Ok, I give. Whats the secret for getting a Delica spring back in place?

powernoodle

powernoodle

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Jul 21, 2004
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Here's the deal.

For giggles I thought I would make a FFG black FRN Delica 4 by placing black FRN scales on a blue FFG Delica.

With me so far?

I get 'em both dissected nicely, and they are laying there next to each other like filleted fish on my bench. I am about to create a new life form in my secret, underground lair.

I say to myself, "Powernoodle, just swap the blades." So thats what I do. The new FrankenSpydie with FFG blade and black FRN goes together like a dream. I figure I missed my calling as a brain surgeon.

Then comes the other one: the carcass from the blue FFG knife, with a transplanted SE blade in place. A sweet, blue SE Delica. Pleased with my success on the other knife, I try to get her back together.

But no matter what I do, the spring will not stay in place long enough for me to slap the liner on top of it. Its almost as if Sal knew what I was going to do, and he machined it in his Evil Workshop in such a way that its impossible to make it stay put. I can get it in there (wedged on one end in the FRN, and the other end on the lock bar), and when I take my finger off, the spring immediately flies out and I hear a "SPROING" followed by someone (me) cursing.

So is the difference in blade thickness between the original FFG and the transplanted SE blade the difference? Is there a difference in machining that is playing tricks on me? Something ain't right here.

thanks!
 
Assemble the knife fully with the washers and all while leaving the lockbar out. Then, carefully push the lockbar down into place and slip the pin in. It is best to do so with the knife in the open position but be careful. Maybe wrap a cloth around the blade to be safe.
 
Thanks guys. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like the video that Brother Unit linked to might do it. Thats a sneaky way of doing it, that doesn't give the spring any chance of escaping. I like it. I'll report back after I give it a shot.
 
I am glad to help.

Tape up that blade and I am sure you will have no problems.
 
I don't know if the g-10 Endura is significantly stiffer than the FRN versions, but when I last took it apart, I found that it was easy just to take one scale, insert the screws, and then put all the pieces in that way. You flex the spring with one hand, then put the blade on the pivot with the other. Once you get it all in place (the blade will be in the open position) I just put the other scale on top and screwed it all together.
 
Well, I got them both back together, but the lock bar on the blue/SE knife would not be flush when the knife was open. So I took them both apart again and swapped lock bars. That did the trick, as the lock bars are definitely machined differently in the "hook" area that engages the blade. After switching lock bars, the springs would stay in place as well. So this has been a learning experience for me, and I appreciate the help. But at least now I have a FFG Delica with black FRN, and a SE with blue.

I'll post a couple of pics and maybe a very short review in another thread.

thanks again
 
I'm interested in doing the same thing and am glad I came across this thread. I have my mind set on buying a foliage green Delica 4 and putting the FFG VG-10 blade on it from one of the new colored models.
 
powernoodle said:
Well, I got them both back together

thanks again
Click to expand...

Glad you got everything working.

I have noticed the same sort of (lock bar) behavior. I have found that models change slightly and without notice on these things. I could speculate why that is, but who cares?...I just recommend keeping lock bar and blade mated. It has not failed me yet.
 
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