Does folding glasses increase the probability of separating at the hinge?
Please see the images below. I owned these Mykita John glasses for three years, which feels short for glasses to break! Every day, I fold them them before placing it on my night stand and going to bed. Today, when I unfolded them, the left temple just separated.
Now I'm wondering if I folded my glasses too much. If I avoid folding them, will there be less chance of the temple severing at the hinge?
1 answer
It depends on what the failure was.
Working the hinge could possibly make the little screw come loose quicker. This is the screw that acts as the shaft of the hinge.
If the hinge actually broke, then excessive repeated stress is probably the cause. This is more likely to come from too much force trying to open the hinge past its limit than any working of the hinge within its design limits. Some glasses have hinges that deliberately allow some over-opening, but with a higher torque. This is to minimize stress, and eventual failure. I've had such glasses for enough years now to find that it helps.
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