Benchmade Knives really upped the ante in the knife world when they introduced the AXIS Lock. Not to mince words, this is the best knife lock out there, period. That’s why it’s been imitated and duplicated countless times, which is evident to anyone that’s paid any sort of attention to trends in the world of folding knives for the past ten years or so. Every big knife manufacturer has their own color of AXIS Lock and they all call it something unique, from Schrade’s Pivot Lock to Kershaw’s DuraLock.
Either way, it’s the best, and here are the main reasons why.
- Because it’s the strongest. The list could end right here, since this is the truth. The strength of the AXIS Lock lies in the fact that it consists of what is basically a solid steel cylinder wedged under the knife blade and which rides in the frame between the scales. For the lock to fail, either the blade or the lock bar itself has to deform, or the knife has to literally break into pieces. In any of those cases you have bigger problems than a failed knife lock.
- Because it’s safer. The AXIS Lock, and all variants of it, enable you to close the blade without putting your fingers in its path, unlike frame locks and liner locks. This makes the AXIS Lock of Benchmade Knives inherently safer than many popular alternative knife locks.
- You can engage and disengage it with one hand. There are other locks you can engage and disengage with one hand, like liner locks, frame locks, and button locks, but they aren’t also endowed with the other glowing attributes of the Benchmade AXIS.
- It’s fidget friendly. This is not a huge consideration but it still deserves a callout. Like button locks, AXIS Locks and their knockoffs are very fidget friendly, which is a good selling point for some users.
- It’s intuitive. A bar lock will take some getting used to, but not too much. Most users that are at all familiar with folding knives will have no trouble at all getting used to one.
- It favors neither right nor left-handed users. Many types of knife locks, like liner locks, frame locks, and button locks (which feature a button that is necessarily on only one side of the knife) favor either a right or a left handed user, and typically the former. This is not the case with Benchmade’s AXIS, which lets users engage or disengage the bar of the lock from either side of the knife. It also means that a right handed and a left handed user can enjoy this lock type with equal facility.
Here for Benchmade Knives?
If you landed here not to learn more about Benchmade Knives’ AXIS Lock, but to find a collection of their knives, visit BUDK. They carry a wide range of their most popular models and offer fairly competitive prices as well. They also carry assisted opening knives as well as automatics. Visit their website and check out their collection for more information and if you have questions get in touch with their customer service team directly.
For more information about Bowie Knife and Pocket Knives Please visit: BudK Worldwide Inc.


