Project Skeletool almost done..... (WARNING: Pic Heavy)

[Outback in Idaho]

  Rats, thought he was back.

[evil510]

Hey there, gang. As some of you well know,  I have been missing in action here on MTO for the past four years. Thank you for the warm welcomes in the new member section, I appreciate them. I am honored and humbled that this project lived long in the memories of people here long after I had gone. Since this is an older thread, I won't reply to every post.....

Thank you to all that have supported Project Skeletool over the years. Out of the box, while it was visually appealing to me, it did not suit my needs. I set out to transform it into a tool that met my needs perfectly for a light to medium EDC day. Many of you were there from the start to watch it evolve along the way. Honestly, it wasn't until I made the new massive blade for it that it really felt like an extension of myself. It has been a true pleasure carrying this thing around and putting it to good use.....

I am pleased to report that it is still alive and well. It has been part of my EDC about 75% of the past four years. It does however, look like it has been to hell and back, like it has been abused... but that is what I built it for. I had to sharpen the blade a few times, as well as change batteries for the light system. The hammer has held up amazingly well with minimum signs of wear. I am debating whether or not to strip it down and give it an overhaul to make it look like new again. I always had ideas for another version but never got around to it. I know that a lot of newer tools have come out since the Skeletool came out that have become popular for modding. That said, I still have an affinity for the Skeletool and honestly would probably create another one over some of the newer tools.....

~ evil ~

I'll be replying to posts on other projects that others have commented on or had questions about as well since I have been gone.....
 

[Mr. Whippy]

This is perhaps my favorite Mod of all time.  I don't understand why Leatherman won't add that hammer.  The blade, well that's just exquisite.

I think this was the mod that made me start to look at the newer Leatherman tools with a jaundiced eye. 

[tattoosteve99]

Woot woot he's back! Yay!!! Welcome back we missed you

[evil510]

Woot woot he's back! Yay!!! Welcome back we missed you

Thank you for the welcome back, Steve. There was always a part of MTO within me all of those years that I was away.....

[NKlamerus]

Hey bud. Any chance you could post some pics of the "broken in" skeletool update?

[mat derby]

as a newbie here i'm still trying my best to get up to speed with all the info on this forum but as an initial thought i'm seriously impressed with some of the mods being done and this is right up there, well done evil cracking job mate.

[evil510]

Hey bud. Any chance you could post some pics of the "broken in" skeletool update?

Hey NK. I started to do a rough cleaning on it but will try and take a few photos before I overhaul it. I am going to break it down and grind out any minor gouges, redo the brushed finish, etc to prep it for a photo shoot of sorts for an upcoming project.....

as a newbie here i'm still trying my best to get up to speed with all the info on this forum but as an initial thought i'm seriously impressed with some of the mods being done and this is right up there, well done evil cracking job mate.

Thank you, mat derby. ironically enough, in some ways I feel like a newbie as I have been gone for years and have just recently come back. I am still catching up on posts since my leave of absence.....

[evil510]

Hey there, gang. For the past five years I have been referring to this project as "almost done". With this final modification, I am officially calling Project Skeletool V1 as being DONE. I have been meaning to do this mod for quite some time but only now getting around to it. My time for modding tools is very limited, especially this time of the year. I wanted to come full circle on this project so I can focus on other pending creations. This tool has been to hell and back, and thensome. Again, I would like to thank those that have supported this project over the years and that have been there from the start.....

~ evil ~

__________________________________________________

Hey bud. Any chance you could post some pics of the "broken in" skeletool update?

Here are a few well broken in photos before I tear it down to make it look like new again. Considering it has been beaten, dropped, thrown, burnt and even submerged, etc. over the years, it has weathered very well.....

__________________________________________________

Onward with the mod. For reasons that I would rather not get into, I will only show the highlights of this mod, leaving out certain specific details. Please respect this. A lot of time, work and effort went into this mod to get everything working just right. I present to you all Evil's Spring Loaded Skeletool Pliers.....

Donor plier head disassembled. Here you can also see the special insertion tool I fabricated for the job.....


Custom fastener system I made for this project.....


A closer view of new pivot bolt. Ground and lapped to perfectly match bevel angles on plier head.....


After two days of frustration just trying to assemble this project, I came up with this insertion tool. It saved the day and worked wonderfully. May get put to use again if I decide to do this mod to some of my other tools.....


Front side of plier head complete with spring system installed.....


A view from the backside.....


Last, but not least, a short video demo of plier action.....

Since embedding video is not working at the moment I guess I'll just have to do it this way for now. A link to a short 8 second clip of the pliers in action.....


The only thing left to do is teardown Project Skeletool to clean, lube, resharpen, etc... and then install the new plier head. I will update with photos afterwards.....

[zoidberg]

Yes, auto embed is down. Whoey is working on it. Maybe try wrapping the link in quote tags so we can click it.

[ducttapetech]

That is sweet! Great job as always Evil!

Nate
That's us mobile

[Aloha]

I'm guessing Evil is not in telemarketing  , unless of course machine work and metal fabrication is solely a hobby of his.

Can this Skeletool get any sweeter?   

[sawman]

You've exceeded your reputation with this awesome Masterpiece. "Mod" is not even a good enough word for it.

[Kampfer]

You didn't just hacked it, you made it. 

[Crow]

Beautiful. 

[tattoosteve99]

You've exceeded your reputation with this awesome Masterpiece. "Mod" is not even a good enough word for it.

Totally agree with this statement.
Master modifier is all I can think of.

[NKlamerus]

I vote for a "Evil Master Modder" Status Merit Badge

[enki_ck]

Nice to see the Skele has been a real user and not just a display piece.

[Syncop8r]

Dude, this is awesome! I have always wanted my Skele to be springloaded. 

[Mr. Whippy]

We keep lamenting that the major manufacturers have possibly hit the wall for innovation and maybe that's why we aren't seeing new designs.

Clearly, it's not that there aren't awesome new innovations to make.  Creativity and imagination seem to be the limiting step, as is evident in this amazing multitool.

Fantastic work Evil 

[evil510]

Yes, auto embed is down. Whoey is working on it. Maybe try wrapping the link in quote tags so we can click it.

Thank you for letting me know. I was trying all kinds of different codes with no success.....

That is sweet! Great job as always Evil!

Thank you, ducttapetech.....

I'm guessing Evil is not in telemarketing  , unless of course machine work and metal fabrication is solely a hobby of his. Can this Skeletool get any sweeter?

No telemarketing here, lol. Fabrication is pretty much a part of my daily life, just in different forms. Creating tools to perfectly suit my needs is one of my hobbies I wish I had more time for. I am thinking this is as sweet as this particular Skeletool will get as I consider this version done. Onward with other pending tool projects 

You've exceeded your reputation with this awesome Masterpiece. "Mod" is not even a good enough word for it.

Thank you, sawman    I have always believed that anything worth doing is worth doing right. In the real world, in my line of business, reputation is everything so I hold myself and my work to a very high standard.....

You didn't just hacked it, you made it. 

Thank you, Kampfer  In the beginning, I never intended to modify it as much as I did. I kept it simple. Before long it became one of those projects that took on a life of its own. I kept tweaking it until it became a tool that suited my needs perfectly.....

Beautiful. 

Thank you, crow 

You've exceeded your reputation with this awesome Masterpiece. "Mod" is not even a good enough word for it.

Totally agree with this statement.
Master modifier is all I can think of.

Thank you, Steve. Just a guy on a relentless pursuit of creating tools to suit his needs.....

I vote for a "Evil Master Modder" Status Merit Badge

I have no merit badges. Hopefully my work speaks for itself.....

Nice to see the Skele has been a real user and not just a display piece.

Thank you, enki  To those that have followed my work over the years know that I am in no way a collector, that all of the tools I create, I use heavily and often push to their limits. You should see how beat up my Wave and Surge are lol.....

Dude, this is awesome! I have always wanted my Skele to be springloaded. 

Thank you, Syncop8r. I have been wanting to do this particular mod for years. Honestly, five years ago, while I have been fabricating all of my life, modding multitools was still fairly new to me. That said, my skillset back then it nowhere near what it is now. You learn a lot of things along the way. Here is a funny tidbit. Over the years, it was often easier for me to create custom thumbstuds than to create something seemingly simple as a nice symmetrical nailnick, so, I often avoided them. Fast forward five years, I have come up with my own method of making perfect nailnicks in short order.....

We keep lamenting that the major manufacturers have possibly hit the wall for innovation and maybe that's why we aren't seeing new designs. Clearly, it's not that there aren't awesome new innovations to make.  Creativity and imagination seem to be the limiting step, as is evident in this amazing multitool.
Fantastic work Evil 

Thank you, Mr. Whippy. I honestly feel that I am at a point now where I feel confident in my skill set to try my hand at making my first custom multitool from the ground up. I have made various countless tools for my real life work, I've made fixed blades and folding knives all from scratch and modded mulitools to no end. I have come to realize with Project Skeletool and one of my latest projects, my Urban Trekker, that why shouldn't I just make a multitool from the ground up? After all has been said and done, there isn't much left of the original tools that I did not fabricate on my own.....

[ironraven]

How many origional parts are left that haven't been modified.

This isn't a Leatherman any more. It's an Evilman.

[NKlamerus]

Yes, auto embed is down. Whoey is working on it. Maybe try wrapping the link in quote tags so we can click it.

Thank you for letting me know. I was trying all kinds of different codes with no success.....

That is sweet! Great job as always Evil!

Thank you, ducttapetech.....

I'm guessing Evil is not in telemarketing  , unless of course machine work and metal fabrication is solely a hobby of his. Can this Skeletool get any sweeter?

No telemarketing here, lol. Fabrication is pretty much a part of my daily life, just in different forms. Creating tools to perfectly suit my needs is one of my hobbies I wish I had more time for. I am thinking this is as sweet as this particular Skeletool will get as I consider this version done. Onward with other pending tool projects 

You've exceeded your reputation with this awesome Masterpiece. "Mod" is not even a good enough word for it.

Thank you, sawman    I have always believed that anything worth doing is worth doing right. In the real world, in my line of business, reputation is everything so I hold myself and my work to a very high standard.....

You didn't just hacked it, you made it. 

Thank you, Kampfer  In the beginning, I never intended to modify it as much as I did. I kept it simple. Before long it became one of those projects that took on a life of its own. I kept tweaking it until it became a tool that suited my needs perfectly.....

Beautiful. 

Thank you, crow 

You've exceeded your reputation with this awesome Masterpiece. "Mod" is not even a good enough word for it.

Totally agree with this statement.
Master modifier is all I can think of.

Thank you, Steve. Just a guy on a relentless pursuit of creating tools to suit his needs.....

I vote for a "Evil Master Modder" Status Merit Badge

I have no merit badges. Hopefully my work speaks for itself.....

Nice to see the Skele has been a real user and not just a display piece.

Thank you, enki  To those that have followed my work over the years know that I am in no way a collector, that all of the tools I create, I use heavily and often push to their limits. You should see how beat up my Wave and Surge are lol.....

Dude, this is awesome! I have always wanted my Skele to be springloaded. 

Thank you, Syncop8r. I have been wanting to do this particular mod for years. Honestly, five years ago, while I have been fabricating all of my life, modding multitools was still fairly new to me. That said, my skillset back then it nowhere near what it is now. You learn a lot of things along the way. Here is a funny tidbit. Over the years, it was often easier for me to create custom thumbstuds than to create something seemingly simple as a nice symmetrical nailnick, so, I often avoided them. Fast forward five years, I have come up with my own method of making perfect nailnicks in short order.....

We keep lamenting that the major manufacturers have possibly hit the wall for innovation and maybe that's why we aren't seeing new designs. Clearly, it's not that there aren't awesome new innovations to make.  Creativity and imagination seem to be the limiting step, as is evident in this amazing multitool.
Fantastic work Evil 

Thank you, Mr. Whippy. I honestly feel that I am at a point now where I feel confident in my skill set to try my hand at making my first custom multitool from the ground up. I have made various countless tools for my real life work, I've made fixed blades and folding knives all from scratch and modded mulitools to no end. I have come to realize with Project Skeletool and one of my latest projects, my Urban Trekker, that why shouldn't I just make a multitool from the ground up? After all has been said and done, there isn't much left of the original tools that I did not fabricate on my own.....

Are there threads of these builds?

Even threads with just pictures would keep me entertained for hours

[captain spaulding]

Are there threads of these builds?

Even threads with just pictures would keep me entertained for hours

There are some pics on the first page.

[NKlamerus]

Are there threads of these builds?

Even threads with just pictures would keep me entertained for hours

If I remember correctly there was a thread of this build.

There is.

I was referring to the folding blades and tools Evil made for his job

[captain spaulding]

Are there threads of these builds?

Even threads with just pictures would keep me entertained for hours

If I remember correctly there was a thread of this build.

There is.

I was referring to the folding blades and tools Evil made for his job

I realized I was thinking about this thread and changed my post but you quoted me to quickly.

[evil510]

How many origional parts are left that haven't been modified.
This isn't a Leatherman any more. It's an Evilman.

When I think about it, there really is no part that was not modified in some way.....

Are there threads of these builds?
Even threads with just pictures would keep me entertained for hours

A majority of these projects were done well before I even joined MTO. I'm old, lol. Well, at least I sure feel that way most of the time. I always planned to post on some of the more noteworthy ones but simply never got around to doing so. When time permits, I still plan on doing so. Time for such things these days for me is very scarce.....

[Steve Phillips]

Very very nice. This has given me an idea for the Surge pouch. I like the size of it but not the way it hangs. So a button-mount high on it will be great.

[evil510]

Very very nice. This has given me an idea for the Surge pouch. I like the size of it but not the way it hangs. So a button-mount high on it will be great.

Thank you, Steve. I've done the button mount on quite a few of my tools, including a Wave sheath years ago, as well as the sheath for my current Shear Evil project. It is nice to have them swing to conform to the way your body is positioned. The quick release function is nice to have as well. Let me know if I can be of any help.....

~ evil ~

[zrxoa1]

Sure would like to see more work from Evil!  Very impressive, indeed!  Are you still around man??