This morning I noticed that the pocket clip on my 6 month old Delica was coming lose. No big deal, I thought, and went to work with my torx driver. After just a couple turns on each screw suddenly the pocket clip was no longer attached at all. I thought this was bizarre so I made sure the driver was correct size and neither the head nor the threading on any of the screws were stripped. I went back to work trying with no pressure, light pressure, and heavy pressure but each time no screw would grab and the clip would just fall off. At this point I figured that the threading inside the FRN must have worn off. I thought I could still save the clip by putting a drop of Loctite in each hole. Immediately after it dried I was amazed at how well it worked. The clip was as strong as the day I bought it. And then I went to open the blade. It was suddenly tighter, and remained that way regardless of how I adjusted the pivot screw. The real problem though is that the lock will no longer engage at all. The locking mechanism does move as open the blade but will not grab it. I still haven't been able to figure out how to fix this and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This whole experience has made me very wary of FRN knives. I'm even thinking about canceling an outstanding Dragonfly2 order that I have.
Too much loctite. It musta dripped inside and gummed up the works. Happened to me before with an endura. You actually just need a really small amount of loctite. I use a hypodermic needle to pick up a tiny amount and apply on the thread. Someone once said about loctite, "if you think it's not enough, it's just right".
You might want to consider sticking to all stainless or solid titanium knives. Those handles are generally threaded full depth. On just about all the rest, the screws only thread into the relatively thin steel liners So you have small and relatively hard screws, held by only a few threads into relatively soft liners. That makes over tightening and stripping the threads in the liners pretty easy. IIRC, Loctite does sell a "remover" and, if so, you can probably "de-gum" your Delica with it. Bad news is, if the threads in the liner are shot, the only options are use a different mounting location, or buy the rebuild kit and replace the liner.
This morning I noticed that the pocket clip on my 6 month old Delica was coming lose. No big deal, I thought, and went to work with my torx driver. After just a couple turns on each screw suddenly the pocket clip was no longer attached at all. I thought this was bizarre so I made sure the driver was correct size and neither the head nor the threading on any of the screws were stripped. I went back to work trying with no pressure, light pressure, and heavy pressure but each time no screw would grab and the clip would just fall off. At this point I figured that the threading inside the FRN must have worn off. I thought I could still save the clip by putting a drop of Loctite in each hole. Immediately after it dried I was amazed at how well it worked. The clip was as strong as the day I bought it. And then I went to open the blade. It was suddenly tighter, and remained that way regardless of how I adjusted the pivot screw. The real problem though is that the lock will no longer engage at all. The locking mechanism does move as open the blade but will not grab it. I still haven't been able to figure out how to fix this and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This whole experience has made me very wary of FRN knives. I'm even thinking about canceling an outstanding Dragonfly2 order that I have.
The threads aren't in the FRN, they are in the liners. If they are stripped I think you need a Delica spare parts kit. Do you attach your clip to the pivot end of the handle? I'm assuming you do for loctite to get into the lock/pivot area. Once you have the kit and take the knife apart it should be easy to clean up and get back into perfect working order.
Well after a complete disassembly, cleaning, and rebuild the knife seems to be in great working order again. I see what you guys are talking about with the threads being in the steel liners rather than the FRN. I may not have to replace them though. After putting everything back together and applying the loctite correctly, the pocket clip know feels as strong as ever. As far as long term durability goes I'll just have to wait and see. All in all this was actually a pretty fun experience. I'm glad I now know how the Delica is constructed from the inside out (although I get the impression that this knife was not really meant to be taken apart). In the future I think I'll be less likely to modify the clip position on new knives regardless of my tip down carry preference. I don't think it makes much of difference on Delicas anyway because at a certain point the blade snaps itself closed so there is very little risk that I will reach into my pocket and stab myself with a tip-up blade.
kmb11132 wrote:Well after a complete disassembly, cleaning, and rebuild the knife seems to be in great working order again. I see what you guys are talking about with the threads being in the steel liners rather than the FRN. I may not have to replace them though. After putting everything back together and applying the loctite correctly, the pocket clip know feels as strong as ever. As far as long term durability goes I'll just have to wait and see. All in all this was actually a pretty fun experience. I'm glad I now know how the Delica is constructed from the inside out (although I get the impression that this knife was not really meant to be taken apart). In the future I think I'll be less likely to modify the clip position on new knives regardless of my tip down carry preference. I don't think it makes much of difference on Delicas anyway because at a certain point the blade snaps itself closed so there is very little risk that I will reach into my pocket and stab myself with a tip-up blade.
I like being able to take my knives apart for cleaning whan necessary. I also like knowing how the lock works. It makes me feel more confident in the durability and reliability of a lock. Not that I am concerned much especially with Spyderco knives, it's just nice to be able to see clearly how they work.
The most common way tip-up carried knives are in a pocket is where the blade is to the rear of the pocket reducing the possibility of slicing the side of you hand open when reaching for a quarter. Doesn't mean I wouldn't worry about it though. I did have a knife recently that lost it's "holding the blade closed" strength. The blade would just move out of the handle with the tip about 1/4" exposed. The knife was replaced. I wanted to take it apart to see why this happened. I think the spring slipped out of place. I don't see it loosing springyness. Is that a word? But the knife was less than two months old and I didn't want to void the warranty.
Glad to hear you got your knife working again, especially that you did it yourself.
