SAK pivot pins.

[Voltron]

I saw this thread in another forum, and made me curious about SAKs.
I was curious as to what the pivot pins on a Vic are made of? I've heard stories about how indestructible Bucks used to be, and they had stainless steel pins. The Alox line of Vics are pretty darn well bomb proof, but even with the cellidor SAKs, I have put a whole lot of pressure on some of the blades (Can openers, bottle openers, etc) and have yet to have one give out, so I was wondering whether the pivot pins on SAKs were SS, nickel Silver, etc.
Anyone?

 

[canook]

The pins on all the Vics I've seen including the alox ones seem to be brass. Same with most wengers but on the Wenger SI the pivot pin for the blade and can opener is brass while the center and hollow pins are stainless. I tested the pins with a magnet but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[Gareth UK]

Most SAKs use simple brass, though like you I've never managed to do any kind of damage to one.

The pins on my Cadets (and other Alox I believe) are not brass though, the general consensus that I've heard is that they are nickel silver. Certainly I found them notably tougher when drilling them out when doing some mod work.

 

[jackknife]

The strength of the sak's pivot pins may not be so much what they are made of, but how they are installed.

In most traditional folders, the pivot pin is just tapped into place through the bolsters, and lightly peened in place in the bolsters. If there is any countersinking in the bolsters, it's very light, if at all.

With a cellidor sak, the pivot pin is long enough that it goes over a faily large brass bushing outside the liners, and the peening is much more secure. A peened pivot pin over a bushing that distributes the pressure will stand up to much more twisting and lateral force than a conventional pivot pin. This is why the sodbuster style of knives are such a strong work knife. The pivot pin is supported by the bushing which spreads out the forces that would damage an other knife. In this type of construction, you will be more likely to break the blade/tool than damage the pivot pin/hinge of the knife.

The alox sak's have a pin that from what I recall reading years ago, is a spun rivit. That, plus the alox sherman tank constuction, makes it such a rugged knife. The whole outer layer of the knife is one large bolster so to speak.

It's all in how it's done, not what it's made out of. :thumbup: