D’allara 3 plunger swap?

[johnduwe]

Hi Everyone! Second post ever but I’ve read a lot over the past couple of years. I have a question about my D’allara 3...

Can I replace the plunger on the ball lock with a metal one like on the Q Ball?

I wonder why the plunger is plastic on the D’allara 3. The molding job is poor, as well. The Q Ball has a great looking metal plunger, but I haven’t seen one in real life so I don’t know if it is the same size as the D’allara 3.

Side note, the D’allara 3 kicks serious asss but felt terrible out of the box when the spring is stiff and my fingers are soft. Now with a softer spring and calloused fingers (3 weeks), the knife is awesome. The ergonomics, blade shape, size, materials. All is perfect for me. I think this knife got a bad rap because it isn’t in many stores and the reviews talk about how it’s hard to use. I like it. It reminds me of a piece of mountaineering equipment.

Any ideas on making it perfect by replacing the plastic plunger?

Thanks!
John

[VooDooChild]

I also wondered why they had different plungers. No idea if you can swap them. I really dont think you will get a definitive answer. You might have to be the guinea pig.

[013]

Welcome johnduwe.
I don't have either knife, so I can only be of extremely limited help. I know Flytanium makes ball cages for Manix 2, so maybe you can approach them with your idea for a metal plunger. I believe it's worth a shot.

[Evil D]

I would assume you could probably swap the steel one from the Q Ball, the only issue is getting your hands on one since Spyderco isn't going to sell you one.

[johnduwe]

Thanks for the responses. Does anyone here think that Spyderco would entertain the idea of swapping it for me if it fits? I’d pay for parts and labor, of course.

Cheers,
John

[013]

Thanks for the responses. Does anyone here think that Spyderco would entertain the idea of swapping it for me if it fits? I’d pay for parts and labor, of course.

Cheers,
John

Spyderco does not do mods.
You could send the 2 knives to a private modder & have them do the work for you.

[JMM]

Yeah, I think the quickest & likely easiest route is to get a q-ball (assuming you're comfortable with doing the work) and try it.... I have a q-ball, and it's a tank, if the swap doesn't work, worst case is you have a solid little knife on your hands....

[Frozenspyder]

I just looked at my D'Allara 3 and Q Ball side by side. I hadn't even realized the plungers were made of different materials. Just looking at them and not measuring, they look to be about the same diameter. The height of the plunger head is about twice as high on the Q Ball's metal plunger as the D'Allara 3's plastic one. Interestingly, the ceramic ball bearing is also noticably bigger on the D'Allara. It almost looks as though the longer plunger compensates for the smaller diameter of the ball bearing.

Anyway, I think the metal part would fit in the D'Allara. I'm just not sure if it would allow enough movement of the bearing to open the blade. Even if it did, it would probably make the lock stiffer because the spring would be more compressed.

[johnduwe]

Awesome. Thanks for all the great answers. I don’t think I’m going to mess with a new Q-Ball that I would need to buy. I think my best bet is to forget about it, but second to that I might open it up and fix the finishing on the plastic plunger with some sandpaper. Cheers! -John