I was looking over the headset parts on a customer's bike, and

there were bolts sticking out from the stem.
I asked "Does this ever cut your knees?" and they said "Yeah, it hits sometimes and hurts."
This kind of thing should be fixed.

There's some variation in the outer diameter of fork steerers and the inner diameter of stems,
and sometimes the bolts are just a bit too long to begin with.
One solution is to shorten the bolt length and chase the threads with a die, but

↑you can also solve it with washers like these.


The washer in the photo comes pre-installed on the stem bolt,
but it won't come off this one.
Depending on the bolt, sometimes they do come off.


This is how you adjust the length by adding washers as needed.


Now the bolt doesn't stick out anymore.



↑I added washers to the bottom bolt as well.