Very tight opening on Delica?

T

thiskidddd

Joined
Jun 4, 2016
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56
Hello all! I've purchased my first Spyderco Delica 4, standard VG-10 FRN from the exchange over here. The knife is good, and came a little tight. I disassembled and cleaned and oiled the knife, but it's still too tight if I want to eliminate blade play. Any ideas/ is this normal? Thanks!

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How tight is tight? Can you deploy with a single finger (thumb) in the Spydiehole or does it take two hands? Loosening the pivot screw at all causes blade play? Does the blade likewise hang up when deployed and you release the back lock? Does it take force to swing closed? Was this a heavily used knife or was it new or like new? I've had several Delicas over the years and have noticed that they tend to be a little variable in stiffness out of the box. I've yet to see one that didn't smooth out in time though.
 
Like it cannot be flicked open with spydiehole. When I release back lock, I have to swing it down to get the blade to fall. Otherwise, one hand use if possible, but I must have thumb on hole the whole time

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I cant flick my endura open. I tbink its because the lockbar rides on the blade and keeps some pressure on it. It has loosened up over time and use but i think it will never be as smooth as say my military.
 
Mine was tight at first, but I took it part and oiled it and also I've used it quite a bit and it will loosen up over time. Just keep using it. I'm at the point where I can easily flick it open whereas I couldn't do that when I first bought it.
 
I have/had many Spydercos, especially Delicas.

It's not uncommon to get one that's a bit stiff when new but all have eventually loosened up.

If you hadn't disassembled it, voiding the warranty, sending it in to Spyderco would have been a 'last resort' option.
 
wilsonj1018 said:
just open and close it 1000 times, it will be much nicer when you are done....
Click to expand...

Yup, this worked on mine. But I did clean and lube it several times along the way, too. I also tinkered with the Pivot screw very carefully. I actually tightened it up a tad, then worked the knife probably a 1000 times total over a few days. Then cleaned it up, loosened the screw to just where it has no blade play. After all that, I can flick it with thumb or middle finger. At first I couldn't think of flicking it.
 
I don't believe disassembling will void a warranty, unless the warranty issue was a result of it being disassembled.
 
thiskidddd said:
Hello all! I've purchased my first Spyderco Delica 4, standard VG-10 FRN from the exchange over here. The knife is good, and came a little tight. I disassembled and cleaned and oiled the knife, but it's still too tight if I want to eliminate blade play. Any ideas/ is this normal? Thanks!

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Well, Delicas have tight tolerances. They are not flickable like a liner lock, in the first place, but you get a better lock. It will break in and be butter smooth over time. You can open and close it a lot and that will help. You can make this go faster by putting some water soluble polishing paste/compound in the knife and work it back and forth (old fashioned whitening tooth paste will also work, but it is slower due to the finer grit). Then, wash out the knife with water, flush out the water with WD-40, then lube with your choice of lubes.
 


This D4 SG Spyderco the first "serious" folder I ever purchased. I no longer remember what it was like new ten years ago, but for as long as I can recall, it has performed flawlessly: smooth opening, solid lockup. I'm much the minimalist and don't have many OH folders, but this one isn't going anywhere soon.
 
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