First time owner and poster
Hey all,
I'm a long time knife guy, but first time Benchmade owner. What is your experience with breaking in these new knives?
Here's what I got...
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welcome
I’ve never had a benchmade I had to “break-in” and I’ve owned many. Maybe some needed some minor adjustments but I’ve always been able to get them how I like them pretty easily.
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/|\ Welcome! You certainly purchased 2 of the currently most popular models.
A lot of us adjust the pivot screw ( you’ll need a T10 Torx wrench )so as to customize the thumb pressure you need to open the blade. Guys will talk about a sweet spot where the pivot is adjusted so blade swings fast & free BUT the pivot is still tight enough so there is no side to side blade wiggle when open or up & down play. In other words a rock solid lock up but with a blade that easy to open.
Another thing folks do is take out the blade to clean it off & polish the washers ( I’ll let Tim explain as it’s a near ritual for him).
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Welcome to the the Forum.
+1 on what jonearlt said.
But do note that he mentions that some needed some minor adjustments.
Some members just have to have the blade perfectly centered. I’m not one of them. But if you are there are post on how to make it perfect.
The pivot will be your main adjustment. I suggest that you use LOCTITE 222 purple. It makes the pivot so you can always adjust it to where you want it but not make it rock solid - which is what you want.
Then I hold the knife horizontal and release it. If it swings down then you’re good. If it doesn’t release loosen the pivot a tad and try again. Once you get what you like hold the blade carefully and check side to side play. You want the most minimal you can get but still have the blade dropping like you want. There is a sweet spot-so play and adjust.
Put a drop or two of lubricant - I use BM Blue Lube but any quality oil will work.
Work it around the blade and pivot and then blow out the residual with computer air.
The more you play with it, the better it will be. Latter ck the tolerance on the pivot side to side and adjust.
BAM = that’s about all ya got to do.
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I prefer to leave my knives as is for about a week before I adjust them. That way, if they are going to break in, they will. After that I'll adjust it as I need to.
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Thanks for all the great responses. I'm usually like silenth, giving a bit of time for the contact points to polish themselves.
Both of these came damn near center out of the box. Only thing is a sticky Axis on the Bugout with hard opens and both knives are a bit stiff on open and close.
Never used the purple Loctite, thanks for that tip.
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Welcome to the forum Jao1057!
You've gotten some pretty good advise above with not much more that I can add.
I'll walk through the taking out the blade as Bill mentioned if you honestly need to.
Since they're simply a bit stiff I would just use them as fidget toys when time allows. That seems to be the best way I've found to break in the ones that are a little stiff from the factory.
When it comes to the Bugout... As you play with it... Grab the handle of the knife and with two fingers of the free hand rotate the Axis Bar about a 1/8 of a turn. Do that a few times to get a decent wear path all around the center of the bar. I usually wait to oil things and get them broken in first. Once I have them how I like them I will add a little Purple Loctite to the pivot and continue to use them until the action is nice and smooth. Then a bit of Blue Lube on the washer area and the axis area where it meets the tang.
Good luck and hope to see you posting more here in the forum!
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I think it's pretty common to have lock bar stick on the bugout, since the lockbar is coated Ti, and many of the Bugout blades are coated as well. It might take a little longer to break in because of that, but it will eventually smooth out.
Just do what Tim says and you'll be fine!
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So... Turns out the stiff blades were user error. My ignorance on how the Axis functions. Apparently these things came perfectly tuned from the factory. I've been playing, I mean working, with these toys, I mean tools all morning. Both have such slick action and (when I get it right) a perfect lock up. I can now fully open and close these with just a flick and proper use of the Axis.
Thanks all.
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Glad to hear it Jao1057!
Enjoy them!
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All the Benchmades I have purchased have come razor sharp out of the box. Even so, I always give my new blades a good stropping on leather with chrome oxide, then plain latigo leather until they are hair popping. I also usually wipe them down with tough glide. Thats just me though....
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Welcome to the forum!
The only breaking in might be the Bugout. That Cerakote blade coating may wear & get gritty where it is in contact with the Axis bar. If it gets gritty you'll want to send it in or better yet learn to disassemble & clean it yourself. The 535-4 also is available with a DLC coating (somewhat tougher to find), the best coating available in most opinions.
If you decide to do maintenance on your own you'll want to get a set of hardened torx bits/drivers & some blue lube. Wiha make some of the most popular torx bits.
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Welcome! Good choice. What were some notable features and factors that drew you to that particular model? That it was a very good all-around everyday carry tool?
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I was drawn to the 940 because of the long history of being a fantastic daily carry. I like the unique blade shape and the skinny overall profile of the knife in pocket. That particular model drew me in with the M4 steel. It's a plus that the 940BK-2004 is a limited run exclusive, but not a determining factor. I'm still neutral on the Jade G10, but I think it'll grow on me.
The Bugout was more of an impulse, but I really just wanted to have a perfect daily carry and figured one of these two would be it. I wanted to try both. This particular Bugout got me with the aluminum scales and M390 steel. I prefer the strength of these scales to the lightness of a polymer. Half an oz makes little difference to me in the grand scheme of daily carry, but makes this knife feel great in the hand. It feels strong and substantial without being heavy.
It's nice that these two have very different blade shapes. I like that I can pick one or the other depending on what I'll be doing that day and have the right tool for the job.
If I was going to pay real money for knives, I wanted the best steel. I've carried Kershaw and CRKT mostly for the past 20 years or so and wanted to break away from the constant sharpening.
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