Can the small pin that retains the backspring tools on a 91mm SAK be removed without the rest of the knife falling apart? I want to swap a backspring philips for a corkscrew, and I'm wondering if I can get away with only removing and replacing that one pin instead of completely taking the knife apart.
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Swapping backspring tools on a 91mm SAK
- Thread starter JJNH
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
- Messages
- 2,790
Yep. If you just use a Dremel, file, or drill to remove to the brass pin at the base of the tool, the only blades of the knife that will come loose are the Phillips driver, awl, hook or whatever else is attached by that pin. That kind of mod is the easiest one to do because the heads of the brass pin aren't necessary for attaching the plastic handles, meaning the heads can be a little too high, short, or deformed when you're done and you won't have to worry. I've done a layer mod before (I turned a Compact and Explorer into a Yeoman). The common advice, which I failed to follow, is to go VERY gently when peening your new pin. If the pin still isn't close to flush when the play is gone from the tools, don't keep hammering; just file the excess off. I now have a hardly-openable Yeoman sitting in a drawer because I'm too lazy to buy brass stock and redo it. 
Speaking of brass stock, Rotokid from SOSAK has some in now:
Happy hammering!
Speaking of brass stock, Rotokid from SOSAK has some in now:
Happy hammering!
Thanks for the info.. I've almost reached my own personal SAK nirvana. At the advice of the forum I picked up a Master Gardener and I'm in love.. but it just needs a corkscrew to be complete. It just doesn't feel like a SAK to me without the corkscrew! The end mounted phillips will more than make up for the lost backspring phillips.
Here is a excellent how-to guide for exactly that.
http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,9057.0.html
The best advice I can add to that is to make sure the new pin you are putting in has a long, shallow taper on it so as it is easy to feed through all the springs and liners. If it catches on the edge of the last liner and damages it the whole knife can loose its 'snap'.
http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,9057.0.html
The best advice I can add to that is to make sure the new pin you are putting in has a long, shallow taper on it so as it is easy to feed through all the springs and liners. If it catches on the edge of the last liner and damages it the whole knife can loose its 'snap'.