Spyderco Forums

I have both the D'Allara 3 & the Q-Ball. There's a lot to love about these knives, but I have the hardest time operating the ceramic ball bearing lock. One of favorite designs is the Manix 2, of which I own several. I find that the cage on the Manix 2 makes the operation a breeze for me when opening/closing.

I'm not sure if spacing would allow for it, but does anyone know if installing an aftermarket ball cage for a Manix 2 would work for D'Allara 3/Q-Ball? Ideally, I would use the Flytanium ball cage for this: https://www.flytanium.com/item/389/Spyd ... -Ball-Cage

I wouldn't think so because the white balls on those BBLs are much larger diameter than the small balls on the CBBLs. The Manix cage wouldn't fit over it, and its not like you could use a Manix ball AND cage because the dimensions of the locking surfaces would be totally different for the different ball sizes. I'd think your best bet would be to try to find someone with a 3D printer or CNC to try to design something that will surround the ball while still fitting within the current housing dimensions. I can think of a few ways you could potentially get away with it but alas, I do not have a 3D printer or the ability to use 3D modeling software!

Thanks for the reply.

3D printing a proof of concept might be doable, as a couple of my friends are 3D printer codemonkeys. I'll touch base with them to see if we can make a working model.