How To Change Blade On Dewalt Utility Knife
If you purchase something through our links, ToolGuyd might earn an chapter commission.
This last holiday season I purchased a 2-pack of Dewalt utility knives for $fifteen. The packet came with their premium retractable utility knife (DWHT10295) and metal retractable utility knife (DWHT10319).
I really like the premium retractable utility knife, as it has a nice weight, the over-molding feels good in my hand, and the curved not-folding design gives information technology more leverage for making deeper cuts. For instance, information technology was easier for me to trim door shims in i pass than with the previous folding pocketknife I was using.
Stuart's Note: This knife was one of my "top 5 hottest new tools" from Dewalt's 2016 media event, and has been favorite everyday utility pocketknife (tied with this Milwaukee) for a while now.
After irresolute the bract a few times, I noticed pushing the blade release lever didn't ever release the blade. I didn't call back much virtually it, I'd just retract and extend the blade and it would work. Then a few days ago information technology stopped working birthday.
These aren't expensive knives, just they sure cost a lot more than simpler utility knives that you tin purchase for a couple of bucks. The actress toll is because of the more ergonomic design and the tool-less bract change mechanism. If the tool-less blade change doesn't work though, this knife is almost useless in the field, because information technology requires pliers to remove the carabiner clip and a Torx screwdriver to open up.
While I was taking the knife apart to change the blade, I figured I'd get to the bottom of the faulty blade changing machinery. Merely first let's have a moment to sympathise how it works.
Step 1: First you fully extend the blade, then you printing down on lever 1, shown higher up.
Step 2: This is a first class lever, so when you lot printing on the outside part, the opposite end inside the pocketknife pushes upward (the photograph is upside down).
Step three: If and only if the blade is fully extended, the cease of lever ane pushes upward against the finish of the 2nd course lever two shown higher up.
Footstep 4: Pushing up on lever 2 releases the blade lock, allowing you lot to pull the blade out and supercede information technology with a fresh one.
At this bespeak I'd like to notation that I think it's a pretty cool design to apply the same spring for both the bract release lever and the bract retraction lever.
What I institute is that the lever 1 can slip off the fulcrum, which causes it to miss the contact point on lever 2. The fulcrum isn't mushroomed to keep the lever on, and it'due south also short to butt upward against the plastic, so there's a gap where the lever can fall off the fulcrum.
The blade can't be released except by taking the knife autonomously. Sometimes if I wigglelever 1 effectually just right, I can become it back on the fulcrum and get it to hit lever ii correctly, only at this signal it's easier to take the knife autonomously.
If you lot look at the second pocketknife — the metallic retractable utility pocketknife — the bract change mechanism works the aforementioned fashion as the start knife, but yous'll observe to a higher place that there's a retaining machinery to cease lever 1 from coming off the fulcrum.
Here'due south a video I put together to illustrate the trouble:
Dewalt's Response
I reached out to our Dewalt contact about the issue. The plant manager was alerted and they looked into the problem.
Dewalt said they would go back to us when they had more information well-nigh the problem, only wanted united states of america to reassure ToolGuyd readers that if they have any bug with this knife or other Dewalt paw tools:
DEWALT manus tools have a limited lifetime warranty and more than information about warranty can be institute hither.
You can contact their customer service at 800-433-9258.
Stuart Gets Involved
After contacting Dewalt, I started talking to Stuart. He had the same knife, but had never had whatever issue with the blade modify mechanism.
I tried several times to explain what the problem was with my knife — merely he couldn't replicate it with his knife. After quite a bit of back and along, he reluctantly decided to break open his knife. When he did he found this:
That plastic servant prevents the blade change lever from falling off. It also keeps the small spring in identify. You tin see below how the plastic retainer fits into place:
There'southward no way I merely lost the slice, for some reason my pocketknife was assembled without that piece.
Dewalt Responds Once more
When nosotros told Dewalt about the outcome, they said:
The upshot Ben experienced was contained and the consequence has been addressed with our teams/manufacturing facilities.
They didn't go whatever further particular.
Also they're going to transport Stuart and I some new knives.
3D Printed Office
Even though Dewalt is sending me a new knife, I got to thinking — this is a perfectly good knife, I bet I can whip up a like plastic part in a few minutes with my 3D printer.
And then I measured the disquisitional dimensions, verified the width of the part with Stuart, and created a model in Tinkercad. I used Tinkercad because it's fast and easy to utilize for simple shapes.
It may not look identical to the original part, only it performs the same functions: retain the blade change lever and go on the small spring in identify.
Higher up you can encounter the second attempt at a printed part in the knife. I re-assembled the knife and it works exactly similar it should. The blade irresolute lever works every time.
All in all I spent about xx minutes making the part: 15 minutes designing information technology and the rest was printing fourth dimension for the first and 2nd revision parts.
Buy Info
I wasn't originally going to put a purchase link in this postal service, just since Dewalt says the issue was independent, I don't meet whatever reason why I can't recommend this pocketknife. Both Stuart and I like it.
You can discover the knife at Home Depot for $fifteen.
Buy Now (via Home Depot)
Stuart'south Note
I was really concerned by the problems Ben was having with his knife. From the manner he was describing the upshot, it sounded like it could have either been a design flaw, or a defect that appears with apply, time, or environmental factors, such as dropping it a sure way.
Would my much-loved knife fail in the same manner?!
Ben described several movements that the mechanism on his pocketknife would do, and I couldn't go my knife to practise whatever of the same things. My knife, purchased or received as a test sample when it first came out, was marked 2015 on the inside. But and then was his, and he recently bought it. (Hmm, was that a production date or injection mold tooling ID?)
With the pocketknife disassembled, I still couldn't quite replicate the effect or even the lever-action slop that Ben had been experiencing. I could see there wasn't any space between my lever and the inside of the knife'due south plastic exterior. I thought it was part of the lever, but couldn't be sure. So I sacrificed my pocketknife and broke the housing off.
Comparing images, the truth came out. No product line is flawless. I don't know what happened, but for whatever reason, one little piece was left out of Ben'southward knife. It does happen. Maybe information technology was a fluke occurrence, a small batch was affected before the outcome was defenseless and corrected, or a uncomplicated human mistake during assembly.
I'1000 out my everyday utility knife until Dewalt's replacement comes in, but I am glad nosotros got to the bottom of things.
Source: https://toolguyd.com/dewalt-premium-retractable-utility-knife-blade-change-issues-and-resolution/
Posted by: clarktheirsen.blogspot.com
0 Response to "How To Change Blade On Dewalt Utility Knife"
Post a Comment