Pivot screw problems

[S-3 ranch]

Hello
I just got a k390 endela on Saturday 6/14/25 , and used it a couple times
At end of the day I found the pivot screw ( luckily) in my pocket
If a put some blue loktight on it does that void the warranty?
Or do I need to send it In ?
Never had the screws start falling out on me , ever ( even the frn scale screws were loose )
Is that a common issue with a Seki spyderco?

[8th_Note]

Hello
I just got a k390 endela on Saturday 6/14/25 , and used it a couple times
At end of the day I found the pivot screw ( luckily) in my pocket
If a put some blue loktight on it does that void the warranty?
Or do I need to send it In ?
Never had the screws start falling out on me , ever ( even the frn scale screws were loose )
Is that a common issue with a Seki spyderco?

Every time I get a new knife I remove the pivot screw, apply blue LocTite, and retighten to my desired pivot action. I do this as a matter of course. Most do not have LocTite. If they do, I clean off the old and apply my own so that I can set the pivot action to my preference.

I really don't think blue LocTite would void the warranty.

[Coastal]

Never had the screws start falling out on me , ever ( even the frn scale screws were loose )
Is that a common issue with a Seki spyderco?

In my experience: Body screws are often loose, pivot screws are sometimes loose, clip screws are never loose.

[Wandering_About]

I suggest checking all screws on Seki City knives. Have seen some come with very loose screws (especially body screws). I loc tite (242 or 243) them all.

[N. Brian Huegel]

Over the last 30 or so years that I have been repairing Spyderco knives for customers (replaced a pocket clip or screw, tightened a screw, taken apart and reassembled for cleaning, adjust a pivot, etc.) I have always used red Loctite Threadlocker. Based on the hundreds of Spyderco, Benchmade, CRKT, Kershaw, Zero Tolerance, Buck, Gerber, etc. knives that we have worked on (an average 3+ per week) with loose or lost screws, they either have no Loctite (60%) or have blue (40%). This is why we always use red. Very, very rarely does a knife come back that we have worked on (and we see quite a few repeats especially for bent clips) that the screws have loosened with red Loctite. What seems most important when adjusting screws is to use a quality Torx bit (we prefer Wiha) and make sure it is properly seated in the screw head by tapping on the end of the driver with a light hammer (I have a 1”x1”x4” piece of bronze) as this helps to prevent the driver from camming out and damaging the screw head. If the screw will not budge with a moderate amount of force, we then apply heat via a soldering iron to break the hold of any Loctite. Two Cents!

nb

[vivi]

Hello
I just got a k390 endela on Saturday 6/14/25 , and used it a couple times
At end of the day I found the pivot screw ( luckily) in my pocket
If a put some blue loktight on it does that void the warranty?
Or do I need to send it In ?
Never had the screws start falling out on me , ever ( even the frn scale screws were loose )
Is that a common issue with a Seki spyderco?

yes. I've had pivot screws either self loosen or fall out of the following models:

Military 1
Military 2
Para 2
Para 1
Police 3
Police 4
Police 4 LW
Native Chief G10
Native Chief LW
Dragonfly Salt
Pacific Salt 1
Pacific Salt 2
Pacific Salt 2 FFG LC200N
Catcherman
Szabo Folder
and others.....

I have no idea why.

I have loads of folders from other brands without this problem.

Sure, I can fix it with loc tite.

But why do I need to loctite all my spydercos with every single pivot adjustment, while I don't even have to think about using loc tite on my folders from other brands?

It's annnoying and I really wish Spyderco would change their pivot screw design so it isn't such an issue.

I can carry a folder from X brand for months without loc tite and the pivot stays put.

I can carry a Military with no loctite and have the pivot screw literally fall out by the end of a work day.

I don't understand it but I hate it.

[S-3 ranch]

Well we will see if loc tite gets it fixed?
This k390 has a heavy layer of protective grease applied at the factory to prevent patina
Imo this is the culprit?
So I used some 90% alcohol to slowly remove all the excess grease and then add loc tite to the pivot, then just tighten the body screws ,
So imo the more shipping grease a steel needs the more important it is to clean then check the screws, none of my seki vg 10 have come with a heavy or had any loose screws

[vivi]

I don't think it's the grease. I've had this happen on stainless models and salt models that had no grease. It's something about the type of fasteners they use for their pivots.

[Evil D]

This one also baffles me, because I've had the opposite experience. I have them loosen with extended use, but never so much that they've fallen out or gotten to a point during use that they felt unsafe. I mean extended use as in months between even checking to see if they're tight or loose. There must be something in how we're all using our knives, even when I was cutting car bumpers off everyday this wasn't an issue. All I can think of is I do take my apart and clean them, maybe I'm just doing that frequently enough to never let it get loose? And I do use blue loctite stick, and half the time with that I actually have to break the loctite loose, especially with body screws.