Red loctite

[Paul Manning]

Hey there - I am an admin for the Spyderco group on Facebook (not affiliated with the company, just a very very large fan page), and I have been seeing a plethora of threads regarding red loctite on Spyderco knives. I have kept quiet so far, I try not to speak unless I have something intelligent to say - and I am not sure what the full story is. Is Spyderco using red loctite on all threads now? Thanks

[Evil D]

I've never seen it on any threads. What knives are we finding it on? I've only ever seen blue.

[Paul Manning]

David, I do not take my knives apart - no need. However, I have seen members comment on every model you could think of (PM2, Military, Manix2, delica4, endura4, Yojimbo2, etc..). At first, I thought they were just plain wrong... But I have seen a trend continue for the past few months, which led me to ask the forum. I think we will have to wait for Sal to respond on this one.

[valenciamanu]

The red loctite is very strong.I do not see it suitable for knives. What can happen is that the color code of other manufacturers does not correspond to the one of locttite.

[Paul Manning]

The red loctite is very strong.I do not see it suitable for knives. What can happen is that the color code of other manufacturers does not correspond to the one of locttite.

That was my guess too. However, members have commented on the strength required to remove the screws - honestly, if it truly is red loctite - the only way to remove the hardware correctly is with heat.

[Evil D]

Could be a non corresponding color, could also just be that Spyderco do not want people taking apart their knives, period. It has been said many times that screw construction is not there for us to tinker with, it's there to make repairs easier.

[Paul Manning]

Evil D. My thoughts exactly. and I have NO problem with putting loctite on every piece of hardware....except for the clip screws....which some members have commented on..

[Still Working]

It is not a great thing to have too strong of loctite on those tiny little screws. Sometimes you may care less about warranty than you do about fixing whatever issue is going on with your knife, or doing some mod that you know will void your warranty. It is your knife after all. Loctite should be strong enough to prevent the screw from loosening, yet still allow removal without destruction. I don't want riveted quality knives, and if I drop a knife and break off the tip maybe I want to disassemble it, chock up the blade in a vise, and grind it into something usable (for example). No sense in overkill on the loctite, in my opinion.

[Nate]

I recently bought a foliage green XHP Manix second hand. When I switched the clip to left hand carry I was disappointed to find what looked like red loctite stains on the g10 and in the screw holes. The screws came right out though without heating or anything. :confused:

I assumed it was something the previous owner did and didn't bother to ask about it, but now I'm wondering if it was factory?

[SG89]

Evil D. My thoughts exactly. and I have NO problem with putting loctite on every piece of hardware....except for the clip screws....which some members have commented on..

The first thing i do with every Spydie i buy is remove the clip...never seen red, only blue. Have bought a lot of spydies the past 2 years.

[wrdwrght]

Red, NIB? I'm skeptical.

[Matt Deaner]

A few of my newer ones had red locktite. That being said - there are varying formulations of the red variant and not all is as "permanent" as one might believe. I haven't had a situation where heat didn't work.

[sabb8pro2]

I remember something about Spyderco using a new, clear loctite on the BHQ pm2 that was stronger than the standard blue. Have the majority of the comments on FB been about red residue specifically or just having difficulty removing screws?

[Liquid Cobra]

I take apart almost every knife I own and I've seen a change in how difficult it is to disassemble the knives made in Golden. I don't know if it's red loctite but I can say that its red in color and extremely difficult to unscrew without heat.

I'm thinking it's to discourage folks from disassembling their knives which should reduce the number of knives sent in for repair from poor disassembly/assembly. But I'm also seeing a lot of folks messing up their knives because of the red loctite. Things like the screw driver popping out and scratching a deep mark into g10, stripped screws, stripped screw heads etc. I can't help but think this will increase the number of knives that get sent in. Voided warranty or not.

Speaking of warranty, does adjusting the pivot count as disassembly? Because with red loctite you can't adjust the pivot which is kind of a big deal on a knife with say..a compression lock.

If you know what you're doing it's not much to overcome it without doing damage but it's a pain nontheless.

[FCM415]

I just took apart a CF M4 Para2 that I got SECOND HAND. Pivot and stop pin screws didn't budge until I used a heat gun on them. I was taken aback when I saw that it had red loctite on the threads. I've never seen red on Spydercos ever...only blue. I really hope that it was from the original owner and not factory application.

[Larry_Mott]

I have had red thread lock goo (not assuming it is Loctite brand) on the clip screws on a couple of mine. Can't recall which models right now, but the came tip down.

[The Deacon]

I doubt there's a national standard, much less an international standard, color code for thread locking compound strengths and, since Spyderco knives are currently being manufactured in five countries, it's not impossible that one or more of them use something red that's not as strong as red Loctite.

IMHO, this is one of those questions where "we" can speculate but we really have to wait for someone from Spyderco to chime in if we want a definitive answer.

[demoncase]

I doubt there's a national standard, much less an international standard, color code for thread locking compound strengths and, since Spyderco knives are currently being manufactured in five countries, it's not impossible that one or more of them use something red that's not as strong as red Loctite.

IMHO, this is one of those questions where "we" can speculate but we really have to wait for someone from Spyderco to chime in if we want a definitive answer.

You're 100% right.

Most generic threadlocking materials are colored red for no other reason that it's easy to spot on a thread....That doesn't mean they are stronger or weaker than "Loctite Blue"

I've met 'blue' thread locks that were mild to the point of useless and others that needed an oxy-torch to soften up on an M20 thread (A bad day)

Even within Loctite's own range there is variation on colour- High strength can be red or green for even a truncated selection of their products
(Here's an example on page 6 http://www.loctite.com.au/aue/content_d ... _Guide.pdf)
Do note that the lower strength material (222) is purple.....On a thread or on black G10, with no comparison, this does look redder than purple

Speculation- it may be the 'red' we're anecdotally seeing is the same strength as the 'blue'' previously but of a different application viscosity.

As suggested- it's best to wait on a Spyderco person to give the official answer

[bearfacedkiller]

I have seen a grey or clear thread locker on a few that has been very strong. My Maxamet Manix was the most recent. I have not seen red.

[ejames13]

This is from Charlynn in warranty. I asked several months ago.

"We use loctite 243 (the blue one) or 262 (the red one) depending on the screw."

I've purchased several Paramilitary 2 sprints in the past few months. Of the ones I've disassembled, every single one had red loctite on the body screws, but I didn't notice any on the clip screws.