2011 Cap Lifter modification

The Government

The Government

Joined
Aug 21, 2009
Messages
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This is meant to be a quick update on a modification I made to my 2011 forum knife. For those of you who do not know, the stock cap lifter was a bit of an upset to those of us who planned on using it. Now that the job is done, I will be carrying this knife a lot more.

Yesterday I finally got around to purchasing the right sized dremel bit. It only took me about 15 minutes to do this job. I used the lowest speed setting and used the marker removal trick to see what I was grinding.

I have two of these knives, and I wanted to take this picture before I got rid of one of them. Both had identical cap lifters to begin with.

Mod on left, stock on right
bfee993e.jpg


It is failsafe now. It does not miss or slip at all.

Questions, comments, and pictures are welcome. I would like to see how others solved this problem.

Mainly, I just wanted to show everyone how easy this was. Let there be no cap lifters that can't lift caps!:D

Thanks for looking,

Max
 
Forgive the obvious question, but I wasn't here for the 2011 knife. Was/is the original cap lifter unusable as designed? Too shallow an angle?

Thanks.

~ P.
 
I dont have one of these, but that is a nice grind. You gave it quite a bit more "bite" there :thumbup:
 
Some people claimed theirs worked fine, while others had problems. There was a bit of debate over whether it was in issue of design or technique of use. Mine personally would just barely catch, but didn't really have any 'bite' to it. As soon as I started to pry, it would slip off. My unconfirmed (and probably wrong) theory is that some of them had just the tiniest bit too much metal removed in the finishing process.

Nice job, Max.:thumbup: I modified the shape of mine similar to yours, but don't have any before and after pics. I used a small round file to shape it and then wrapped some sandpaper around a dowel to clean up the file marks. Same result, just a slower process.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone!

pertinux said:
Forgive the obvious question, but I wasn't here for the 2011 knife. Was/is the original cap lifter unusable as designed? Too shallow an angle?
Click to expand...

To be 100% honest, GEC's version of a cap lifter had me wondering if they secretly supported the reestablishment of prohibition.:D

SonnyJim said:
Great mod! Do you have a pic of that "right sized dremel bit"? Part #?
Click to expand...

Here is a picture with the bit. It has about an 1/8th inch diameter. (not to confuse anyone, but the modified knife is on the right side in this picture)

6e9b4f47.jpg
 
Last edited:
I was wondering why I had to battle to open bottles with my 2011 FK.
Will be a great task for my new dremel.
 
Hi Max -

Thanks! I think your modded version even looks better - nice work!

best

mqqn
 
pertinux said:
Forgive the obvious question, but I wasn't here for the 2011 knife. Was/is the original cap lifter unusable as designed? Too shallow an angle?

Thanks.

~ P.
Click to expand...

Mine was not perfect, but I could easily make it work by not trying to lift the cap straight on, but rather an a slight angle to catch one of those kinks on the rim of the cap. Others reported problems resulting in complete dehydration. :grumpy:

That mod is great, nice work... it looks just like some others I have that work with ease.
 
Nice work! Looks like you did a great job bringing the curve to a point. Mine has a very small flat spot on the end of the lifter-arm.

What tool(s) did you use?
 
I did the same thing last year with a diamond Dremel tip. The key is increasing that bottom radius and getting a bit
more "hook" to the prying tip. I think your job looks a little neater than mine. Sometimes that Dremel spinning at
super high RPM can get away from you and skip across the flats of the caplifter. :o
 
comoha said:
I did the same thing last year with a diamond Dremel tip. The key is increasing that bottom radius and getting a bit
more "hook" to the prying tip. I think your job looks a little neater than mine. Sometimes that Dremel spinning at
super high RPM can get away from you and skip across the flats of the caplifter. :o
Click to expand...

For delicate grinding ops I mount my Dremel in the drill press at horizontal, and bring the steel to the bit...
For just the very reason you mentioned comoha...
 
sitflyer said:
For delicate grinding ops I mount my Dremel in the drill press at horizontal, and bring the steel to the bit...
For just the very reason you mentioned comoha...
Click to expand...

That makes perfect sense. Good tip!
 
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