Broken omega springs

[Lenny]

I broke an omega spring on my 6 weeks old Doug Ritter RSK® MK1-G2. I only use it for food prep and fiddling.
Does this happem more often or is it just bad luck?

John

And this is why I don't buy Axis Lock knives.
Never know if or when it will break.
I'd hate to be in a situation where I really need my knife and the springs break, no matter how rare.
Spyderco's Compression lock is much better (reliable) with nothing to go wrong.

 

[000Robert]

And this is why I don't buy Axis Lock knives.
Never know if or when it will break.
I'd hate to be in a situation where I really need my knife and the springs break, no matter how rare.
Spyderco's Compression lock is much better (reliable) with nothing to go wrong.

That's why it's a good idea to carry a tough fixed blade.

 

[shane45-1911]

And this is why I don't buy Axis Lock knives.
Never know if or when it will break.

That's a rather silly reason and generalization. Do you want me to talk about all the frame and liner lock failures I have seen in 40 years of knife use/ownership? And I have had my share of compression locks that don't, as well. I am not talking gas-station knives. These were all mid-tech knives from well known manufacturers.

All things being equal, the Axis lock is one of the strongest and most reliable locks there is. Yes, anything can break - but that applies to any lock.

 

[sharp_edge]

All three in some senses. You can absolutely hear the broken spring rattling around loose, but there is a significant feeling of sluggishness to the lockbar both in lock up and then again when you go to disengage it. Think like when your brake fluid is real low in your car. The brake pedal still "works" but its starting to feel pretty mushy and iffy.

OK - time for me to take apart my full size Hogue Ritter to see if there is a broken spring. It's still smooth without rattling noise but the action is a bit mushy and not having sufficient retention as I like.

 

[Wiersmaj]

I have had the opposite experience with Benchmade. I really do like a lot of their knives but they have had a policy now for quite a while where they will not mail any "internal parts" but rather require the entire knife to be sent in via their LifeSharp service. If you have an issue with a pocket clip no issue, but for something they deem an "internal part" which is what they classify the omega springs you are out of luck.

Could be that I live overseas. It will cost me 40 dollar to have it send to Benchmade. I Used this argument with Hogue and after sending some pictures they were willing to send me the springs. At first they wanted me to send the knife as well.
Benchmade were willing to send me the springs with no questions asked

 

[Wiersmaj]

OK - time for me to take apart my full size Hogue Ritter to see if there is a broken spring. It's still smooth without rattling noise but the action is a bit mushy and not having sufficient retention as I like.

I could hear a different scraping sound with deploying.
You can also see a small part of the spring if you look through the hole behind the axis bar. If the part you see points towards the bar it is OK, if it is broken it will point to the hole or other direction.
They both have to point to the same direction, if one is broken it will point to an other direction. At least that was the reason I took it apart, lucky for me it was on the showside so it was an easy fix.

Link to picture of broken spring:

Knipsel hosted at ImgBB

Image Knipsel in Wiersmaj's images album

ibb.co

and this is after the fix:

Knipsel2 hosted at ImgBB

Image Knipsel2 in Wiersmaj's images album

ibb.co

 

[sharp_edge]

Turned out both springs are fine. I guess the pivot is a bit too tight.

 

[c7m2p3]

Could be that I live overseas. It will cost me 40 dollar to have it send to Benchmade. I Used this argument with Hogue and after sending some pictures they were willing to send me the springs. At first they wanted me to send the knife as well.
Benchmade were willing to send me the springs with no questions asked

If only they would be so kind to their domestic consumers. Every time I have had a spring issue which has been multiple times with my mini grip and once with my bugout they have required a full life sharp service.

 

[Murphjd25]

I guess it makes sense (wear and tear) wise for a spring to break by flicking it open and closed thousands of times every night on the couch. But that’s no one’s fault but the owner. The omega springs should hold up well if you actually use the knife as a tool, I’ve never had a omega spring break, but my knives are tools. I can see if they maybe had a weak batch of spring material or something, but come on, what are the odds all these broken springs are because of actual field use? These threads come up time to time and it’s usually on a couch knife.

 

[Gravy]

I had a spring break on a minigrip before but I just bent a new one out of some guitar wire I found, worked great!

 

[SALTY]

It could be a myth but pull back on both sides of the lock bar. They say using just one side of the bar puts more stress on that spring.

No myth. This ^^^ is exactly what a shop tech at Benchmade told me when I sent my Adamas in for a broken Omega spring.

I open and close all my axis locks by pulling both studs at once and have never had a spring break . . . yet

Supposedly using both studs, which I find less convenient but force myself to do now, reduces the likelihood of an Omega spring failure. Even though I like the Adamas, I'm still bot a fan of the Axis lock - even though it looks good on paper. Don't get me wrong, I think that the Axis lock is a clever design and strong - just not as durable, reliable or trouble free as I would prefer for a pocket knife.

 

[Bob Denman]

Use both sides of the lock bar...
Thanks for that info!

 

[c7m2p3]

No myth. This ^^^ is exactly what a shop tech at Benchmade told me when I sent my Adamas in for a broken Omega spring.

Supposedly using both studs, which I find less convenient but force myself to do now, reduces the likelihood of an Omega spring failure. Even though I like the Adamas, I'm still bot a fan of the Axis lock - even though it looks good on paper. Don't get me wrong, I think that the Axis lock is a clever design and strong - just not as durable, reliable or trouble free as I would prefer for a pocket knife.

Good advice but unfortunately its not a fix all. I have always used both studs on the lockbar and have had 3 springs break in my mini grip (both before sending it in the first time then one a second time before making my own replacement) and then one spring break in my fullsize bugout.

I too like the lock and honestly it has to be my favorite lock (until I try the shark lock im sure) but it does have its quarks.

 

[Bob Denman]

Who has that Shark Lock, and how does it differ from the Axis Lock?

 

[c7m2p3]

Who has that Shark Lock, and how does it differ from the Axis Lock?

That's an Andrew Demko design that he has on his new AD20 and the production version AD20.5. Pretty hard to get at the moment but the selling point is that the strength is in the ball park of a Cold Steel Triad lock (Demko designed that one as well) and as easy to use as an axis lock.

 

[toker]

If you deploy it 10 times in a minute (very easy), that is 600 times in an hour, and 2000 times while bench watching a day Netflix.
So now I think it is not just a case of bad springs, but a case of wear and tear.

With that kind of abuse, I can't imagine any spring lasting long. I opened my Kulgera multiple times a day and I didn't experience a break until a few years. Maybe time to find a new thing to scratch that fidgeting itch?

How do you know if one spring is broken WITHOUT taking apart the knife? Rattling noise, loss of blade retention force, or a tilted lockbar?

You'll immediately feel a big reduction in tension. The bar will move very easily, but you can tell which side has the broken spring. When my Kulgera's Omega spring broke, I used it for about a week until the second spring broke. I then sent it into Bechmade for repairs.

No myth. This ^^^ is exactly what a shop tech at Benchmade told me when I sent my Adamas in for a broken Omega spring.

Supposedly using both studs, which I find less convenient but force myself to do now, reduces the likelihood of an Omega spring failure. Even though I like the Adamas, I'm still bot a fan of the Axis lock - even though it looks good on paper. Don't get me wrong, I think that the Axis lock is a clever design and strong - just not as durable, reliable or trouble free as I would prefer for a pocket knife.

I always use both sides of the bar when opening my Benchmade knives. It still broke.

 

[Bob Denman]

Who has that Shark Lock, and how does it differ from the Axis Lock?

That's an Andrew Demko design that he has on his new AD20 and the production version AD20.5. Pretty hard to get at the moment but the selling point is that the strength is in the ball park of a Cold Steel Triad lock (Demko designed that one as well) and as easy to use as an axis lock.

Thanks for that Info!

 

[skyhorse]

With that kind of abuse, I can't imagine any spring lasting long. I opened my Kulgera multiple times a day and I didn't experience a break until a few years. Maybe time to find a new thing to scratch that fidgeting itch?


You'll immediately feel a big reduction in tension. The bar will move very easily, but you can tell which side has the broken spring. When my Kulgera's Omega spring broke, I used it for about a week until the second spring broke. I then sent it into Bechmade for repairs.


I always use both sides of the bar when opening my Benchmade knives. It still broke.

Springs eventually break . I don't know why Benchmade doesn't send springs out . Kershaw is very good in that regard. You can either send a knife in for repair or they'll send you replacement springs to install yourself.

 

[toker]

Springs eventually break . I don't know why Benchmade doesn't send springs out . Kershaw is very good in that regard. You can either send a knife in for repair or they'll send you replacement springs to install yourself.

I'm not sure why they don't just make the part available to order.

 

[91bravo]

I’ve had 2 or 3 omega springs break on me over the years. Sending back for warranty work sucks. I prefer Spydercos BB lock, which is solid and I don’t think I’ve seen a failure yet.