My Manix 2 Ball Bearing Cage Repair

razorburn

Gold Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
2,413
So last week,I received a pair of titanium manix scales.While installing it,I accidentally broken the ball bearing cage in two.At first,I was shocked it even happened, as I am always careful when reassembling knives.As I have taken several of my Manix 2s apart dozens of times.

Could of been that I was tried and sleepy,had a heck of a time getting the lanyard tube off the G-10 scales and on to the new scales, that resulted in the breakage.So off to bed but not before putting the pieces away in a small ziplock bag to be revisited.

The next day,I contacted Spyderco about my situation as to whether the ball bearing cage part could be sent to me in Canada.I received an automated email response that said they could not respond until Monday as there was no one in the office for the week.
The day after I took the knife out again,looked at the area of the breakable.Noticed there was a round circle in the cage.So I decided to drill out that spot with a 1MM HS drill using a rotary tool at a slow speed to drill as accurately and as centered as possible.Then followed up with a number drill, a .0015" smaller than the shaft but drilled only 3/4 the way through.Afterward,the stem was inserted and was found to be a good smug fit,followed by the ball bearing,spring and all(no super glue) and installed.

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The knife over the weekend was closed and opened dozens of times without any problem.No Vertical blade play.The only problem occured was when I disassembled the pieces to take pics.I found the stem to be a bit loose so it now had to be super glued.

I am happy to say my knife is still working today and exactly like it did before.
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Please note: On Monday,I was contacted by Spyderco saying that they do not sell or ship internal parts,and that will have to have my knife sent in for warranty evaluation
 
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Nice fix. The shaft is just a spring guide so I guess the exact length does not matter too much.
 
The clear plastic is an earlier design that I believe had problems. I wish I could get a cage sent to me as I have a knife that is useless without it. I too like to work on my own knives and I would gladly pay to get the new cage.
 
I have broken a stem on a clergies cage and installed it without it.

Running fine.
 
The clear plastic is an earlier design that I believe had problems. I wish I could get a cage sent to me as I have a knife that is useless without it. I too like to work on my own knives and I would gladly pay to get the new cage.

Yes,the Manix 2 that I have using the clear bearing cage is from one of the earlier versions with full steel liner and a hollow ground blade.I also agree, it sucks that Spyderco doesn't sell internal parts but I respect their decision.
 
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