Pin to screw construction

[saywhat?]

Another thread got me thinking about tinkering on my Ocelt, specifically switching from pin to screw construction to allow for easier cleaning and switching to a wire clip. To me, the knife is well worth the time and effort because I love how it handles cleaning game.

I have no idea where to begin with the pins. I saw some screw kits on knifekit.com.

Any recommendations?

 

[yablanowitz]

The same smart-aleck recommendation I usually give to these threads: Don't. If you have to ask how, you probably shouldn't try it. It will involve drilling out the pins (or drilling off the heads and punching the pins out) then drilling the holes larger to accomodate the screws. The lockbar and blade are both heat-treated and the blade at least is probably as hard as your drill bits. Drilling the lockbar holes larger may weaken it, causing it to break down the line.

I would suggest sending it to someone like STR to have anything that major done. They were pinned for a reason.

 

[STR]

Unless you are glutton for punishment enough to be able to manage to get it back together and properly there is always risk involved. Even the best falter sometimes and I certainly have. If the knife is foreign made as about half of the Spydercos seem to be these days if not more chances are good the pins are a proprietary size that will require you buy carbide drills to redrill every hole to the new size barrels with threads. Just doing this can change the relationship of many of the parts and how they mate up and is not for the faint at heart. On some parts you may not have the option of drilling a bigger size without breaking through opening up a hole to ruin a part if you even try depending on the tolerances and current sized hole already in there. The minute you take a dremmel to a knife its warranty is voided for all and any warranty coverage even if you did skip around other parts like the blade and anything else. Just because you didn't modify a blade doesn't mean its covered but the parts not covered are only those you messed with.

Its very easy to have more than the value of the folder involved in getting one back together and if you have to buy expensive carbide drill bits in various sizes and then custom fit barrels which may or may not need cut to the proper length and cut and shape screws to the proper length as well as redrill all your scales and other hardware you can easily get in way over your head. Also, the second you change the relationship between say a lock bar and a blade by drilling out bigger holes which will sometimes make the lockbar sit such that it no longer sinks as deep into the contact notched in the blade you have changed not only the relationship of these parts and how they are designed but the safety factor for reliable use as well and unless you know how the lock is supposed to be and can get it done precisely enough to pass testing you may end up with vertical play, and easily defeated lock or both. The list of potential disasters is endless from that scenario among which would be sutures in a nearby ER adding to the cost of the modification.

STR