Sticky/rough axis lock

[Jersey Drew]

Decided to break out my 940 to use and it is essentially brand new cause it has been in a drawer since new. I want to give it a chance cause at first it wasnt a shape i enjoyed. Either way i have been using it today and plan to for at least a week before i decide what to do with it and if i softly open it everything is “normal” but if i flick it open with authority the axis loks sticks and fells crunchy. And if i try to use just the one side with my thumb i cant even get the bar to slide at all. Also the blade doesn't swing as freely as my other benchmade knives. Is this just a new stiffness ( i have not encountered this with any other benchmade yet) or is this something that i am going to have to “tune” myself?

 

[Railsplitter]

Decided to break out my 940 to use and it is essentially brand new cause it has been in a drawer since new. I want to give it a chance cause at first it wasnt a shape i enjoyed. Either way i have been using it today and plan to for at least a week before i decide what to do with it and if i softly open it everything is “normal” but if i flick it open with authority the axis loks sticks and fells crunchy. And if i try to use just the one side with my thumb i cant even get the bar to slide at all. Also the blade doesn't swing as freely as my other benchmade knives. Is this just a new stiffness ( i have not encountered this with any other benchmade yet) or is this something that i am going to have to “tune” myself?

I don’t know the answer but as a troubleshooting experiment if the knife were mine, I would put a dab of oil on the part of the blade tang that the crossbar slides over when the knife is open.

If that smooths things up then that is where the problem is. If not, I have no idea.

 

[Dadpool]

It usually takes me about two weeks to get any new BM to completely drop-free action. I don't do anything special, just carry/use/fidget.

Depending on how hard "with authority" is, you may flick your Axis locks harder than I usually flick mine. Unless I make a point of going well past the necessary amount of force I've never had an Axis lock stick like that.

Brand new, it might be sticky the first few openings as the parts get to know each other, but nothing past that for me.

 

[mrfields]

try rubbing a #2 pencil over the lock face of blade tang where the axis bar rests when it’s open. this’ll usually take care of any lock stick. it works on sticky liner locks too. and you can loosen the pivot a bit to free up the action though i would give it a bit to wear in first.

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

It usually takes me about two weeks to get any new BM to completely drop-free action. I don't do anything special, just carry/use/fidget.

Depending on how hard "with authority" is, you may flick your Axis locks harder than I usually flick mine. Unless I make a point of going well past the necessary amount of force I've never had an Axis lock stick like that.

Brand new, it might be sticky the first few openings as the parts get to know each other, but nothing past that for me.

This. Just needs time to break in.

 

[Unicorn161]

Clean it. Hot water and dish soap. Then rinse with alcohol to dry faster.
Lube it with whatever your preferred lube is.
Use it... open it... frequently to sort of break it in. A $60k car engine has to break in, so does a knife for a couple hundred dollars. Parts aren't made with a .000001 in tolerance (the plus or minus from the specified dimension, not how tight they fit), so they need to wear in to each other a bit.