Manufacturer question

[FortyTwoBlades]

Less stripping during manufacturing, attractive, mildly tamper resistant to dissuade the non-tool-savvy folk from tearing them apart. It's pretty much the ideal mechanical fastener for knives.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

My Emerson Commander has flathead for the big pivot screw and Phillips for the small screws in the handle and the clip.

I could almost believe that torx are used to discourage the inexperienced user from messing up in taking his knife apart. As noted above, anyone really into this will have a good torx set handy for the few sizes we generally see. (Go Wiha! )

That. ^^

Cynical as it sounds, I'd have to assume mfrs. have come to hate all the 'warranty' returns (or attempts at such) to fix problems created by unnecessary and inexperienced tinkering. I'm pretty sure some makers aren't shy about saying it either, when asked. This is actually why the 'security' torx screws are used in the first place (otherwise called 'tamper-proof' or 'tamper-resistant' screws). I'd think if a mfr wanted the end-user to be able to disassemble a knife, they'd at least provide detailed instructions on how to do it (some mfrs. are thoughtful enough to do this; Chris Reeve Knives comes to mind, and they use simple hex screws). The absence of such instructions, the presence of loctited screws, and the frequent warnings of voiding the warranty by disassembly, collectively sort of sends a strong message that the mfr probably doesn't want people to tinker with them in the first place. There's no incentive to encourage it, especially for a maker of low/mid-priced knives in particular, as it costs the mfr time and money to dedicate employees' time and resources to fixing user-created problems that shouldn't happen in the first place.


David