Please help!!

[Clowman]

Hey everybody!

I just got my first spyderco knife! The tenacious! I love the knife but the screws used kinda suck I went to change the pocket clip and striped all of them out. I'm the kinda person who takes their own knife apart and cleans it really well once a month and having the screws strip out the first time I go to clean it isn't going to fly with me! I would like to stick with spyderco but wanna know if there is anything I can do to get better screws in my knife. Or maybe even recommendations on an American made knife at the same price range and an same look and feel. I want a knife that feels good holds an edge deploys fast and easy and is fun just to flick out and mess around with! Oh yeah and has decent screws that won't strip out!!

[Blerv]

These knives aren't designed with the intent of disassembly. The warranty is actually tied to it staying together.

Not really sure about similar threaded screws. You might be able to find suitable replacements at a hobby store (total guess). I don't have a Tenacious but have found the Manix2 and Superleaf are superb in every way.

I would prob send Spyderco an email with the screws in question. At the least for a few bucks they can prob send them to you in an envelope to put it back together.

Welcome to the forums!

[Roan]

Stripped screws are, unfortunately more often then not, a user error. Picking the wrong tool for the job or a poorly manufactured (i.e Cheap) tool is the most common reason, be it torx, inhex, philips or standard old hex head bolts.
AFAIK all spyderco screws are torx variety, not to be confused with hex.
Using a hex key will strip your screws quite handily.

Also, with torx, especially smaller torx bits, it's possible to grab one that is too small but seems to fit OK. Another recipe for stripped screws.

In my opinion, Comparably, torx are the least likely to strip if you use a quality tool of the correct gauge, far less likely than hex.
Don't take offence to what I have posted though, I'm not having a go at anyone personally, I am trying to be as informative as I can. And anyway, I've stripped dozens of screws in my ventures and I'll readily admit it.

[GotDogs]

I was stripping torx screws left and right. Turns out my tool was the issue, werent precision made. I bought a couple of Whia torx drivers and NEVER stripped another Torx head screw. JMHO, John

[The Deacon]

These knives aren't designed with the intent of disassembly. The warranty is actually tied to it staying together.

I'd agree where "body" screws are involved, but IMHO when

a 4-way pocket clip lets you set your carry and draw preference: Tip-up/tip-down left-hand/right-hand.

is advertised as a feature, using low quality screws to mount it is not fair to the customer. If this were an isolated instance, it would be one thing. But the truth is, this happens with considerable regularity, especially when you consider that 85% or more of the buyers are right handed and a fair percentage of them probably just stick with RH/TD carry. You don't hear of folks stripping the heads of clip screws on models made in Japanese, Taiwan, or Golden which use three screw clips anywhere near as often.

Stripped screws are, unfortunately more often then not, a user error. Picking the wrong tool for the job or a poorly manufactured (i.e Cheap) tool is the most common reason, be it torx, inhex, philips or standard old hex head bolts.

I'd agree with you in most cases, but even some veteran Spyderco users have managed to mangle screw heads on the Tenacious and other members of it's family. Not to mention that, at least at times, these knives have used Allen, rather than Torx, head screws. So, in this case, I'm more inclined to blame the hardware than the user's tools or technique.

[Blerv]

I'd agree where "body" screws are involved, but IMHO when is advertised as a feature, using low quality screws to mount it is not fair to the customer. If this were an isolated instance, it would be one thing. But the truth is, this happens with considerable regularity, especially when you consider that 85% or more of the buyers are right handed and a fair percentage of them probably just stick with RH/TD carry. You don't hear of folks stripping the heads of clip screws on models made in Japanese, Taiwan, or Golden which use three screw clips anywhere near as often.

I was initially distracted by the comment about preferring to take knives apart for maintenance. I do not own anything from the Tenacious family so can't comment on the tool vs user aspect personally. People do have more complaints about this model than most even regarding clip moving.

Just because your knife was not American made does not mean it's crap. The way it sounds, it was YOUR fault YOU stripped the screws. That could happen to anyone, whether or not their knife was made in America or made in China.

People who get on the "Buy American" kick make me laugh.

I didn't read any of the subtext in the OP's question. While I would agree in the apples to apples game of tang stamps (eg Para2 vs Sage) the Tenacious is a different comparison. It's a fraction of the cost and probably 2/3'rds the quality of most Spydies. That last 1/3 regardless of the model's value is usually found in F&F.

A Kia is built in many ways as good as any Mercedes. The finish can't be compared but neither can the prices.

[Clowman]

Wow had no idea it was torx I read tons of things saying it was hex thank you so much that was extreamly helpful and no one should be offended by that because it is telling important crap about it being a torx screw NOT hex haha again thanks!!

[Blerv]

Wow had no idea it was torx I read tons of things saying it was hex thank you so much that was extreamly helpful and no one should be offended by that because it is telling important crap about it being a torx screw NOT hex haha again thanks!!

Thick skin and a good spirited. Nice to have more of you folks on-board =)

Goodluck with the resolution of the screws!

I'm not trying to be a jerk here, I understand how frustrating it is to work with a fastener that's not what you're expecting (I've taken apart my Motorola smartphone three times now, thread-locked PH000 screws are a *real* pain...) but I reiterate: if you've got a driver that's the right size, and you heat the threadlock compound to loosen it, and you're not using too much torque, how exactly are you stripping the sockets on the fasteners?

People have problems with plenty of Spyderco knives, but confirmation bias guarantees that the "Tenacious" line will get more blame than any other, since it's MIC. We expect the fasteners to be soft and cheap, so when we do *anything* wrong we just blame them for our trouble. (I used to do the same, but I've had some humbling experiences that I had to learn not to repeat...)

I'm more in your camp than the "crappy hardware" one. I've seen talented people strip lug nuts and others removed rusted bolts that should have never come off. It's usually a matter of treatment and the right tool. There is some luck involved too.

Just because someone strips a screw doesn't make them incompetent. It's ok to admit it *might* have had something to do with how the task was carried out because the flip-side sounds like someone is claiming perfection.

Either way there is a good chance they will get free screws from Spyderco .

[JacksonKnives]

There is some luck involved too.
Just because someone strips a screw doesn't make them incompetent. It's ok to admit it *might* have had something to do with how the task was carried out because the flip-side sounds like someone is claiming perfection.

Either way there is a good chance they will get free screws from Spyderco .

Absolutely, good point. Spyderco is good, understanding people when it comes to things like this. Stuff happens, and I've stripped out expensive fasteners with expensive tools on German-made automobiles because of things beyond my control... (And they weren't so understanding as to send me $5 bolts for free.)


akaAK, that's interesting to hear. Is it possible there was a mix of Torx and hex on the same knife? (Not saying it's impossible for fastener manufacturing tolerances to be that poor, but it really does surprise me... I confess I haven't taken apart my Resilience yet, but maybe tonight I will...)


In any case, it would be nice to have a good database of fastener sizes to facilitate user replacement--whatever you think about the quality of the originals, there are always good reasons to want available replacements. Ebay is a veritable treasure trove of small fasteners, but I don't have a thread gauge that small, and I don't really feel like working out every size in my collection with a micrometer...

[akaAK]

Hey JacksonKnives,

They were and still are all Torx which is why I found the distinctionin in sizing so odd. Lets be honest though, for the money, these are two fantastic knives. I think we sometimes become spoiled, so in the grand scheme of things the issue was dealt with (only some minor scratches on the clip of two users) and since then I have had no issues with these knives.

My original post was more to show that it can be the operator or the material (or both) but this has been a relatively longstanding issue with the Tenacious line. I imagine CQI will address it over time.

[Tdog]

The Wiha's are great tools, hardened ends. Worth the price to work on expensive knives there is a decent price for a set here: http://www.all-spec.com/products/Too...85/W26792.html As Blerv said, sounds like this one needs to go back to Spyderco.

[pmel018]

Always pays to assume all screws on a Spyderco are thread-locked. Apply a hot soldering iron, or similar, to the bolt head for a few seconds, immediately attempt to loosen(with correct sized tools). The heat liquifies the thread lock compound and, hopefully, allows the fastener to be undone.
Phil

[enduraguy]

Always pays to assume all screws on a Spyderco are thread-locked. Apply a hot soldering iron, or similar, to the bolt head for a few seconds, immediately attempt to loosen(with correct sized tools). The heat liquifies the thread lock compound and, hopefully, allows the fastener to be undone.
Phil

Yea, I'm guessing OP is new to this company and was ignorant of the fact that spyderco uses loctite on their screws. Then again, what kind of person keeps attempting to loosen additional screws after the first one strips???

[SpydieFan]

Hey everybody!

I just got my first spyderco knife! The tenacious! I love the knife but the screws used kinda suck I went to change the pocket clip and striped all of them out. I'm the kinda person who takes their own knife apart and cleans it really well once a month and having the screws strip out the first time I go to clean it isn't going to fly with me! I would like to stick with spyderco but wanna know if there is anything I can do to get better screws in my knife. Or maybe even recommendations on an American made knife at the same price range and an same look and feel. I want a knife that feels good holds an edge deploys fast and easy and is fun just to flick out and mess around with! Oh yeah and has decent screws that won't strip out!!

Just because your knife was not American made does not mean it's crap. The way it sounds, it was YOUR fault YOU stripped the screws. That could happen to anyone, whether or not their knife was made in America or made in China.

People who get on the "Buy American" kick make me laugh.

[JacksonKnives]

Lots of "right answers" in here so far, but the most important one in my experience is the allen-vs-torx problem. It's surprisingly easy to mistake the one for the other if you aren't watching for it. Neither type of fastener should present any problems, provided you're using the right tool. (They don't even have to be expensive, though certainly some of the cheaper tools are not the size they claim to be. This is one reason to buy locally--test-fitting goes a long way to preventing mistakes.)

For small fasteners, in my experience it always pays to make sure you're using a correspondingly small driver handle, to limit the amount of torque you can apply.

Basically: If you can apply enough torque to strip out the tooling, you've either selected the wrong size/type bit, or there's some kind of thread lock/seizing/galling going on and your driver handle is just too large to allow you to control the torque in a way that will be helpful. There isn't a micro-impact tool that I'm aware of, but between penetrating fluid and heating/freezing I can't imagine any threads on a knife rusting/seizing bad enough that you couldn't get the fastener out with a bit of care and the right tool. This isn't like taking apart old farm machinery... (If the head itself is rusted out, obviously things are a bit different, but at that point you're probably looking at replacing significant portions of the knife when you're repairing it anyway, and it's time to learn about ez-outs and set up a drill press vise...)

Stripped fastener heads are nearly 100% preventable. Watchmakers have been using slotted brass screws for centuries... We get the advantage of hex/torx heads, and we're *still* stripping them? Is this really Spyderco's problem? (Switching to a 100% consistent set of fasteners across the entire brand would be nice, don't get me wrong, but if you use the wrong tool it ain't Sal's fault. If anyone's actually had a hex-socket fastener that was an off-size, I'll change my tune, but in my experience it's *never* the fastener that's the "wrong size.")

[phillipsted]

(Switching to a 100% consistent set of fasteners across the entire brand would be nice, don't get me wrong, but if you use the wrong tool it ain't Sal's fault. If anyone's actually had a hex-socket fastener that was an off-size, I'll change my tune, but in my experience it's *never* the fastener that's the "wrong size.")

One of the things that's bugged me about the Tenacious/Resilience line is the screws. As Deacon noted (an has been discussed ad nauseum in other threads), the factory has shifted from Torx-to-Hex-and-back-again at least once. In addition to this issue, I find the steel used in the screws of this series is uniformly soft. Even if you are using the right tool, a very soft metal screw will cause issues more often than not.

TedP

[gull wing]

I take my knives apart and never have been sorry, you don't need a warranty if you have a good knife.
I found the Chinese tend to put MUCH to much threadlock.

This is too late for you now, but for the future assume the screws are threadlocked. Drop the knife into almost boiling water, let it stay for about 2 to 5 min.(use tongs) take out and begin working on the screws. The heat softens the glue.

Sorry for your problem, clowman.

[SpydieFan]

I take my knives apart and never have been sorry, you don't need a warranty if you have a good knife.
I found the Chinese tend to put MUCH to much threadlock.

I wonder if this is done to keep people from disassembling the knives, thinking they'll just give up if they can't get it in a try or two?

[Blerv]

Doubtful. Long before crappy screws there were pins.

[angusW]

As far as the clip screws go, the Tenacious line is famous for the screws getting stripped. I stripped mine on my Persistence, called W&R and they sent me a new set. It is not user error as I'm left handed and once I get a Spydie the first thing I do is change the clip. I've not had another screw strip on any other Spyderco knife. Plus there have been a ton of "I've stripped the clip screws on my Tenacious/Persistence/Ambitious" threads. You don't see too many if any other threads for another Spyderco saying they've stripped the threads.

As far as the screws on the body go, you remove them at your own risk. The warrenty goes out the window if the user has taken the knife apart.