Recommendation? Stripped Screws

[HowAmI]

So when I was trying to disassemble my WE 702 I ended up stripping the pocket clip screw, thanks to WE purposely designing the tool to round the edges instead of holding the screw in place. Anyways I tried using a Spanner #2 (SP2) bit which just ruined things more so...

Do you guys have any recommendations on how to remove WE knives stupid stripped hardware? I'm thinking about getting it redone by Josh and having torx installed. Thoughts?

 

[BTGuy]

How bad does the screw look now? It could be that the only way to remove it now is to drill the screw out. Post a picture and maybe someone will have a good suggestion on how to remove it easily. Regardless, it sounds like that screw will need to be replaced once removed.

One thing I can suggest to try, if the screw head isn't completely mangled, is to place a rubber band over it and try using the provided tool again. Make sure you remove the key ring and put a small metal bar through the hole so you can get a good grip on the tool. You'll have to use some force probably, so make sure you set the knife down on a non-slippery surface. Hope that help.

 

[HowAmI]

How bad does the screw look now? It could be that the only way to remove it now is to drill the screw out. Post a picture and maybe someone will have a good suggestion on how to remove it easily. Regardless, it sounds like that screw will need to be replaced once removed.

One thing I can suggest to try, if the screw head isn't completely mangled, is to place a rubber band over it and try using the provided tool again. Make sure you remove the key ring and put a small metal bar through the hole so you can get a good grip on the tool. You'll have to use some force probably, so make sure you set the knife down on a non-slippery surface. Hope that help.

Never thought about the metal bar trick for leverage thanks.

Here is my mangled screw picture

Spoiler: Picture

 

[BTGuy]

That doesn't look too badly mangled. Try using a rubber band to get grip with the tool's teeth. May help to get the screw loose at least.
I'm not particularly fond of those uniquely-shaped screws either, but haven't had trouble with them stripping yet. I find the trick is to make sure your keeping the tool set all the way against the screw. When you let it go at a little bit of an angle it'll slip from the screw and cause those kind of issues.

If all else fails, contact WE through their warranty email on their site and see what they can do to help. They have a rep here in North America who could probably fix you up.

 

[Zombie411]

Does WE knives use Lock-Tite on their fasteners?

Reason I ask is because acetone in a chemistry pipette can be placed drop wise (very precisely) onto these tiny fasteners.
The acetone will wick into the threads and dissolve the Lock-Tite.

Two things that help are placing the acetone (nail polish remover), and the knife in your freezer. This will slow the evaporation rate, and allow more time to work the fastener loose. If the acetone evaporates the adhesive will harden again in seconds.

One other caveat... SOME anodizing dyes are sensitive to acetone, and will bleach out. I'd try an inconspicuous place on the knife to spot test w/ a QTip.

 

[HowAmI]

Does WE knives use Lock-Tite on their fasteners?

Reason I ask is because acetone in a chemistry pipette can be placed drop wise (very precisely) onto these tiny fasteners.
The acetone will wick into the threads and dissolve the Lock-Tite.

Two things that help are placing the acetone (nail polish remover), and the knife in your freezer. This will slow the evaporation rate, and allow more time to work the fastener loose. If the acetone evaporates the adhesive will harden again in seconds.

One other caveat... SOME anodizing dyes are sensitive to acetone, and will bleach out. I'd try an inconspicuous place on the knife to spot test w/ a QTip.

They might use it, I had a hard time removing the other screws but they came out without much damage in the end. I think it's more of a combination of Over Torquing (is that what its called?) the screw and the poor hardware & tool. I might have to try that Acetone trick and see if it works.

 

[Zombie411]

On FleaBay you can purchase 100 3ml pipettes for 6 bucks or 200 of them on Amazon for 7 bucks
They are far more precise than eyedroppers.

Also... The more surface area on a fastener the stronger the bond of the Lock-Tite. You may barely notice it on the tiniest of fasteners but as size increases so does the bond.

Good Luck!

 

[HowAmI]

On FleaBay you can purchase 100 3ml pipettes for 6 bucks or 200 of them on Amazon for 7 bucks
They are far more precise than eyedroppers.

Also... The more surface area on a fastener the stronger the bond of the Lock-Tite. You may barely notice it on the tiniest of fasteners but as size increases so does the bond.

Good Luck!

I have noticed that on screws with a thread locker. Thanks. Might have one of those here but doubt it, haven't touched one outside of school in a decent amount of time.

 

[Zombie411]

Chemistry is my "other" hobby.
I have all that Frankenstein's lab kinda stuff.

The grandkids love me!

 

[HowAmI]

Chemistry is my "other" hobby.
I have all that Frankenstein's lab kinda stuff.

The grandkids love me!

Wouldn't mind that, however Chemistry doesn't excite me as much as learning how to find an edge on a mill. Will try the acetone thing maybe tomorrow and see how it works.

 

[RLDubbya]

So when I was trying to disassemble my WE 702 I ended up stripping the pocket clip screw, thanks to WE purposely designing the tool to round the edges instead of holding the screw in place. Anyways I tried using a Spanner #2 (SP2) bit which just ruined things more so...

Do you guys have any recommendations on how to remove WE knives stupid stripped hardware? I'm thinking about getting it redone by Josh and having torx installed. Thoughts?

So when I was trying to disassemble my WE 702 I ended up stripping the pocket clip screw, thanks to WE purposely designing the tool to round the edges instead of holding the screw in place. Anyways I tried using a Spanner #2 (SP2) bit which just ruined things more so...

Do you guys have any recommendations on how to remove WE knives stupid stripped hardware? I'm thinking about getting it redone by Josh and having torx installed. Thoughts?

Every job is easier if you have the right tools.

If I was doing the work: I would first take a center punch and deadblow hammer, place the center punch on the screw head making sure to position it dead center so that I don't just damage the "star flanges" when I then smack the center punch with the deadblow. This will break any loctite seal which might be making things more difficult. This little trick works just fine: I use it all the time to remove screws which are loctited in place, even if the loctite used is the red grade.

I would then put the knife in the Panavise so that it was held unmoving, and I had both hands free.

I don't know how much room there is between the star point and the inside of the countersink hole. I would purchase a pair of locking needle nose pliers with the thinnest nose I can find (doing a Google search, I found pliers ranging in price from 9.95 to $450.00. What I didn't find was a quick specification provided that told me the dimensions of the tip. However, with the current marketplace's liberal return policies, I would not worry about that, I would just buy something that looked close to fitting and try it. Assuming that I can't find anything that fits in a timely enough fashion, I would make my next move and try an alternate method which I know is going to destroy the screw. I would first take a fine-point sharpie, and mark a small spot on the screw and a corresponding spot on the scale - those marks line up when the screw has not moved. I can tell that I've moved the screw at a glance when the marks no longer line up.

I would keep the knife in the vise, grab my small chisel, and my deadblow. I would position the chisel as close to complete horizontal with the edge against a point of the star in a direction to loosen up the screw. I would then start tapping the chisel, quite easy at first, checking everything to make sure I'm not causing any obvious damage, and keeping an eye on my reference marks. Satisfied that I'm not causing further damage, and gauging the force I have been using, I would give the chisel a couple smacks that I think would be forceful enough to start backing out the screw. I would try serious force for maybe 3-5 times; if there was no movement, I would stop trying with this method - on the grounds that I don't want to break the knife.

I would now consider blowing off my deadline and looking for a better tool. I would probably try to hit a SnapOn truck. The older owner-operators have a lot of knowledge about tools, and are usually more than willing to make some recommendations.

If I got nowhere following the above, I'd give Josh at REK a call, describe what was happening, and hopefully he would take the problem on a priority basis. At this point - and this is just the way I am - I would pay his rate, and I'd toss in something extra for taking care of me.

I hope the above gives you some ideas if nothing else. Feel free to reach out and ask me any questions.

RLDubbya

 

[Zombie411]

I just saw another thread that had a great tip for this situation.
The fella uses a soldering iron to apply heat to the fastener.

With a large enough iron (wattage), and a small enough tip, I know this will work too.
Heat is the go to for Lock-Tite

 

[RLDubbya]

I just saw another thread that had a great tip for this situation.
The fella uses a soldering iron to apply heat to the fastener.

With a large enough iron (wattage), and a small enough tip, I know this will work too.
Heat is the go to for Lock-Tite

It depends on who is going. The method of using a hammer that I describe is the method used by Spyderco technicians. They do NOT use a soldering iron. I personally would never, ever use a concentrated source of heat like a soldering iron in this situation. If nothing else, it is too easy to slip and damage a scale. I think that I'll stick with the manufacturer method. I have no idea who came up with the soldering iron idea, nor what that person's credentials might be. No thanks.

 

[Zombie411]

Each their own sir...
I am personally not to fond of whacking tiny things with hammers. I tend to smash the hell out of tiny things.

Each their own.

Not to troll... Could you post something that shows Spyd. guys using hammers to bust Lock Tite loose?
In my experience Lock Tite is far to pliable to fracture or just let loose.
In fact I have broken a 2.75" transmission output shaft that had the main gear lock tite'd in. It was indeed a sledge hammer that shattered the shaft, and the bolt was still embedded in threaded boss with lock-tite

 

[HowAmI]

Every job is easier if you have the right tools.

If I was doing the work: I would first take a center punch and deadblow hammer, place the center punch on the screw head making sure to position it dead center so that I don't just damage the "star flanges" when I then smack the center punch with the deadblow. This will break any loctite seal which might be making things more difficult. This little trick works just fine: I use it all the time to remove screws which are loctited in place, even if the loctite used is the red grade.

I would then put the knife in the Panavise so that it was held unmoving, and I had both hands free.

I don't know how much room there is between the star point and the inside of the countersink hole. I would purchase a pair of locking needle nose pliers with the thinnest nose I can find (doing a Google search, I found pliers ranging in price from 9.95 to $450.00. What I didn't find was a quick specification provided that told me the dimensions of the tip. However, with the current marketplace's liberal return policies, I would not worry about that, I would just buy something that looked close to fitting and try it. Assuming that I can't find anything that fits in a timely enough fashion, I would make my next move and try an alternate method which I know is going to destroy the screw. I would first take a fine-point sharpie, and mark a small spot on the screw and a corresponding spot on the scale - those marks line up when the screw has not moved. I can tell that I've moved the screw at a glance when the marks no longer line up.

I would keep the knife in the vise, grab my small chisel, and my deadblow. I would position the chisel as close to complete horizontal with the edge against a point of the star in a direction to loosen up the screw. I would then start tapping the chisel, quite easy at first, checking everything to make sure I'm not causing any obvious damage, and keeping an eye on my reference marks. Satisfied that I'm not causing further damage, and gauging the force I have been using, I would give the chisel a couple smacks that I think would be forceful enough to start backing out the screw. I would try serious force for maybe 3-5 times; if there was no movement, I would stop trying with this method - on the grounds that I don't want to break the knife.

I would now consider blowing off my deadline and looking for a better tool. I would probably try to hit a SnapOn truck. The older owner-operators have a lot of knowledge about tools, and are usually more than willing to make some recommendations.

If I got nowhere following the above, I'd give Josh at REK a call, describe what was happening, and hopefully he would take the problem on a priority basis. At this point - and this is just the way I am - I would pay his rate, and I'd toss in something extra for taking care of me.

I hope the above gives you some ideas if nothing else. Feel free to reach out and ask me any questions.

RLDubbya

Not to somewhat derail but have you ever used need nose pliers to try and remove a screw? (Not being a dick, just a question.) I'm sure I can easily find one of those 90 degree pliers that are small enough to fit into the countersunk hole and start to try and loosen the screw.

Thanks.

 

[Mo2]

There's a made for TV product that is like putty that you mold into your shape and then cure it. The commercial shows using it as a coffee cup handle that replaces the one that broke off.

Forgot the name of the stuff... But you can mold it around the stripped screw and cure it and then it's a make shift tool.

This also works for microtech, and Shiro etc screws. But not all screws and if loctite is used it may be very difficult to use in some cases.

I hope that helps. Anyone know the name of that stuff or maybe an alternative?

It's too bad we knives patented those screws and won't stop using them. Only a few models will use torx.

 

[HowAmI]

There's a made for TV product that is like putty that you mold into your shape and then cure it. The commercial shows using it as a coffee cup handle that replaces the one that broke off.

Forgot the name of the stuff... But you can mold it around the stripped screw and cure it and then it's a make shift tool.

This also works for microtech, and Shiro etc screws. But not all screws and if loctite is used it may be very difficult to use in some cases.

I hope that helps. Anyone know the name of that stuff or maybe an alternative?

Never heard of it, nor seen it. I'd take my chances with the above. beside like you said if the screws are loc-tited then that could be a potential issue to the TV product material.

 

[Mo2]

Sugru Moldable Glue

Or just Google

as seen on tv bonding putty

For other similar products. But yea you may be right. In any case to break the bond of loctite you can soak it in boiling water, use a good soldering iron, heat gun or hair drier or even shock it per spydercos directions

 

[RLDubbya]

Not to somewhat derail but have you ever used need nose pliers to try and remove a screw? (Not being a dick, just a question.) I'm sure I can easily find one of those 90 degree pliers that are small enough to fit into the countersunk hole and start to try and loosen the screw.

Thanks.

I have not tried the 90 degree pliers; however, the straight needle nose: yes.

 

[HowAmI]

I have not tried the 90 degree pliers; however, the straight needle nose: yes.

Thanks. I'll look into the pliers thing and see what I can do about it. Need to sell many of these knives but these companies truly don't want you even touching their knives.


As for the other guys. Ive used a soldering iron and hair dryer before but might see if the heatgun will work better. I think I still have access to one.