SAK Mods! Post your pics, questions and ideas

[kamakiri.knives]

What do you think? Should Victorinox be making this version of the Climber?

They already did…sort of. Look at one of the electronic scaled version of the Voyager and maybe others, with the Lite module. The file hook is there. Also think you might have finally answered your own question about a significant component of the Compact’s cost.

 

[kamakiri.knives]

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).

Agreed, and that’s the way I do mine when I cut my own files in the hooks. I’ve done both and prefer it on the inside face.

 

[Guy McVer]

I hope everyone is having a good weekend.

I noticed something this morning that I wanted to share:

On the left is the back side flat driver tool from a 91mm Victorinox Swiss army knife. On the right is the old flat head version of the combo tool found on some older 58mm Victorinox Swiss army knife models.

See how similar they are? Why did I never realize this before?

The tips are ALMOST exactly the same width. It's very, very close. The 58mm combo tool is slightly wider, but you almost can't tell the difference.

The tips appear to have the exact same thickness as each other.

The main body of the 58mm combo tool is thicker than the shank of the 91mm precision flat driver. This gives the tip a nice wedge shaped taper to it, which makes it function very well as a mini pry tool.

So why am I pointing this out? Let's suppose that you have a custom SAK like this:

The goal of this custom SAK was to add an inline Phillips driver to the tool set of the 91mm Ranger model while keeping it the same thickness and the same number of layers (5).

In order to accomplish that goal, one of the back side tools had to be sacrificed because the inline Phillips layer doesn't have a back tool slot. The awl was moved up to take the place of the chisel, the chisel was moved down into the flat driver's spot, and the flat driver was discarded. This leaves you with a corkscrew, awl, chisel, and a parcel hook, but no precision flat driver.

You can probably see where I'm going with this. I think that the 58mm flat head combo tool is a viable alternative to the 91mm precision flat driver. If you need that tool (and yes there are people who find it very useful), then here's another option for you. You can carry a small Victorinox Rover model.

It may also be possible to fit the 58mm combo tool in the back of the 91mm scissors layer, taking the place of the parcel hook. I've never done it, but I think it could possibly work. I'm pretty sure that I've seen people do this with 58mm scissors before, where the small scissors are put into the back side of the blade layer (the 91mm blade layer is basically the same thickness as the 91mm scissors layer). I think Spikediesel did it. Those scissors are the same thickness as the combo tool.*

I've also noticed that the flat driver combo tool is magnetized. I don't know if they're all magnetic, but the few that I've tested all had the ability to pick up small screws with magnetic force.

By the way... the flat screwdriver of the Classic SD can sort of work as a substitute too, because its tip has the same width as the flat driver combo tool, but the wide shape of the SD nail file makes its flat driver work a little differently in practice. It's not always going to fit as well as the flat combo tool or the precision flat driver, which has a longer slimmer profile at the end when compared to the nail file. Also the flat driver on the Classic SD is not magnetized like the flat driver on combo tool is.

Anyway, this was just a little thing that I noticed and I wanted to pass it along. It's probably not a big deal to most people but I thought it was pretty interesting.

Stay safe, everyone. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

*edit: yup, here it is https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...ics-questions-and-ideas.1783025/post-21168629
and here is the confirmation from spikediesel: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...ics-questions-and-ideas.1783025/post-21169129
Spikediesel was saying that you would need to shorten the combo tool to make it fit, but I think that was because the key ring attatchment was in the way. I don't think you would run into the same issue if you put the 58mm combo tool into the back side of the scissors layer.

 

[Guy McVer]

WHAT HAS SCIENCE DONE?!

I came up with another way to use jigsaw blades with a swiss army knife. This will work on any 91mm model with a bottle opener. It only requires a small modification to the bottle opener. What follows is quick and dirty run through of how to do this.

You don't actually need to take your swiss army knife apart in order to do this. That's just how I made my example pictures.

We start by drawing with a permanent marker on the spot where the top of jigsaw blade will meet with the inside of the bottle opener.

Next we cut a small notch into that spot. The bottle opener isn't made of hardened steel like a knife, so I just used this cheap Lenox hacksaw to make the notch. The hacksaw handle was around 8 dollars and it came with the hacksaw blade for free.

My notch looks a bit rough, but I'm sure that you could do a better job with the proper tools.

Here you can see how the jigsaw blade fits into the bottle opener.

The fit is tight enough that it doesn't fall out when I pick it up. I can even shake it up and down and it won't come loose.

Now we need to stabilize it. You could use pretty much anything for this. For this example, I used two hard plastic scales from a kershaw mini prybar. This way I didn't have to spend time making anything.

The plastic scales are screwed together around the jigsaw to keep it from twisting itself out of the bottle opener while sawing.

That's it. You can do this small modification to any 91mm SAK with a bottle opener. Good examples would be a 2 layer Spartan or a 2 layer Tinker. The modification is just to the bottle opener itself, and so you don't need to take the SAK apart in order to do it.

This might also work on a 93mm alox model's bottle opener, but I don't have any to check it with. I don't really know if it would work on the smaller 84mm model bottle openers either.

edit: okay, I have some slight adjustments to this little mod!

What wasn't immediately obvious (to me) is that different t-shank blades can have slight differences in the contours of their shanks when compared side-by-side. I didn't notice those differences until I started to test this mod with some other jigsaw blades.

I had to slightly enlarge the notch on the cap lifter with a diamond and ceramic file so that different jigsaw blades could fit. As a result, the jigsaw blades wouldn't always fit tightly anymore, and would tend to slip out of position while sawing. This is obviously not good, but thankfully there is a solution.

All you need to do is just make your stabilizing piece so that it fits snugly against the top of the bottle opener and the bottom of the t-shank. This prevents the top of the t-shank from being able to slip out of the notch in the bottle cap lifter.

To demonstrate this, I've wedged a pair of tweezers between the top screws of the stabilizer and the top edge of the cap lifter. The tweezers take up the extra space between the screws and the top edge of the cap lifter, which stops everything from being able to slide down.

I hope that makes sense.

This is all still new. I just thought of this mod today, I built a proof of concept in under an hour, and I shared the photos/instructions immediately afterwards. So that's the main reason it is so rough around the edges. Maybe I should've spent more time working on it first, but this is what ya' get.



I may or may not post additional updates/refinements to this later. We'll see.

edit2:
On to the next phase...

Yes it's very ugly, but it's sill only a prototype. We now have a longer sturdier metal stabilizer piece. It is made from 2 aluminum side plates which are being held together by 6 screws.

6 screws seems like a lot to mess with. If I can, I'd like to figure out a way to reduce that number.

Here is a look at the inside:

The screws are of course strategically placed to hold everything together as solidly as possible. Of particular noteworthiness is the screw passing through the wire stripper.

The goal is eventually to settle on a design that can be easily put on and off using only your fingers. Maybe something with thumb screws and wingnuts. I'm not really sure yet. I want the stabilizer piece to be easy to build and simple to use, so I feel like I might not currently be on the right track with it.

edit3: it still seems to still work fine with only the 4 outside screws

So now we've gone from 6 screws back down to 4 again. I suppose that's progress.

I have another idea for a different way to make the stabilizer... It should be simpler, but I don't know how well it is going to work yet, so I'll just keep it to myself for now...

 

[Guy McVer]

I wanted to keep this as simple as possible, but sadly it hasn't been working out that way...

Here you can see some additional modifications have been made to the shape of the bottle opener. Two rounded notches were added on the top edge, and the inside edge (the big curved part) has been sanded down a little bit.

These changes were made to better accommodate the screws. This makes the whole setup extremely sturdy. It's using 5 screws now. On the bright side, you only need to mess with the bottom front screw to switch out your jigsaw blades. You can actually leave the other 4 screws alone.

It's still super ugly, but it's also still only a prototype.

I'm not sure what material to make the final version out of. Aluminum? Plastic? Stainless steel? Suggestions are welcome.

Here is a mockup of the custom SAK that I am planning to make to go with this modification. Like I've said, you could just do this mod to the bottle opener on any standard Spartan or Tinker model without taking anything apart, but I chose to make my own custom build instead.

It's going to be a two layer knifeless build with the modified bottle opener alongside a can opener taking the place of the primary and secondary knife blades, and a corkscrew on the back side. The other layer has an inline Phillips screwdriver with a magnifying glass. I thought this would be an ideal setup for something you would carry along with a larger dedicated fixed blade or a dedicated folder.

The one major drawback is that there's no split ring attachment for a lanyard, but some people would consider that to be a positive thing. It's a matter of preference. I prefer having a lanyard, but thankfully there are a couple of creative alternatives for adding one if there's no split ring or lanyard hole.

 

[VictaEder]

Interesting concept, but i agree that it needs some refinement. While watching a movie tonight i will be messing with some saks and a jigsaw blade, and see if inspiration strikes.

 

[Guy McVer]

Interesting concept, but i agree that it needs some refinement.

I'm actually nearly done with this, I think. At least for now. I might need to order some longer screws though.

While watching a movie tonight i will be messing with some saks and a jigsaw blade, and see if inspiration strikes.

Try the parcel hook.

 

[GallenR]

I promised to post pictures when I got this little Exec back from Andy. This is the knife I stoooopidly removed a screw from to add loctite. I sent it back across the pond and it was given a spa treatment and reassembled. I sure missed it while it was gone.

 

[Guy McVer]

So this is what I decided to spend my Saturday night on:

I think it was worth it.

The old red scales on the custom SAK are temporary. I just needed something to grab onto. For testing.

Bro. Broooooooo. This thing is SOLID. I'm really happy with how well it performs.

I'm less happy with how it looks. It's still ugly. I don't really know how to make it pretty.

We've got these butt ugly nylon lock nuts on the other side. They do their job. That's what matters.

...but I do still have some longer screws on order, so that they can engage deeper into the lock nuts.

This is what it breaks down into. You get a 2 layer SAK, some hardware in a little baggie, and some jigsaw blades in a plastic sleeve. It's all very easy to carry.

That shiny looking jigsaw blade is actually a diamond coated file for a Leatherman Surge.





I think this worked out great. I strongly encourage anyone who is so inclined to build one of these for themselves. There's obviously some room for improvement and you might be the one to accomplish that. But even as it is now, it works fabulously. If you are looking for a project, then grab a Spartan or a Tinker, modify the bottle opener, and build the little jigsaw blade holder to go on it.

The screws that I used are #2-56 threaded. They are 1/4 inch long, which works but they really should be longer. As I said, I have longer ones on order.

I wanted to use thumb screws and wingnuts, but I couldn't find any at this size. Maybe if you used metric? If anyone finds workable hand tightening screws and nuts for this, then please let me know!

 

[VictaEder]

I'm actually nearly done with this, I think. At least for now. I might need to order some longer screws though.

Try the parcel hook.

I have tried the hook method before but do not like it. Would also be nice to have a saw blade option on SAKs without the hook, like Spartan or Tinker.

If i had a 3D printer i would make a clamp-like design I think. One of these days i will get one

 

[Guy McVer]

If i had a 3D printer i would make a clamp-like design I think. One of these days i will get one

I'd be interested to see how that turns out. 3D printing may open up the possibility of making a jigsaw blade holder that attaches to the SAK without the need to modify any of the tools. I am already envisioning such a design in my head, but I don't have a 3d printer to test it out. If you do end up making something, then please show off some pictures of it here.

 

[VictaEder]

I would love to work on that and come up with a design. Now I just need fo find a way to convince the wife that we need a 3D printer

 

[tiguy7]

These Titanium knives both exhibit bird cage handles. The SAK is CNC’d; the LionSteel is 3-D printed (one piece/integral).View attachment 2105879

 

[Barbababa]

So this is what I decided to spend my Saturday night on:

I think it was worth it.

The old red scales on the custom SAK are temporary. I just needed something to grab onto. For testing.

Bro. Broooooooo. This thing is SOLID. I'm really happy with how well it performs.

I'm less happy with how it looks. It's still ugly. I don't really know how to make it pretty.

We've got these butt ugly nylon lock nuts on the other side. They do their job. That's what matters.

...but I do still have some longer screws on order, so that they can engage deeper into the lock nuts.

This is what it breaks down into. You get a 2 layer SAK, some hardware in a little baggie, and some jigsaw blades in a plastic sleeve. It's all very easy to carry.

That shiny looking jigsaw blade is actually a diamond coated file for a Leatherman Surge.





I think this worked out great. I strongly encourage anyone who is so inclined to build one of these for themselves. There's obviously some room for improvement and you might be the one to accomplish that. But even as it is now, it works fabulously. If you are looking for a project, then grab a Spartan or a Tinker, modify the bottle opener, and build the little jigsaw blade holder to go on it.

The screws that I used are #2-56 threaded. They are 1/4 inch long, which works but they really should be longer. As I said, I have longer ones on order.

I wanted to use thumb screws and wingnuts, but I couldn't find any at this size. Maybe if you used metric? If anyone finds workable hand tightening screws and nuts for this, then please let me know!

I am sorry Guy, but this turned out to be one crazy beast Can one easily carry this, mount and dissemble without extra tools? If you need to bring a sawblade, why not just bild a folding handle for it instead?

 

[Guy McVer]

I am sorry Guy, but this turned out to be one crazy beast Can one easily carry this, mount and dissemble without extra tools? If you need to bring a sawblade, why not just bild a folding handle for it instead?

The stabilizing side pieces need to be tightened down fully to eliminate wiggle in the jigsaw blade. This can't be done with your fingers unless you have the correct type of screws and nuts for that. No matter who you are, your hands simply aren't going to be strong enough to finger tighten the phillips screws and hex nuts.

So while you can assemble this by hand, you cannot fully tighten it by just using your fingers. Now you know why I wanted to use thumb screws and wing nuts. I simply couldn't find any at this size.

I normally carry a small Style PS on my key chain. I also always have some type of key chain friendly phillips driver capability with me, whether it's a key-shaped phillips, or the combo tool on a key chain sized swiss army knife, or just the corner of a p38 can opener. Those two things are more than enough to fully tighten this jigsaw holder.

If you or anyone else happens to know where to get thumb screws and wing nuts in this size, then I'm all ears. I really do want to know, so please tell me. The screws that I used are #2-56 threaded.






edit: This took me around 15 minutes to make from a leftover scrap piece of aluminum sideplate:

It's a small wrench. I used a hacksaw, a file, and a piece of sandpaper to make it.

It fits the hex nuts for the jigsaw holder.

You can put it in your little parts bag. It weighs nothing.

This is one example of a small portable phillips driver. You can carry this on a key chain.

You can also put it in your little parts bag.


There are a ton of different options for carrying a phillips driver with your keys. Many of them are super cheap to buy.

I'm glad you asked about this because it gave me the opportunity and the motivation to demonstrate a simple solution for people who don't already have suitable tools on their key chain.

 

[tiguy7]

The stabilizing side pieces need to be tightened down fully to eliminate wiggle in the jigsaw blade. This can't be done with your fingers unless you have the correct type of screws and nuts for that. No matter who you are, your hands simply aren't going to be strong enough to finger tighten the phillips screws and hex nuts.

So while you can assemble this by hand, you cannot fully tighten it by just using your fingers. Now you know why I wanted to use thumb screws and wing nuts. I simply couldn't find any at this size.

I normally carry a small Style PS on my key chain. I also always have some type of key chain friendly phillips driver capability with me, whether it's a key-shaped phillips, or the combo tool on a key chain sized swiss army knife, or just the corner of a p38 can opener. Those two things are more than enough to fully tighten this jigsaw holder.

If you or anyone else happens to know where to get thumb screws and wing nuts in this size, then I'm all ears. I really do want to know, so please tell me. The screws that I used are #2-56 threaded.






edit: This took me around 15 minutes to make from a leftover scrap piece of aluminum sideplate:

It's a small wrench. I used a hacksaw, a file, and a piece of sandpaper to make it.

It fits the hex nuts for the jigsaw holder.

You can put it in your little parts bag. It weighs nothing.

This is one example of a small portable phillips driver. You can carry this on a key chain.

You can also put it in your little parts bag.


There are a ton of different options for carrying a phillips driver with your keys. Many of them are super cheap to buy.

I'm glad you asked about this because it gave me the opportunity and the motivation to demonstrate a simple solution for people who don't already have suitable tools on their key chain.

Like your experimental mind set. Future open end wrenches could benefit from rounded inside corners. The square corners are stress risers.

 

[tiguy7]

All 8 sizes of Phillips screwdriver bits will fit in a clam shell coin purse. In this photo the #0000 bit is missing, and the #1 bit is duplicated.View attachment 2109490

 

[PQGK]

This is still a prototype I'm experimenting with:

Made a lock chain with paper clips that carries like a key chain

Still far from perfect but stops the small screw driver from closing

 

[Barbababa]

The stabilizing side pieces need to be tightened down fully to eliminate wiggle in the jigsaw blade. This can't be done with your fingers unless you have the correct type of screws and nuts for that. No matter who you are, your hands simply aren't going to be strong enough to finger tighten the phillips screws and hex nuts.

So while you can assemble this by hand, you cannot fully tighten it by just using your fingers. Now you know why I wanted to use thumb screws and wing nuts. I simply couldn't find any at this size.

I normally carry a small Style PS on my key chain. I also always have some type of key chain friendly phillips driver capability with me, whether it's a key-shaped phillips, or the combo tool on a key chain sized swiss army knife, or just the corner of a p38 can opener. Those two things are more than enough to fully tighten this jigsaw holder.

If you or anyone else happens to know where to get thumb screws and wing nuts in this size, then I'm all ears. I really do want to know, so please tell me. The screws that I used are #2-56 threaded.






edit: This took me around 15 minutes to make from a leftover scrap piece of aluminum sideplate:

It's a small wrench. I used a hacksaw, a file, and a piece of sandpaper to make it.

It fits the hex nuts for the jigsaw holder.

You can put it in your little parts bag. It weighs nothing.

This is one example of a small portable phillips driver. You can carry this on a key chain.

You can also put it in your little parts bag.


There are a ton of different options for carrying a phillips driver with your keys. Many of them are super cheap to buy.

I'm glad you asked about this because it gave me the opportunity and the motivation to demonstrate a simple solution for people who don't already have suitable tools on their key chain.

I always find it educating and entertaining to read about builds and trix, even crazy ones I just found this one a bit hard to appreciate, since I would need extra tools to attach this to the SAK... Part of the charm with the SAK´s (for me) is that it should be "the multi-tool". For this to be useful I would first need a SAK with the modified opener, a sawblade, separate screwdriver, and a bag with the screws and mounting plates. That´s a lot of extra stuff to carry. If you would just build a handle for the sawblade instead, you would just need that and your SAK (without the modified opener). I do not have access to a full workshop with tools, but if I did, and it was my build idea, I would make the stabilizing like a box with open ends and a sliding lid

 

[Barbababa]

All 8 sizes of Phillips screwdriver bits will fit in a clam shell coin purse. In this photo the #0000 bit is missing, and the #1 bit is duplicated.View attachment 2109490

That´s very handy. But not of any use on a build like Guy´s, since the sawblade is on the very knife you carry...