Here's another example of a custom Juice built around a set of 1/2 inch long threaded pivot barrels (1/8 inch outer diameter).
I guess you would call this a "Juice KF2" since it's basically a Juice KF4 but without the plain and serrated knives. It should pair up well with a Victorinox Compact.
Again there are no scales on the back side because it doesn't make sense to have scales there without having tool layers under them. I also ended up adding some washers to the back. It doesn't look half bad, so I think it's an okay option if you need to put spacers somewhere.
Here is a side shot where you can see that I put modified liners under the tool layers, exactly the same as I did before with the saw layer on the previous custom Juice. You can also see the washers on the bottom from a different angle. They're almost like little stubby table legs for the Juice to rest on whenever you set it down somewhere.
The process for making one of these is as follows:
1. Acquire the pivot barrels and screws.
2. Disassemble your Juice. This will probably be a very frustrating process...
3. Check the fit of your pivot barrels. If they're too big, lightly sand the inside of the pivot holes on your Juice parts until the pivots fit. I suggest using a small rolled up strip of p320 sand paper. This process won't take as long for each individual part as you might think. It can be as short as only a few minutes for each one, but it will start adding up when you put the total time spent on every single part together.
4. Modify the liner(s) for use as a spacer. I used a hacksaw and a file. Pretty straightforward. Just cut the side off and smooth it out.
5. Assemble your juice without the springs. Make sure everything is spaced out correctly. Rearrange things as you need/want. Take your time. Experiment if you want. Once you are satisfied, move to the final step.
6. Gently tap all of the springs into place. This is deceptively simple. Once you know how to do it, it's super quick and easy. Just don't be dumb like I was on my first attempt. I broke one of the springs by not paying close enough attention to it.
That's it. Once the springs are inserted, you're done, but you will probably also want to consider adding some loctite or a similar thread locking compound to the pivot screws.
edit: one of the advantages of using threaded pivot barrels and torx screws is that you can tear down the multitool and rebuild it differently if you're unhappy with it.
What I've done was to simply rearrange the tools so that the lanyard ring isn't in the way of the file anymore. I made a similar mistake with the first custom Juice, but ultimately I ended up fixing that one too.
There's no good reason to post this picture. I just think it's cool that you can still see the pliers through the handles when the tool is closed. I like the way it looks.
one last note:
I have just now discovered that the order of the flat screwdrivers should change depending on which handle you put them in. If you don't get the order right, then sometimes the tip of the pliers will get wedged and half-stuck between the flat drivers. It's not really a big problem, but it can be a little annoying.
You only need to remember two rules:
1. The longest flat driver always goes in the middle.
2. The other two flat drivers should always be positioned so that the angled side of their tips are facing towards the middle.
This specific arrangement creates a space for the tip of the pliers to rest inside of the handle without getting stuck.
Here's a picture:
Depending on which handle you put the flat drivers in, the shortest flat driver either has to be on the outside of the handle or it has to be all the way on the inside, behind the other two flat drivers.
for their own purposes. I don't know how much truth there is to it, but nothing would surprise me at this point.
