SAK Mods! Post your pics, questions and ideas

Guy McVer said:
Usually with the smaller SAK customs they will tap their own threads in the holes for one scale and then screw the pivots directly into the scale itself.
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Sounds like that would make one side with a head, and the other without? And I guess the scales need to be in metal so the thread will hold? Sounds like a smart way to assemble the knife, but that would also make the tools ride on a threaded screw instead of a smooth pin, or is the screw smooth in the center?
That was a lot of ? … ;)
 
The screws were/are tapped into the back scale and ground flush.

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Here is an example of how you might go about finding creative solutions for including scale tools in a 74mm custom alox SAK with no scale tool slots. This is based on the Alox MoneyChamp build that I previously posted in this thread.

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From left to right: 3x1mm neodymium magnet, straight pin, modified Victorinox tweezers, Leatherman eyeglass screwdriver bit.

The plastic nub on the back of the tweezers has been thinned down with a file. The ends of the tweezer arms were cut off to reduce the the overall length of the tweezers. The tweezer tips have also been angled for greater precision.



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The eyeglass screwdriver bit can be wedged between the backsprings of one of the thin layers. The main body of the SAK can then be used as a screwdriver handle to drive the bit.

Using a thin layer to hold the bit is important because a thick layer will be too wide to hold the bit snugly enough, which causes the bit to wobble from side to side. A thin layer will hold the bit solidly so that it has no wobble.



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The small magnet is used to hold the bit and the straight pin in the parcel hook slot.


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The parcel hook closes down over the tools. The tools are just the right size to fit under the parcel hook without interfering with its ability to close down all the way. The magnet does not get stuck to the parcel hook. It does not interfere with the parcel hook opening or closing.

The magnet does stick out a little bit into the scissors layer, but its not a problem. This probably happens because the scissors backspring is so thick that it attracts the magnet very strongly.



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The position of the magnet still allows the scissors to also be able to close down all the way without any trouble. The magnet does not cause any issues. It does not get stuck on the scissors. It does not interfere with the scissors opening or closing.



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The tweezers are stored securely under the combo Phillips tool. The tweezers are modified to be exactly the right dimensions so that they do not stop the combo tool from being able to close down all the way. This took some trial and error to figure out. You can check if the tweezers are causing interference by pressing down on the spine of the combo tool. If the tool feels springy, then the tweezers are preventing it from closing all the way down. If there is no springiness, then the tweezers are not in the way.
 
GallenR said:
Hello everyone. I usually lurk here and don't post mods. I have a question though. I have this little Executive that I purchased from a well known SAK modder on Instagram. I had a screw that kept backing out on this knife. I had the bright idea to unscrew it and add some Loctite to it and screw it back in. BAD idea ! The knife basically exploded when I backed the screw out. I therefore had to disassemble it to get the springs back where they belong. I have contacted the maker, but no response yet and I'm pretty bummed out that I destroyed one of my favorite SAKs. Question is, where is the best place to purchase replacement screws that are longer than the ones in the knife in order to pin it all back together again and screw the back side scale back on? Apparently. the screws were cut and filed after it got screwed together, because reinstalling the old ones and trying to screw it together doesn't work due to the spring tensions.. Any help is appreciated.
Gerald

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Hey Gerald, if Andy made it in the U.K. the screws are most definitely metric. You’ll have to ask of the specific size he uses as I can only guess that they may be
M1.8 or M2 threads. You might find screws on the McMaster Carr website. If you’re unable to source screws I can likely reassemble it for you, I usually cut my screws before I assemble my mods like this one anyway since I finish the scales before assembly.
 
I have great news. Andy got back to me this afternoon and he said to send it back to him and he will take care of it. Thanks for all the help here.
I learned a valuable lesson this week !

I'll try not to be a lurking stranger here and I'll post pics when I get this knife back.
 
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I grinded the nail cleaner to micro driver. It’s not perfect (hollow dremel work would be sweet!) but it does the work. Now I have sturdier and finer flat driver. It’s not even that much proud when closed so I think I did pretty good job even if I say so myself.
 
kamakiri.knives said:
Yeah, definitely one more thing to deal with for modders and restorations. Locating the recess on my last restoration of a 1930’s was a bit more work than popping another through-hole. Because the modern 91mm scales have a different pin layout than anything pre-1951.
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A funny thing I have noticed, is that the outer/center rivet that holds the back tools is the one that´s flush, while the others have bushings. But when they had the pins visual, it´s the one that holds the springs that is flush instead. I guess with the modern hollow scales it´s not really possible to have the back-tools rivet with a bushing
 
Barbababa said:
A funny thing I have noticed, is that the outer/center rivet that holds the back tools is the one that´s flush, while the others have bushings. But when they had the pins visual, it´s the one that holds the springs that is flush instead. I guess with the modern hollow scales it´s not really possible to have the back-tools rivet with a bushing
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Yeah, I think they would’ve used a bushing there if it could fit. It’s a small shame that they can’t, because it was a better attachment point for scale retention. It would’ve also been stronger for the back tools and resisting twist at the liners.

It is funny how studying the older knives can show how or why Victorinox does what they do. 👍
 
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At first glance, there's nothing special here, right? It's only a 3 layer blue Climber with a mini screwdriver inserted in the corkscrew and an ink pen inserted into the back scale. Anybody can make one of these by removing the stock scales and then adding new scales with the ink pen slot.

But when you look more closely...

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...it has a fingernail file on the back of its parcel hook. The nail file hook is normally only found on the 2 layer Victorinox Compact, but I've added one to this Climber. This custom Climber now has everything that a Compact has. I even included a straight pin.

Would you prefer this type of Climber over a Compact? The can opener on the Climber works better as an inline Phillips than the Compact's combo tool does, it works better for opening cans, and its sharp edge can be used for other things that you can't do with the combo tool. The bottle opener on the Climber is also thicker and more sturdy than the combo tool, and it works better for prying. With the Climber you also get a smaller secondary backup knife blade and an awl, which are both missing on the Compact.

What do you think? Should Victorinox be making this version of the Climber?
 
I'm always in favor of adding more capability to a SAK, especially if, as in this case, there's no penalty of additional weight or bulk. I can't say that I use a nail file very often, but I wouldn't turn it down if Victorinox made it a standard feature of the hook on all their models. Would I be willing to pay more $ for it? Probably not.

If I were to design it, though, I would put the file on the inner face of the hook and keep the outer face smooth to avoid catching lint and dirt in the file (I don't have a SAK with this file, so I don't know if this is actually an issue, but I see potential for it).
 
hsherzfeld said:
If I were to design it, though, I would put the file on the inner face of the hook and keep the outer face smooth to avoid catching lint and dirt in the file (I don't have a SAK with this file, so I don't know if this is actually an issue, but I see potential for it).
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It's not really an issue.

Putting the file on the underside of the hook still makes a lot of sense though... the hook can fully open to around 130-ish degrees, so it would give you a lot more free room to use the file if it was on the bottom of the hook instead of the top. Plus that whole bottom section of the hook is raised and it never touches the spring, so the file wouldn't be in any danger of rubbing or scratching anything in there either.

It's actually not a bad idea...
 
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