Newbie Knife Question

J

jbib

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I have a Spyderco Resilience that I want to put custom scales on. So, using the proper screwdriver (husky star head) I find that it appears that the screw is frozen in. Using my finger on the screw on the other side I can feel it moving with my turning of the screwdriver. My first concern is, “do no harm”. But am respectfully requesting some ideas on how to free up the locked screw without stripping the screw? Thank you!
 
Hello jbib. Warranty aside (Spyderco changed it's disassembly / warranty policy a while back but there might be some grey area) I find the "tap" method quite useful in the scenario you are describing. Put your Torx bit in the screw head and whack the end of the bit with a mallet. This force should be enough to break up the threadlocker and now you will be able to turn the screw out. Another method is to apply heat with a sodering iron directly to the screw head to melt the threadlocker. Good luck.
 
You can use some rubber to get pressure to the rotation pin.
I also used super glue to stop that pin to rotate.

The already given tricks are also fine.
 
Heat, as stated above.
I typically use a hairdryer and get the screw as hot as possible (I’ve used a soldering iron before, DMD’s suggestion is a good one).

If you can get one scale/liner all the way off, you can heat the stuck screw then grab the barrel spacer with pliars and try your torx on the screw again. I had to resort to this trick one time with a Tenacious. The real answer is heat and quality tools.

Good luck!
 
The other side you feel moving, you can try to tighten that side so the movement stops. Then try loosening the frozen side again. This has worked pretty good for me.

In terms of heating the screw, I would use a soldering iron, heating the opposite side you are trying to loosen. You don't want to over heat the screw you are trying to break free, and have it strip or snap. Using the iron on the opposite side will transfer the heat where it needs to go.
 
Lock open the blade and torque it to one side (and hold it like that). Should be enough pressure to hold the pivot tube while you unscrew the pivot screw.
 
I did not have the knife locked open. I will give it a try, thanks to all who have provided me advice.
 
jbib said:
I have a Spyderco Resilience that I want to put custom scales on. So, using the proper screwdriver (husky star head) I find that it appears that the screw is frozen in. Using my finger on the screw on the other side I can feel it moving with my turning of the screwdriver. My first concern is, “do no harm”. But am respectfully requesting some ideas on how to free up the locked screw without stripping the screw? Thank you!
Click to expand...

So you are turning the screw on the front of the knife and the screw on the back is turning with it so that way it doesn’t unscrew? Does this describe your situation?

First of all you need two torx screw drivers; one for turning the front and one for the back screw to stabilize it and stop it from spinning. There is also threadlocker in the screws which can be overcome with the methods described above. I haven’t had much luck with the tap tap method and more with the heating method.

Before you try heat try leaving the knife in the freezer for a few hours (I would give it 4 hours) this can make the thread locker brittle and easier to break. Once you pull it out of the freezer use the double star screwdrivers method one on each side of the knife turning in opposite direction. If this doesn’t work you’re going to have to try the heat method to soften the threadlocker.

Careful not to strip the screw drive recesses. Husky torx wrenches (as you called them star drivers) are not very good and notorious for stripping screws drive recesses. Really you should be using Wiha, Wera or Bondhus brand tools which are much better quality and help prevent stripping by interfacing with the drive recess better.
 
Lapedog said:
So you are turning the screw on the front of the knife and the screw on the back is turning with it so that way it doesn’t unscrew? Does this describe your situation?

First of all you need two torx screw drivers; one for turning the front and one for the back screw to stabilize it and stop it from spinning. There is also threadlocker in the screws which can be overcome with the methods described above. I haven’t had much luck with the tap tap method and more with the heating method.

Before you try heat try leaving the knife in the freezer for a few hours (I would give it 4 hours) this can make the thread locker brittle and easier to break. Once you pull it out of the freezer use the double star screwdrivers method one on each side of the knife turning in opposite direction. If this doesn’t work you’re going to have to try the heat method to soften the threadlocker.

Careful not to strip the screw drive recesses. Husky torx wrenches (as you called them star drivers) are not very good and notorious for stripping screws drive recesses. Really you should be using Wiha, Wera or Bondhus brand tools which are much better quality and help prevent stripping by interfacing with the drive recess better.
Click to expand...
Great advice here.
 
Use a soldering iron tip. The other methods are just too involved.

Make sure you're using the right size driver. With Torx, a smaller one will fit and seem to grip, and will work when loose OK. But if they're tight, you'll strip the head for sure. Try the next larger size when you think you've got the right one, just to be sure.
 
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