Can you fit a 154CM Leatherman blade from the Charge to the Wingman?

[Hashishiin]

So, I won a contest my first week posting here, and got a Leatherman Wingman. It was my first GOOD multitool, as I had a terrible SAK rip-off before that that did not work for a thing. I love it, and it was my introduction to multitools and such, also like Victorinox, no like Gerber. Anyways... I carry my LM so much, I am thinking of giving it a blade upgrade. I know that the spring-pliers are for me, and I just got a SAK Classic with GREAT scissors that have a perfect spring in 'em. I noticed a liner-lock on the side of the scissors, too, same as the knife side, but the scissors do not lock, as if they were expecting someone to put a blade there. It is in the same spot where a knife would go, seems like everything adds up... would this be possible, would this fit? Any owners of both know if the sizes are compatible? My Leatherman would be unstoppable with a 420HC blade AND a 154CM blade...

Also, bonus question, how many of you guys like the Vic Explorer? How useful is the magnifying glass? Seems useful, for edges. I want it mainly for that reason, but others as well. Eliminates lots of my needs for my lighter. And the one I am eyeing is a beautiful model, too, great peice of art.

 

[afishhunter]

I don't know the answer to your LM question.

The guy two doors down loaned me his S52(?) yesterday. The 85mm version of the Champ, anyway, so I could inspect some fountain pen nibs.
I'm guessing VIC uses the same lense across the board on the knives that have a magnifier.

It worked, but the magnification was only around 5x.
I think for inspecting the edge, a 10x or greater lupe might be a better choice. You can get a set of 10x 30x and 50 or 60 x lupes for under $20 on the big river site. Supposedly they are multi lens lupes, so will be clearer, and might not have as much glare.

I'll borrow that SAK after lunch, inspect a couple edges, and update/edit this post to let you know how well it worked - or didn't as the case may be.

EDIT:
Hashishiin
As promised, I borrowed the S52 after lunch, and just checked the edge on a couple of my knives.
A LOT of optical edge distortion (wavy) and glare. Can't really make out any details on the edge condition.

Concerning your Wingman:
Thinking about it, I had a Wingman years ago. If my memory is functioning properly (no promises or guarantees) the Wingman is smaller than the Wave/Charge/Signal tools, so a Wave/Charge/Signal won't fit.
The blade on my Charge+TTI is roughly 3.25 inch from the center of the pivot to the tip, maybe a 1/16 less. (plane edge blade)

 

[Hashishiin]

I don't know the answer to your LM question.

The guy two doors down loaned me his S52(?) yesterday. The 85mm version of the Champ, anyway, so I could inspect some fountain pen nibs.
I'm guessing VIC uses the same lense across the board on the knives that have a magnifier.

It worked, but the magnification was only around 5x.
I think for inspecting the edge, a 10x or greater lupe might be a better choice. You can get a set of 10x 30x and 50 or 60 x lupes for under $20 on the big river site. Supposedly they are multi lens lupes, so will be clearer, and might not have as much glare.

I'll borrow that SAK after lunch, inspect a couple edges, and update/edit this post to let you know how well it worked - or didn't as the case may be.

Thank you my man, very much appreciate the info. Will check back later for the update.

 

[hsherzfeld]

The short answer is yes, a Charge blade will fit on the Wingman/Sidekick, but not very well. The Wingman's pivot post is smaller than the Charge's pivot, so the blade will rattle around unless you put a bushing in the blade's pivot hole to make the hole smaller. The big issue, however, is the fact that the geometry of the blade and the lock doesn't allow the blade to fold at all. The charge blade has more material around its pivot hole than the Wingman/Sidekick blades, which means that the bit of the tool frame that normally acts as the backspring for the blade doesn't have enough flex to allow the Charge blade to fold. You could probably grind off enough material to make the geometry work, but it would be tricky.

Incidentally, the Wingman's scissors are supposed to lock, but they often don't. I think the lock was really for the saw on the Wingman's identical twin, the Sidekick.

Finally, I love the Explorer! It's my default EDC SAK for urban and office carry. I find the magnifying glass (the current version is 6x magnification, by the way) very useful for reading small print on engineering drawings in the office and for examining bugs in the garden, but I wouldn't necessarily rely on it as a fire starter (I assume that was what you meant by replacing your lighter). It's pretty small for that, but it can be done.