Benchmade 940 Maintenance Questions

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Phil1987

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Jun 5, 2017
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I recently bought a 940, and I looking for some information on general maintenance. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

1. Is lube on moving parts necessary? If so, what are the lube points? Can this be done without disassembly?

2. I'm satisfied with the blade centering and the torque/tension of the pivot screw. Is it still a good idea to get some blue loctite on the screw?

Thanks again!
 
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You shouldn't need locktite. Just tighten it when if it gets loose. You can locktite if you don't want it to get loose ever.

Lube isn't necessarily required. It will help reduce corrosion. Would suggest to avoid expensive lubes. Mineral oil is cheap and works fine. However "knife pivot lube" has been proven to be a very good alternative with a needle applicator.
 
an alternative to locktite is plumbers thread tape. i find it easier to use & there’s less chance of making a mess. also you don’t have to wait for it to dry & you can adjust the pivot without having to reapply the locktite.
usually i use about 1 1/2 wraps around the pivot screws, any more & it tends to shred when you tighten the screw down.
 
I find with my 940, as I use it it gets looser. I loctite it as a result.

For lube, I didn't oil my pivot for a while- running a new knife dry gives the phosphor bronze washers a chance to properly be worn in. That makes the action smoother than fresh out of the box. Usually I run a new knife without oil for the first month or two.
 
The 940 is notorious for the pivot loosening over time. I always Loctite mine. I actually use red Loctite but I would recommend using blue as it is far less permanent. I have found that benchmade blue lube works better than any other lube I have tried. It is fairly cheap as well and will really smooth out the action.
 
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If you do lube use just a tiny bit. They really don't need it. A dry lube is pretty good. No need for that expensive stuff. Mineral oil, sewing machine oil and of course mineral oil.
 
I use Hoppes on all my knives. If you disassemble be careful as it is easy to strip screws. It isn't necessary though. Also, be very sparing if you decide to use loctite. A little too much and it can ooze under the washers and give strange flicking characteristics until cleaned out.
 
I just got a 943 off the forum here. I adjusted it to exactly how I like (still can be flicked out and back in with just the axis and no blade play). Put a drop of 3/1 in the pivot and a drop of blue loctite in the pivot screw. Once I had it perfect for me I didn’t want it to move. Although it came nearly perfect, maybe just a touch loose.
 
I would only use thread lock if the pivot continuously loosens up or other screws back out often. When I have used thread lock, I've just applied it to a toothpick and put a tiny dab on the threads.

Lube the pivot and any other moving parts (Axis lock, etc.) occasionally with a light machine oil. I like Benchmade Blue Lube best but I've used various gun oils, 3-in-1, mineral oil, etc. They're all okay. It's a good idea to clean the knife before oiling it. I just wash the knife with hot water, shake off the excess and let it drain for a while before lubing. I see Benchmade makes a knife cleaner. I haven't used it but it might be worth a try.

I do this for all my knives, not just the Benchmades.
 
Thanks to Chris Reeve I've got this thing about being able to crank the pivot all the way down and have accurate action. So with the 940 this is actually possible if you get the right set of washers. I just had to take a couple thou off mine with some 2000 grit and now it cranks down all the way and drops shut without oil.

IMO, axis locks knives with stainless blades don't need oil unless you're really in some special circumstances like salt water.
 
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