How difficult is it to customize a SAK?

M

MacTech

Joined
Jan 7, 2006
Messages
611
I was thinking, the local pawnshop has some great prices on SAK's, and i like to tinker with stuff, take it apart, reassemble it, upgrade and modify it.....

how difficult would it be to build my own *custom* SAK, i have access to a good amount of tools, including a huge steel vise......

i'd assume that SAK's are press-fitted together on the brass rods visible in the translucent scale models

i'd love to be able to build my own SAK, or modify one of my existing ones, for example, remove the fish scaler and file from my Swisschamp and put the bitdriver and bit holder from a Cybertool in their place, or maybe add a wood saw to my Cybertool 34....

i'm contemplating picking up a couple of the $5 or $10 used SAK's at the pawnshop and "Frankenstein" (Pronounced "Fronk-en-steen" ;) ) them together for practice, then pick up another Swisschamp chassis and build my ultimate Swisschamp

perhaps pull apart my Spartan Lite and replace the useless flashlight with another tool...

or pick up a third SC chassis and remove the blades, saw, and scissors to make a TSA-Safe Swisschamp (not that i go flying, just for fun to see if i could do it)

let me see, if i was to build my own Victorinox, i'd have the following features;
large & small blades
scissors
pliers
wood saw
Cybertool bitdriver and bitholder (maybe two of them, one loaded with a full compliment of Torx drivers and the other phillips/flat drivers)
inline phillips
magnifying lens
can opener
bottle opener
StayGlow scales

tools i'd remove or leave out;
fish scaler
file
corkscrew (i'd replace it with the Phillips driver that goes there)
chisel
package hook


yes, my MacTech Edition Swisschamp would have 3 Phillips drivers, but i have no use for a corkscrew, i don't wear glasses and don't need the eyeglass driver
 
I've often wondered how easy it would be to modify a SAK like that as well. I've always wanted a Compact with the bit holder & driver from the Cybertool.

I had the same train of thought you did as towards changing things by removing the brass caps and rods and then mixing and matching the tools I want. I presume it will be slightly more difficult than that but it seems like it would be the correct way to go.
 
From what I've heard, the trickiest part is getting the pivot pins peened such that the tension is just right; too little and you get blade play, too much and you can't open the blades!

Other than that, you need to understand that the knives are built in "layers"; on each layer, the backspring, two tools at each end of the spring, and any tool on the back (awl, corkscrew, hook, etc.) are designed as a matched set, so you can generally only swap one layer for another, unless you've got truly /\/\4d modding 5k1LLz. ;)
 
So it's not as simple as "Snap-Tite" assembly then, D'OH!, figured as much....

I'm still going to check out the pawnshop again this Saturday, i distinctly remember seeing one of those long (110/111MM) SAK's with a gray lock square on the back scale, maybe i'll be lucky and find a Workchamp or something??
 
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