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Spyderco Replaces Red Loctite on US Knives and Clarifies Disassembly Policy

April 6, 2017

This morning, Spyderco issued an official statement on their forum to announce they will no longer use red Loctite on their USA-made knives. The Golden, CO company will use medium strength Loctite in its place effective immediately. In addition, the statement clarified the company’s policy on knife disassembly as it relates to voiding Spyderco’s warranty.

Spyderco’s use of red Loctite 263 has come under intense scrutiny in recent months. Reviewers like Nick Shabazz and enthusiasts on the forums and other social media outlets have highlighted the difficulties that high-strength threadlocker poses to knife maintenance. Stripped screws were a common problem because of the force required to break Loctite 263’s hold.

In the statement posted by Spyderco’s Michael Janich, the company says they chose red Loctite because it provided a strong hold and the majority of their customers did not disassemble their knives.

But the critical discussions did not escape their notice. “After careful consideration, we have decided to change our internal practices effective immediately to use medium-strength Loctite in the assembly of all our US-made knives,” wrote Janich. “We hope that this change will make our knives easier for our customers to maintain and customize.” The company also detailed a process for unfastening Loctited screws, but users who still experience difficulty or simply do not wish to attempt it themselves can now send in their knife for a $5 screw-loosening service.

Janich noted that the change only concerns US-made Spyderco knives. Their facilities in Taiwan, Italy, China, and Japan source threadlocker locally. “We are currently researching those compounds and other available choices to achieve consistent threadlocking standards across our entire product line,” Janich said.

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Spyderco clarified a controversial point regarding general disassembly as well. “Our warranty has been widely misinterpreted to infer that disassembly of a Spyderco knife automatically voids its warranty. This is not the case.”

Spyderco plans on updating the policy on their website to avoid any more confusion. “We are currently in the process of refining the official wording of our warranty to make it clearer and address changes in the industry like aftermarket accessories.”

Knife featured in image: Spyderco Para Military 2

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