (as referenced above), Emerson
and Kershaw (ZT). All were excellent and Kershaw went above and beyond the call when I had a defect with a 0301(blade play and failed a light spine wack).
I sent the 0301 in and it came back with the same problem. I called back, upset
but trying to give them another chance. The lady I spoke with(I don't remember her name, unfortunately ) sent me another 0301, without saying to return the
old one. I insisted that I'd send it back but she insisted I don't worry about it.
That, is customer service...:thumbup:

 

[Beltfed45]

I had a tip break on an Emerson BM a few years ago. It was not abuse all i did was open it and bumped a tabletop and the tip snapped off. I sent them a letter explaining what had happened along with the knife. Less then 2 weeks later it was repaired and returned at no cost to me. Great service for my experience!

 

[nevermind35]

From my experience and what I have read here and on the Benchmade forum, Benchmades warranty is among the best. Definately up there with Kershaw and ESEE!

 

[Steven Andrews]

In my experience Benchmade's customer service is second to none.

 

[cj65]

I tell a story everynow and then about how axis lock saved my knife collecting hobby. I was out slicing cardboard one evening when my 8 yr. old (at that time) daughter came out to tell me something. I was effortlessly slicing with my griptilian when she asked me if she could make some cuts. I said ok, and handed her the knife. I knew something was wrong when she was struggling to cut the cardboard. She had the spine side down!!!!! It was too dark to notice right away. I asked her to stop as I frantically grabbed the knife out of her hand. However, even though she was bearing down hard to try to impress me with her cutting skills, the axis lock held. I felt like such an idiot not paying attention to what she was doing. I owe that to the designer of the axis lock. I almost got sick later thinking as to what could have happened to her hand. I can only see the look on my wife's face as I rushed my daughter to the hospital. Axis lock is fine by me. I blow out my knives with compressed air, and keep em oiled. I have no need to disassemble any of my folders. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Tsujigiri]

I don't really see what's so hard about axis lock disassembly and reassembly. I take apart all my knives to see how they work, since I want to make sure they're as well made on the inside as the outside. The axis lock wasn't hard, and it's my favorite lock for function.

 

[D'ohboy]

I love the axis lock. The only hard part for me was lining up the phosphor bronze washers so that the pivot would go through. Even the AXIS-Assist of my Barrage was easy to put back together once I made sure the liners were tight to the washers.

That said, how long is the turnaround time on a blade replacement? I had a sharpening that went awry.

 

[somber]

I sent my BM42 in to get a check up and the turn around for me was sixteen business days, including shipping there and shipping back. Blade replacement might only be a day turnaround for them since that's not that difficult at all. Wish I could give you an exact estimate, but they're pretty quick.

As far as the AXIS lock goes... I don't see what good destroying your knife scale (and effectively the usefullness of the knife at the moment) would do simply because of your own ineptitude, but whatever.

 

[zignal_zero]

Maybe a fixed blade would be better for some people.

:thumbup:

then just engrave an arrow on the blade, so there's no confusion as to which end goes in which direction

 

[penganon]

one word re the broken scale: super glue

 

[knarfeng]

its just so annoying to put that knife back together after you take it apart...purposely snapped a scale in my fingers in frustration today..

so why'd you take it apart?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I've never figured out why taking apart knives that are fully functional is so important.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

I have a BM 730 Ares I've EDC'd for about 10 years before retirin' it 'cause I don't use it as much as I used to.

I've never had a problem with the Omega springs or DA or RA of the knife it's self, it woks as well now as it did when I bought it.

 

[arjung]

Meh, as long as the knife comes to me in good condition, I don't need a warranty.
If I break it, it's my problem.
Unless it's a Strider where they charge you an extra $150 for the "idiot abuse" clause. In that case, they'd better do some warranty work, as they charged me the extra cash specifically for the aforementioned idiot abuse.

Could you elaborate on this 'idiot abuse clause'? I don't recall reading this before. I know they won't cover pimping...

 

[glee]

Once again people are harshly criticizing someone for doing something to an item they personally own. ??

I think BM's warranty is written to protect themselves from legalities, but that gives them the option of how they want to honor or not honor it. I personally like to take apart everything to understand how it works and tweak it to work better if I can, which doesn't always work out the way I expect it to. But, I've learned something and it's not mine until I do so.

To the original poster, there are a couple thread about loaning out knives.

 

[esevato]

Dont get into repairing fishing reels.

 

[glee]

Dont get into repairing fishing reels.

No kidding! I liken it to watch repair.

That reminds me, I've been meaning to build a spring box. You know, an enclosed workspace to help avert those times when you're working with a small spring under tension that suddenly disappears and you hear something hit the wall across the room. Usually followed by colorful metaphors and expletives. Maybe even snapping of scales.

 

[J85909266]

I agree. The axis lock is gimmicky, overcomplicated and makes use of small, weak parts that will wear out well within your lifetime. Same reason I don't like assisted openers.

 

[cziv]

I agree. The axis lock is gimmicky, overcomplicated and makes use of small, weak parts that will wear out well within your lifetime. Same reason I don't like assisted openers.

I'd agree with this post if you added "of course I sit around and nervously flick my axis lock & a/o folders constantly."

If you open your knives when you're going to use them, you'll not be experiencing these problems IMO.

 

[KennyB]

I'd agree with this post if you added "of course I sit around and nervously flick my axis lock & a/o folders constantly."

If you open your knives when you're going to use them, you'll not be experiencing these problems IMO.

I don't know, as much as I agree there's virtually no real purpose to opening and closing a knife frequently, with the cost of most of BM's AXIS knives I don't find it acceptable for their springs to wear out in a matter of months with any amount of usage. Maybe my standards are high, but I want to be able to open and close an AXIS lock a million times before I ever worry about a spring breaking. I mean, paying over $100 for a knife, you'd figure that the company could afford to use metal in the springs that would last virtually forever; three feet of guitar string could make dozens of springs that would last virtually forever and cost about $1.

The AXIS lock over all though is really simple and brilliant in its design, and I just wish BM's warranty didn't exclude self-repair otherwise that would be one of the lock's greatest assets. I don't find the lock complicated to put back together, and reassembling the knives is simply a matter of being patient. I just wish the springs weren't such a weak-link, but considering how easy it is to bend a new pair of springs versus trying to fix some of the other lock varieties out there, you could say that the AXIS lock is the most friendly to the home-repair crowd.