Explorer + pliers

[Northern Geek]

How come there's no such model?

Has anyone made one as a mod? I was considering the SwissChamp the other day and I realized that the tools I basically never use is the saw, file and scaler (at least not for urban edc). If you'd remove those it would leave you with a rather handy knife.

The closest I've seen is the Cybertool 34 which I have been considering. I do think I'd manage rather well with "just" the regular philips instead of the bit driver plus you get the mag glass if you mod a champ.

So, did I miss something? I couldn't find such a model on the wiki.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

There's no such model that I know of, and I haven't found anything like it on the SAK-Wiki.  I was pondering this exact same mod myself a few months ago.  Never got around to trying it though. 

Probably the easiest way to do it, from what I've read from our group of modders here, is that it's easiest to start with a Swiss Champ and pare it down, rather than try to build up a smaller model.

There's a discontinued model that IIRC was called the Woodsman, which was an Explorer with a saw. 

If I were to pare a Swiss Champ down by eliminating the tools I use the least, I'd drop exactly the same tools you mentioned; file, saw, and scaler.  I think the remainder would indeed be a pretty sweet SAK!

[marduk]

Roger Remund (SwissBianco) commissioned Vic to produce 50 Yeoman Mechanics. It has almost the same tools as the Explorer plus the pliers. It does not have the awl/reamer but it has a file on the back of the hook. Vic made 50 of these & Roger himself put together about 20. They also come with the plus scales & are occasionally for sale on ebay.

[Syph007]

Ya I second the idea of getting a swiss champ to start with.  You get plus scales that way, and can pick and choose what layers you want to keep.  Also the nice thing is you dont have to source pin stock as you can reuse the pins from that knife since they are plenty long.

[Northern Geek]

Yeah, I've seen the Yeoman Mechanic.. but it's not exactly cheap.. Not surprisingly if it was made in such small numbers I suppose.

Sounds like an easy enough job at least.

Wonder why they've never made such a model.. Sure, I guess they can't make every possible combination out there, but still. There's at least two people in this thread already who have been wanting one so I'm sure there's more of us out there.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Yeah, I've seen the Yeoman Mechanic.. but it's not exactly cheap.. Not surprisingly if it was made in such small numbers I suppose.

Sounds like an easy enough job at least.

Wonder why they've never made such a model.. Sure, I guess they can't make every possible combination out there, but still. There's at least two people in this thread already who have been wanting one so I'm sure there's more of us out there.

Yeah, I definitely would like to have one.  Despite it being a little big, it'd be close to the perfect EDC SAK for me.  I carry my Executive in my pocket most often, with a Photon Micro and an S-biner clipping them together.  My most commonly carried full size SAK is my Cybertool Lite, primarily because of the mag-glass; it gets more and more handy as my eyes get older and older...   

The only other SAK I can think of that'd be as close to absolutely perfect as possible would be a Cyber-Yeoman, or perhaps even better, a Cyber-Yeoman Mechanic!

[Northern Geek]

If the Yeoman Mechanic wasn't so pricy I'd probably pick one up.

Doesn't quite feel like it's worth it's price right now though.

[WiSAKfan]

sounds like a good reason to build one!

[Syph007]

The combo tool raised the mod cost since if you want new, you gotta get a compact.  Then something with pliers and mag/phillips... is there any tool smaller than a swiss champ with pliers and mag/phillips? hmmm  Most other mods you can make from a swiss champ removing what layers you dont want, if only it had the combo tool.

[WiSAKfan]

what about using the bottle opener as combo instead?

or snagging a bantam and using that combo tool?

[Northern Geek]

The combo tool raised the mod cost since if you want new, you gotta get a compact.  Then something with pliers and mag/phillips... is there any tool smaller than a swiss champ with pliers and mag/phillips? hmmm  Most other mods you can make from a swiss champ removing what layers you dont want, if only it had the combo tool.

To be honest.. I'd rather not have the combo tool and just use the regular opener layer instead. Sure, the combo makes the knife a bit slimmer but I'd rather have the small blade and both the regular openers since it would be a pretty hefty knife anyway.

So I suppose a Champ would be a pretty good start, just remove three layers and you'd be set.

I don't see myself doing it anytime soon though. Don't really have the equipment for it. Plus I'm sure I'd manage to botch it somehow. 

Might shoot of some money to one of you talented modders to have it done some time though I suppose.. I bet it'd be a quick job for someone who's used to modding.

[Syph007]

The combo tool raised the mod cost since if you want new, you gotta get a compact.  Then something with pliers and mag/phillips... is there any tool smaller than a swiss champ with pliers and mag/phillips? hmmm  Most other mods you can make from a swiss champ removing what layers you dont want, if only it had the combo tool.

To be honest.. I'd rather not have the combo tool and just use the regular opener layer instead. Sure, the combo makes the knife a bit slimmer but I'd rather have the small blade and both the regular openers since it would be a pretty hefty knife anyway.

So I suppose a Champ would be a pretty good start, just remove three layers and you'd be set.

I don't see myself doing it anytime soon though. Don't really have the equipment for it. Plus I'm sure I'd manage to botch it somehow. 

Might shoot of some money to one of you talented modders to have it done some time though I suppose.. I bet it'd be a quick job for someone who's used to modding.

Ah that works out perfect then.  A swiss champ with some layers removed is the way to go.  I mostly buy swiss champs lately for parts since they are loaded with the stuff I need and I can just shorten and reuse the original pins.  Modding those is pretty quick yes, less than a hour of work.

[Northern Geek]

Nice.. I'll keep that in mind if I find myself with money to spare and a lack of self control..

[sawman]

An Explorer with pliers would be my idea SAK too but I do require the awl.   Right now, I alternate between several SAKs, the Explorer being one of them.

[Northern Geek]

I was a bit bored at work and did an ugly ms paint hack of what it would look like. I have to say, even with such a rushed photo manipulation it still comes off looking like a knife that'd be nice to have! 

[Syph007]

Ya thats a good amount of tools in that package.  you got me thinking about putting one together now too. 

I still EDC my cybertool 34, but to be honest I never use any driver bit except philips, and im getting really tired of the bits falling out of that crumby plastic holder, so I was thinking of making one with the same tools except trying to do the phillips opposite both opener tools like I did on the alox one.  Im not sure if the same trick will work on the 91s, but Id like to try.  I dont need the mag glass which is why I was thinking of trying it, and it would be just a tiny bit thinner that way.

[Northern Geek]

Ah yeah, that could be an interesting knife as well.

For some reason I think I'd prefer it the regular way, if nothing else just to have it look as much as an unmodded sak as possible. Not much logic in that however.

[GigaHz]

Ya thats a good amount of tools in that package.  you got me thinking about putting one together now too. 

I still EDC my cybertool 34, but to be honest I never use any driver bit except philips, and im getting really tired of the bits falling out of that crumby plastic holder, so I was thinking of making one with the same tools except trying to do the phillips opposite both opener tools like I did on the alox one.  Im not sure if the same trick will work on the 91s, but Id like to try.  I dont need the mag glass which is why I was thinking of trying it, and it would be just a tiny bit thinner that way.

My bits don't seem to fall out when I make sure the locking ball is pointed to the sides. When it is any other way they fall out. Maybe your holder is worn?

[Syph007]

Ya thats a good amount of tools in that package.  you got me thinking about putting one together now too. 

I still EDC my cybertool 34, but to be honest I never use any driver bit except philips, and im getting really tired of the bits falling out of that crumby plastic holder, so I was thinking of making one with the same tools except trying to do the phillips opposite both opener tools like I did on the alox one.  Im not sure if the same trick will work on the 91s, but Id like to try.  I dont need the mag glass which is why I was thinking of trying it, and it would be just a tiny bit thinner that way.

My bits don't seem to fall out when I make sure the locking ball is pointed to the sides. When it is any other way they fall out. Maybe your holder is worn?

Yep for sure its looser than when it was new.  No matter which way I have the bits they fall out now.  Im going to remake that part in metal someday when it irritates me enough.