Delica 4 Lego!

[Mr Blonde]

Sorry to hear of your troubles, perhaps Spyderco's repair department can help you out?

Wouter

[STR]

Thanks. I was just asked to rebuild one of those and now I know what I'm up against better.

First thing I see that surprised me is the FRN spacerbar/spring holder. Good thing they designed it the way they did with that support above the spring. Thats a big plus there. I guess I just assumed that with steel liners that it would also have a steel spring holder.

STR

[The Deacon]

I suppose I should have made it clear that I followed the very simple instructions in this thread :confused:

I installed the spacer, then the spring, then the lock, then the blade. The spacer was easily deformed by the pressure of the spring at this point (the notch was being spread wider) A piece at the very top of the notch needs to align with a hole in the liner for assembly, and because the notch was being spread by the spring, the liner could not be installed in this order. It had to be installed while there was less pressure on the spring and spacer, which meant the blade had to be left until last.

Easy solution but I guess what I don't understand is the use of such flimsy material for the spacer, which is basically part of the locking mechanism since it holds the spring.

And we wonder why manufacturers slap "disassembly will void warranty" disclaimers on things.

Sounds like you neglected to seat the stud at the lower front end of the backspacer in its hole in the metal liner before installing the lock bar and blade, or ignored the fact it had lifted out of it. The two studs molded on opposite sides of the backspacer plus the metal stud above them, combine to prevent any possibility of the spring slot spreading open under load.

[Harry White]

Thanks to the wonderful step-by-step instructions in this post, I successfully (and easily!) took apart, cleaned, and reassembled my D4. It feels so much smoother now! Thanks for taking the time to post the pics and instructions, Wouter -- I would have never attempted this without you! :)

The only thing that differed with my Delica is that it had 4 nylon bushings -- 2 on each side of the blade. I put it back the same way. Has anyone else found 4 bushings on their Delica 4?

Sorry to hear about your problems Menocu. I found the spacer to be a solid little piece. For anyone else considering this project: If I can do it, so can you. Good luck!

[Mr Blonde]

Thanks to the wonderful step-by-step instructions in this post, I successfully (and easily!) took apart, cleaned, and reassembled my D4. It feels so much smoother now! Thanks for taking the time to post the pics and instructions, Wouter -- I would have never attempted this without you! :)

Hey, that's cool stuff. I noticed the same improvement in my Delica. It's a lot smoother now. Perhaps because we like -and have the time- to polish and smooth out the parts as long as we want to. While that would be a different matter for the good people in the factory who put these knives together for a living. Kudos to them though!

Wouter

[peacefuljeffrey]

A point of question that I have regarding the pivot and the other screws is, I notice that they are D-shaped, but I can't see that the holes they go through are also a matching D-shape to keep them stationary while they are being tightened on the Torx side. Are the holes D-shaped, and it just can't be seen in the pictures?

Thanks. I think I'm just days away from ordering myself a Delica 4, or perhaps two.
I assume that the Wave version is identical except for the blade?

-Jeffrey

[smcfalls13]

I assume that the Wave version is identical except for the blade?

Yes. It's identical. Get one

[peacefuljeffrey]

C'mon, what about my main question?!

-Jeffrey

[smcfalls13]

C'mon, what about my main question?!

-Jeffrey

You're high maintenance :p

I'll take mine apart and check.

[smcfalls13]

A point of question that I have regarding the pivot and the other screws is, I notice that they are D-shaped, but I can't see that the holes they go through are also a matching D-shape to keep them stationary while they are being tightened on the Torx side. Are the holes D-shaped, and it just can't be seen in the pictures?

Just took my Waved D4 apart to make sure it was how I thought it was before I tried to explain it.

The holes in the FRN are perfectly round, to accomodate the heads of the screws. The LINER underneath has the D shaped holes to fit the flattened screws.

That should answer your question.

[Mr Blonde]

Yep, even the regular D4's have round pivot holes through the FRN but 'D-shaped' holes in the blade and liners.

Wouter

[greencobra]

Very informative, interesting, and all that good stuff. Oh yeah, great photos as well. It was nice of you to shoot the action and share it with us. Thanks.

[greencobra]

Wouter, I missed this thread first time out, my loss. Really, nice job on that takedown and photo spread. Well done!

[Manix Guy 2]

Great info and piics , just what the F.B.I. ( Fast Boys from Illinois ) needs , we got a project brewing , mentioned it earlier . Thanks Mr. Blonde !

[GeorgeMaggos]

Hello Wouter,

thank you for taking the time to explain this process with words & photos I appreciate it.

I was reading this & I had to try to take one apart myself, (never did it before today) so I decided to try it on an unused delica I bought that had all the metal parts bead blasted by the original owner & when it was all apart I decided not to put it right back together but instead to swap those metal parts into a pink delica I recently bought & I was very pleased with the end result.

Then I started thinking I would also like a pink delica with a ZDP-189 plain edged blade so I took apart another pink model I recently bought & swaped the blades with a ZDP model I had already carried & I also had a second bead blasted pocket clip & screws from another purchase so I put that on the new ZDP pink again I was very pleased with it.

I like the way the dull bead blasted metal pocket clip looks with the pink handles better than the black clips that came with them.

I am posting some photos of the pink pair to show how they turned out. As I stated the bead blasted model has every metal part with that dull gray or satin type finish even the screws, backsping, liners etc, you can kinda tell by comparing the shine in the pics.





























Thanks again,
George

[lerman]

that looks great, really nice work.

[Mr Blonde]

That looks really nice, I especially like how the clips look next to the pink.

Wouter

[pedropcola]

Wonderful tutorial. I will say though that what a previous poster stated about the backspacer deforming under pressure is absolutely true. I found that although it is supported above and below, the lower plastic "pin" when subjected to the pressure of the spring (its not that much btw) deforms the space enough that the second side doesn't just seat into place. I ended up using a flat metal spacer to push the second side up enough to take out the deformation and allow the plastic pin to seat properly. It is all back together but I certainly wouldn't do this take apart for fun. There might be differences in the spring tension that would allow some of them enough strength to deform the backspacer plastic. Like I said, its doable but mine did not snap back together like I expected. And yes, before any says anything, I followed the directions .

Pete

[Mr Blonde]

This is a really old thread, my preferences and tips for disassembly and reassembly have changed since. Do a search for 'Delica Lego revisited' (or something similar) to see an updated version. Take special note of the tips of my fellow forumites; construct the handle first (including the backspacer) and then add the lock and blade or blade and lock. This is a much safer procedure.

Wouter

[Murdoc]

Here it is:


Delica Lego Redux.


It is not that difficult after all if you follow all the tips :)

Dennis