Backsprings in motion

[J-sews]

You ever look real close at those individual backsprings on your SwissTool? Whoever came up with those things deserves the Nobel Prize for Engineering! Not only do they prevent blade "clumping" when you unfold a blade, they also provide a secure "stop" when the blade is all the way opened and locked. 

And take it from a machinist (me), those teeny slits between the fingers are not easy to cut in stainless spring-steel. No wonder you see Leatherman, Gerber, and SOG knockoffs but not any SwissTool copies. The Chinese probably haven't figured out how to make those backspring fingers!

There's lots of features to admire about the tools from Victorinox, but those individual backsprings impress me the most.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I always wondered what they would use to cut such fine lines... laser?

Def

[Viper]

AutoTool?

[Grant Lamontagne]

The AutoTool is a huge tool that dwarfs the SwissTools, and indeed almost every other multi.  You can see it on SOSAKOnline here:

http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=99&Itemid=35

You'll have to be logged in to see it though.  It's a bizarre tool, designed specifically to be kept in a car and it has (among other things) a fuse puller, ice scraper, flashlight and digital tire guage.

Def

[Dunc]

Those springs are indeed a marvel , they really work well .When I first got a Swisstool back in the 90's I thought they may be a bit of a weak spot    But their not  they just keep on working just like the day you bought it .

Dunc

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

i think like most things vic, its the little details that they really excell at.

i,m a vic man through and through and even i don,t know how they bring that amount of quality for such a piddly little price

[J-sews]

i,m a vic man through and through and even i don,t know how they bring that amount of quality for such a piddly little price

Y'know, I guess that is my main point. Not only do they consistently build such a high quality product, but that they do it at such a reasonable cost. Things like individual backsprings would still be impressive, but if including them on a tool drove the cost up to $200, then nobody could afford to buy it!

[Grant Lamontagne]

My guess would be volume and automation is what keeps them affordable.  Although if I recall correctly, SwissTools were pretty pricey when they first came out.

Def

[Viper]

Oh I see. Interesting!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah the AutoTool is one of Victorinox's rare flops...  it and the SportRatchet weren't terribly successful, and were casualties of the great Multitool Gluttony, where every manufacturer had to put out a multitool to try and get a piece fo the pie made by Leatherman.  Unfortunately, as with many of the tools of that period, they fell by the wayside as the market dried up since they weren't overly useful, except in the instances they were built for.  You probably won't find a more versatile tool for your car than the AutoTool, but people decided they wanted one tool to do as much as possible, not one tool for the car, one for the bike, one for the rollerblades, one for skiing, one for the boat, one for chores, one for woodworking and so on.

Plus, the AutoTool was amazingly bulky...  it makes the Surge, SuperTools, Core and SwissTools seem positively svelte!

Def

[supratentorial]

You ever look real close at those individual backsprings on your SwissTool? Whoever came up with those things deserves the Nobel Prize for Engineering! Not only do they prevent blade "clumping" when you unfold a blade, they also provide a secure "stop" when the blade is all the way opened and locked. 

And take it from a machinist (me), those teeny slits between the fingers are not easy to cut in stainless spring-steel. No wonder you see Leatherman, Gerber, and SOG knockoffs but not any SwissTool copies. The Chinese probably haven't figured out how to make those backspring fingers!

There's lots of features to admire about the tools from Victorinox, but those individual backsprings impress me the most.

J-sews,  I suppose we'll have to wait to find out but do you think the "piano keys" on the new SOGs will have some of the same benefits?  Previously I hadn't taken the concept seriously since I didn't see any benefit to "lock[ing] each component individually".

[Grant Lamontagne]

I see the big difference on SOG's piano keys being that each tool has to be a similar size.  As Bob found out, Victorinox uses a very specific size for each tool, which is making his OH mod very difficult.

Of course, many of the implements on SOG Tools also vary in width, so I wonder if they will be issuing new tools to go with it, or if they have come up with something else.

Def

[J-sews]

I think you hit the nail squarely on the head there supratentorial! The "piano keys" must be SOG's version of the Victorinox individual backspring concept. The idea itself seems sound enough...we'll have to wait and see how well SOG executes it.

[J-sews]

I see the big difference on SOG's piano keys being that each tool has to be a similar size....

It appears that on wider blades/tools, SOG simply allows more than one of the fingers to engage.   

[Viper]

What is that tool, a punch?

[Anthony]

I think it's some kind of punch...for setting up explosives...not much "real world" use I assume, unless your into explosives.

[Viper]

I meant a nail punch.
You know, you hammer it into a piece of wood (or whatever surface) to make an indentation to help start up a screw/nail or to mark a spot.

[J-sews]

I suppose you could use it as an awl/screw starter. But the angle on the pointy end doesn't seem sharp enough to work very well.

Corrugated is right, SOG includes this "C-4 explosives" punch on their EOD model. It also has special crimper jaws. Per their webpage HERE   "This makes it a breeze to crimp blasting caps and demolition cord with less hand pressure."

Probably not something most folks do every day....

[knife-man]

the slot's could be made using a ED machine and it's a fantastic way of machining  but slow .. then again it could easily manage 20 or 30 of them in one go .. that would be my guess. failing that a very very thin slotting cutter EDM seems most likely though.

[J-sews]

the slot's could be made using a ED machine and it's a fantastic way of machining  but slow .. then again it could easily manage 20 or 30 of them in one go .. that would be my guess. failing that a very very thin slotting cutter EDM seems most likely though.

I was wondering about wire EDM too. It would leave no burrs or bulged metal along the edge of each slot, like any other cutting tool would do. But the process is so very slow....

[knife-man]

if we could convince someone to bend one out and take a look at the surface finish on the inside I could tell .. EDM leave like a sandblasted finish. I doubt the inside of the slot's are polished in anyway after machining

[J-sews]

if we could convince someone to bend one out and take a look at the surface finish on the inside I could tell .. EDM leave like a sandblasted finish. I doubt the inside of the slot's are polished in anyway after machining

You mean the surface finish in between the fingers, right?

[knife-man]

yeah ... I know what I mean even if no-one else does most of the time 

[J-sews]

I'm holding onto the backspring fingers piece from my disassembled Spirit right now.  (Don't ask!  :angry:)  Anyhow, a piece of ordinary typing paper will barely  fit between the fingers. Checked with a micrometer, the paper measures .0035" thick, or less than .1mm.

I was told once that a wire EDM can only make cuts down to .2mm wide. How the heck does Vic cut those fingers?




edit: I forgot the decimal point in front of the 1mm and 2mm specs. Added 5-15-07.

[Tom Munch]

Maybe they use water jets or something?

Tom

[J-sews]

Maybe they use water jets or something?

Tom

The place across the road from our shop has an abrasive water jet cutter. The width of cut is about .040" (1mm) or about ten times as wide as the Victorinox cuts. Must be done some other way.

[knife-man]

EDM can take .1mm cut's I think its's the smallest wire size available ATM.

and as .0035" is only just a smidgen under .1mm I would still suspect EDM If I had one I could check it with my shim's for a propper size check (presuming I could find them and that they arnt too rusty) .. Paper inst the best material for use as a Shim  . But I cent afford to buy one.

[J-sews]

EDM can take .1mm cut's I think its's the smallest wire size available ATM....

Then you are probably correct about how the slits are cut.

Another good thing about cutting with a wire EDM (electrical discharge machine) is that it leaves no burrs or bulges in the metal, like a thin slitting saw or bandsaw would do.