Can swiss army knives be pilfered for their cool gadgets?

D

Dago Red

Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
987
Hey guys,

I was at a beer festival a couple weeks back and when my buddy and I got ready to light up our cigars I had to dig in my pocket and get my cutter, which was in there with my pocket knife. he pulled out his pocket knife, a swiss army, which had a cool cutter built in!

Personally although I own multi-blade knives and a couple big swiss army I find much of what's on them stuff I don't need in my normal use (a leather punch? a corkscrew? when was the last time you needed a corkscrew for bourbon? ;) )

I've thought a nice single blade pocket knife, with a cigar cutter, would be really cool. That's what made me wonder, does anybody out there ever just take the good parts out of a production knife to accessorize their own?

Also makes me wonder, can a swiss army knife be slimmed down? taken apart, the crap you don't want chucked out, put back together and better scales added? I've never been real happy with swiss army knives blades either.

Thanks guys.

Here's a picture of one
 
yes they can be modified. takes some skill and a few tools (I've seen some cool jigs made) and lots of patients! I've seen some beautiful modifications which you can see if you dig up older threads here or in other forums.

maybe that's why SAK has so many models! a lot of people around the world like and need that corkscrew, when you need a corkscrew you need a corkscrew and nothing else works short of breaking up the cork and pushing it in the drink.

It is also used for other things like untying knots, awl, holding special tools (tiny screw-driver) and more (think McGuyver like).

SAK's are not super expensive you cheap bas....errr conservative person :p (just being silly/joking here ;) ) but most of us do have preferences and would like a "custom" SAK but that would bring up the price and one of the attractive reasons to buy a SAK is the low price.

if you ever get around to modifying your own, don't forget to show us and good luck!
 
You can modify Vics many ways, it's fairly easy to remove layers and switch parts. The only caveat is that you should take care when disassembling the knife especially plastic handled ones is to keep the scale retaining washers from the original pins, most 91mm versions use 2.2mm and 2.5mm pins. Finally, VIC parts are matched to appropriate backsprings, take care in switching parts to insure the recipiant knife's backspring works with the transplanted part. When you put the knife back together check often when peening the pins, you can get it too tight, believe me I know.
 
Also makes me wonder, can a swiss army knife be slimmed down? taken apart, the crap you don't want chucked out, put back together and better scales added? I've never been real happy with swiss army knives blades either.
Click to expand...

I think if your not "real happy" with the blades, I suspect you need to look elsewhere. Why make a $15 knife into a $30 knife; $30 into $60, and $50 one into $100 knife? The beauty of the SAK lies in their cost versus usefulness. I use them hard and I have no problem replacing one.

Assuming you can live with the blades, I think you can find one model that is slim enough and has most of the tools you might like. I personally don't care much for the ones with a cork screw, but I loved it when I bought wine with corks in the bottle. The awl is quite useful for punching holes in leather. ... the usefulness goes on and on, but none of the tools are heavy duty work tools. One of my complaints about the multi-tool designs is that the blade lacks much usefulness and for me it is THE most used item. In your case, perhaps a simple multi-tool by one of the manufacturers would be a good choice.
 
I don't want to turn a 15 dollar knife into a 30, in fact I want to turn the 30 into a 15 by eliminating things, wouldn't it be cool if SAG offered a build it site where you choose the features?! I want the cigar scissors. I have multi-tools, leather punches, bottle openers. My whisky never requires a corkscrew. My main vices are bourbon and cigars. I have a cutter on my key ring, a cutter in my car, in my office etc.

the cost isn't the factor, I don't like any more weight and thickness in my pockets than I need. In a pinch I use my knife to cut the cigar, works fine. but I haven't carried a SAG in years because much of what they have I haven't found a need for in my course of events. I'd love to mess with one myself, sounds like it might be tricksy but maybe on a slow night when the kids have gone to bed I'll play with one.

I saw the one with the punch, but am not a punch fan, that second one though, now that might fit the bill well enough no need to mess around. A nail file I have found a need for, in fact my knives get a lot of use cleaning my nails. thanks!

Red
 
I’m looking for a cool little Swiss army pocket knife with loads of little cool gadgets.
But not too expensive, it would be useful because I’m always needing a knife or something and its quick annoying but I want a cool looking one as well.
 
I'm with the others. Just find the model that has just the stuff that you want. There are DOZENS of factory models, and a site called SwissBianco makes custom ones in batches with cooperation from Victorinox and Wenger.

Why not look up the cigar-cutter model? I know Victorinox makes one. Not sure about Wenger. Treat the blade as a back-up to your tactical knife. Sometimes, it's nice to have a small, clean, sharp blade, if you've let your big one get dirty, gummed-up with tape glue, or even (gasp) dull. ;)
 
The reasons i love saks si becouse i can choose what i want to carry depend on the mood, situation or task that i'm gonna face or deal with... they're very2 afforable and i'm happy with steel blade, tools and all the features...

the one i carry most are usually the slim and light models...
 
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