I have gotten to where I hate Torx screws.

W

Wildone39

Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Messages
815
I think Im gonna sell all of my Torx screw pocket knives. I just cant stand them. I am glad my favorite knife is pinned (spyderco Native) I still dont like the steel in it though. I have 2 knives that I really like but they have the torx screw for a pin and I am always having to tighten them or adjust them. At least with a pinned knife, it is what it is.
 
Yeah, sounds like you have a loosening problem, not a problem with the shape or design of the screw head.
 
I don't like the smaller torx sizes as usually, they're pretty easy to strip.
 
Any knife that is screwed together can get loose regardless of the screw type. Like everyone else said use loc tite on the screws and the problem will go away. Put it on the screw then reassemble and let it sit overnight so it sets good. If you don't want to buy loc tite you can also use your girlfriends fingernail polish. Or teflon tape on the threads works good and you don't have to wait for it to dry. But use something because that is what those products are made for and there is no reason to not enjoy a knife because of a loose screw.
 
I like to disassemble my knives and properly clean/lube them occasionally, so pins are not an option for me. My advice -- get a Sebenza!
 
I fail to see how the type of the screw head affects how that screw holds up. Doesn't make any sense.
 
samid said:
I fail to see how the type of the screw head affects how that screw holds up. Doesn't make any sense.
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+1

My only issue with these damn screws is that I keep on stripping them. Which is certainly odd because I thought the screws were designed to prevent exactly that.
 
samid said:
I fail to see how the type of the screw head affects how that screw holds up. Doesn't make any sense.
Click to expand...

The type of screw head does effect how the screw holds up if you take into consideration how easy the small torx are to strip.

I have a CRKT 'gentleman folder' that has a bunch of fancy scales attached to the liner. Long story short CRKT offered me a full store credit for the return of the knife due to the number of times I requested replacement screws from their free replacement program.

Yes I did buy proper torx wrenches, I have a massive set with every full stop between 1 and 20 but they still strip.
 
There's a little technique to loosening and tightening small torx screws. Just make sure you push into the screw before you start to turn. And don't let up on the pushing pressure while turning.

Works for small Philips screws too.
 
mat_890 said:
The type of screw head does effect how the screw holds up if you take into consideration how easy the small torx are to strip.

I have a CRKT 'gentleman folder' that has a bunch of fancy scales attached to the liner. Long story short CRKT offered me a full store credit for the return of the knife due to the number of times I requested replacement screws from their free replacement program.

Yes I did buy proper torx wrenches, I have a massive set with every full stop between 1 and 20 but they still strip.
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There is some technique to it. I have taken apart a bunch of folders and only stripped 1 or 2 small Torx screws because I thought I could break the loc tite bond with force. If you are destroying that many then you are doing something wrong. Why were you taking the knife apart that many times in the first place?

ETA: How many other types of screw types have been tried on a small screw? Torx were developed for a reason and that is so there is more surface area for the force to be distributed over compared to other types like a philips. I don't know what is best but I would imagine all very small screws are going to have the same problem.
 
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If you really dislike the head style, you can always swap them for what ever head style you like. Grab a thread sizer from home depot or lowes for five bucks and order them online, it should be pretty cheap.
 
singularity35 said:
There's a little technique to loosening and tightening small torx screws. Just make sure you push into the screw before you start to turn. And don't let up on the pushing pressure while turning.

Works for small Philips screws too.
Click to expand...

:thumbup: This.

I've always made a point to push into the screw head, while at the same time being careful to moderate my turning torque to gently coax the screw free. In ~20 years of collecting & tinkering with my knives, I've never stripped a torx screw.

I can see the potential for stripping the head if the driver fits too loose in the screw. Some 'inexpensive' drivers don't fit very accurately. In this case, I've put a layer of tape (masking or scotch) around the driver head, or even 'push' a piece of tape into the screw with the driver, to give it some grip. That's worked for me a time or two.
 
The quality of the torx driver can make a difference as well, particularly with the smaller screws. I have a set of Wiha micro drivers that are great, they grip noticeably better than the same sized drivers in cheapo generic brand.

+1 to applying pressure downwards as you unscrew. This is a technique i use on almost all screws of any size!

-- Adam
 
The TORX fastener system is superior to the Phillips system because there is much less of a tendency to cam out of the recess with the straight sided TORX tool.
 
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