Delica 4 Lego!

[Mr Blonde]

Thanks to Jurphaas (again much thanks!), I came into possession of a new Delica 4. I could resist the urge for about a week, and then I broke down. The all screw constructed Delica 4 had to be broken down as well. Out came the Torx kit, and the disassembly began.

Word of caution here, taking apart your knife is generally not covered under warranty. It's best to consider that taking apart a Delica 4 means you just voided your warranty.

Nevertheless, the following is a rough guide to putting back together your Delica 4. What you need is a bin of sorts to store all loose parts, hang up the ‘do not disturb sign’ and get two good Torx drivers, one T6 for most work and a T9 driver for the pivot.

The trend I observed with the Mini Manixes has carried through on the Delica 4, or so it seems. I did not encounter any loctite on any of the screws, except a bit on the clip screws but they came off easy enough.

[Mr Blonde]

The D4 comes apart very easily, and surprisingly few parts in my opinion. Let’s take a closer look at all the different parts.

The blade needed a bit of cleaning around the pivot area. It did not look this clean from the start. Oil and dirt do collect on the tang. Some of the crud even survived the washing it got the day before.

[Mr Blonde]

All the ‘black’ parts in one shot. The back spacer is not as flimsy as I expected, I seriously doubt it will ever crack under the tension of being tightly screwed between two handle slabs, unlike my old BM AFCK model. The handle slabs are nice and solid, they don’t flex easily. I like the new clip design; I just need more pocket time to be absolutely sure. So far it seems as if the hourglass shaped clip is sort of a crossover between the wire clip and the traditional spring clip. It has the look, low profile and familiar tension of a spring clip, but it’s very easy on the hand. The hourglass shaped clip is almost as comfy in the hand as a wire clip.

[Mr Blonde]

A close-up of the washers. As you can see, these are of the familiar ‘nylon’ & transparent type. Definitely not the phosphor bronze washers that were mentioned in the D4 & E4 flyer. The action is still smooth, especially after cleaning and oiling them individually after disassembly, but you just can’t completely tighten the pivot.

[Mr Blonde]

The skeletonized liners. They are a little more solid than you’d think after seeing them apart. Amazing how so little metal can add so much to the ‘feel’ of an entire folder.

[Mr Blonde]

The heart of the handle, the lock! This little piece of ‘wire’ is the spring that holds everything closed, or opened depending on your viewpoint. The locking bar seems slightly more polished than the other internal steel parts.

[Mr Blonde]

Re-assembly begins. I like to think of the folder as a sandwich. First, take one FRN handle slab and fit the liner into it. Only one liner will fit, so you can’t go wrong here. ;-)

[Mr Blonde]

Now we can add the screws (or the rivet type holders actually) and bushing (don’t forget the bushing! It’s very embarrassing to have a finished knife in your hand and then spotting one ‘extra’ part, trust me … I know). If one of the screws doesn’t appear to fit, then it’s the pivot pin. The back spacer slides neatly over the screws (or more accurately the rivet type holders for the screws). The lock spring just slides into place, it also fits in only one way.

[Mr Blonde]

Now we add the locking bar. There is a bit of tension. Just lower the bar on the screw until it meets the pivot pin. Then rotate the locking bar upwards, as if unlocking the folder. Now hold, and slide the locking bar tightly against the liner. The end result is picture above.

[Mr Blonde]

Now the blade can be fitted. The tension on the locking bar is not that high. Just be careful with the sharp edge and you’ll have it figured out in no time. Basically, press the locking bar way down until there is plenty of room to fit the blade in. Now carefully relieve pressure from the locking bar until it locks into place.

[Mr Blonde]

All the internal organs of a D4 from a different angle.

[Mr Blonde]

And presto, a brand new and tightly fitted Delica 4. After taking the knife apart, I cleaned every part and oiled it lightly. I adjusted the action a bit; tightening the small screw closest to the pivot pin can take away a lot of side-to-side play. This screw can also become a bit loose after constant use. The locking bar revolves around this screw, so it’s under a bit of stress, more than other pins I think. After a weekend’s worth of carry, use and a lot of flicking, this was the only screw to come one-quarter turn undone. The rest was put together with no loctite, and stayed nicely in place. I now have a slightly smoother Delica 4. As smooth as my Mini Manix.

[Mr Blonde]

Taking apart my Delica 4 is a lot of fun. I’m not that technical, so it took me –the first- time about 5 minutes to take everything apart and about 15 minutes to put it back together. The cleaning of all parts takes longer, as does photographing everything. It was a very nice relaxing exercise. Perfect for that rainy Sunday afternoon.

I sincerely hope that this sort of ‘do it yourself’ construction works out for Spyderco. I can see how silly lawsuits and angry silly customers could threaten such a Lego type knife. Take your time, use proper Torx drivers (T6 and T9), pay attention and it really isn’t that hard to take apart a perfectly good knife and to put it back together again. Each time I learn a little more about knife construction.

Wouter

[HoB]

The lockbar and the cutout in the tang looks redesigned to me...I like it!

[Texas guy]

Great write up, and wonderfull pics! :spyder:

[Django]

According to Kristi, the D4 and the E4 are the only knives you can take apart without voiding the warranty. Great pics!

[The Deacon]

Great job Wouter, extremely clear and understandable. Best read I've had today!

[antoine]

Perfect !!!

[gull wing]

That is the best instructional manual I have seen. I did this tear down before so I know with this information, even my mother in law could do this. The photos are great.

[smcfalls13]

Excellent job, much better than the hack job I did when I tore mine apart. Your disassembly was actually organized :p