Rotating Axis Lock Bar

Chariotz4

Chariotz4

Joined
Jul 5, 2016
Messages
831
Looking for some input on this; I recently picked up some Ti scales and put them on a Bugout I made from a 535GRY-1 and a standard model. The bulk of the actual functional parts came off the 535 (which funnily enough, I sent into Benchmade earlier this year to repair a broken Omga spring). After the scale swap and reassembling the knife, it felt like there was some metal-on-metal friction as I could feel something rubbing. It was weird, but didn't affect the practical functionality of the knife, although it's (obviously) affected the action somewhat - it feels a lot grittier than before. Since it wasn't a major deal to me, I didn't give it much thought, but today when I took the blade apart to clean out the pivot area/blade to try and see I could lessen/eliminate some of the grit in the action, I felt the AXIS lock bar rotate around the Omega springs. There's a wear spot on the coating of the AXIS bar on the show side (LH scale side) so I slowly deployed the knife while keeping an eye on that spot and sure enough, I watched the lock bar rotate.

I'm also not saying that the moving lock bar is the cause of the grittiness, but after removing the blade and cleaning it, the pivot area, and the washers, and reassembling everything with oil, the grittiness in the action is still there so I'm not too sure what else could be causing the friction in the action.

Also, I took a look at several other of my Benchmades and didn't see any of them exhibit this trait of the rotating lock bar when deploying or closing the blade so I don't think this is normal per the other Benchmades in my collection, but I'm just looking for confirmation of this suspicion via a larger sample than just myself and the Benchmades that I have.

Video of the rotating lock bar here.
 
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I have a bugout with ti scales in my pocket right now. My lock bar does not rotate. Action is smooth with no grittiness.
 
Is the axis lock rubbing on the ti scales? That sounds like what you have going on to me.
 
luke86 said:
Is the axis lock rubbing on the ti scales? That sounds like what you have going on to me.
Click to expand...

I thought of that as well, but it didn't look like the lock bar was making contact with the new scales as it moves forward and backwards. I'll take another look though.
 
As far as the tang radius being polished goes; I haven't polished it myself, but it looks fairly polished just from the amount of times it'e been opened and closed. I also looked to see if the Axis lock was rubbing against the scales, and while it's a relatively snug/precision fit, I can't see the scales touching the lock in any way.
 
Chariotz4 said:
Looking for some input on this; I recently picked up some Ti scales and put them on a Bugout I made from a 535GRY-1 and a standard model. The bulk of the actual functional parts came off the 535 (which funnily enough, I sent into Benchmade earlier this year to repair a broken Omga spring). After the scale swap and reassembling the knife, it felt like there was some metal-on-metal friction as I could feel something rubbing. It was weird, but didn't affect the practical functionality of the knife, although it's (obviously) affected the action somewhat - it feels a lot grittier than before. Since it wasn't a major deal to me, I didn't give it much thought, but today when I took the blade apart to clean out the pivot area/blade to try and see I could lessen/eliminate some of the grit in the action, I felt the AXIS lock bar rotate around the Omega springs. There's a wear spot on the coating of the AXIS bar on the show side (LH scale side) so I slowly deployed the knife while keeping an eye on that spot and sure enough, I watched the lock bar rotate.

I'm also not saying that the moving lock bar is the cause of the grittiness, but after removing the blade and cleaning it, the pivot area, and the washers, and reassembling everything with oil, the grittiness in the action is still there so I'm not too sure what else could be causing the friction in the action.

Also, I took a look at several other of my Benchmades and didn't see any of them exhibit this trait of the rotating lock bar when deploying or closing the blade so I don't think this is normal per the other Benchmades in my collection, but I'm just looking for confirmation of this suspicion via a larger sample than just myself and the Benchmades that I have.

Video of the rotating lock bar here.
Click to expand...
Hi there, I know this is quite a late reply, but i also have the same issue that you do. My bugout is extremely gritty when closing the knife. my lockbar also rolls like yours does but not as much. It only gets gritty about three quarters of the way to closing the knife. I actually had it sent to benchmade a couple months ago and they fixed it but it wasnt perfect and the issue came back. One thing that i think may be an issue is the DLC coated titanium lock bar that the bugout has. On mine where the bar rolls against the tang of the blade the coating is worn off. I assume the reason benchmade coated the lockbar in the first place was because of friction issues. When I got the knife back from benchmade it looked like some of the coating was back on. I dont think they gave me a new lock bar. I got my dad a bugout for christmas and to this day, about 4 months later, the coating on his lock bar hasnt worn off and the action is still super smooth. I dont know if i got a bad knife or what. Let me know if you were ever able to resolve your problem, im gonna try to contact benchmade again.
 
Same here. I put some anti oxidant compound on the lock bar where the coating is worn off, and it works good. However, I do not know how long it will last, or how often I will have to re-apply it. Anti oxidant compound is used by electricians for improving connections. I do not know why it works on making certain metals not stick together, but it is probably because science science something science something. Good luck.
 
bost1918 said:
Same here. I put some anti oxidant compound on the lock bar where the coating is worn off, and it works good. However, I do not know how long it will last, or how often I will have to re-apply it. Anti oxidant compound is used by electricians for improving connections. I do not know why it works on making certain metals not stick together, but it is probably because science science something science something. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Noalox... Keeps connections from corroding, especially aluminum connections. It also works as anti-seize, allowing you to get the connection apart at a later date, which is great when you're up in the air taking things apart many, many years after they were put together.

If it doesn't get used, well, sometimes you gotta use a bandsaw... ;)
 
Am I correct that it is common that the omega springs actually rub/touch the scales?
 
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