Spyderco service really this bad

[bigdane71]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and to Spyderco in general. I decided to buy a couple after seeing a lot of positive reviews on YouTube. That appears to be a mistake. While trying to remove the pocket clip I was unable to remove the screw and ended up rounding it off with my torx screwdriver. I sent it in for repair and they sent it back with a letter saying there was nothing they could do. Now I am out the cost of shipping both ways and I have a less than great knife. Is it common to get a bad one out of the box and be told to suck it by Spyderco?

[TazKristi]

Hi, bigdane71:
Welcome to our forum. I'm sorry for your disappointment. Could you please send me a private message with your name and email address? I'd like to look into this for you.

Kristi

[Mushroom]

You stripped the screw - You didn't get a bad one out of the box - You took it out of the box and made it bad.

[Manixguy@1994]

Simple answer - No . Taz just recent post says it all . MG2

[WilliamMunny]

Generally Spyderco service is amazing. For something like this, you did damage the knife, but they should have provided the option to fix the knife for a fee. TazKristi will take good care of you and get it sorted out.

[Hopsbreath]

I don’t have experience with this scenario because whenever I’ve stripped a screw I considered it my fault and dealt with it accordingly. Trying to shame the company for a screw up I created must be that 4D chess I keep hearing the kids talk about.

[Chieftjs]

That's really interesting because about two years ago I did the exact same thing. I sent the knife in with a letter explaining that I knew I had screwed up and was willing to pay for it if they'd give me a call or email with the cost. Instead I got the knife back in better condition than I had sent it and even sharper than it had come out of the box originally. Zero cost. Spyderco has earned my business.

[KeepCalm&Carrion]

Yeah, sounds like you might’ve accidentally stripped the screw head. They might be a little pricey up front, but this is why good tools are worth it.

Regarding Spyderco’s response, if everything happened as you say it did, then I’d be disappointed too. It looks like they’re gonna help get you sorted out here and now, though, and I hope it works out well for ya.

[RustyIron]

I’m gonna need a picture.

[bigdane71]

I did not strip the screw. They did. I understand that mechanical abilities vary by person. But that ain't it. Sorry to offend the fans. I would have drilled it out myself and retapped it but didn't want to void the warranty which I now know is worthless

[bigdane71]

By strip the screw I am referring to the threads of the screw.

[Mage7]

It bothers me how much people want to assume and insist this is the OP's fault. If they were trying to remove a screw that was installed at the factory, and it took so much torque before it could be backed out that it resulted in the Torx head stripping, that points way more to that screw being over-torqued and/or having an excessive amount of thread locker applied at the factory.

Take a look around Reddit... Screws coming out of the factory slathered in loctite is a pretty common issue. There's so many threads about how to apply heat or impact to break the thread locker, that it really wouldn't surprise me that's what happened here. It's not fair to assume the end user knows what is and is not an excessive amount of torque and to quit trying to force it, and especially not when it comes to these tiny little Torx heads that are holding the pocket clips.

They're usually like T4-T6... I don't exactly have gorilla arms or anything, and I bought a torque driver because I kept accidentally over torquing during re-assembly. If a person isn't familiar with them, then they might just assume it needs a little bit more muscle, and then what's going to give? Either the screw or the bit, and that's another thing... People are assuming he's using crummy bits, but if the screw head stripped, it was the screw that was softer than the bit--in a bit (pun intended) of irony, the cheaper soft ones usually result in less damage to the knife since the bit will take the damage instead.

If Spyderco sells these knives with the expectation that users will be removing the clip screws, and even markets that as a feature with customizable clip positions, then either they need to include specific information in their instructions detailing what is excessive torque and to avoid it, and what specialty tools a user would need to do so, or to just offer warranty repair for the few occasions it happens. It's not really fair to expect an end user to know these things themselves, unless you think being able to unscrew a clip and swap its position should require a user having the same type of esoteric knowledge about threaded fasteners that something like DIY car repair would. I know a lot of Spyderco users have that overlap of mechanical inclination and being a knife enthusiast, but not all will.

[sal]

Hi Bigdane,

What model?

It seems like Kristi is looking into the response. I have emailed customer service to see what they say. I'm sure Charlynn will get back to me. I don't know that there are many assumptions at this time, other than the customer is not happy. It's sad that a customer's first post is a diss about the company, but is it what it is. We'll find out the problem and serve the customer properly if given he opportunity.

Screw construction does present it's problems, especially where "glue" is concerned.

sal

[JayHenMac]

I did not strip the screw. They did. I understand that mechanical abilities vary by person. But that ain't it. Sorry to offend the fans. I would have drilled it out myself and retapped it but didn't want to void the warranty which I now know is worthless

In reading this thread, you've received input and assistance from multiple people at Spyderco, including the man who started it all himself.
Please don't judge based on one interaction. It sounds like the "bad" customer service is getting white-glove treatment. There are ways to contest a warranty rejection without trash talking. Be civil.

[Ramonade]

I don't understand, Is it the torx print that was rounded or the screw threads that were mingled ? Or both ?

In both situations it can be an annoying thing, happened to me several times years ago. Every company people you'll interact with here are very nice and understanding people, they'll help ya. Hope this gets resolved to your liking.

[bigdane71]

Not trying to pick a fight. I emailed customer service and the reply I received appeared to be an AI generated response about sharpening service. I did not attempt to reach them by phone. From my perspective I attempted to contact them twice. Once by email and once by doing the paperwork and mailing it in.

[bigdane71]

I guess it does say disassembly isn't covered.

[Danke]

[bigdane71]

I get ya. However, I will maintain that the amount of torque required to remove the screw can't be by design. I am not blameless in this situation. Neither is Spyderco. A few decades repairing European motorcycles gives me a certain amount of experience removing fasteners of this variety. In my opinion this is a manufacturing defect. They say it isn't. Seems you agree with them. Fair enough.

[Mushroom]

"While trying to remove the pocket clip I was unable to remove the screw and ended up rounding it off with my torx screwdriver." - Understood.

"I did not strip the screw. They did." - Really?

"By strip the screw I am referring to the threads of the screw." - Conflicting messages. 404 Error.