SAK Mods! Post your pics, questions and ideas

[HolyRoller]

I doubt it. I haven’t tried drilling an Aitor before, but I doubt their stainless is soft enough to be cut by HSS. Carbide, masonry or diamond…but even then it’s tricky to pick or modify carbide or carbide tipped bits to work with a hand drill to cut stainless.

Hunting around and may have access to a drill press.

With that in mind, what would you suggest for a bit? I'm hoping not to sink too much money into the project, so I'm looking at packs of ⅛" bits on Amazon.

Would diamond abrasive bits work? It would they get too clogged up?

 

[kamakiri.knives]

Hunting around and may have access to a drill press.

With that in mind, what would you suggest for a bit? I'm hoping not to sink too much money into the project, so I'm looking at packs of ⅛" bits on Amazon.

Would diamond abrasive bits work? It would they get too clogged up?

With a press, I’d have a tendency to suggest carbide. Maybe a masonry bit with a spade shaped tip. Since I think those are inexpensive and are somewhat less prone to breakage IMO compared to twist drill and similar tipped profiles. Work slow and feed steady.

Diamond can work too, but is often not precisely sized and they wear down as you go and grit is lost. Cooling the tip helps. Also pretty inexpensive IMO but you might need several or need some different sizes to get the right inside diameter in the tools.

 

[Guy McVer]

I hope turning the 3/32 stock down ends up easier for you.

Oh yeah, that should be no problem. Brass is super soft. Unfortunately the rods haven't shipped yet.

Dang. I’m sorry for suggesting to save it.

Don't worry about it. You were being helpful.

The main problem I was having with the pin head was that I would file around the outside but there was still this thin lip of brass left over at the bottom of the head where it meets the aluminum. My file couldn't reach this. So I tried scraping it but that only made it worse. Everything I did just made it worse, because it turns out that the aluminum sideplates are pretty soft too. Yeah, not fun.

Thankfully it only takes around a minute or two to just file the whole pin head down, and another minute or two to get through the pin head on the other side. From there, the pin just popped right out. If that method hadn't been so easy then I probably would've driven myself crazy and completely ruined both of the side plates trying to remove the pin.

I was pretty frustrated by that point and just glad to be done with it.

 

[kamakiri.knives]

Don't worry about it. You were being helpful.

Thanks for that and I’m glad you feel that way. I’m always critical of bad or incomplete advice…especially when given to somebody trying something for the first time.

The main problem I was having with the pin head was that I would file around the outside but there was still this thin lip of brass left over at the bottom of the head where it meets the aluminum. My file couldn't reach this. So I tried scraping it but that only made it worse. Everything I did just made it worse, because it turns out that the aluminum sideplates are pretty soft too. Yeah, not fun.

Thankfully it only takes around a minute or two to just file the whole pin head down, and another minute or two to get through the pin head on the other side. From there, the pin just popped right out. If that method hadn't been so easy then I probably would've driven myself crazy and completely ruined both of the side plates trying to remove the pin.

I was pretty frustrated by that point and just glad to be done with it.

Glad you got it done and I should have pointed out that some lip is unavoidable when filing the sides and that the focus needs to be getting the bulk of the diameter under 2.2mm and as round as possible. I did forget to mention that a good file for this is a SAK metal saw used upside-down.
I was feeling guilty enough that I did one again this morning and took some pics. Only tools used were a stainless saw on a Ranger, 1/16” punch and hammer.

You can see the leftover ring of the material that wasn’t filed and that I didn’t quite get the diameter all the way down to the shank diameter. One hard hit to get it to release and one to push it through. Maybe this will help anyone trying to save the pin in the future.

 

[penguin9]

I've re-handled several traditional/lslipjoint knives, but this is my first attempt at re-handling a SAK. I posted this in the Traditional sub-forum a few days ago, but thought I'd post it here as well.

This is an old Bantam I had laying around that I took apart and gave it some new Olivewood scales.

This was quick and fun. I'm thinking about doing another where I want to add a saw to a Recruit, remove the openers, and grind down the small blade for whittling.

Mark

 

[Hickory n steel]

Has anybody ever replaced the blade on a classic or rambler with a package opener from the mini champ?

And to that note do any modders here have a left over package opener they don't need ?

 

[tiguy7]

Has anybody ever replaced the blade on a classic or rambler with a package opener from the mini champ?

And to that note do any modders here have a left over package opener they don't need ?

Who would give up the orange peeler on their MiniChamp? You might be able to make one out of the cuticle pusher.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Who would give up the orange peeler on their MiniChamp? You might be able to make one out of the cuticle pusher.

That's a possibility I suppose, but If I gotta grind and reshape I could probably just do that to the knife and not have to take it apart.

It's looking like my idea is probably just not going to happen though.
you can buy what is most certainly not the the real deal orange peeler blade directly from China, but I'm not doing that.

I don't know who would want to leave it off, but I figure there's bound to be some modder out there who chose to leave it off.

 

[HolyRoller]

I just received my ⅛ barrel pivots from knifekits. Does anyone know if they're threaded all the way through?

If I can shorten them, I'll only need to drill my g10 enough to fit the screw itself, giving more contact area for the screw head which is only a hair larger than the barrel diameter.

Otherwise, I feel like I won't have sufficient hold if I don't use a washer. And since I'm not set up to countersink, that's going to look like ass.

 

[tiguy7]

I just received my ⅛ barrel pivots from knifekits. Does anyone know if they're threaded all the way through?

If I can shorten them, I'll only need to drill my g10 enough to fit the screw itself, giving more contact area for the screw head which is only a hair larger than the barrel diameter.

Otherwise, I feel like I won't have sufficient hold if I don't use a washer. And since I'm not set up to countersink, that's going to look like ass.

Every 1/8” diameter barrel I have ever seen is through threaded with a #2X56TPI tap. #2 screws can be found with different diameter heads as well as different head shapes.

 

[Hashishiin]

And thank you! It was awesome working together!

That weaved one is amazing, wow... Great job.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I decided to bite the bullet and just reshaped the blade on my new to me rambler into a package opener.


I've never actually used the Vic package opener blade so I've got nothing to compare it to, but this seems to work perfectly fine.

 

[Guy McVer]

I decided to bite the bullet and just reshaped the blade on my new to me rambler into a package opener.

I've never actually used the Vic package opener blade so I've got nothing to compare it to, but this seems to work perfectly fine.

Not bad. I was thinking there wouldn't be enough thickness in the blade to make it properly, but you showed that it could be done.

Now I'm thinking I might try this on an old Classic that's been sharpened a bit too much.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Not bad. I was thinking there wouldn't be enough thickness in the blade to make it properly, but you showed that it could be done.

Now I'm thinking I might try this on an old Classic that's been sharpened a bit too much.

It's thinner which I would say is less ideal but it's sufficient enough.

 

[Guy McVer]

I just ordered some 3/32" brass rods. My plan is to roll them in sandpaper to polish them down to 2.2mm.

I'm just going to try to take one or two Waiters and turn it/them into an Apprentice. I already have the required backside phillips pieces, so I won't be taking apart any donor SAKs.

I’d just try to reuse the pin.

Good luck whichever way you go.

I hope turning the 3/32 stock down ends up easier for you.

So I actually found a post suggesting that I might be able to just use the 3/32" rod without reducing the diameter by file/sandpaper.

SAK mod: question on pin size

SAK mod: question on pin size

forum.multitool.org

The interesting (to me) part says that "when I took apart my Spartan, I noticed the pivot hole in the reamer/punch is well over 2.5mm, even though it rides on 2.2mm rod. Yet it still functioned fine."

1. 2.5mm is larger than 3/32".
2. The Spartan is a 91mm model, but...
3. ...the reamer is a backside tool, and...
4. ...the backside pivot diameters are the same on 84mm and 91mm models.
5. The backside tools between the 84mm and 91mm models are also identical to one another and are therefore interchangeable.

It's hard for me to tell the difference by eye between 2.2mm, 2.38mm (3/32"), and 2.5mm, but it does appear plausible that the 3/32" rod will also fit through the holes on the 84mm Waiter's sideplates without any modification. I won't know for sure until I can actually try it.

Worthy of note is that it may affect the tool slightly.

Reply #5 by a user with an oddly familiar username says "It can work, but the tools will not have the same compression from the backspring and will protrude the same 0.12mm up/out when opened or closed. So snap and hold-open forces will be reduced a bit."

It is reasonable to assume that the opposite would also be true; increasing the pivot diameter would increase the snap and decrease the protrusion.

 

[kamakiri.knives]

but it does appear plausible that the 3/32" rod will also fit through the holes on the 84mm Waiter's sideplates without any modification. I won't know for sure until I can actually try it.

This is the part that’s an issue. You could try to open the liner holes to 3/32”. The original riveting damages the one in the backside anyway. Opening the up would ‘refresh’ and square up the hole. The main downside is removing material toward the edge.

Reply #5 by a user with an oddly familiar username says "It can work, but the tools will not have the same compression from the backspring and will protrude the same 0.12mm up/out when opened or closed. So snap and hold-open forces will be reduced a bit."

Geez. That guy. Haha.

Post #3 is talking about using 3/32” in the end.

Post #5 might work for you to help reduce the slop if you use 3/32” in lieu of 2.5mm.

And as I mentioned earlier, it’s far easier IMO to cut the pins down over sanding. Like one might do on a lathe.

Looking forward to your finished project.

 

[kamakiri.knives]

And in an effort to ‘future proof’ my posts…

4. ...the backside pivot diameters are the same on 84mm and 91mm models.

This is generally true. At least within any specific time period after 1951…excluding the ‘crab claw’ 91mm produced a bit later than that. So in any given year, this is true, IMO.

However…

5. The backside tools between the 84mm and 91mm models are also identical to one another and are therefore interchangeable.

This is not true in an absolute sense. Any time from before about 1990, 3/32” or 2.5mm will not fit in the Awl or CS or Phillips. So don’t try to fit somewhat old parts in the swap. Certainly not any square Phillips or 5-turn CS.

I haven’t checked on any of the other backside tools post 1990 for this issue, but I suspect all would have retained the smaller diameter holes.

I’m sure there’s some exceptions to what I’ve explained above. Like I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s also not true post 2017…things I haven’t investigated yet.

 

[Guy McVer]

So for anyone still wondering, the 3/32" (2.38mm) rod did not fit through the backside pivot holes in the aluminum sideplates on the 84mm Waiter. You could drill those sideplate holes a bit larger to make the rod fit, and that would certainly be a lot easier than filing/sanding down the rod. But as it was already pointed out, this means removing material right at the edge which will risk making it just a little bit more structurally weaker. I personally don't think it would make that much difference, but I am not the expert here. I will say that I think it would probably make the most difference for the corkscrew when compared to the amount and direction of force put on this area by any of the other tools. You're pulling straight up when uncorking wine. None of the other tools are used like that except for the parcel hook, which basically nobody uses anyway. Let's be real.

Anyway, I did the next part the hard way on purpose. I laid some pieces of sandpaper flat and I sanded the end of the brass rod by hand, starting with 120 and 240 grit. I slowly rolled the rod around between my thumb and forefinger as I pushed it back and forth across the sandpaper, to make sure I was sanding the rod evenly all the way around. I stopped periodically to test fit the rod in the sideplates. Once I had about 1/4" poking through the other side of both plates, I switched to 400 grit, then 800, then 1200, and finally 3000 to polish. Next I put the rod back in and notched it 1/4" away from the sideplate, pulled it back out, and began sawing through it at this point. I could have used cutters, but I wanted to do it the hard way. I could've also used a hacksaw, but I opted instead to use the sawing edge of a metal file from a 91mm SAK. This actually took around 7-10 minutes, which was longer than I expected, but the file itself was fairly old and worn.

I then sanded the cut end to smooth and round it out, and then I repeated the sanding process on the cut side of the piece of rod until the whole piece was able to fit all the way through both both plates and come fully out through the other side.

I have digital calipers. I could've used them to measure the rod's diameter to get it evenly down to 2.2mm (or close enough). I could also have used a power drill to turn the rod while I pressed a diamond coated file into it, to reduce the diameter more easily. I chose not to do any of these things because I am trying to prove that this can all be done by hand with minimal skill and a few common inexpensive tools. So far I've just used sandpaper and a metal saw from a swiss army knife. You could substitute that with a cheap hacksaw blade instead.

So now the rod piece is sitting in the assembled SAK, 1/4" poking out on either side, waiting to be peened. The backside phillips is in place and all tools have a good snap. I ordered a small peening hammer for 15 bucks and I am just waiting until I can use it.

Let's just see how badly I @#$% up the peening.

Oh by the way, the 3/32" brass rod I bought is K&S #8163, Made in USA.

 

[Hashishiin]

Does anybody know if Wenger and Victorinox parts are interchangable?

 

[kamakiri.knives]

Does anybody know if Wenger and Victorinox parts are interchangable?

Some tools are, backsprings not really.

The Vic 91mm are probably the easiest to be cross compatible as many of the tangs are similar and they both use 2.5mm end pins. Some Wenger parts fit Vic 84mm pretty easily. Lots can be made to fit otherwise, but take a bit more work to adapt/modify parts to fit.