Microtech MSI lock failed. See why & how to fix it. Is it a good EDC knife candidate? 

Just got an aluminum ram lok stitch and amphibian. I'm relieved the lockup is rock solid and remains locked when I spine whacked them. I'll report back if anything changes once theyre broken in more. Really impressed with Microtech.

Great Video. I like videos that not only show an issue but also show how to fix an issue. Great Video. By the way, I absolutely love my Microtech RAM-LOCK Folders, especially the MSI. I find it to be a super useful everyday carry folder. Its ease of use and its weight not being too heavy and its super useful blade is excellent for everyday cutting chores. One thing, mine, are 10/2023 MSI and Amphibian Folders, and the Lock-Bar on my MSI Folders goes almost all of the way forward, already and they don't fail the Wooden Table Top Spine Whack Test. But, on my Amphibian Folders, there's a big gap, like you showed on your MSI. This makes me wonder if they fixed the MSI due to your video and not the Amphibian... My Amphibians are my Collector's. So, I am not modding those. I thought I was going to carry the G-10 Amphibian and I installed Skiff's into it. And, then, after carrying it for a week, I decided I liked the MSI more. :-) And, if the one's I carry, the MSI's, mess up, thanks to you, I know how to fix them. Thank you for sharing. Personally, I am a long-time Benchmade Axis-Lock User. And, I must admit, I absolutely love the New Microtech MSI RAM-LOK Folders; they, absolutely "ROCK!!!" :-) I like the RAM-LOK better than I like the Atlas-Lock. Why? It functions better and is easier to use. And, I have more faith in the Coil Spring than I do in Omega Springs. Well done Video discussion, Bro! :-) Peace, Stiletto :-)

I just did an unboxing video of this one and was wondering how to fix the lockstick, thanks brother!

Same thing happened to mine. Spine tap caused the lock to fail. The MSI lock had a similar gap as your knife. I sent the knife back to Microtech for repair. They sent it back and the gap was gone. They should have caught this issue in their QC process. Great video!

Thank you for the information. I may have to make this adjustment on mine. My description of the MSI to others when I added it to my buy list. "If a Demko Sharkfoot had a liaison with a Benchmade Osborne 940 while a Chris Reeve Inkosi Insingo sat on the dresser across the room adding encouraging commentary".

Thank you for making this. I have been searching for an answer since receiving my msi which also failed a very light wack on my knee. At first I thought the spring was weak and wasn't pushing the ram lok out to full lock but your analysis looks to be spot on. May end up doing this to my msi and stitch. Do you have any tips so I don't fuck up my blade tang?

Excellent repair and video. I will be repairing mine soon. Thanks !

You went from a leather glove to a full body armor and clamps to hold the knife 😂. Great review and thanks for pointing that lockup issue.

I have a clone stitch in D2 for my daily beater and To do lot of task in my workplace, i noticed that the steel liner is double the thickness of the original one which is very thin. The lock is perfectly fine and very strong but there is huge gap in front of ram head like more than 2mm so i will do the same thing to improve the lock, THANK YOU SIR.

Excellent video - thanks.

Great fix man

Good lad you, that's an improvement for sure.

I noticed that it sounds different after doing this. It is very solid now. Awesome video. Thanks. I also have the same knife sharpener so that was useful.

I did the spine test on mine and didn't have this issue. Gave it some pretty good wacks on my table. Sounds like this one slipped through QC. I did the same to a couple other ones I have and same thing no issue. The gap on the polymer version I have is around .60-.58 slightly less than yours had original, though I feel like that's not much difference. I guess I got lucky.

The Axis lock can separate a fool from his money while a RAM lock can separate a fool from his fingers. To all the people saying “there is no issues and that this type of use/test falls outside of the intended design parameters”.Okay they why was there a silent redesign alleviating this “non-issue “.

The gap is part of the design to allow for wear

Thanks for the video and sorry for your wound. I always learn something new watching your videos

Nice fix, dude. Did you introduce any blade play by removing material?

I really hope the 2024 models are fixed. Just bought my 16 year old Son one yesterday for doing really well in school. His is dated 4/2024.

Thank you i just purchased this knife and definitely going to have to refit the engagement surface

What happens if you never spine wack? I must be the only one here that has never spine wacked a knife and never had a reason to.

Can't wait to see the Benchmade Narrows video of the used knife and what broke/didn't break

That is really clever to put a paracord sheathed metal rod behind the axis lock. I would love to try the same thing. What size rod did you use and what material??

You should test the spyderco manix 2 lock. I think it’s a similar design, and it would be neat to see how it stacks up. Maybe with some slightly better knuckle protection though.

@CuttingBoardRx Thanks for this video, just replicated this on a Live Stream last night. Rock solid lock-up now. Awesome job! Now if you have any hacks on the Tactile Chupacabra, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

"Microsoft Ultratech" made me giggle lol...nice catch on the desgn flaw though, I wonder if all their MSI's came out like yours, I'm trying to get my hands on one now, they're pretty much sold out everywhere...BladeHQ announced it as knife of the year not long ago, so it's got all the hype, for $175 though, I won't complain for a Microtech, flawed or not, I'll fix it!

All that I see is you’ve accelerated the room that MT has left for wearing in of the lock. Sure it did the trick, however in my experience, allowing the parts to wear together ensures the system faces to itself, creating a stronger lock. Either way works though. Spine impact is not a very realistic test in that when the user tests it, it’s sharp impact in a specific area. In stabbing and redirecting the blade in real life scenarios, the pressure is usually not blunt and its spread out.

I know at first this was very believable since I owned three MSI's I decided to take the cheapest one I have, which is the molded one, and see if it really would fail when banging on the spine. to my surprise as hard as I tried, I was not able to break the spine, I'm not sure if the knife you had was designed differently than others or what but I can say for a fact you are not breaking the spine on an MSI ... i'd say you have bad luck .

1:55 that's bad advice! the lock is not ment to be stuffed with a metal bar, if anything you'll wear it out and f* up the action and safety of the lock. if you do things that make the axis-lock fail, then maybe you should pick a a fixed blade or a pry-bar and not a folding knife.

I just picked up an amphibian and the lock is not failing on the spine whack, and it does have a pretty decent gap above the ram head. The lock is still a bit stiff, once it breaks in more maybe this will happen? Well if it does, at least I will know how to fix it 👍

Hope microtech will fix the issue

If I used my pickup as a boat, it'd fail too. Or at least fail by your definition. It's a pocket knife built for longevity and that design is clearly for lifetime wear.

Any forces that can counteract the tension of the spring can lead to failure in axis style locks.

I have the same one and mine fails too, i know people say why would you wack the spine nobody uses their knife like that but it does come down to safety, is it likely to fail under normal use, no, but you could trip or turn arond and accidently hit the spine and cut yourself wide open, it's probably not likely but you want to have the assurance that if some kind of weird accident does happen while using your knife you know you won't get seriously hurt. Just my opinion

Shouldn't be required that you have manually unfuck your knife's lock. Well done though and hope it will be picked up on by Microtech QA.

11:40 Murphy law, you will somehow cut your other hand…

I think the engineers may have designed it to be "worn in" with use, and become more reliable... I don't think they expected someone to smack hard trees with the spine when its fresh out of the box.

Was your hand ok after that cut ?

Very interesting and well studied yet ingenious resolution to this problem! I have the same knife but simply with the partial serrations. Looking at yours prior to repair it has about the same gap as mine does. Mine was purchased about a month ago, So early, September roughly. I did the same wrap test as you with what would appear to be about the same force. Yet, no defeat of the lock, so I tried again and still couldn't get the knife to close. The action is smooth and has no lock stick, by the way. My only thought here is that Microtech may have begun using stronger springs? I believe that would also help with accidental closures. Great video and I've subbed! 🗡️🔥👊

I don't believe filing the blade was the right move. Just like a frame lock or linner lock you need the angle of the lock to wegde as is wares down. The ram is the wedge. Filing a small amount off the ram with diamond jewel files at a slightly lower angle fixed the slip for me. This ensures it will have a rock solid lockup even as it wares. The ram will always wedge tight.

I purchased this exact knife & feel quite disappointed. I listened to other RU-vidrs about the durability & feel of the polymer. I really wish I went with g10. I didn’t know the liners were partial & it was so thin & hollow. With the sharp edges of the polymer & the significant lock stick I’m experiencing, I don’t even want this knife anymore.

...Benchmade Super Freek disengaged on me during a random drop on linoleum, & I immediately thought of those Dutch Bushcraft guys...

There are no “accidents”, only “incidents”.

Ooooh that sucker really bit ya didn't she? 😂 Not sure if you have any experience with the brand Zero Tolerance but i own several of their folding and fixed blade knives, well their folders are unfortunately known for failing the spine-whack test also... Not that their knives are weak, inferior or not great knives but there is that issue unfortunately...

I wonder if they have re-engineered the RamLok ? I will definitely stay away for now

Apparently my assumptions were correct as i literally just received a new MSI and opened the pkg not 20mins ago and before i did anything at all with the knife just opening and closing a few times I saw what looked like potential for lock failure which i then searched youtube for "msi lock failure" to see if it was an issue and my assumption or worry was valid and that lead me here! Thanks for posting

this also happened to me. I'm glad there is a fix because I love the knife.

Same size pivot screw on the auto Stitch, and I can't even get mine to break free. I actually broke 3 bits so far trying to break the pivot free on my auto Stitch. I'm about ready to use a damn impact driver on it, but I know if I do, I'm gonna screw up the finish on something, which is not what I want to do. It almost seems like Microtech used a shit ton of red loctite on the pivot. If they did thats a dick move imo. You shouldn't have to worry about breaking bits or screwing up your pivot just to maintain your knife, especially when it costs over $400. Don't have an MSI yet, but I think I may do the same with mine once I do get one.

Thanks for doing this! I am curious what Microsoft ….I mean Microtech’s response would be to this?

now you need to make a video how to fix ram lock sticking issues

TY for the flag:) Nice chanel man)

People should be very careful doing this because you essentially removes years of use off the knife. When you have a brand new knife you need to break it in before using this procedure, and if used, you need to remove only the slightest amount of material.

I see what you're trying to do, and I would also advance the lock a little bit, because more surface area contact between lock surfaces is a good thing for safety... However I think you went too far. You've advanced the lock to the point where there is no space left for wear over time. Those type of locks NEED a gap, so as the blade wears against the ram, the ram can self adjust and progress forward on it's own. The ram now has no further forward space, so when you inevitably get lock rock there's not really much you can do. I would have done maximum 50% of what you did.

One other observation that i dislike is their use of the style of bladestop theyve used it seems it might be a wear item with it not being a solid pin I imagine over time that the blade will eventually flatten the raised portion causing a flat spot and blade play... My old Chris Reeve small sebenza 21 has a bit of flat spot on the blade stop pin and it is solid and i rotated it so that the flat spot was not making contact with the blade and i no longer had any up&down blade play and if that solid pin can deform then this style that Microtech used certainly could deform much sooner? 🤷‍♂️ Just an observation that I have already dealt with on my old Sebenza so I'll be keeping my eye on this one and if i notice any deforming then It'll get taken in for warranty repair...

Why whack the spine of your knife? Who is dumb enough to do that in a real-life application? I like that there's a simple solution, but there is no need to abuse your knives.

I've never understood the purpose of these tests. I get that you want it to lock out as safely as possible. I do...but no one uses a knife that way. If safety is the goal...and I assume the people who test this way have safety as the number 1 priority...I can't for the life of me imagine those same people using a knife in that way. No one would use a knife like that, so why is that a test?

Well done sir but you need a fixed blade knife hahaha

Just to let you know you probably just took years off of the life of your knife before it gets lockrock. And completely destroyed your chance of having warentee work done to fix the apparent failing when you use it as a bat. The gap is designed to be there to allow for wear so as its used over time you dont end up with up and down play. As an enginere i thaught you would understand that objects used in the real world that move and rub against each other need to account for wear when built so that they can last longer....

As another ethnic Ukrainian knife reviewer, the flag is really appreciated. My MSI doesn’t unlock, but the idea of having that much potential play is giving me cold feet in terms of recommending it FOR NOW. If Microtech starts quality-controlling these better, it’s basically the Manix 2 meets the 940 and is brilliantly designed.

Hail azov

I got two off the first drop. Sold them both the day they came in. A black and a OD. Both horribly off center, and the actions on both were TERRIBLE. Won’t touch anything with a ram-lok from MT. This video only further solidified that for me. Edit: Synthetic is a fancy way of saying cheap plastic. unfortunately, gunk gets in there, and wears that plastic cage down REAL quick if you don’t catch it in time.

Awesome video! Thanks for posting this. Have you had any failures with your MSI since you fixed it? I have one similar to this that I really like, but it’s prone to failure like yours and I’m thinking about doing this to mine. But if I can’t fix it, ultimately, I’ll probably just sell it.