Custom SAK modder - HAIII Alox and Ti conversions - Pic Heavy examples

S

Syph007

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Hey all, I've been doing SAK customizations for people by request and thought I would formally offer my services here. I specialize in torx screw pivot conversions of 93mm size alox, and also the 84mm cadet size.

Here are the 5 colors that I run in HAIII hard anodize. They are extremely durable and wear resistant.

0_scale_colors.jpg


I make liners from c260 cartridge brass, HAIII anodized 6061 Al, and Ti (6Al4V).

As for what tools I can fit on the 93mm size, basically anything from a 91mm regular SAK, or 84 or 93 mm alox. Adding scissors to the 93mm alox is by far the most popular request. I have custom springs made for that addition from 440c stainless and the scissors fit like a glove.

Pioneer_Urban.jpg


Pioneer_Urban_Blue.jpg


Here is a random sampling of 93mm based customs I have done.

Farmer_Scissors.jpg


Pioneer_Bushcrafter.jpg


Pioneer_Electrician.jpg


Pioneer_Green1.jpg


Pioneer_Green2.jpg


Pioneer_Woodcrafter.jpg


This is a beefy 4 layer one with inline philips in place of the can opener, as well as pliers.

Pioneer_DeluxeTinker1.jpg


Pioneer_DeluxeTinker2.jpg


The brass liners paired with red HAIII scales look very nice! :D

Pioneer_DeluxeTinker3.jpg


I also started doing HAIII liners, here is an example of red liners with black scales.

Pioneer_RedLIners.jpg


I can also work with existing scales such as this old cross alox. I carefully shape each screw to fit the existing recess to not damage the scale.

Pioneer_UrbanOldCross1.jpg


Pioneer_UrbanOldCross2.jpg


Pioneer_UrbanOldCross3.jpg


Here is an example of a full Ti conversion. Ti scales and liners with stainless pivots. A significant upgrade from Al scales, nickel silver liners and brass pins.

Ti_Urban1.jpg


Ti_Urban2.jpg


Ti_Urban3.jpg


Here is some work I have done on the 84mm cadet size. I cut down 91mm scissors to fit on this smaller frame. The addition of scissors to the cadet has been quite popular as well.

Cadet_Philips1.jpg


Cadet_Philips2.jpg


Cadet_Philips3.jpg


Cadet_Pioneer.jpg


Cadet_Scissors.jpg


Cadet_Voyageur.jpg


Cadet_wilderness.jpg


I do also work with the standard plastic scales SAKs. These are 2 compacts with added saw layer and philips switch for corkscrew.

Cellidor.jpg


Sorry for the barrage of pictures, but it seems the best way to show what type of customizations I can offer. Please contact me by PM or email if you would like any custom SAK work done.

Cheers
 
Wonderful stuff. I can't wait to get my hands on a custom one of these. Can you modify a Spartan?
 
I can personally vouch for the toughness of the HA3 anodizing Syph is having done on the stock Alox scales. I have a pair of black scales that he sent me for testing with my hardness testing files. It takes the hardest file and a good amount of force behind it to scratch the coating and that's 65Rc. The same set has been used as a template to trace my own titanium scales onto sheet and they're basically treated like garbage getting thrown around the workbench with sandpaper and carbide cutters and all manner of abrasive stuff laying around and still not a scratch that wasn't intentionally put there. I'm impressed.

I'll be putting together my own set of HA3 SAKs with his scales for my personal collection.
 
Yep, I have that red one pictured above, with the electrician's blade, and I haven't scratched the scales yet! I often throw it in a pocket along with some hiking stuff on a keychain, and it definitely doesn't wear as quickly as the standard colored alox. :thumbup:

Syph007 does stupendous work, and I'm already looking forward to getting my next one from him. Probably a blue Farmer with added scissors.... :)

dc17fa2b.jpg
 
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I haven't caught up on my custom work list to be able to get ahead and have anything ready to sell and ready to ship but that is my plan. But I do have parts on hand to build a few dozen right now. All colors of the HAIII I have ready to go except I'm waiting on another run of blue, I do about 15 or so sets of scales at a time. I also have Ti parts to build about 8 more full conversions. Those are very time consuming as all the parts are hand fit and finished. I've had alot of requests for bead blast finish on the Ti scales, so that is on my todo list in the coming months as well.

Since the tool loadout that people request is so different, I have just been building them to order, but since the parts all all here and prepped and polished its just a matter of assembly and grinding the pivot pins to length.

I wasn't even familiar with the alox (aluminum oxide) scaled SAKs a year ago (just the regular plastic red ones), but I got quite addicted when I got my first pioneer/soldier model. This is the modern version of what was issued to the military way back when. It only comes in the standard 2 layer configuration like this.

victorinox-soldier-silver-alox-01-800x600.jpg

A farmer adds a saw, and that is the only other current available configuration. All other models are now discontinued.

VictorinoxFarmerSilver2.jpg

So the coolness of the alox and the limited availability of loadouts is what got me interested in modding to start with. By far the biggest request people always talked about was getting scissors on that nice knife. I finally solved that issue by having a run of custom springs made up from 440c. I showed some of those in another post in the multitool area. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-custom-made-springs-for-pioneer-scissor-mods

I strip the stock anodize on the scales and use a local guy to do the colored HAIII on them, and the durability is crazy. They measure over 55RC by file scratch abrasion test, and the regular type I anodize is only around 35.

It's a few hours of work still to build and tweak them, but I can get them together pretty quick. If you are interested just shoot me a pm or email and I'll add you to my worklist. In the future I plan to have some standard models that are common requests to make it easier for people to choose. Such as bushcrafter with firesteel, whittler model, etc.

Cheers and thanks for all the interest guys!
 
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That is some excellent work you do there! I would definitely love to get a customized SAK from you in the near future. Can we get a price list or an idea of the cost of customization and building a custom SAK from scratch?
 
aznpos531 said:
Can we get a price list or an idea of the cost of customization and building a custom SAK from scratch?
Click to expand...

It's hard to give a complete price breakdown in general terms since the configurations vary so much, but I can provide an exact part and labor quote if you have a specific request just PM or email me and I'll give you an exact quote. Some of my costs are fixed, like the HAIII process, and cost for pivot pins and msc, but the rest completely depends on what parts you want to use, or if you want to provide some to keep costs down, or want me to source them all. I also have used parts from used donor SAKs that I refurbish as a lower cost option as well.

I hope that helps some. :D I plan to narrow down the mod options and costs once I get a handle on the most common mod configurations people request.

Cheers
 
haha that would be great. Right now the possibilities seem endless; not that it's a bad thing but I can't seem to decide on what I want! I'll shoot you an email with some questions when I get home later tonight.
 
Here is another example of a polished Ti full conversion I finished up tonight. :D I do all the finishing by hand but I like the result.

The scales, liners and keyring nub are all Ti, and the center backspring for the scissors is one of my custom made ones. The rest are stock parts.

IMG_4180.jpg


IMG_4186.jpg


IMG_4190.jpg


IMG_4193.jpg


IMG_4196.jpg
 
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