Can you buy knife hex screws from the hardware store?

d2eux

d2eux

Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Messages
289
In my opinion, TOPS knives has terrible customer service. I have their Apache Dawn knife, and tried removing the G10 handles for maintenance, but 'stripped' several of the screws in the process because they were screwed on so damn tight.
http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?products_id=12

So, I politely email them requesting replacement screws, and they asked me to send them a money order for $7.00.

I get the screws, and not only are they different length than the originals, but also the "cylinders" are longer too. This means that if I screw in both screws using the longer cylinder piece, its still loose.
2m4epaa.jpg


I tried contacting them a week before christmas but they were off from the 18th of December to January 7th. I sent them an email on the 8th but havent heard anything. I received an email before the 7th saying that the problem would be resolved when they come back to work but I havent heard anything since.

I'll probably give them a call this week but I'm pretty ticked off. So my question is instead of depending on TOPs for the screws and cylinder pieces can I find the parts at a hardware store?
 
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Depends on the hardware store.

You might try Googling the phrase "Knife Kits Supplies". You will find several outfits who specialize in doodads for knife makers.
 
by the way, is there any place that could shorten those pivot barrels? I took the long ones to the keymaker at the local hardware store and they said they couldnt do it.

"If I use my hand it will cut my fingers off, and if I put it in a vice it will crush it." those were the keymaker's words
 
THG said:
They have tons of screws, but do you happen to know the thread size that different companies might use? For example, what size are the screws for say Spyderco clips?
Click to expand...

You have to get a thread pitch gauge and find out. They're not expensive and let you order just about any screws/bolt/nuts online without guess.

They usually range from 5 bucks for a plastic one to 20 for a fancy one

tapsDies_gauge.jpg


You'll probably want a bolt size gauge too, to determine what size the bolt is, sometimes these are sold with the thread gauges.
 
Check McMaster-Carr, you can get pretty much any screw size/length combo you want. Doesn't have to be torx either, tho, they strip much less easily than other types...

Check Fastenal too..
 
You can shorten your barrel by chucking it up in a drill press. Start the cut with a three cornered file and finish with a hacksaw. File and cut while part is spinning. Be sure your saw teeth are properly oriented.
 
Look in your phone book for a fastenal store. Take the original screw to them. They literally have or can get any screw made.

You could shorten that hardware with a pair of channel locks and a bench grinder. If those barrels are threaded, like I believe they are, you need to split the difference and shorten from both ends. Each end is threaded the opposite way for standard threading on both sides. Should be anyways.

As for TOPS, you violated their warranty by removing the grips. Manufacturers don't like that. I'm not sure, because I've never had to remove grips for maintenance, but they may have applied some lock-tite to the screws. In which case, they probably never intended for the grips to be removed.

BTW, I love that knife.
 
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Measure the pitch and diameter to determine the screw size.

Try Olanders. They have a lot of fasteners and you don't have to buy a hundred of them at a time. If you are in the SF Bay Area, they are in Sunnyvale. Another place I discovered less than a mile from them is called Halted Electronics. I was in the one at Santa Clara and found bins of screws both standard and metric there for cheap. They also had aluminum, brass, and stainless stand offs threaded and non threaded. I picked up some SS stand offs with 4-40 threads for $0.17 each and some 4-40 x 1/2" button heads screws for $0.03 each.

Ric
 
If it's convenient, you might as well try a hardware store.

I once was in a similar position, but they didn't have what I needed.
 
The biggest problem with knife and gun screws is that they do not use "standard" thread/pitch. They use much finer/higher count threads. You can't just walk into a decent place and get 8/56 screws. Nor can you measure them properly with "standard" guages.

That being said, the reason they're on those screws are on tight is because if they weren't people would complain as the scales came off during use.

If they sent you the right parts, and it looks like they did, and you're taking knives apart, you should be able to fit the parts as needed. You don't need different parts, you need to fit the ones you have. It's a fairly simple job.

If you pulled the doors off your car (for maintenance) would you be upset with the manufacturer if you messed up the parts and couldn't put it back together?
 
CM_Rick said:
Look in your phone book for a fastenal store. Take the original screw to them. They literally have or can get any screw made.

You could shorten that hardware with a pair of channel locks and a bench grinder. If those barrels are threaded, like I believe they are, you need to split the difference and shorten from both ends. Each end is threaded the opposite way for standard threading on both sides. Should be anyways.

As for TOPS, you violated their warranty by removing the grips. Manufacturers don't like that. I'm not sure, because I've never had to remove grips for maintenance, but they may have applied some lock-tite to the screws. In which case, they probably never intended for the grips to be removed.

BTW, I love that knife.
Click to expand...

I understand but I still paid $7.00 for the replacement set of screws and pivot barrels so technically I should be entitled to get the right size.
 
eisman said:
The biggest problem with knife and gun screws is that they do not use "standard" thread/pitch. They use much finer/higher count threads. You can't just walk into a decent place and get 8/56 screws. Nor can you measure them properly with "standard" guages.

That being said, the reason they're on those screws are on tight is because if they weren't people would complain as the scales came off during use.

If they sent you the right parts, and it looks like they did, and you're taking knives apart, you should be able to fit the parts as needed. You don't need different parts, you need to fit the ones you have. It's a fairly simple job.

If you pulled the doors off your car (for maintenance) would you be upset with the manufacturer if you messed up the parts and couldn't put it back together?
Click to expand...

Well see the issue is the Apache Dawn came with a set size of pivot barrels and hex screws. When I stripped the screws and requested new ones, TOPS sent DIFFERENT sized screws and pivot barrels that clearly do not work for this knife. Its a matter of getting the right parts sent to me.

As for the issue of not removing the scales in the first place, an easy remedy companies could have done would be to use screws that cannot be removed with a screwdriver
 
tiguy7 said:
You can shorten your barrel by chucking it up in a drill press. Start the cut with a three cornered file and finish with a hacksaw. File and cut while part is spinning. Be sure your saw teeth are properly oriented.
Click to expand...

That is clever...nice. Would have not occurred to me to try that.
 
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