shorten length of blast or core help needed

[macguyver]

HI all

I'm in the process of making the perfect pocket tool for me.  I've edc the juice line its ok but I didnt like the tools not locking and the pilers were on the weak side.  The skeletool well what can i say about this thing, its very well made tool compared to some of leatherman other lines.   Besides that  it's poorly design in my opinion  limited tools  and not as user friendly as some of leatherman more basic tools i.e. the blast.  I've decided to make my own ideal pocket tool and would like input from those who are more senior than myself when it comes to mods.  I plan is to cut down either core or the bast down in size.  For the blast my ideal would be 3.25 inches and coming in at 5 ounces and change and for the core 3.5 inches and 6 ounces.  I plan to cut down the lades to achieve this and  chop off the top end where the pilers are an retap the holes if that makes any sense.  To reduce extra weight I'm gong to remove the dedicated drivers and insert a bit driver set up.      Your input is greatly appreciated.

[DaveK]

Wow - that would be quite a mod, but on the face of it I'd say it was possible (if difficult).

The first obstacle you'd need to get around would be cutting down the Zytel liners, which are shaped to taper and curve with the contours of the handles. Unlike the PST for example, the handles on the Blast are not parallel for plier end - to tool end. The way that the handle is intended to "fit into" the Zytel might be hard to replicate and cause some problems (hopefully the pic will clarify):



I suppose you could remove a 3/4" cross section from the liner, just below the plier pivot hole and then use adhesive to secure against your cut down steel handle to join it back together again. That way you can preserve the lip at the top of the liner into which the handle can fit tightly. Matching the cut down liner to the cut down handle is definitely going to be tricky though

Then, you have the big challenge. The pliers only have 4-5mm clearance when closing the tool, before they will snag on the Phillips driver's nail nick. You may need to do some serious modification / grinding of the tools retained in the handles to ensure that you can still close the tool up, after the pliers are moved 3/4" closer to them.

It sounds like a cool mode though, I hope you succeed

[macguyver]

thanks dave


I was going to replace the plastic inserts  with g-10.  I think worst case i would cast the  steel handles with alum.  but i suspect that would increase weight. How much larger is the pliers on the core than on the blast.  What did you do with your blast that required you to take it apart?

[DaveK]

The Core's pliers are huge compared to the Blast, so I think the pliers from the Blast would be the way to go.

The pics are of the remains of a donor tool I used - 2 broken tools to make one good one.