"Spinning" Pivot Screw?

R

RissyQuicks

Joined
Jul 29, 2013
Messages
177
I just got in my zt 0770cf today and I prefer manual to spring assisted knives so I wanted to take the torsion bar out. When I went to unscrew the pivot screw, I couldn't tighten or loosen it, it would just spin on both sides of the knife. The pivot would not tighten or loosen at all. Could this have to do with the loctite since it is a new knife? I've never had this happen before and I wanna take this frickin' spring assist out already. I've been waiting for months and months for this to release and now I can't even enjoy it :grumpy:
 
Best bet, send it back to ZT so they can sort it out. You could also try to heat the pivot area up to remove the loctite but it can be a real pain to deal with pivots that spin freely.
 
yes its the Loctite and I still don't see why so many people de-assist their Kershaws and ZTs I hope removing the torsion bar doesn't throw the blade centering off
 
I don't want to send it back to ZT, it's my last resort. Any ways to fix it and get the knife open?
 
Does the female end side have a torx if so maybe take two torx screwdrivers one to unscrew one to hold it in place.
 
Don't know if you guys are old enough to remember this, but way way back when in the days when tactical folding knives were a new thing, ALL the pivots were like this.

Domed on one side, hex or torx on the other, no D-shaped holes or anything.

It was pretty much standard procedure to have to side load the blade to jam the pivot in order to unscrew it if it was spinning. The double sided and keyed pivots are a relatively new development as far as things go.
 
i tried with torx bits on both sides and it still didnt work... maybe I'm too weak? I feel like at this point the pivot would have unscrewed
 
RissyQuicks said:
what do people mean by "side loading"? I'm having a hard time visualizing it
Click to expand...

I believe people are referring to wedging the blade into something and prying slightly to bind the pivot against the blade so that it won't spin. A better way to accomplish the same thing is to hold the knife in front of you with the cutting edge facing up, put the cutting edge under a table or other stationary object with an overhang of some sort and pull up hard to apply pressure to the pivot, then use a torx driver to loosen the pivot screw. The male threaded screw you want to remove should be on the side opposite the lock bar.

The best method is to use 2 drivers, if that's not working you've got some really stubborn loctite, applying some heat with a hair dryer should soften it enough to back the screw out.
 
If the threadlocker on there is really strong, you may have to heat it up to break the bond. For some people, hot water from a faucet has worked. Others have dunked the pivot area into boiling water. I usually just touch a soldering iron to the pivot for a few seconds (cheap-o 15W iron from Radio Shack, held on the pivot for about 10 seconds).
 
RissyQuicks said:
i tried with torx bits on both sides and it still didnt work... maybe I'm too weak? I feel like at this point the pivot would have unscrewed
Click to expand...

Are you using one torx bit on a side at a time? If so it will spin regardless of the side. You need to put a bit in each side. Also the hot water doesn't stop the pivot from spinning it melts the locktite.
 
Is it spinning on you even with Torx screwdrivers holding both sides? Hold the one on the side with the liner lock steady, and turn the side on the non-locking scale.

I've never tried hot water, as it doesn't seem like it would get hot enough. Based on the Loctite Data Sheet for their threadlocker 242, it takes temperatures up to 250C (482F) to completely break the threadlocker. Many hobbyist soldering irons can probably get close to that. Water, of course, is limited to 100C. You probably don't have to heat it up fully to to 250C loosen the threadlocker, but you may need to at least go beyond what you can do with water.

Personally, I left my 0770CF assisted. You might try using it as an AO for a while. There aren't thumbstuds, so even as a manual flipper, you're still going to have to open it in one quick motion. The AO just makes that easier.
 
i hold the torx driver on the locking side tightly and it the pivot still wont loosen up. The only way it moves is when it spins. maybe ill try side loading it but for now I guess it will be AO. I prefer manual because I appreciate the smoothness of opening and closing manual knifes compared to AO. Closing a knife with AO to me makes it seem choppy and cheap IMO
 
RissyQuicks said:
tried dipping it in hot water for 20-30 seconds 3 times and the pivot is still spinning on me
Click to expand...

You gonna have to boil that sucker for a few minutes to loosen the loctite. I've done this on three different knives and it worked like a charm on two, never could get the third one to unscrew though. Boil for 5 mins.
 
You really can't turn each side of the pivot and unscrew it? Even with loctite... just twist bro! may be hard but you can do it....
 
You can just try and force that damn thing apart, and if you ruin the screws just contact Kershaw for new ones.
 
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