SAK Mods! Post your pics, questions and ideas

[Guy McVer]

So you thing it will be solved if it sinks deeper?

If the bottom back corner of the Phillips driver sits slightly lower than the bottom front corner, then yes. It should angle the whole tool so that the tip sits slightly higher above the sideplate.

Back in the day they shaped the tools to slide by each other, even if touching when closed.

Actually, even the super oldschool Phillips layer with the grey plastic magnifier lens housing can have this issue.

Maybe you could file a bevel on the liner, or sand the philips down a little? How mych is scraping on the liner?

Just the edge of one of the fins of the Phillips head. I makes a nice little v knick in the sideplate unless you move the whole Phillips layer towards the center. Obviously you can't do that for a 2 layer SAK. It has to be at least 3 layers.

 

[Barbababa]

If the bottom back corner of the Phillips driver sits slightly lower than the bottom front corner, then yes. It should angle the whole tool so that the tip sits slightly higher above the sideplate.

Actually, even the super oldschool Phillips layer with the grey plastic magnifier lens housing can have this issue.

Just the edge of one of the fins of the Phillips head. I makes a nice little v knick in the sideplate unless you move the whole Phillips layer towards the center. Obviously you can't do that for a 2 layer SAK. It has to be at least 3 layers.

Maybe I am off here, but filing on the spring while the tool is in the same hole/rivet position would not raise the front of the tool, it should not to anything (if not the oposite). Maybe add material to the kick of the tool will raise it? If its on the outside sideplate, why not grind i nice thumb-slot like in the old school awl?
*is it the only tool on that spring?

 

[Guy McVer]

So I was playing around this morning and you know what kinda works? The back phillips fits in the scissors layer. It opens to 90 degrees and stays there, but it won't close all the way because the scissor layer's backspring curves out, which makes the back phillips poke up a little.

It's one of those "so close but so far" things. You could almost make a knifeless SAK with the scissors in place of the knife layer.

 

[Barbababa]

So I was playing around this morning and you know what kinda works? The back phillips fits in the scissors layer. It opens to 90 degrees and stays there, but it won't close all the way because the scissor layer's backspring curves out, which makes the back phillips poke up a little.

It's one of those "so close but so far" things. You could almost make a knifeless SAK with the scissors in place of the knife layer.

keep experimenting, we all learn from eachother

 

[Guy McVer]

Found an easy solution to the 2-layer inline Phillips problem, but I really hate it. You can just add an extra liner between the side plate and the inline Phillips layer. This moves the sideplate far enough away that it doesn't get hit when the inline Phillips is closing. I put together a test assembly with this extra liner solution. The extra liner looks out of place and it makes the SAK slightly thicker. The inline Phillips layer is already thick enough and I feel like this pushes it over the top, in addition to making the SAK look stupid.

There has to be a better solution.

 

[Barbababa]

Found an easy solution to the 2-layer inline Phillips problem, but I really hate it. You can just add an extra liner between the side plate and the inline Phillips layer. This moves the sideplate far enough away that it doesn't get hit when the inline Phillips is closing. I put together a test assembly with this extra liner solution. The extra liner looks out of place and it makes the SAK slightly thicker. The inline Phillips layer is already thick enough and I feel like this pushes it over the top, in addition to making the SAK look stupid.

There has to be a better solution.

no pics?

 

[Guy McVer]

Okay, so after sleeping on this I think the solution could be to remove some material from the bottom inside of the pivot hole of the inline Phillips driver. This should make the whole tool sit higher while at rest by allowing the spring to push the Phillips farther into the brass pivot rod. Unfortunately it will probably also have the effect of reducing the spring tension on the magnifier. A quick way to test this without actually modifying the Phillips would be to reduce the brass pivot's diameter, or use a smaller brass rod in the test assembly.

edit: nope! After testing this with a 3/32" rod and then 2.2mm rod, it's pretty clear that the backspring won't push the tool up the extra distance. All this does is make the Phillips driver sit loose. It doesn't seem to affect the spring tension on the magnifier though, which was unexpected.

Being able to test this idea without modifying the pivot hole was a very good thing.

 

[Guy McVer]

Behold: the SAS (Swiss Army Scissors)

This is exactly what it looks like. It's only a single layer with scissors and a back side Phillips screw driver. Nothing else. No knife, no combo tool, no other layers. Just a Phillips and scissors. This proves that you can make a knifeless SAK where the scissors replaces the blade layer. You can build a SAK starting with this layer and add whatever other layers you want. You can also use a corkscrew instead of the Phillips, but I chose the Phillips because it makes using the scissors feel better in the hand.

Both tools have a strong spring tension and a good closing snap. This wasn't the case when this mod started out. At first the spring tension was weak and the scissors wouldn't even close all the way. I had to do a bit of work to get this functioning the way you would want and expect it to feel, but now it's nice and snappy.

If anyone is interested, I can do a quick write-up about how I did this. Or you can try to guess. Shouldn't be too difficult.


For fun, here are some other name ideas:

Jetsetter Senior
Assistant
Tinker Slim
Specialist

What do you think?

 

[Rich S]

A SAK without a blade is just a weird little tool. IMHO useless. No offense intended. I guess if you know how you can mod up most anything.

 

[Wharn]

6AL-4V Titanium Voyageur

This is awesome. Lately my bantam has been my favorite carry but I was pondering how nice it would be with scissors.

 

[Spikediesel]

Behold: the SAS (Swiss Army Scissors)

This is exactly what it looks like. It's only a single layer with scissors and a back side Phillips screw driver. Nothing else. No knife, no combo tool, no other layers. Just a Phillips and scissors. This proves that you can make a knifeless SAK where the scissors replaces the blade layer. You can build a SAK starting with this layer and add whatever other layers you want. You can also use a corkscrew instead of the Phillips, but I chose the Phillips because it makes using the scissors feel better in the hand.

Both tools have a strong spring tension and a good closing snap. This wasn't the case when this mod started out. At first the spring tension was weak and the scissors wouldn't even close all the way. I had to do a bit of work to get this functioning the way you would want and expect it to feel, but now it's nice and snappy.

If anyone is interested, I can do a quick write-up about how I did this. Or you can try to guess. Shouldn't be too difficult.


For fun, here are some other name ideas:

Jetsetter Senior
Assistant
Tinker Slim
Specialist

What do you think?

Nice mod! This would be great to accompany a folder or fixed blade possibly even carry where blades aren’t allowed.

 

[Spikediesel]

This is awesome. Lately my bantam has been my favorite carry but I was pondering how nice it would be with scissors.

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment! Scissors are always a worthwhile upgrade

 

[kamakiri.knives]

What do you think?

I think it looks good, and should be useful to someone as an accessory tool.

But if it took you ‘a bit of work’ to make it function right, then there are other ways to do this that are easier, IMO.

 

[Guy McVer]

But if it took you ‘a bit of work’ to make it function right, then there are other ways to do this that are easier, IMO.

Sure, you could for example just remove the scissors layer out of a 93mm Pioneer X, slap the alox scales on that one layer by itself, peen that together and call it a day. You can also build a multi-layer knifeless SAK that way. But then you lose the pen, you lose the tweezers, you lose the toothpick slot, you lose the straight pin, you lose the back phillips/corkscrew, and you don't get the option to include a key ring for attaching a lanyard unless you also include the bottle/can opener layer. Still, what you end up with would be pretty thin, which is good for pocketability but also not as comfortable in the hand.

Alternatively you could buy some special 91mm scales without the back phillips/corkscrew cutout on one side, and just slap those on the scissors layer by itself. Again, you could also build a multi-layer knifeless SAK this way. But then you're stuck with either having the parcel hook or having no back side tool on your scissors layer at all. And those special scales can be a bit expensive.

Everything has its positives and negatives. I'm just showing you this one other option.

 

[kamakiri.knives]

This took no time to mock up:

I'm just showing you this one other option.

That’s what I’m doing. Well two more options. Easy and doesn’t require any adjustments for spring compression.

 

[Guy McVer]

This took no time to mock up:
<image removed>

That’s what I’m doing. Well two more options. Easy and doesn’t require any adjustments for spring compression.

If you're using the knife layer's backspring then I'm very interested in seeing what you have on the other pivot next to the spacer.

edit: please tell me it's not just some washers.

edit2: okay well I'm not going to wait around for an answer. Let me give you some pointers to help you figure this out. You've got your scissors on the wrong side. They're also obviously not closing fully yet. So that's your second problem. Your last problem is figuring out what you're going to put next to the spacer. There are a couple different things you can do. Washers or a bushing are fine for a mockup but are obviously not going to work for a final build.

good luck, and have fun.

 

[kamakiri.knives]

If you're using the knife layer's backspring then I'm very interested in seeing what you have on the other pivot next to the spacer.

How about two spacers? The other option is to use the scissor spring end cut to the exact same shape. I have these done similarly for 84mm scissor mods with the hook. Easy.

the only other thing that needs to be done is clearance for the scissor active lever end. Pretty easy. Just gotta cut from the 4th pin toward the main blade seat. This clearance doesn’t cause need to adjust anything backspring compression wise.

edit: please tell me it's not just some washers.

Washers wouldn’t hold the spring unless the exact right size. With a round perimeter, it could easily come out of adjustment.

 

[Guy McVer]

Oh, you replied while I was editing.

How about two spacers?

I don't want to spoil it, but you're eventually going to discover that you need something else there.

The other option is to use the scissor spring end cut to the exact same shape. I have these done similarly for 84mm scissor mods with the hook. Easy.

the only other thing that needs to be done is clearance for the scissor active lever end. Pretty easy. Just gotta cut from the 4th pin toward the main blade seat. This clearance doesn’t cause need to adjust anything backspring compression wise.

...unless you do all that jazz instead. Whoa, that is way more work than I did.

 

[Barbababa]

Have anyone who did their own liners try to imitate the way Victorinox does the press-out on the liner to exclude washers?
Does everyone even use washers when changing from the original liners, and if so, in what material?

 

[Guy McVer]

Have anyone who did their own liners try to imitate the way Victorinox does the press-out on the liner to exclude washers?
Does everyone even use washers when changing from the original liners, and if so, in what material?

I'm not aware that Victorinox ever actually had washers there. None of the older SAKs that I've taken apart had any washers. Maybe at some point they did use them, but I haven't seen it.

speaking of indentations...

Just the edge of one of the fins of the Phillips head. It makes a nice little v knick in the sideplate unless you move the whole Phillips layer towards the center. Obviously you can't do that for a 2 layer SAK. It has to be at least 3 layers.

Found an easy solution to the 2-layer inline Phillips problem, but I really hate it. You can just add an extra liner between the side plate and the inline Phillips layer. This moves the sideplate far enough away that it doesn't get hit when the inline Phillips is closing. I put together a test assembly with this extra liner solution. The extra liner looks out of place and it makes the SAK slightly thicker. The inline Phillips layer is already thick enough and I feel like this pushes it over the top, in addition to making the SAK look stupid.

There has to be a better solution.

I think I'm onto something...

This morning I had an idea to push the sideplate out at just one spot next to the backspring. A couple layers of transparent gorilla tape were added to the inside of the sideplate just above the back tools pivot. When the SAK is assembled, the backspring for the Phillips/magnifier layer pushes against the tape which causes the sideplate to bow outwards imperceptibly. This is just enough for the Phillips to clear the edge of the liner and avoid hitting it.

Obviously this isn't a permanent solution. The tape will eventually come off, but it does demonstrate that a more targeted approach could work.

What I'm thinking now is that I could take the round end of my ball peen hammer and strike that area of the sideplate to intentionally deform it. This might be tricky, and there's no guarantee that it won't affect the fit of the scale on that side or just be cancelled out by it.