What is the lifespan on the omega springs.

JNewell said:
I unlocked Axis folders for many years using only one side of the bar. No. broken. springs. Not. One. Ever. ;)
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I didn't use one side for long, but I didn't break a spring either. I was new to the axis lock at the time, but when I figured out that I was supposed to pull both sides down, I developed a habit of doing it that way.
 
I've owned an HK for about 2 month, spring broke on me after about a month in. But the knife was defective from the beginning, significant up & down play out of the box and very gritty axis action.
 
Only omega springs I've ever had break were on autos. 2750 & 5000. I've had my 275 for at least 3-4 years and have beat the crap out of it, skinned deer, kept VERY wet, and omega springs are still going strong.
 
It seems to me that using one side opening would put more strain on one of the omegas. If I am wrong, then their should be no difference.

BTW, I use both sides and never had an issue.
 
Screwdriver said:
It seems to me that using one side opening would put more strain on one of the omegas. If I am wrong, then their should be no difference.

BTW, I use both sides and never had an issue.
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I really don't think there's a difference. The only reason I started pulling both sides was that I bought a couple of Spyderco Manix 2 folders which really had to be unlocked using both sides. I don't have any of those any more, but I got so used to gripping both sides that I do all my Axis folders that way.
 
For what it's worth, which isn't much, my hunch (and I've been reading posts here under this user name for a while, and was a member under another name for many years before that) is that the differences in spring service life are related to some combination of materials and design differences. There's a reasonable variation in the shape of the lobes on the tang of the different Axis folder blades, and there are differences in the radius of the springs in different knives. As a WAG, I think maybe some designs are inherently a little more susceptible to spring breakage. I could be totally wrong about that, though.
 
Some knives with larger tangs or the axis autos (which have larger hooks on the tang) may compress the spring a little farther. We watch out for that in design but the farther you compress the spring each cycle, the more stresses are involved and could be more likely to break. Still though it's not very common.
 
I think it really comes down to whether or not you get a flawed spring just out of sheer bad luck. Both of mine on my 555-1 broke within a few months of buying it. In fact, I'm almost certain that one of them must have broken right after getting it. Once I replaced both springs, the lock action improved dramatically. It wouldn't surprise me if using only one spring for a while caused the other to fail sooner than it would have otherwise due to extra stress.

Based on how many people have used BM knives for years with zero issues, it doesn't make any sense to me to have the springs replaced before they break. The more they get swapped out, the more chances you have to get a bad one. If it ain't broke...............
 
2 BM engineers instructed me that using a double-sided disengagement ("pinch") approach "should" increase axis spring longevity, if the user is a card carrying member of the Frequent Flicker Firm.

Whereas, a third BM engineer unequivocally stated it makes no difference, asserting instead, that deeper and full compression of the spring trajectory is a more likely culprit.

As per my own personal 2 decades of experience, every axis spring breakage occurred during the course of single-sided disengagements, with one noteworthy exception for which I will attempt to locate a photograph, long ago taken.

With the one above-referenced exception, no axis springs have broken in any of my many BM axis lock folders, since switching to a double-sided ("pinch") disengagement approach, many years ago. Whether or not the correlation is sheer coincidence, it simply FEELS wrong and weird, when utilizing single-sided disengagement approach.
 
Hello. i own the 940-1. i have had it for almost 2 years. i have had the axis lock break twice on me. both times only one spring broke and both times at about 9 months. the knife still works with only one spring, however, the blade retention becomes quite weak and the blade can more easily open unintentionally. it still locks up solid though, so it may still be used. i have never had both break at the same time. all in all i love this knife. It is so convinient to carry. my sage 3, delicas and zt 0450 hardly get used when my 940-1 is functioning.
 
I have had dozens of Axis Benchmades going back over 20 years. I have never broken an Omega spring, but I could not believe how prone they are to rust. When rusty, they are a b*^#* to clean up.
 
I have an original 730 Ares with the purple and black scales from around 2000 and it still has the original springs, 10s of 1,000s of opening and closings and not one failure in over 17 years.
 
I have had an omega spring break on both my 940's I've carried for edc. One was a 940-1501. One spring broke about 6-7 months of edc (actually carrying it everyday). The other 940-1 broke in about the same timeframe of edc (actually carrying it everyday). I do flick my axis locks quite a bit but I do use both fingers every time. I have inspected both breaks for rust/corrosion and found none. Seems for me with my amount of flicking that omega springs have around a 6 month life expectancy on the 940. These are the only two benchmades I have actually carried everyday for a length of time. Really wish benchmade would send out replacements. I've gotten where I get a backup of whatever I'm edcing so I can swap out an omega spring if/when one breaks so I don't have to be without my edc for a month. They are super easy to swap out with a little common sense and maybe a couple minutes of watching youtube.
 
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