Delica 4 blade play

[Fish]

I was just wondering if any of you have had problems with blade play on the D4? The only way to get rid of the horizontal play on mine is to tighten the pivot to the point I can barely open it with my thumb. I realize that production knives aren't going to be perfect, and this knife is a hard user so a little blade play wouldn't bother me. Is there something I should do, or should I just live with a tight knife? Thanks.

[Zac]

I know the tapping trick works for the older Delicas...I'll wait for a D4 expert to tell you if the tapping trick works here. If the play is too much for what you want, Spyderco will fix it up for you.

[Piet.S]

My Wave had a lot too when it came in.
I suggest to turn the pivots of both the blade and the lockbar loose first.
Then tighten the blade pivot in a normal way, this should get you a smooth action without play.
Then tighten the lockbar pivot, but only lightly.

The point is that the new phosphor bronze washers are thicker then the old nylon ones.
So the blade plus the washers are thicker then the lockbar.
If you turn the lockbar pivot too tight, you force the handle out of shape and the liners can not support the washers as they should.

Please try and let us know how it went.

[Fish]

Thanks for the advice. I did what Piet.S suggested and that helped to some extent. The tight pivot vs. blade play is alright now. Pivot slightly tighter than I like and blade play slightly more than I like, but it is a fine compromise. I forgot to mention in the first post that there is a kind of "ratcheting" feeling as the blade opens.

Thanks again.

[Fred Sanford]

Almost seems as if there is some gunk in the pivot area. I would flush the entire pivot area with WD-40 while the pivot screw is nice and loose. I would then wash the entire knife with a good dish soap and hot water solution and then dry it. After that lube up the pivot with an oil of your choice and wipe off the excess.

[Episteme]

Blade-play annoys me as well. My delica 4's: one has zero lateral blade play, the other has very slight lateral play. I can live with it; as for the peening trick, i would conjecture that such a trick will work on the d4's as well; when you peen (or tap) the pin, what you're doing is slightly deforming / squashing the pin so that it is slightly thicker in diameter. Any pin can be deformed/squashed like this with enough judicial force from a precise vise. I prefer to use a vise, as I have more control over the pressure than with a hammer. BE VERY CAREFUL AND BE GRADUAL if you peen a pivot pin. Start out with the lightest amount of pressure, and then gradually progress; otherwise, you'll end up with a fixed blade (or a permanantly closed knife)
Mike

[Fish]

Almost seems as if there is some gunk in the pivot area. I would flush the entire pivot area with WD-40 while the pivot screw is nice and loose. I would then wash the entire knife with a good dish soap and hot water solution and then dry it. After that lube up the pivot with an oil of your choice and wipe off the excess.

Thanks much. Loosened the pivot, flushed with WD-40, washed with dish soap, blew out pivot with air compressor, lubed, and it is as good as new. Tightened pivot and there is little to no blade play and the action is smooth. Thanks again.

[Piet.S]

Thanks much. Loosened the pivot, flushed with WD-40, washed with dish soap, blew out pivot with air compressor, lubed, and it is as good as new. Tightened pivot and there is little to no blade play and the action is smooth. Thanks again.

Good to hear, hope you enjoy it.

[Monocrom]

Must admit, my D4 is as tight as a drum.

[jaislandboy]

My Wave had a lot too when it came in.
I suggest to turn the pivots of both the blade and the lockbar loose first.
Then tighten the blade pivot in a normal way, this should get you a smooth action without play.
Then tighten the lockbar pivot, but only lightly.

The point is that the new phosphor bronze washers are thicker then the old nylon ones.
So the blade plus the washers are thicker then the lockbar.
If you turn the lockbar pivot too tight, you force the handle out of shape and the liners can not support the washers as they should.

Please try and let us know how it went.

hey Piet! thanks for the Excellent Tip! hope you are having a great new year!

[lowrider428]

My Wave had a lot too when it came in.
I suggest to turn the pivots of both the blade and the lockbar loose first.
Then tighten the blade pivot in a normal way, this should get you a smooth action without play.
Then tighten the lockbar pivot, but only lightly.

The point is that the new phosphor bronze washers are thicker then the old nylon ones.
So the blade plus the washers are thicker then the lockbar.
If you turn the lockbar pivot too tight, you force the handle out of shape and the liners can not support the washers as they should.

Please try and let us know how it went.

Which screw is for the lockbar

[JimP]

One thing I did to reduce horizontal play in my D4 is remove the sprung washer behind the pivot screw which compresses when you wiggle the blade side to side. This gave me better control over smoothness of opening and a large reduction of blade play.

[casey]

Which screw is for the lockbar

It's the first small screw back from the pivot screw. The following pictures of a Delica 4 being assembled should help:

http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21533

[p_leonard]

Hi guys, came across the thread looking to find help regarding blade play on the D4.. I got mine just a few weeks ago and its been my edc knife since.. just general tasks, paper, cardboard, fruit and food prepping..

later today i found a bit of side to side blade play and i was hoping to het advice on what to do to eliminate it and weather its something i should expect from the D4 from time to time..

i understand that flipping or deploying the blade would have some force pressing down on one side (mine being the left side of the blade as i am a right hander) however i was hoping it wouldnt be the case.. since flipping knives is a fun thing, i wouldnt want to be all conscious with flipping it from now on..

thanks for your resonse in advance guys..

[Evil D]

Hi guys, came across the thread looking to find help regarding blade play on the D4.. I got mine just a few weeks ago and its been my edc knife since.. just general tasks, paper, cardboard, fruit and food prepping..

later today i found a bit of side to side blade play and i was hoping to het advice on what to do to eliminate it and weather its something i should expect from the D4 from time to time..

i understand that flipping or deploying the blade would have some force pressing down on one side (mine being the left side of the blade as i am a right hander) however i was hoping it wouldnt be the case.. since flipping knives is a fun thing, i wouldnt want to be all conscious with flipping it from now on..

thanks for your resonse in advance guys..

There is a very fine line where you can dial the pivot in and eliminate nearly all significant side play while still having a smooth easy to operate pivot. On some knives it's just a fact of life. I have a Para 2 that just doesn't have that sweet spot, at least not if I want the blade to drop freely when closing. On the other hand I have several Militaries that are rock solid but swing like a pendulum. I'd start by making sure the pivot is clean and then we'll lubed, and just tinker with the pivot screws and see what you can do. Blades with larger pivots and tangs seem to be easier to dial in, I assume because there's more surface area in the pivot to control lateral flex. A Delica has a pretty small tang, so it may never be as rigid as a Military.

[p_leonard]

Hi guys, came across the thread looking to find help regarding blade play on the D4.. I got mine just a few weeks ago and its been my edc knife since.. just general tasks, paper, cardboard, fruit and food prepping..

later today i found a bit of side to side blade play and i was hoping to het advice on what to do to eliminate it and weather its something i should expect from the D4 from time to time..

i understand that flipping or deploying the blade would have some force pressing down on one side (mine being the left side of the blade as i am a right hander) however i was hoping it wouldnt be the case.. since flipping knives is a fun thing, i wouldnt want to be all conscious with flipping it from now on..

thanks for your resonse in advance guys..

There is a very fine line where you can dial the pivot in and eliminate nearly all significant side play while still having a smooth easy to operate pivot. On some knives it's just a fact of life. I have a Para 2 that just doesn't have that sweet spot, at least not if I want the blade to drop freely when closing. On the other hand I have several Militaries that are rock solid but swing like a pendulum. I'd start by making sure the pivot is clean and then we'll lubed, and just tinker with the pivot screws and see what you can do. Blades with larger pivots and tangs seem to be easier to dial in, I assume because there's more surface area in the pivot to control lateral flex. A Delica has a pretty small tang, so it may never be as rigid as a Military.

Thanks for the response Evil D.. makes a lot of sense with the pivots.. i'll probably tighten it and try to see if i can find that sweet spot.. im really hoping that the movement doesnt progress though..

[Evil D]

Thanks for the response Evil D.. makes a lot of sense with the pivots.. i'll probably tighten it and try to see if i can find that sweet spot.. im really hoping that the movement doesnt progress though..

Use a little blue Loctite on the pivot screws once you get a feel for where to dial it in at. That will help, but over time with use it seems most of them loosen up and need adjusting. As the insides wear and tolerances loosen up it will need snugged up again.

[p_leonard]

Thanks for the response Evil D.. makes a lot of sense with the pivots.. i'll probably tighten it and try to see if i can find that sweet spot.. im really hoping that the movement doesnt progress though..

Use a little blue Loctite on the pivot screws once you get a feel for where to dial it in at. That will help, but over time with use it seems most of them loosen up and need adjusting. As the insides wear and tolerances loosen up it will need snugged up again.

Got a T8 screw driver the other day, tried to fit it just to make sure, and right off the bat i was able to do 2-3 twists without much effort.. I guess it was loose after all.. I found the sweet spot as soon as i got home.. Yes you're right i suppose that it'll be a regular thing as time passes.. happy with it though..

It's quite difficult to find a T6 that's not is a set. I figured eventually i'd be needing it for cleaning and maintaining the rest of the screws..

Thank for the help Evil D..