Taking knives apart for maintenance?

Noctis3880 · Oct 12, 2010

This is a real pain to actually do, as I seem to have an ugly habit of stripping the torx screws. But a few of my knives are overdue for some internal cleaning, most notably my heavily used Endura ZDP-189. And since I got a nice set of buffing wheels and compounds, I've been toying with the idea of buffing the washers to a mirror finish to see if that smooths out the opening.

First thing I need right now is a good torx kit. I bought a kit from Sears, but I get the impression that even though their products are made in the US, they have that same "Made in China" PoS quality as I stripped nearly all of the drivers. The other torx drivers I bought off of eBay seemed to have inconsistent sizes, as two drivers with the same supposed T-5 ended up one one fitting the screw while the other one wiggled around loosely.

Second thing I need to know is how often do knives have threadlocker holding the screws in place? I tried to move the clip on my ZT 0350CB to a tip up carry position, but stripped the screw. Now it just seemed a little odd to have loctite on the screws holding the damn clip in place.
I also need to know the best method of removing the loctite(fire from my zippo lighter, soldering iron, etc). Also curious if the heat would damage some parts(G10 scales, titanium, FRN, Carbon Fiber, backspacer).

I would also appreciate any tips or tricks for checking that the torx driver is the right size or jamming the driver with a lot of downward force before turning or squirting WD-40 on the screw before twisting it, things like that.

Getting real sick and tired of these stripped screws

Jason B. · Oct 12, 2010

Many will say otherwise but I like the BM blue tool and will get their new tool set soon. Its always worked and never broke, stripped snapped or twisted, it also fits the screw heads very well. Knowing how to not strip or damage a screw comes with time, it helps though if you have a understanding of how the tool should fit and the amount of torque a screw or bolt can handle.

Anything held together by screws or bolts also has a torque pattern and if not correctly followed the tolerances will not be correct.

When it comes to re-finishing PB washers 2k sandpaper is all I use.

unit · Oct 12, 2010

Snap-on drivers/bits are devilishly expensive, but I believe they are worth it. The tolerances seem to be the tightest of anything I have used and the hardness of the steel prevents the bit from deforming (which will then lead to sloppy tolerance and rounding).

Regarding taking knives apart...Do your homework first. There are many opportunities for error/injury/damage. It seems pretty simple (and it often is...once you understand exactly how to re-assemble it correctly).

Regarding polishing the washers...I am not sure you will improve the performance much. I generally buff them with a terry cloth towel and reinstall with some CRK grease. I feel like the performance is far better than stock/new, and slightly better than "well broken in". Polishing one surface without putting an equal polish on the other mating surface will likely just take you back to pre-break in performance. Also polishing those thin flimsy washers will be a challenge. (just some suggestions/thoughts)

OTOH, if the washers are damaged (gouged, deformed, pitted, whatever), I would just replace them.

Good luck!

audiopile · Oct 12, 2010

Frankly -your experience with striping torx seems strange ? I've taken a fair number of knives apart in the last few years and can only remember one knife ( A Spyderco) that just wasn't co-operative.
Perhaps a machinist or tool maker could chime in at this point to explain the difference between allen sets and torx? In 50 plus years of screwing up screws and bolts - it's almost always a case of grabbing the wrong tool/bit that is responsible ('course some Chinese hardware is essentially single use- different problem). If a torx doesn't fit -don't use it. Second big deal - get a good sized screwdriver "handle" for your bits - this is a tremendous assist in actually getting torque to the bit/bolt. Finally - if you are using some sort of electric driver to disassemble knives STOP - wrong tool for this job.
Finally - if you ever intend to sell knives you've worked on - please do us all a favour and go easy on the locktite - almost none is all it takes. And if you've purchased knives used this may be the explanation for your problems - wrong "colour" or quantity of locktite can definitely effect the ability to remove small bolts.
Agree that tiny amounts of Chris Reeve grease do the trick.
Probably a great debate could be had over the importance of smoothing a washer versus keeping it flat - but if the washer's are bad - I'd replace 'em rather than try to hand finish them. Bad washers are another hazard of used knife purchases - some guys just need to leave well enough alone before they screw up a perfectly usable tool.

Bill DeShivs · Oct 12, 2010

Perhaps you should not be trying to take your knives apart.
It's not necessary for cleaning, and I doubt you can sucessfully buff washers.
Clean the knife with hot, soapy water; dry, and flush with WD 40 to remove residual moisture and provide some protection in inaccessible areas. Dry the WD 40 off, and lubricate.

THG · Oct 12, 2010

I don't open my knives up anymore because I keep stripping screws. All I do now is blast them with water, heat them up win a hair dryer, and then put some oil on the pivot after it cools off.

audiopile said:
Bad washers are another hazard of used knife purchases - some guys just need to leave well enough alone before they screw up a perfectly usable tool.

Tell me about it. I bought a Delica from a guy here who had changed the scales with another Delica's. That guy sucked so bad at putting it back together that when I opened it up, I found WRINKLED washers inside. Luckily I had some spares sitting around.

orca8589 · Oct 13, 2010

Brownell's makes fantastic tools - the best fitting I've ever owned or used. And they make a great little stubby hex handle too, so you can be a lot steadier near those screws.

~Chris

audiopile · Oct 13, 2010

Second the Brownell's tools - really excellent tools - that given the quality- are well worth what they charge for them.
While I buy the "unobtanium" tool once in a while off of the SnapOn truck and have never been disappointed in the quality of their tools -they are a tad pricey. OTOH - when you're looking for the odd/unusual tool -say a small box wrench to hold the very small nuts that go on the bolts that hold phono cartridges onto tonearms/headshells -these guys have got it or can have it by their next visit. I'd also have to say that SnapOn tools are a once in a lifetime purchase - they last.

unit · Oct 13, 2010

audiopile said:
Second the Brownell's tools - really excellent tools - that given the quality- are well worth what they charge for them.
While I buy the "unobtanium" tool once in a while off of the SnapOn truck and have never been disappointed in the quality of their tools -they are a tad pricey. OTOH - when you're looking for the odd/unusual tool -say a small box wrench to hold the very small nuts that go on the bolts that hold phono cartridges onto tonearms/headshells -these guys have got it or can have it by their next visit. I'd also have to say that SnapOn tools are a once in a lifetime purchase - they last.

Not familiar with Brownell, but I wanted to pile on/agree a bit with regard to Snap-on...they really are fantastic.

A #6 torx driver bit cost me 5 bucks! That seems like a lot, but I have worked on perhaps $10,000 worth of knives with it and never had an incident other than dropping/losing screws. My point is, even if you buy the 5 most common sizes of bits and put them in their ratcheting hand driver...you still will have spent far less than the cost of one decent knife.

I do not work for Snap-on, but I probably sell a lot of their tools. I spend a lot of time working on, modifying, improving, using, and fixing expensive knives (which are tools)...I take pride in them! Doesn't it make sense to also take pride in the tools I use on those tools?