Pocket Clip a Little Tight? Go Easy W/Para 2

[Wowbagger]

A heads up.
On my latest Spyderco, a stellar Para 2, blurple with S110V, I was going to move the pocket clip to tip up. I know . . . pure madness. Mostly I prefer the Para 2 with the clip removed but lately I had been EDCing my all black DLC with the clip in tip up mode to get it out of the way of my fingers near the pivot and found it a winner so I wanted to run my new 110V that way.

First I just carried it in the factory configuration. The clip was a little bit tight so I used the method of hook a paracord loop on the clip and gentley (very gently/I did not over do it) pull out on the clip to bend the clip out a little. Granted it was tough to bend.

What I found next day when I went to move the clip to tip up was the screws looked like they had clear thread locker on them. Under magnification I discovered the threads were bent over and distorted (practically stripped). I was in a bit of a hurry so I threaded them in and tightened them good and snug but less than I normally would.

When I got home from work that eve I notice the pocket clip had side to side play (moving back and forth like a sick clock hand). First time I have ever experienced that in a pocket clip.

I started looking close at the situation and found the length of the clip screws to be significantly too short. They do not penetrate all the way through the steel liners. This boils down to only two or less full threads engaging the liners. Correct me if I am wrong but I recall the engineering standard for minimum thread engagement should be five threads. Hard to achieve on a knife with sheet metal liners. Robust and perfectly wonderful steel liners. The liners are just fine. Still lets not push it guys by not engaging ALL of the liner thickness.

Yes I realize :

• fasteners only come in stock lengths
• cutting longer fasteners down to a custom length is not a cost effective option.
• some knife reviewers go bull shit if they see a thread or two protruding on the inside of a knife.

I don't have a good solution, I'm just saying don't use the paracord pull method on this knife.
PS: . . . come to think of it I do have a solution. Possibly not too problematic for all concerned :
Longer screws and washers under the heads of the longer screws to limit penetration past inside of liner surface.

Me . . . I will cut down some longer screws (I already have some installed that are too long except the one that would hit the blade).
Tip for do it yourselfers : the pliers in the SAK Mechanic are perfect for gripping the screws to grind or saw them down.

 

[Joe_N]

Can't you just get replacement screws from Spyderco? I have a different manufacturer's knife with a tight clip and I tried to lever it up some but realized how much pressure I was putting on those tiny screws so I stopped. I decided to deal with a tight clip. I am relatively new to carrying knives with pocket clips, for about the last 40 years I have carried a Buck 303, so I don't know the accepted way to loosen tight clips. I am curious as to what is the accepted way to loosen a tight clip. I won't wear the tight clip on anything but jeans because I don't want to damage the fabric on a better pair of pants.

 

[kniferbro]

If I'm going to tug on a clip attached to a knife to ease the tension, I make sure to apply very firm pressure on top of the screws so that the threads are not bearing the full force of me pulling up on the clip. Better yet I take the clip off and put the screw end in a vice and bend it that way.

 

[FK]

+1 for removing the clip and bending in a vise.

Spyderco does not use thread locker on the clip screws for any of their folders.
This was confirmed by telephone call to customer service and it has been posted by Spyderco on their forum in the past.

Regards,
FK

 

[Honed_Edge]

Despite caution, sounds like the OP just pulled a little too hard when bending the clip. The accident was compounded by ramming a buggered up screw into a hole.

I must say that clip screws are Spyderco's weak link. I am a lefty and move all my clips. I've had to really fight and take my time to prevent stripping with clip screws that go into thin metal. This is especially so on the Para. On my wife's knife, the screws went in like shit, I knew they were jacked so I went for it. They have stayed tight for over a year so no worries. However, I will NEVER touch those screws again less it go back to Golden.

 

[Wowbagger]

Better yet I take the clip off and put the screw end in a vice and bend it that way.

Exactly.
I ALWAYS do that if I think the substrata the screws go into may be questionable. With the Para I KNEW the handle had good strong steel in there so I was sure it would be fine and would have been if the screws had been long enough. Next time I will look.

In the early days I always pulled the clip off but then someone mentioned the para cord method and they were right , it is an excellent method and has worked well for me on other seriously robust knives like the Para 2.

Depends some on the clip as well. Some clips can be changed relatively easily and others like on my Spyderco Tasman Salt it was easy to pull the clip way from the side of the knife but it was so well heat treated spring steel that it felt like I could bent the clip way and wrap it around my head and when let go it would go right back to the same place it was originally. I had to remove that one to bend it. Others like on my smaller Cold Steels and on this Para the steel in the clip is so thick that it takes a whole lot of force to bend the clip out let alone bend it out far enough to effect a permanent change. Again best to remove the clip to bend it.

Takes experience to use the paracord method. Best for the nebie to just remove the clip.
I put leather or dense card board in my vise jaws even though the vise has aluminum jaw pads and I use Knipex wrench pliers with a couple of layers of painter's tape on the smooth jaws. THAT is the safest way. Down side is one may have to put on and take off the clip more than once to get the right setting. As far as screws one can just order them on amazon etc.

 

[jswa2]

A couple related things:

* Screw engagement 'rule of thumb' (from: https://fieldfastener.com/2013/04/23/rules-of-thumb-for-fastening-and-joining/):

• The length of thread engagement in a steel nut member should be equal to or greater than one full diameter of the bolt and be of comparable strength (i.e. if the screw is ¼” diameter, the thread engagement needs to be a minimum of ¼”).

On a 2-56 screw (0.0860in diameter = 2.18mm), this means you need 4 or 5 threads for "full" engagement. Checking my Para2, that ain't the case! The liners are appx. 1.55mm thick (about 2-3 turns).

* 2-56 screws are easy to find online (as has been stated). google "USA knife maker" and you'll find a website with a variety of screw lengths, types, colors, etc. Also available are both taps and dies (useful for cleaning threads on damaged liners and custom-cut screws, respectively).

* The screw lengths are somewhat dependent on clip position (in reality, anyways). For instance, you could easily have a thread or two of over-penetration on a Para2 for a tip up clip, but that same screw length would impede the operation of the knife if installed on a clip tip down.