Wanted Seam ripper retaining spring

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I'm looking for a source for seam ripper retaining springs. PSI carries them but they're $1.00 each with a minimum of 5 per order plus $8.00 shipping, special order only It seems every 6th kit one of the springs collapses and becomes useless. I ordered some a while back but they're worthless as they are not spring steel and as soon as you try to "roll" them to fit inside the handle they just collapse flat and become useless. Thanks for any help up front.
 
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Kenny Durrant

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Interesting thread. I just bit the bullet a couple of weeks ago and bought the PSI springs. Yes they're pricy but I didn't have time to try to hunt another source. I don't get why some if not most work great then you get one that wads up when you try to invert it into the tube. I've had the springs scratch up a point or the tool part so I use it to help push in the spring. It seems to give a little support where it doesn't give me quite as many problems.
 
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Interesting thread. I just bit the bullet a couple of weeks ago and bought the PSI springs. Yes they're pricy but I didn't have time to try to hunt another source. I don't get why some if not most work great then you get one that wads up when you try to invert it into the tube. I've had the springs scratch up a point or the tool part so I use it to help push in the spring. It seems to give a little support where it doesn't give me quite as many problems.

Kenny, are the ones you got from PSI the same as the ones in the kit? The original ones I got, that easily crushed, were supposed to be from PSI but I don't think were, they weren't even close in looks. As it stands right now I've got three kits I can't use due to the springs. Thanks for the info.
 
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This sounds like something PSI needs to address. What does their Customer Service have to say?

Your right as long as I can confirm the ones I originally got were actually from PSI. Unfortunately I pitched the bad ones after a lot of frustration. I did contact the company that sent me the "bad" ones but got no response back. The packaging wasn't the same and the product was for sure not the same as what the kits have from PSI. But, good suggestions, I think I'll reach out to PSI and see what they have to say
 

Kenny Durrant

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Actually the ones I had trouble with were knock offs from a local store. The springs were flat and I bent them around a punch with a piece of paper to make them round and smooth. I even used an old "Tool" to help push them in the tube and they still gave me fits. The replacements I bought from a PSI weren't round but curved and incerted fine , with the use of the tool, and worked great. I've found it's best to use the tool from the kit to help invert the spring.
 
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Thanks Kenny. I've tried twice now to get a hold of PSI on their chat line and they say they are not available. I'm wondering if maybe they shut down some of their operations. I guess I'll have to wait and see what I can do. Thanks again for your help.
 
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Just a tip. Roll the spring around a 7mm slim line tube and insert it with the tube around it. Once
Inserted just pull the tube out. It will prevent you from collapsing the spring.

Great idea, never thought of using a 7mm tube. I'll have to give it a shot and see if that solves the problem. Right now I use the actual ripper shaft to insert them which is pretty tight. The smaller tube might just be the ticket. Thanks for sharing.
 

Dinos

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I picked up a bunch from Exotic Blanks thinking I finally solved this issue, but discovered that the metal is not spring steel and is of lower grade metal. It won't retain shape (which is the point of a spring), flattens on first use, and is too weak to consistently insert into the tube. My success rate with "kit grade" springs is about 90%, and with these alternates I end up losing about 75% of them. Even if I succeed inserting one, the metal basically only acts as a friction fit with no spring action since the vertical strips flatten and stay that way. The owner of Exotic Blanks was sympathetic to the situation, but hasn't found a way to convince the manufacturer to sell a quality retaining spring by itself. I'd love to solve this dilemma since that spring allows me to do seam rippers, stilettos, and crochet hooks with the same 8mm setup, and I can do closed-end work and eliminate paying for but not using the end caps and pocket clips.
 
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I picked up a bunch from Exotic Blanks thinking I finally solved this issue, but discovered that the metal is not spring steel and is of lower grade metal. It won't retain shape (which is the point of a spring), flattens on first use, and is too weak to consistently insert into the tube. My success rate with "kit grade" springs is about 90%, and with these alternates I end up losing about 75% of them. Even if I succeed inserting one, the metal basically only acts as a friction fit with no spring action since the vertical strips flatten and stay that way. The owner of Exotic Blanks was sympathetic to the situation, but hasn't found a way to convince the manufacturer to sell a quality retaining spring by itself. I'd love to solve this dilemma since that spring allows me to do seam rippers, stilettos, and crochet hooks with the same 8mm setup, and I can do closed-end work and eliminate paying for but not using the end caps and pocket clips.


That's exactly the same experience I had Dana, except my calls weren't returned. I'll probably just get back to PSI and see if I can work some kind of qty discount out with them. If I do work a deal I'll see if anyone else here needs some and just sell them at my cost. Hopefully more to come when PSI is back up to 100%.
 
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