Clip Fatigue

Hopkins · #1

Firstly, hello!

I live in the UK and, a few years ago, I purchased the "UK Penknife" (3", S30V, non-locking), which has served it's purpose as a handy tool extremely well. However, I carry it virtually everywhere clipped inside my pocket but have discovered the clip has a tendency to latch onto certain things that I brush past. Aside form the risk of loss (which luckily I have avoided!) this causes the clip to bend up over time. I have corrected this several times by dismantling the knife (which I would have done for cleaning purposes anyway) and bending the clip back into shape. Unfortunately, however, over time this has weakend the clip so that now it is very prone to bending, even with relatively minor catches that it would previously have resisted.

Does anyone know of a Spyderco spares outlet in the UK who might be able to help me? The company who I originally bought the knife off are no longer in business. Perhaps there is some way to fix the metal - I don't know anything about tempering, but perhaps shoving the clip into a barbecue for a bit of time would help!

Thanks in advance.

The Deacon · #2

IIRC, Heinnie Haynes is the UK distributor for Spyderco. He may have the clips or, if not, may be able to get one for you.

HellHound · #3

Over temporing it in the bbq pit will not only leave it prone to bending but even to braking,with a higher leavel of heat exposure the steel will become brital, but lets hear what the steel experts have to say.Maybe exact timing of heating and then cooling could help out.

Guilo · #4

Putting the clip in the barbeque probably would be more likely to mess it up more than fix it. I am by no means an expert, and have no idea of how to heat treat a pocket clip, but it would probably be a better bet to just get a new clip, because you'd have to heat the clip up to the proper temperature, and cool it at the proper speed to get the correct ratio of strength and flexibility. Cool it too fast, and it'll get brittle, cool it too slow and it will be soft. Now if you end up getting a new clip, and don't care too much about what happens to the one you have now... you could try putting it in the oven at 550* or so and let it soak for maybe 10 minutes, then take it out and let it cool down... I'm not sure what that would do but some steels are tempered that way, but I'd only try that if you are getting a new clip.

Hopkins · #5

Thanks for the advice! I did rather suspect that a tempering requires more than just "bunging it in the barbecue" :D As suggested, I may try it out of interest after securing a replacement!

Hopkins · #6

Hennie Haynes stock no spare parts, but they suggested that I contact Spyderco via the Contact page, which I will do now.

bohica1998 · #7

Hopkins wrote:Hennie Haynes stock no spare parts, but they suggested that I contact Spyderco via the Contact page, which I will do now.

Contact Charlynn in Warranty & Repair. She may be able to help you out with getting a replacement.

jzmtl · #8

Seems to me the metal is fatigued so it now bends easier, the tempering is same as before so you can't really fix that.

Guilo · #9

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you annealed and then tempered the metal, wouldn't it realign the crystal structure and strengthen it again?

The Deacon · #10

Guilo wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you annealed and then tempered the metal, wouldn't it realign the crystal structure and strengthen it again?

Yes, it would. Just not sure if that's something the OP could reasonably expect to do successfully. Think that would take someone with a fair bit of metalworking experience. I know there's a 99.9% chance I'd screw it up.

ChrisR · #11

If it was me I'd just get/buy a handful of spare wire clips from Spyderco ... they're easy to swap-out and the same clips can be used on other knives too - assuming the OP buys more Spydies in the future ... it's a fair bet he will :D

BuffaloBill · #12

probably easiest is just call spyderco get the spare clip. very easy process. I've done it.

Guilo · #13

The Deacon wrote:Yes, it would. Just not sure if that's something the OP could reasonably expect to do successfully. Think that would take someone with a fair bit of metalworking experience. I know there's a 99.9% chance I'd screw it up.

Yeah, it would take experience, that's for sure.

Hopkins · #14

Thanks for all the other responses. I spoke to the spare parts line yesterday and they can send me a clip for $5.99 plus $5 postage to the UK, which is very reasonable. I was a bit confused on the phone because the lady said that it came with the screw to hold the clip in, but as far as I can see the screw holds that end of the body together too, not just the clip. Anyway, I will fix it myself one last time and try also bending the front of the clip down a bit to try to avoid any more catches. If that fails I will do as ChrisR suggests and buy a few clips in one go.

ChrisR · #15

You're correct - the screw that holds the clip works as a pair with another screw on the other side (one forms an internally threaded tube and the other screws into it). Good to hear you have a replacement - Spyderco is excellent at follow-up service and I believe replacement clips (for all models) are commonly requested :)