Do the black painted wire clips wear off?

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Mar 1, 2013
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i was thinking about swapping my chrome wire pocket clip on my knife to a black one. when I asked the Spyderco outlet store if they had any black pocket clips they said they only had the ones that were painted black not like the one for the Sage 1. Do the painted ones wear off quickly? or does the paint last a long time is it worth buying one?
 
They do wear off on the edges, some people think it adds character, personally I could do without the character I would rather they had a DLC coating.
 
They do wear off on the edges, some people think it adds character, personally I could do without the character I would rather they had a DLC coating.

Yeah I'd buy parkerized clips if they offered them.... But once a painted clip wears off to a point I'm not happy with, I'll just just take it off completely.
 
Heat shrink tubing from Home Depot, and a heat gun from a local hobby shop, and you have replaceable black finish. You can even buy heat shrink tubing in very small sizes that would work exceptionally well on wire type clips. This stuff last a long time as long as you do not brush up against any hard objects. Also some auto parts stores sell a very low grade traction tape that also works well, and sticks very well .I have several knives with this on them and they have been that way for many years.

I do not even remove the clip to put the tubing on. Cut a piece to length, take a small screwdriver and insert through the tubing. Position the tubing at the front of the clip and use the screwdriver to lift the front of the clip so you can slide the tubing on. I put a piece of cardboard in between the clip and the rest of the knife while using the heat gun to shrink the tubing.

Pictured is an old original model Spyderco Military from 1992.

A hair dryer is not hot enough. You have to have a real heat gun. Most model airplane hobby shops sell a cheap one for applying Monokote to aircraft frames. That is what I use, have had it for a very long time.

 
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Heat shrink tubing from Home Depot, and a heat gun from a local hobby shop, and you have replaceable black finish. You can even buy heat shrink tubing in very small sizes that would work exceptionally well on wire type clips. This stuff last a long time as long as you do not brush up against any hard objects. Also some auto parts stores sell a very low grade traction tape that also works well, and sticks very well .I have several knives with this on them and they have been that way for many years.

I do not even remove the clip to put the tubing on. Cut a piece to length, take a small screwdriver and insert through the tubing. Position the tubing at the front of the clip and use the screwdriver to lift the front of the clip so you can slide the tubing on. I put a piece of cardboard in between the clip and the rest of the knife while using the heat gun to shrink the tubing.

Pictured is an old original model Spyderco Military from 1992.

A hair dryer is not hot enough. You have to have a real heat gun. Most model airplane hobby shops sell a cheap one for applying Monokote to aircraft frames. That is what I use, have had it for a very long time.


I was born the same year as your knife!! wow you take good care of your stuff
 
I was born the same year as your knife!! wow you take good care of your stuff

It has been a hard use knife for me. Seen a lot of hard use, and still looks good. Number 1 because it is an exceptional knife to begin with. Number 2 because I know how to take care of an exceptional knife. Don't use it hard and put it away wet.

As for the black clip, I go through phases with this knife. Sometimes I want it black, sometimes not. Heat shrink tube makes that a possibility.

Here is a picture of the 1992 knife with two others purchased in 2012. These knives are my new EDC, the old Military is more of a beater to me now. Imagine that!

The old original two-screw clip Military's had a propensity for the screw holes to strip out if the clip caught on something. That is why the screws look different than standard. I re-drilled them, re-tapped them and installed larger screws. Then with the knife dis-assembled, sanded off the remnants of the screws on the inside prior to re-assembling.



New Military's do not have this marking on them, unfortunately. This is way nicer then the new ones, IMHO.

 
+1 for the heat shrink tubing also. Size 9mm is perfect for the hourglass clips on the more common Spydercos, and is probably the best all around size to get. It effectively blacks it out and looks good, totally subdues it with the matte look. Lasts a long time too. It even keeps the stock clip as new, if that even matters. I got a 4 meter roll (lifetime supply lol) of it from an auto parts seller at the auction site for around $5 bucks.

I do remove the clip when I put the tubing on and shrink it to size with a Bic. Fits snug and it retains the hourglass shape.

Here's a vid by someone on the tube:
[video=youtube;q5UuhvitYqs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5UuhvitYqs[/video]
 
Sharpie will not last. It rubs off way too easily. The heat shrink tubing is very susceptible to rubbing up against things. Which is why I try to do mine without removing the clip. One wrong move, and it tears. I've been using it for year though, and as long as you are careful it can easily go six months to a year with no damage.
 
I have heard that heat shrink tubing tears easily several times before also which is actually why I purchased 4 meters as I anticipated them to have to be replaced often! But actually I have only had to put it on once on the two knives that I did, my Tenacious and a PM2. Had I known that it is actually very durable, I would have purchased half of what I endded up getting. The one I got was by the bulk and is actually much cheaper than what I've seen at hardware stores... It hasn't tore up and it's been over a year of use also, and I haven't been careful with it. I take off the clip when I install it because I use a lighter to shrink it to size. I get it real hot until it's a little malleable and I'm able to form it into the clip like clay so to speak. Once it cools, it's harder and more "compressed" than before starting. Try it out!. You might have to use the same brand I did though.

Here's the Para2:
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Please note that different clips have different types of coatings. The coatings for our Japanese-made knives wear more easily. Our Taiwanese-made knives have different clip coatings that are more durable. Clips on US-made knives have the toughest coatings.

Stay safe,

Mike
 
Please note that different clips have different types of coatings. The coatings for our Japanese-made knives wear more easily. Our Taiwanese-made knives have different clip coatings that are more durable. Clips on US-made knives have the toughest coatings.

Stay safe,

Mike


While this may be true, I have two Military's I bought last year. On both, the black coating is gone on the edges. The edges are nice and shiny now. Probably going to do the Heat Shrink Tubing Mod to them real soon. One is a stain finish left hand model, the other an all black right hand model.

Not complaining here, I never truly expect any coating, no matter how hard, to hold up. I shall not return them or ask for new clips.
 
You can etch stainless with concentrated ferric chloride. Just sand the finish off the clips real good and give them a dip for a minute or 10 (keep an eye on them they'll etch pretty fast.) The FeCl etch on my benchmade stainless clips looked very much like a black manganese parkerizing.
 
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