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Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit

J-sews · 24 · 10000

us Offline J-sews

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Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
on: November 27, 2006, 02:16:20 AM
Okay, let's just say I were to work up enough nerve to modify a Spirit S for one-hand opening. I'd go with the thumb-stud method, similar to the picture below. I'm left-handed, so there would be no need to rearrange the blades. I'm not worried at all about making a professional-looking cutout in the handle. (I work at a CNC machine shop) Attaching a classy thumbstud to the knife blade would likewise be no problem.

The only thing I'm scared of is those accursed rivets!
I could make a new pivot pin, but how would I peen the head over without marring up the mirror finish on the side of the handle?

* Spirit S, thumbstud.jpg (Filesize: 40.45 KB)
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #1 on: November 27, 2006, 02:27:01 AM
Maybe I am not understanding properly, but why would you need to mess with the rivets?  A thumbstud could easily be mounted with the blade still on the tool?

Def
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us Offline 665ae

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #2 on: November 27, 2006, 02:35:57 AM
If you leave the blade in the tool, how do you secure it and still give yourself enough room to drill the hole in it?
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #3 on: November 27, 2006, 02:42:51 AM
Personally I would clamp the blade down on a piece of scrap wood with the rest of the tool hanging over the side and drill through it.

At least that's how I always planned to do the OH Juice mod that I haven't actually gotten around to doing...

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #4 on: November 27, 2006, 02:56:09 AM
Yah, I suppose you're right, it WOULD be an easier job if I just left the rivets alone.
I guess I am used to messing with SOG's and Leatherman's (non-Juice) that allow you do disassemble the tool and work on the components seperately.

Okay, let me rephrase the question:
If there was a need to disassemble your Spirit, is there a way to re-peen the rivet heads so they look professionally done? 
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #5 on: November 27, 2006, 03:08:45 AM
I have no idea how you would go about doing that.  I have however sent off a message to the ultimate SAK mod guy, Spork60 to see if he could offer any suggestions.  When it comes to mods, this is the guy to see!

Def
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Offline spunkyruss

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #6 on: November 27, 2006, 06:39:16 AM
I'm neither a machinist nor an engineer, but I have an idea that involves your access to CNC machines.  (I once considered doing something similar with simpler tools, like a drill and a Dremel.)

Could you machine a concave area out of a hardened punch to match original the shape of the peened rivet, and use that to put the final touches on the head of rivet?  (I'm thinking something similar to a nail-set for finishing nails.)

It might be helpful to machine a support for the back side of the rivet, too.

You could even make a little shield for the area while doing the initial peening with a ball-peen hammer.  All that you would have to do is get a thin piece of flat stock and drill a hole that's just big enough to accomodate the finished rivet, and then temporarily secure it in position.

I would suggest masking the rest of the tool in duct tape or electrical tape before trying anything like this. 

The biggest problem that I see is getting the blade tension correct.  It would involve a lot of tapping and testing.  After all, you can't just back off a rivet the way that you can a threaded fastener.




us Offline Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #7 on: November 28, 2006, 12:38:09 AM
I wouldn’t mess with the rivets either because I know whatever I could do would not look like factory issue.

The thumbstud plan looks like a good one…I would look for one that uses a countersunk screw like in the photo. I think that style is available as piece parts from knifemaking suppliers.

I haven’t had much luck drilling holes in Victorinox blades…Dremel cutoff discs and diamond burrs and needle files are what I have been using to cut nail nicks in blades.

I think spunkyruss is on the right track…

There is a tool called a “Rivet Spinner” used to dome the pins of traditional style slipjoints.

With one used as a support, the other is spun against the head of the pin to shape it into a dome using a drill press…not sure if it would work with stainless pins though, slipjoints use soft brass or nickel silver pins.

Something similar might be fabricated with a slot in the cupped head to form a cutting edge...the pins would be riveted, leaving enough excess material to cut into a dome shape...It would definitely have to be hardened to deal with stainless pins.

* thumbstud03.jpg (Filesize: 25.93 KB)


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #8 on: November 28, 2006, 03:40:12 AM
Thanks for the carefully thought-out suggestions guys. My whole reason for asking the question was to find out whether there was some sort of easy, sure-fire way of creating new rivet heads. I'm getting the feeling there is not.

Last year, I replaced a broken knife blade on an old Joseph Rodgers secatur tool. It was pinned in three places by brass rivets, each with a nicely domed head on both sides. Putting that knife back together was the biggest pain! I tried everything to get a decent looking dome on those rivets.

Hammer peening was no good; I couldn't work the rivet edges close enough to the handle scales.

Hammer-and-punch peening was better, but I couldn't secure the knife tightly enough. Each whack of the hammer simply moved the knife, not peened the rivet.

I tried the concave-punch-and-concave-backer method. It sorta worked at first, but required a tremendous amount of force on the hammer blows, even on the soft brass. I gave up before achieving a full dome.
   
I thought about a spin riveter (our company used to make a small assembly by spin riveting) but the finished rivet heads from that job came out looking like little cones, not little domes like I wanted.

Finally, I ended up spending a couple hours with a dremel tool, doing a custom grind job on the jaws of a pair of old vise-grip pliers. I contoured a small raised area on both the top and bottom jaws. The raised areas line up with each other, and have a small concave dish in the top face. I then squeezed the rivet - each end of it being in one of the dished raised areas - until it peened slightly. Then I cranked up the tension on the pliers and squeezed again, peening each end a little more. Eventually I got the amount of dome I was looking for.

But like I said, it was a pain.   

* Camera download 031.jpg (Filesize: 77.86 KB)

* Camera download 029.jpg (Filesize: 45.35 KB)
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


Offline spunkyruss

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #9 on: November 28, 2006, 05:49:03 AM
I understand why you wouldn't want to do it to a good tool, but you could always remove all of the rivets and replace them with sex bolts.  You could even get the panhead socket stainless steel ones and polish them up.  They would come pretty close to looking like rivets.

......... there I go again with a complex way to fix a tool that isn't even broken.  I better just go to bed.

By the way, I applaud your efforts on that old Joseph Rodgers secatur tool.  It's amazing what's possible with the proper ingenuity and persistance.


us Offline 665ae

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #10 on: November 28, 2006, 07:05:20 AM
...and replace them with sex bolts. 

What are they, where do I get them, and do I have to be 18 to buy them?
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us Offline BIG-TARGET

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #11 on: November 29, 2006, 02:37:19 AM
Maybe I am not understanding properly, but why would you need to mess with the rivets?  A thumbstud could easily be mounted with the blade still on the tool?

Def

Agreed!  The swisstools are probably the only"un-pimpable" SAK around ???
"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall;
 Some run from breaks of ice, and answer none:
 And some condemned for a fault alone." -William Shakespeare, King Lear (1608), Act IV, scene 6, line 169


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #12 on: November 29, 2006, 02:43:21 AM
I don't know about that- I just think it depends on the level of personal "pimp-ness!"

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #13 on: November 29, 2006, 02:49:54 AM
When I started this thread, I had no idea how quickly it would degenerate into talk of "sex bolts" and "pimpness."

  :P

In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


us Offline CacherX4

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #14 on: November 29, 2006, 03:53:07 AM
Could you please post a pic of the old Joseph Rodgers secatur tool?  I have no idea what it is, and would like to see the finished work you accomplished, it sounds interesting.


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #15 on: November 29, 2006, 01:15:43 PM
This old girl needed a whole lot of TLC. The scales were some sort of 100 year old rubber, which were partially disintegrated. I replaced them with walnut that I contoured myself. The main blade was originally a hawkbill style, but the tip was broken off. I couldn't find a replacement, so I had to regrind it with a straight profile. (Too bad, I think the hawkbill is sexier looking.) It wasn't easy to redo the blade while still keeping the original stamping and logo intact. The secaturs (pruners) themselves are actuated by the shiny nickel handle, which has a clever locking mechanism to keep it folded when not in use. They were almost rusted solid, and also needed a lot of work.

Anyhow, it was a satisfying project, but the toughest part by far was getting the whole thing reassembled, especially those ***** rivets!

TOP=Before
BOTTOM = After

* JRS2.jpg (Filesize: 15.41 KB)

* JRS11.jpg (Filesize: 95.88 KB)
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


us Offline parnass

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #16 on: November 29, 2006, 04:52:41 PM

Anyhow, it was a satisfying project, but the toughest part by far was getting the whole thing reassembled, especially those ***** rivets!


Good job, Bob!
Retired engineer, author.

A man with one multitool always knows exactly which to use. A man with many multitools is never quite sure. - parnass


us Offline CacherX4

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #17 on: November 29, 2006, 06:59:59 PM
Thats a pretty interesting little tool, I have never seen anything like it.  It looks fantastic.  Great work.


us Offline prime77

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #18 on: November 29, 2006, 09:33:53 PM
I agree, nice job and sweet looking tool.
"


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #19 on: November 30, 2006, 01:47:52 AM
Thanks guys!

Apparently there must have been some demand for these ancient rose-bush pruning knives. Here is my next project, another spring loaded pruner. This one was made by the George Ibberson Company of Sheffield, England. It has a folding knife blade, and a folding file/screwdriver combination blade. Unfortunately, the knife blade is broken.   :(

However, I have obtained a different pocket knife, also by Ibberson, that has the same size blade.  :)

I plan to take the secatur tool apart and install the unbroken replacement blade, but I'm not looking forward to dealing with those rivets again.
 


* gib2.jpg (Filesize: 40.79 KB)

* gib1.jpg (Filesize: 61.25 KB)
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


us Offline BIG-TARGET

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #20 on: November 30, 2006, 02:06:05 PM
Thanks guys!

Apparently there must have been some demand for these ancient rose-bush pruning knives. Here is my next project, another spring loaded pruner. This one was made by the George Ibberson Company of Sheffield, England. It has a folding knife blade, and a folding file/screwdriver combination blade. Unfortunately, the knife blade is broken.   :(

However, I have obtained a different pocket knife, also by Ibberson, that has the same size blade.  :)

I plan to take the secatur tool apart and install the unbroken replacement blade, but I'm not looking forward to dealing with those rivets again.
 



Didn't britsh SOE and american OSS use something like that as an "escape tool"????
"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall;
 Some run from breaks of ice, and answer none:
 And some condemned for a fault alone." -William Shakespeare, King Lear (1608), Act IV, scene 6, line 169


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #21 on: November 30, 2006, 10:35:34 PM
Geez Bob- one of these days you are going to have to take us on a picture tour of the goodies you have hidden away!

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #22 on: December 01, 2006, 12:38:33 AM
Didn't britsh SOE and american OSS use something like that as an "escape tool"????

Similar concept, but a completely different tool. Ironically though, the OSS Escape Tools were made by Joseph Rodgers, and Ibberson, same as those two "project" tools of mine shown above.


* JR.jpg (Filesize: 51.66 KB)
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


us Offline BIG-TARGET

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Re: Re-riveting a SwissTool Spirit
Reply #23 on: December 01, 2006, 06:22:49 AM
Didn't britsh SOE and american OSS use something like that as an "escape tool"????

Similar concept, but a completely different tool. Ironically though, the OSS Escape Tools were made by Joseph Rodgers, and Ibberson, same as those two "project" tools of mine shown above.



Yeah, that's the one!!! ;)
"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall;
 Some run from breaks of ice, and answer none:
 And some condemned for a fault alone." -William Shakespeare, King Lear (1608), Act IV, scene 6, line 169


 

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