As many other people have no doubt found out, stainless steel kitchen tongs have an Achilles Heel in the aluminium rivet hinge which corrodes away in the dishwasher.
Around a decade ago when a good sturdy pair failed, I replaced the rivet wih a 3mm stainless steel screw and nyloc nut.
It has probably been through the dishwater around 1,000 times since without any problems.
If anyone wants to do likewise, visit a specialist fastener store wher you can buy an individual screw and nut, and they may just give it to you as they could not bother to charge for it.
One of our local suppliers who deals in speciality bits not only will not give you anything gratis, but the minimum charge at the til is $5. 1 screw worth maybe $0.10, or 50@ $0.10 or 500 @ $0.01, all $5 incl GST . They solicit tradies and try to keep us riff raff away.
Yes we have done ours. The aluminimum riverts don’t last long even for tongs not subject to regular dishwasher exposure.
One can after placing the nut on the bolt, tap the end of the bolt with a hammer to compress the thread so that the bolt doesn’t come off. It also removes any burrs should the bolt need to be hacksawed to length.
It is also best to use stainless bolt and nut as different metal combinations can increase corrosion in one of the metals. A SS bolt/nut will not rust and become a potential food safety issue.
. They solicit tradies and try to keep us riff raff away.