The AXIS Lock springs and I

I've owned a lot of axis locks and never had any failures of any kind. The OP's experience seems very unusual.
 
jkarp_53 said:
I hope Santa is watching Paul, Christmas spirit can be catchy, Kudos for your offer to Mephtyrm. :thumbup:
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I appreciate your comment jkarp_53, it's just that I believed his story was true and could tell by his vid he was bummed. I know I would be if I had worked hard to buy an expensive knife and I had the issues he's had.

I know there are those that start a thread to inflame others, I just didn't see it in his case. I know it's happened (omega spring) to Kevin, aka richstag and they don't come any better then Kevin----so, it does happen---never had an Omega spring break on me, but again I know it does happen.

Actually it's Santa who better be watching---I don't think his knee could support me :p

Hey, have a Merry Christmas jkarp_53, I see your posts from time to time and I can tell your one of the good guys too my friend!!!

Paul
 
Thanks Paul. I think enthusiasm for, and friendship among us, is a good part of what Christmas is all about. Cheers! Joe
 
paulhilborn said:
Mephtyrm, I think all in all your a good young man that for some reason has a lemon or bad luck. I won't say the others here who expressed why or why not the spring failed are right or wrong. All I know is you have a quality knife that should last longer than it did.

If your dad won't pay to send it in for warranty PM me your name and address and I will send you a check for $15.00 to cover shipping? Hey you like knives, a Benchmade is a nice knife in fact they're great knives and I hate to see you not being able to enjoy it.

Maybe others will think I'm a sucker---well I've got thick skin and big shoulders and I don't care what anyone thinks of me ;)

So if my offer will help---send me a PM :thumbup:

Merry Christmas Everyone,

Paul
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Paul,

Your no sucker at all. A good man with a good heart doing a good thing. The type of person that helps make the community here at BFC the great place it is and why I keep coming back.

I'd like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and also thank you for offering to help the OP in the generous manor that you have.

Well done Sir!

Paul
 
This thread is kinda cool. The Christmas/Holiday spirit played out as well or better than your favorite Christmas story/movie. Drama, suspense, questioning of faith, steadfast direct, soft spoken hero. Revelation, faith reborn, Brotherhood, humanity.

Bravo
 
jkarp_53 said:
Thanks Paul. I think enthusiasm for, and friendship among us, is a good part of what Christmas is all about. Cheers! Joe
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Joe---good to have your name, I always feel awkward referring to someone by their Avatar name? Many in the traditional forum tag their posts with the first name---I like that, more personal to me? I appreciate and respect anonymity as well. I believe wholeheartedly with your post above.

Merry Christmas Joe!!!

Paul


pbcg said:
Paul,

Your no sucker at all. A good man with a good heart doing a good thing. The type of person that helps make the community here at BFC the great place it is and why I keep coming back.

I'd like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and also thank you for offering to help the OP in the generous manor that you have.

Well done Sir!

Paul
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Thank you Paul, I appreciate your kind words, believe it or not I recognize you as well from your positive posts---I peruse mainly the traditional forum but venture all over :thumbup: You are so right in regards to BFC being a great place.

I don't want anyone to feel that I didn't respect the OP's father choice to not send the knife in a second time. I agree with the OP's father that he paid to send it in once and it should have been fixed properly, which it may have been but unfortunately didn't last. I feel this young man was frustrated and just wanted his knife to work.

A Merry Christmas to you as well Paul and a Happy New Year!!!

Paul
 
Yes Sir, it happened to me. There was a lot of chance for corrosion on mine and sand got in there quite a few times.

Unfortunately it shook my confidence in the springs but I still EDC a Benchmade with an axis lock and just gave my dad one for his birthday. I have yet to fix the grip of mine but soon I wan't to go to the guitar store and try my own fix. I am not worried about the warranty at this point. I love the knife. All the blood and sweat it was along for and the crazy abuse I put the blade through (abrasive cutting) really made me bond with that knife. Its actually why I won't just send it back and chance losing it in the mail.

I have kept the springs on my new Benchmade so clean and protected from corrosion. No sand and no abrasive material migrating in there on construction sites.

I hope mine was a fluke because I think the axis lock is the most ingenious design. It works as a detent, its smooth, its STRONG, you don't put your thumb in front of a closing blade to disengage it either :)

Kevin

paulhilborn said:
I appreciate your comment jkarp_53, it's just that I believed his story was true and could tell by his vid he was bummed. I know I would be if I had worked hard to buy an expensive knife and I had the issues he's had.

I know there are those that start a thread to inflame others, I just didn't see it in his case. I know it's happened (omega spring) to Kevin, aka richstag and they don't come any better then Kevin----so, it does happen---never had an Omega spring break on me, but again I know it does happen.

Actually it's Santa who better be watching---I don't think his knee could support me :p

Hey, have a Merry Christmas jkarp_53, I see your posts from time to time and I can tell your one of the good guys too my friend!!!

Paul
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I only own one Axis lock knife (Kulgera). One of the springs broke after a few years of carry. The other spring broke within a week of the first. I sent the knife in to Benchmade and they fixed it within 10 business days. I'm not a flicker, but I do open my knife multiple times a day.
 
Mephtyrm said:
From Benchmade

I'm thinkin I disassembled that thing, and for all I know they'll see this thread and say flicking it so much was "misuse"
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Benchmade's CS is top notch, and they'll treat you right, even if you have disassembled it. Removing a broken spring (hopefully you still have the broken parts?) isn't exactly going to void your warranty. I've returned Benchmade's I've customized (scale dying) and they didn't give me any guff about the warranty. If you do something that obviously changes it when you disassemble it (remove the spring on an assisted opener), then yeah, they'll charge you. You can argue that your case is a defect in material, and considering they don't monitor their forum -- even threads that call them out -- I wouldn't worry about them seeing your thread.
 
Is this comment to help me in reference to the guitar strings? If so, any and all info on this would really be appreciated. I have a pack of replacement strings at this point. Should I look at another option?


RevDevil said:
I'd ask them for the heaviest duty springs available that will fit on that knife.
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I'm also one of those who have had an AXIS lock knife since almost the beginning and never had an Omega spring break on me. I currently have about 15+ AXIS lock knives and have had at least twice that amount over the years. Some were / are safe queens that see little to no use while others have been used quite regularly and even heavily at times. Never had a problem though.

I know it does happen but I think the incidence of Omega spring failures, considering how many are made is very low. Over the years I have read or heard of far more issues with Frame or Liner locks slipping or Lock back's giving way (Had one close on me) then AXIS lock failures but I still have confidence in those other locks. I'd even say I think the AXIS lock has greater longevity then most other locks when it comes to wear (Opening and closing) and I'd add that I've never heard of one instance where someone was actually injured because an Omega spring broke.

One of the unintended consequences of the ease of use the AXIS lock affords is it's so easy and fun to flip, and probably gets flipped far more then other lock type knives becaue of this. I'd suggest for those who can't help but flip their knives obsessively is they get a nice stiff Tri-Ad or Frame lock knife they dedicate solely for flipping. This way each time they open and then close their knife they pay a price with a sore thumb. You'll either curb your excessive flipping habit, or develop a freakishly strong thumb with protective calluses and your AXIS lock knife will last longer.

It's win , win!
 
OP, if you call benchmade and explain that you just got it back from warranty service they will send you a ups label and you won't have to pay for shipping to send it back. Seriously people nowadays need to be trained on what a telephone is and how to use it.
 
Mephtyrm said:
Around May of this year I got a 746 for my birthday, and about 3 days later one of the AXIS lock springs broke on me.
Since with only one omega spring the lock's detent is practically nonexistent and unsafe, I returned it to the store I bought it from and got a new one.
That knife had a spring break in about 1 or 2 weeks, and this time I couldn't do anything with the store because they only exchange once.
I proceeded to do something I never ever wanted to do; I sent a knife in for warranty.
That is the nails on a chalkboard when it comes to knives with me, due to bad luck or manufacturing completely out of my control
I have to to pay to send it in, risk losing it in transit, and not have the knife bought at full retail price to have in person for several days.

It came back and the springs were ok.

Not for long.
In a week or so one of the springs failed again, and my dad this time refused to send it out;
So this time the one spring had enough detent to not fall due to the blade's weight this time, and so I have been using the 746 with one spring and worsening detent for 5 months.
Aaaaaaand it broke yesterday, and the knife is functionally dead; I'm not using the lock freaking manually, I'm not gonna be sending the damn thing in.
Why won't the lock last more than a year? Why?
I believe a knife shouldn't have to be sent in more than once.
I'm not knocking the quality; the tolerances are so good that it has centers perfectly when the pivot screw is taken out.
Why can't Benchmade send me the parts free of charge like Kershaw or Spyderco?

I don't know what to do. Chinese copies(some rumor they're actually licensed, whatever) have lasted more than 2 years with a single spring failure.
Yes I have to compare them. Why does the original American made product have less length of life than the Chinese copy?
I'll probably send it in for the damn springs to be fixed, but there's a good chance the thing ain't going out of a drawer for a long time instead.
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You had 4 springs break on you in almost no time at all?
1: You are either the most unlucky person on earth, 2: Benchmade has put out a bad run of springs or 3: Your not being truthful. I haven't yet read past your video, but my money is on the latter. I would guess you had one spring go bad and got bummed, came here and decided to make untruthful statements.
 
richstag said:
Is this comment to help me in reference to the guitar strings? If so, any and all info on this would really be appreciated. I have a pack of replacement strings at this point. Should I look at another option?
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I've read where people have successfully used guitar strings.
 
southernknives said:
You had 4 springs break on you in almost no time at all?
1: You are either the most unlucky person on earth, 2: Benchmade has put out a bad run of springs or 3: Your not being truthful. I haven't yet read past your video, but my money is on the latter. I would guess you had one spring go bad and got bummed, came here and decided to make untruthful statements.
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Look at the thread I made a few months ago.
I have no reason to bash Benchmade whatsoever, and if my lock doesn't work why would only one spring have broken? The video clearly shows it having no detent whatsoever
 
From a thread in MT&E a while back.


KeithAM
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Update:

Today I went to the local hobby shop and bought some .025" music wire. Four 3' pieces cost $1.99. I think this represents a lifetime supply of omega springs.

So I fashioned 2 omega springs from this stuff and installed them. Success! The springs I made are a little stronger than the originals. The lockup is 100%solid with no play whatsoever in any direction.

I don't foresee any problems with these springs, but if anything goes wrong I'll update the thread right away.

The process of making and installing the springs took about 1/2 hour, and given the small amount of music wire used it cost less than a quarter.

For me that beats spending $6-7 to ship it to Benchmade and waiting a month to get it back.
 
Mephtyrm said:
Look at the thread I made a few months ago.
I have no reason to bash Benchmade whatsoever, and if my lock doesn't work why would only one spring have broken? The video clearly shows it having no detent whatsoever
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Well, the knife wouldn't have any detent, since you stated you removed the omega spring for cleaning on the other side. I have broken two omega springs in my life and one coil spring in a mini reflex auto. But it took a long time. Hopefully Benchmade didn't send out a batch of bad springs.
 
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