Can Somebody Please Help With Some Stretch Internals Questions

[ElBee]

Hi,

I picked up a SuperBlue Stretch in the Classies, and unfortunately somebody had done a poor job of taking it apart, and and even worse job of putting it back together.

I now have a few questions. They are:

1) How many bronze washers are used? I currently have 3, which means I probably have one too many, or one too few.

2) Where can I get a new set of Torx screws? Besides rounding them off, somebody who should not try taking knives apart mixed up the lengths. Either they got some from the pocket clip and used them for the body, or they added a few more from another source, which were not the same length. They darn near rounded those as well, so I'd like to replace them with a decent set. I didn't dare Loctite them back in place, as I don't know if I could get them out again.
And let me just say Wiha=worth it.

3) What is the correct length of Torx screw a Casey Lynch pocket clip? I have one of Casey's deep carry clips, but the screws that were used on the stock clip are about 1mm too short to hold. Of course I don't know if the screws on the stock clip were the stock screws to begin with, and in fact I doubt it as they don't look like the others I have take out during disassembly, so a length would be greatly appreciated. The FRN on the Stretch looks thicker than the Delica/Dragonfly and Casey's clips are a little thicker, so it's not a surprise I need new screws for the clip.

The knife was advertised as having "some vertical blade play when pushed hard" What it actually had was a mushroomed plastic pin on the backspacer that wouldn't go into the steel liners. That caused it to have disgustingly soft--limp--dare I say flaccid engagement of the lockbar AND significant vertical blade play. After cleaning up the pin with an emery board, and putting a LOT of upward force on the front edge of the backspacer, it slid right in. Whoever took it apart before didn't get the pin to seat--most likely because they didn't push up on the front of the backspacer, but then they cranked down on the Trox screws a la He Man, which rounded the screws and mushroomed the plastic pin.

While I still have some work to do on this one, it now has that solid, satisfying "snick" of the lockbar clicking firmly into place, and it's pretty smooth, in part because I cleaned everything up and used a bit of rouge to gently polish all three washers, the pivot and the edge of the lockbar that rides on the rounded end of the blade. It also has a miniscule amount of Seki rock, but nothing like the drunken sailor wobble it had before.

I'm a big fan of Super Blue, and I'd seen a lot very positive comments about the Stretch. As soon as I opened up the package and put it in my hand, I understood. It's like it was designed for MY hand--just my hand. It's got awesome ergos, awesome steel, and I'm really happy with it, the above issues not withstanding.

I'm getting ready to put an edge on it. That, of course, is not quite right either, but I know from my past experiences with SB that won't be an issue. Like my user SB Delica, the grinds are not equal, so I'm going to just re-profile it and be done. It's a terrific knife, and I'm looking forward to putting it through it's paces, but I need to get it back to as close to "right" as I can, so I don't have a major issue down the line and can use it with confidence.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[The Deacon]

1) Unless the SB version had more, there should only be 2 washers, one on each side of the blade.

2) You can try calling Spyderco and asking nicely. Can't guarantee it will work, too many people may have taken advantage of them, but it's worth a shot. Expensive alternative would be to buy the Endura "rebuild kit" for the pivot and body screws.

3) Have no idea, but I can tell you that the length of threaded portion of the factory clip screws for a SB Stretch is 4.5mm. If your screws are that length, and not reaching then you'll have to search for longer screws.

 

[CryoGuy5272]

I second on a part kit buy. As far as I can tell the Endura and Stretch use the same d bolts body screws and clip screws

 

[codycash]

Spyderco told me that they don't send out parts anymore, except clips, and offered to sell me a parts kit. That's gonna be your best bet but check with them and make sure you get the correct kit. One washer per side on the Stretch SB.

 

[ElBee]

Thanks for the info, gentlemen, for the record, Spyderco did respond. The only parts that work from the Endura kit are the Torx screws and the washers, and I have an extra washer already-LOL. I'm going to keep looking for a bit, as I don't need to spend $20 for 5 torx screws. I put a new edge on the blade today, and it cuts very well. SB is great to work with, and gets wicked sharp. I appreciate the replies.

Thank You.

 

[dubya3]

I feel like an idiot but I did something similar to my brand new superblue stretch. It was extremely stiff and hard to open one handed (I can easily one hand open every other spydie, BM and ZT I own) but if I loosened the pivot it had a ton of play and was still tight to open. I noticed the scales and liners weren't flush and the scales were rubbing on the tang so I figured I'd very carefully file the scales where they were rubbing the blade and see if that helped out. I wasn't able to find out because when reassembling the knife I didn't realize there was the little pin on the FRN backspacer to line up with the liner and I squished it enough to where I couldn't use the spacer. Brand new Stretch Superblue thar I can't use..

After trying to find a way to make a stainless spacer without any luck, I finally sent it in to spyderco and received a letter saying they will repair the knife for $25 which at this point I'm happy to pay.

Long story short, if worst comes to worst, you can always have it fixed at SFO for a small fee I'm sure.