New Delica 4 extremely stiff

R

rja214

Joined
Dec 14, 2016
Messages
5
I've had my Delica 4 about one week now and I've worked with it quite a bit and it remains extremely stiff to open and close. I have a Dragonfly 2 that is spectacular. I had no trouble breaking in the Dragonfly.

I know that the Delica was not designed to be an easy opening knife (back lock) but mine is ridiculous. I don't want to carry it.

Any suggestions as to how to get this Delica a little easier to open?

Sent from my KIW-L24 using Tapatalk
 
Oil on the tang where the lock bar rides? Can you tell if its from the pressure of the lock bar or something to do with pivot tension/washers?
 
kniferbro said:
Oil on the tang where the lock bar rides? Can you tell if its from the pressure of the lock bar or something to do with pivot tension/washers?
Click to expand...
I tried oil on the tang.

It seems like it has to do with the pivot tension.

Sent from my KIW-L24 using Tapatalk
 
My Delica was also stiff when new. It has smoothed out after about a month of so. Go easy on lube.
 
Yes I did adjust but it was still rather stiff but is fine now. The Delica has one heck of a spring in the lock bar.
 
It does, it'll break in nicely over time though. With enough time and love most locks will end up being very smooth.
 
Check the screw that the lockbar pivots on also .
That screw can have a huge effect on the stiffness of the blade opening , loosen that off a fraction and see if that helps .
Also in my experience less is more when it comes to lube on a lockback .


Ken
 
Light lube and a little ,almost barely able to notice, turn of the pivot and/or lock bar screws. Mess with it a little at a time. Mine after about a month snaps open and falls closed. Most importantly with zero blade play.
 
old time tip: Pinch the lockbar with thumb and finger of one hand to keep it fully disengaged. With the other hand, move the blade open and closed.
This helps you isolate and quantify how much stiffness is due to blade pivot tension/frame interface, and tang-lockbar roughness/spring tension.

Then proceed as indicated by results.

good luck
 
nickedone said:
old time tip: Pinch the lockbar with thumb and finger of one hand to keep it fully disengaged. With the other hand, move the blade open and closed.
This helps you isolate and quantify how much stiffness is due to blade pivot tension/frame interface, and tang-lockbar roughness/spring tension.

Then proceed as indicated by results.

good luck
Click to expand...
Been there, done that. Thx for the reply.

Sent from my KIW-L24 using Tapatalk
 
My Delica 4 was super, unbearably stiff too. I tried all the remedies above, but it wouldn't break in. Ultimately the lock bar tension was still way overboard!
I disassembled the knife and had two choices; bend the lock bar spring or radius the blade detent. The spring is super ridged and I didn't feel I could adjust it without ruining something. So, I gently radiused the detent, mostly hand-working it on a sanding block, then reassembling periodically until it met my satisfaction. I wish I had taken before and after pictures, but there is a square portion on the blade tang that acts as a detent. Mine is a bit less square now! :)

Yes, the warranty is almost certainly void at this point. I could have sent the knife to Golden, but it just wasn't worth the hassle to me, especially not knowing if it would come back meeting my expectations. Now I have a knife I like *almost* as much as my old Delica 1!

e7bed1cd49de7398ab46c1341729da6f.jpg
 
Last edited:
4mer_FMF said:
My Delica 4 was super, unbearably stiff too. I tried all the remedies above, but it wouldn't break in. Ultimately the lock bar tension was still way overboard!
I disassembled the knife and had two choices; bend the lock bar spring or radius the blade detent. The spring is super ridged and I didn't feel I could adjust it without ruining something. So, I gently radiused the detent, mostly hand-working it on a sanding block, then reassembling periodically until it met my satisfaction. I wish I had taken before and after pictures, but there is a square portion on the blade tang that acts as a detent. Mine is a bit less square now! :)

Yes, the warranty is almost certainly void at this point. I could have sent the knife to Golden, but it just wasn't worth the hassle to me, especially not knowing if it would come back meeting my expectations. Now I have a knife I like *almost* as much as my old Delica 1!

e7bed1cd49de7398ab46c1341729da6f.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply. I am going to give it a little longer. Otherwise, I will send it on to Golden, CO. I am disappointed as I expected the Delica to be as good as my Dragonfly. I'm also surprised given the rave reviews the knife gets online.

Sent from my KIW-L24 using Tapatalk
 
If it does go to Golden, please post back to let us know about the experience. I think the D-4 is a superlative design, but maybe some are coming out of Seki a bit rougher than others. I made similar comments on another thread today, so I should probably stop talking now. [emoji846]
 
I got one a few weeks ago and it was very stiff too. I saw the following suggestion and it worked very well.

First, crank the pivot down to where you can barely open and close the knife. Second, work the knife back and forth a whole bunch, pretty much until you can't stand doing it anymore. Finally, loosen the pivot back up, just to the point where you get a solid lockup without play and no more.

After doing that, my Delica is super-smooth, the Wave hook that mine has works perfectly, and I can flick it out if I give it a bit of wrist action.
 
Where is your clip? I had a Endura that was fairly difficult to open. My issue turned out to be a clip screw that was to long and pressing against the blade.

I was going to grind down the screw a bit but in the end I just moved the clip.
 
Another rare possibility is the lockbar has burr that rubs the liner (yes, at the side). It will result in difficulty of the lockbar to swing at the pivot. To fix this, it requires disassembly, so it might be better to send it to Spyderco.
 
Max Archer said:
I got one a few weeks ago and it was very stiff too. I saw the following suggestion and it worked very well.

First, crank the pivot down to where you can barely open and close the knife. Second, work the knife back and forth a whole bunch, pretty much until you can't stand doing it anymore. Finally, loosen the pivot back up, just to the point where you get a solid lockup without play and no more.

After doing that, my Delica is super-smooth, the Wave hook that mine has works perfectly, and I can flick it out if I give it a bit of wrist action.
Click to expand...

Awesome info, thanks! Worked with my Native 5 Lightweight.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top