What locks are like Axis?

D

DocWorkingday

Joined
Oct 23, 2006
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27
The Axis is my favoritests lock ever: strong, smooth, ambidextrous, one-hand flickable opening & closing.

What other locks are like the axis?

  • Axis (McHenry & Williams)
  • Bolt Action (Blackie Collins)
  • Deadbolt Over Grabstep (Grant Hawk)
  • Arc-lock (SOG)
  • Ball-bearing lock (Spyderco)

What similar locks am I missing?

How do they all compare to the Axis?
 
I think Spyderco's BB lock is smoother than the Axis lock; at least on the D'Allara DP.
 
I think Kershaw's Stud Lock operates in a similar fashion. Tho, I don't know the exact details on how either work.
 
Both SOG and Cold Steel use one similar also. In fact I believe Cold Steel pays BM for a license or something now to use the one that they started using on their Recon 1 folder. I believe it is now used on several other models also like the AK47 knife.

STR
 
Yeah, the stud lock is like an axis lock on the blade.

However, if you reduce any lock enough, they function the same way.
 
STR is right the Recons and the AK-47 use a lock like the Axis lock. I have read that they pay a royalty to BM. I handled an AK-47 last week and was really impressed with how smooth the blade opened. I thought it must have a loose blade fit but No, it was rock solid with no play whatsoever! It is heavy though and a little too wide for my EDC. A lot of knife for $60.00.:D
 
Ok I spent some time poking around on Google Patents, it's a great time-sink.

  • Axis
    US Patents 5,737,841 (1996 July 12) and 6,122,829 (1998 April 14) by McHenry & Williams

    Some common examples are the 710 and the Griptilian.

    I think we all know about this one.

    Sold exclusively by Benchmade, their blurb is here.

  • Bolt Action
    US Patent 4,451,982 (1981 July 27) by Blackie Collins.

    This is the earliest Axis-like patent I've found.

    Looks like an Axis lock, but instead of the axis bar and omega springs, it uses a spring-loaded piston in the plane of the blade (the bolt). It uses a regular coil spring between the base of the bolt and the floor of a cylinder bored into the back spacer.

    The locking interface between this bolt and the tang seems very similar to the interface used by the Axis lock.

    Gerber owns (or at least owned) the rights to this lock. It was used in their Chameleon (discontinued). They allowed Grant Hawks to use it, and he evolved it into his DOG lock.

  • "Folding Knife with locking mechanism"
    US Patent 6,836,967 (2003 December 30) by Yoshiro Sakai

    Very similar to Blackie Collins' Bolt Action, but the attachment of the locking lever to the handle of the knife seems simpler.

    It's assigned to "Gerber Sakai Co., Ltd.", is that the same Gerber that owns (or owned) the Bolt Action?

  • Deadbolt Over Grabstep (DOG)
    US Patent 7,124,509 (2004 September 17) by Grant Hawk (Google doesnt have this patent OCR'ed for some reason, just the scan images are available)

    Sold by CRKT? Discontinued?

    Looks neat but complicated. A spring arm connects a cam toggle in the rear, an actuating lever near the middle of the handle, and a pivot pin in the tang offset from the main blade pivot.

    The tang needs a bit more work than with Axis or Bolt action.

    A bit of (unverified) history:

    Way before BM came out with the Axis, Grant Hawk made a modified SOG jetedge, with the "dog" lock, called the "D.O.G. Folder". It was a cover knife for Blade Magazine April 2000, the article was written by Hawk himself.

    He then got permission from Gerber, despite similarities to the lock on the chameleon. Gerber thought he couldn't make enough to affect their business in any way and gave him permission to use it. He said that Gerber was actually very relaxed about the patent issue and gave him their blessing to make his folders.

  • Rolling Lock
    US Patent 5,685,079 (1996 September 23) by Robert L. Brothers and Bruce R. Taylor

    Equipped.com has a pretty good picture of how it works.

    Marketed by REKAT (Round Eye Knife and Tool LLC).

    The locking mechanism is an asymmetric pin that rotates on its axis. In the locked configuration the pin mates with a semi-circular cutout in the tang. Operating the axis-bar-like locking lever rotates the "rolling pin" a half turn on its axis, exposing the back of the pin which has been milled flat, unlocking the tang and allowing it to pivot.

  • Ball-bearing lock
    US Patent 6,751,868 (2002 February 1) by our own Sal Glesser

    Probably the most common example is the D'Allara.

    Similar to the original Bolt Action, in that it uses a coil spring whose axis lies in the plane of the blade. Uses a ball bearing instead of a locking pin.

  • Arc Lock
    US Patent 6,941,661 (2002 August 8) by Spencer Frazer

    Sold by SOG, their blurb is here.

    Here's a thread on the Arc Lock vs the Axis.

  • Ultra Lock
    "patent pending"

    This is sold by Cold Steel. Cold Steel apparently pays royalties to Benchmade for the similarity between their Ultra-lock and the Axis. It seems more similar to the Arc Lock than the Axis, to me.

    CS uses it on their Recon 1 folders.

  • Stud Lock
    US Patent 6,338,431 (2000 January 14) by Ken Onion

    Sold by Kershaw, for example in their Mini Mojo and Spec Bump.

    This is similar to the Axis, but puts the spring & locking bar in the blade, instead of in the liners.


I'd love to hear peoples comments and reviews on these locks, and any other similar locks I have missed.

Does anyone know if any of these locks are available for custom knife makers to use? Without threat of legal action, I mean. The Bolt Action seems to have a history of being used this way.
 
I agree that the D'Allara lock is smoother than the Axis lock, at least in comparison to the Rukus, which I carried for a week.
 
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