So I have a Thomson Elite stem whose clamp is 25.4 and I wanted to switch to some Nitto bullhorns, but they're all 26.0 clamp. I've read that people have successfully been able to run 26.0 bars in their 25.4 quill stems, but what about an open face stem? Is it possible or am I looking at buying a new stem?

Then today I got the idea to see if I could buy a 26.0 replacement clamp from Thomson instead of buying a whole new stem. I e-mailed them to see if this would work and the guy wrote back recommending I buy a new stem. He said the bars might fit but would fatigue faster.

So is anybody successfully running 26.0 bars in their 25.4 open face stem without catastrophic failure? Or should I just stop being a cheap ass and buy a new stem?

edit: updated