Taking apart my knife myself: yes or no?

Wakeful Ninja

Wakeful Ninja

Joined
Aug 6, 2020
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3
I’ve gotten into edc knives over the past year. Quarantine has gotten me interested in customizing my stock knives a bit. Some micarta scales, new hardware, etc. But now that I have new scales and hardware, I’m not sure how to proceed. I sharpen my knives but I’m worried about messing them up by taking them apart. First one I want to fix up is just new scales on my spyderco para 3. Should I get tools and do it myself, or find someone to do it for me? I’m in Orange County, Ca.
 
Get Wiha torx bits for disassembly, but personally I would do it myself. Have a clean, well lit area, do it in or over a tray with a lip so nothing rolls off onto the floor, make sure you have plenty of time and pay attention to where every part goes when you're taking it off so you can put it back on. Do that and you'll be fine.

ETA: Almost forgot, I recommend assuming that any mods will void your warranty. It's always worth asking if you end up with a warranty issue later, but be prepared for them to say no if you've modded the knife.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Get Wiha torx bits for disassembly, but personally I would do it myself. Have a clean, well lit area, do it in or over a tray with a lip so nothing rolls off onto the floor, make sure you have plenty of time and pay attention to where every part goes when you're taking it off so you can put it back on. Do that and you'll be fine.

ETA: Almost forgot, I recommend assuming that any mods will void your warranty. It's always worth asking if you end up with a warranty issue later, but be prepared for them to say no if you've modded the knife.
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Okay thank you. I’m gonna be brave. Looking for the Wiha bits now!
 
Wakeful Ninja said:
That’s smart. And the magnetic mat on the website looks it wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Thanks for the tips.
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When you've spent hours looking for tiny shit that took off like greased lightning, you'll find a way to stop that. lol
I have two of those magnetic pads, and I love them! I also love the anti-static project trays!
 
all and everything by ifixit is made in chinas. i have the ifixit too , i woht recommend it .
Spyderco uses blue or red loctite depending. correct choice since the purple loctite would be wrong.
it's not easy to break loctited screws good luck
 
kreisler said:
all and everything by ifixit is made in chinas. i have the ifixit too , i woht recommend it .
Spyderco uses blue or red loctite depending. correct choice since the purple loctite would be wrong.
it's not easy to break loctited screws good luck
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I was hoping that they were not made in china. I didn't see made in china anywhere on the tools. They fit everything very well and have a lifetime warranty. I was going to buy an expensive gunsmithing screwdriver bit set, but the iFixit bits fit firearm screws so well that I just use them.
Sometimes you need to put some heat on the locktighted screws. I have a Hot-Air Rework Station that I can pretty much pinpoint hot air with, but I realize that most people don't have one of those.
 
A soldering iron is a fairly inexpensive way to apply heat to those screws. (Heading to Google this Hot-Air Rework Station to see if I need one)
 
hhmoore said:
A soldering iron is a fairly inexpensive way to apply heat to those screws. (Heading to Google this Hot-Air Rework Station to see if I need one)
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I don't want to ruin my soldering tip by heating it with no solder on it. Plus I might scratch up my screws. And I already have the rework station anyway. You still have to be careful with the scales though. Hopefully Kapton tape would help protect the scales.
 
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I wouldn’t recommend the ifixit kit. The bits aren't really tempered and twist. It will potentially damages your screws.

+1 for Wiha. These bit are quite hard. But beware. If you slip, you will damage the screws as they are hard and tempered and the screws aren’t

Ifixit torx T6 (twisted)
3568F9D1-0E66-45C6-A6AE-F59AE1C407FD.jpeg

Wiha t6 (wear)
2456CF0A-9C31-4D1A-BFF0-8D91BDF1001C.jpeg
 
I bought my iFixit kit a few years ago that is in a wooden case and has more bits in it than the Manta kit has. They don't sell them anymore. I have never damaged one of my tips and I use them for everything. Perhaps things have changed there?
I like Wiha and I have some of their precision screwdrivers, but I like Wera better. I think Wera is made in Germany and they are very nice. I love how the handles feel in my hand. I will start recommending Wera and Wiha from now on. Thanks.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Get Wiha torx bits for disassembly, but personally I would do it myself. Have a clean, well lit area, do it in or over a tray with a lip so nothing rolls off onto the floor, make sure you have plenty of time and pay attention to where every part goes when you're taking it off so you can put it back on. Do that and you'll be fine.

ETA: Almost forgot, I recommend assuming that any mods will void your warranty. It's always worth asking if you end up with a warranty issue later, but be prepared for them to say no if you've modded the knife.
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Agreed. My Dad always used to tell me (working on cars) “it had to be put together somehow, so you can take it apart and put it back together”.

Also, if a knife needs to be sent in to warranty changing the scales shouldn’t void the warranty, but I would put the stock scales back on just in case.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Get Wiha torx bits for disassembly, but personally I would do it myself. Have a clean, well lit area, do it in or over a tray with a lip so nothing rolls off onto the floor, make sure you have plenty of time and pay attention to where every part goes when you're taking it off so you can put it back on. Do that and you'll be fine.

ETA: Almost forgot, I recommend assuming that any mods will void your warranty. It's always worth asking if you end up with a warranty issue later, but be prepared for them to say no if you've modded the knife.
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I like to take plenty of photos. If I want to add notes to the photos, I copy/paste the photos in Power Point and embed the notes into the photos, then compress and rename them.
 
Definitely go for it on your own! But don't do what I did and buy cheap torx bits because if a knife happens to use a lot of the higher strength Loctite or Vibratite from the factory, your cheap bit is going to deform and you're going to really mess up the screw. Kind of wish I read about the Wiha bits a little more before trying to take apart a Spyderco that was using high-strength Loctite... :confused:
 
Kindle Fire 2017 7th Generation Repair-photos-0-4.jpg
Insipid Moniker said:
That's an excellent idea and one I hadn't thought of.
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It helps a lot especially if it is several months or a year or so when you have to go back to your notes. Many times I would look at my notes saying, "What the hell was I saying!" LOL! But when the notes are embedded into the photos with arrows pointing to the spot and such, it makes things so much easier and quicker. Here is an example:
 
Sorry, I tried to use the thumbnail but I didn't see how someone could enlarge the photo.
 
I use a work mat for taking guns apart.
It a ridge to prevent roll off and small square areas to put screws and small parts.
It works for me.
 
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