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Bad Swisstool Spirit?

gb Offline Philby

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #60 on: August 16, 2014, 11:07:11 AM
The spirit has what I need, loose pliers. Go ask any tradesman who uses pliers regularly, my father was a plumber, from him I've learnt the benefits of loose pliers. You need pliers that fall open when you let go of the handle, you prefer to let gravity do the work. Now the pliers on my worn in leathermans are nice and loose, but so is the tool when closed. What's good for me on the spirit, is that the pliers are usable (loose) when brand new, but the tool locks up solid when closed. It's the best of both worlds. I'll put up with the slightly misaligned handles when closed. Obviously you don't have to, it's up to you what you buy, all I can say is you're missing out on a great piece of kit.


us Offline Kampfer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #61 on: September 26, 2014, 05:36:22 PM
I received a new Spirit today, opened it up, it is as misaligned as Thunderpant's.
I m not sure I am keeping it. :-\
EDC: Black Talon, Black Cat, Spirit, LD02


gb Offline pingu

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #62 on: September 26, 2014, 05:43:58 PM
I received a new Spirit today, opened it up, it is as misaligned as Thunderpant's.
I m not sure I am keeping it. :-\

 :ahhh I know how you feel.  Can you post some pics of the head pivot before you return it?


us Offline Kampfer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #63 on: September 26, 2014, 05:48:18 PM
I received a new Spirit today, opened it up, it is as misaligned as Thunderpant's.
I m not sure I am keeping it. :-\

 :ahhh I know how you feel.  Can you post some pics of the head pivot before you return it?
Will do, has anyone check with Victorinox to see if they consider this misalignment NORMAL, are they going to do something to correct it?

None of my Leathermans has this issue, Rebar & ST300 handles are somewhat flexible, after heavy use there are some minor misalignment but not when they come out of the box.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2014, 05:50:27 PM by Kampfer »
EDC: Black Talon, Black Cat, Spirit, LD02


gb Offline pingu

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #64 on: September 26, 2014, 05:53:25 PM
I received a new Spirit today, opened it up, it is as misaligned as Thunderpant's.
I m not sure I am keeping it. :-\

 :ahhh I know how you feel.  Can you post some pics of the head pivot before you return it?
Will do, has anyone check with Victorinox to see if they consider this misalignment NORMAL, are they going to do something to correct it?

An earlier post of mine in this thread quotes someone on another forum's email response from Victorinox.  I originally posted the Goggle translation from German, then the German original, but I don't think any of our German speaking members commented on the translation accuracy.
 
« Last Edit: September 26, 2014, 05:56:39 PM by pingu »


us Offline Kampfer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #65 on: September 26, 2014, 06:06:52 PM
It´s a tool and that´s it. Not a piece of art.   ::)  ::)
The reason I bought it is because the enablers here told me it is a piece of art , I want to see the high Swiss engineering standard, craftsmanship... well.....

What bugs me is NOT all Spirits are misaligned. :-\
EDC: Black Talon, Black Cat, Spirit, LD02


gb Offline pingu

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #66 on: September 26, 2014, 06:32:56 PM
What bugs me is NOT all Spirits are misaligned. :-\

Exactly.  The "cannot be avoided" translation of the Victorinox response cannot be correct.

I have a theory that a batch went wrong and the Amazon "no questions asked" returns policy has resulted in a pool of misaligned product.  I just don't get the apparent Victorinox "cannot be avoided" handling of this issue.  We must all have a higher opinion of Swiss quality than the Swiss themselves. :(

 


it Offline basilio

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #67 on: September 26, 2014, 06:58:17 PM
After returing at least three Spirit's to Amazon, plus examining at least 4 more in a shop, here are my conclusions, based on what I saw:
Older models (up to 2010) with the shield emblem on the plier heads, don't seem to have this problem (I have three myself and they are all fine).
Newer models without the shield emblem on the pliers, all have the misalignement.
Went to a shop and examined all the models they had: they ALL had the misalignement, and all were recent production.
Based on this fact, I was thinking that it must have something to do with the production process, more than a batch that went wrong.
Could anyone else confirm?


gb Offline AimlessWanderer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #68 on: September 26, 2014, 08:08:46 PM
Hmm ... sounds like they might have switched suppliers and maybe the second supplier isn't of the same level of scrutiny as the first  :think: Having said that, I've just checked all three of mine:

Spirit X (No shield) came from the 1st "cheapo run" on Amazon US that led to a flurry here.
Spirit BO S (with shield) I believe this may be from a military contract (Reinier would know better)
Spirit RT (With shield)

All three of mine are slightly offset. Looking at them it's as if they are off by about the thickness of the handle material, so the outside of the handle material on the left arm is level-ish with the inside of the handle material on the right arm (give or take a little bit). They also all camber in the same direction.

Laying these on a flat surface, the X (i.e. the newer of the three) rocks the least, then it's close but the RT probably rocks a little more than the BO S. It appears at first that they rock more than the "scale" thickness, but offering them up against a draughting square, it does only seem to be around 1 to 1.5mm. This "rock" may be partly due to slight manufacturing variances between thicknesses of rivet protrusion, or of lock release sliders. Although there is still the slight deviation to roughly the thickness of the "scales", and all standing off at the same side. This would suggest to me that there is something inherrent in the design which is leading to this, although normal manufacturing tolerances will lead to a bit of variation as to how much they actually rock. You wouldn't expect them to tolerance how far the rivets protrude for example.

My honest conclusion is that these tools are still perfectly fine excellent, with tolerances and quality far exceeding what I would expect to see on other tools (and not just multitools either), and that quality demonstrated on the Spirits still pisses on other tools from a great height. I appreciate that not everyone shares the same criteria of what they want from a tool, but I'm genuinely perfectly happy with the quality on all three of mine. Considering that we are just talking about pieces of press stamped steel sheet, connected by 9 other components (*) all with their own manufacturing tolerances, I don't think it's bad at all - In fact I think it's very impressive.

In short, you're probably more likely to have got a duff one if it sits flat  :D

* = 4 press stamped spacers, 2 pivot pins, 2 plier jaws, and 1 main plier rivet at the other end of the tool to where the "problem" is


The cantankerous but occasionally useful member, formally known as 50ft-trad


gb Offline AimlessWanderer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #69 on: September 26, 2014, 08:22:26 PM
I'd also add that those who have discounted these tools as "artwork", really outght to try them out as tools for a while too. Afterwards you might find that you REALLY like them  :D


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us Offline Kampfer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #70 on: September 26, 2014, 08:59:09 PM
Here is the one I returned.
photo 1.JPG
* photo 1.JPG (Filesize: 130.69 KB)
photo 2.JPG
* photo 2.JPG (Filesize: 223.32 KB)
photo 3.JPG
* photo 3.JPG (Filesize: 210.21 KB)
photo 4.JPG
* photo 4.JPG (Filesize: 169.97 KB)
EDC: Black Talon, Black Cat, Spirit, LD02


gb Offline AimlessWanderer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #71 on: September 26, 2014, 09:01:49 PM
Sorry, I don´t understand that german-english translation. But I just looked closely at my Spirit and it had the same issue.

But it doesn´t bother me at all! When it´s closed it doesn´t fit 100 % but when opened it´s perfect. It´s a tool and that´s it. Not a piece of art.   ::)  ::)

Hi Humppa

I was going to leave this thread having made up my mind to spend the money on a Crunch (or perhaps a Wenger Evo 18).  Something to make me feel better.  But since you are from Germany perhaps the German original is interesting to you and your comments useful to English speaking members.

I did not think the Google translation was easy to understand.  Here is the full review in German...

oder ... bemerkenswerte "Produktionstoleranzen" einer Schweizer Präzisionsmanufaktur.

Schade!
Das Produkt macht egtl. einen sehr guten Eindruck: Verarbeitung, Haptik, Optik alles sehr gut.
Leider weisen die Griffhälften einen deutlichen Versatz auf. Offensichtlich kein Einzelfall. Das Austausch-Tool wies ebenfalls einen vergleichbaren Versatz (s.Fotos) auf.

Eine Anfrage beim Victorinox AG Kundenservice war ebenfalls wenig hilfreich: "[...] Die Zangen für das SwissTool und das SwissTool Spirit werden im Feingussverfahren hergestellt. Ein leichter Versatz der beiden Griffhälften liegt innerhalb der Produktionstoleranz und ist nicht zu vermeiden." Meine eingesandten Fotos wurden "an [die] Qualitätskontrolle weitergeleitet"
Eine Rückmeldung der Qualitätskontrolle erfolgte -erwartungsgemäß- nicht.

Wer dieses Multitool also in der Hoffnung kauft eine bessere Qualität als beim großen amerikanischen "Vorbild" zu bekommen, wird -entgegen der sonstigen Qualitätsanmutung des Werkzeugs- im Bezug auf den Versatz der Griffhälften mit einer Produktionstoleranz "belohnt", die offenbar deutlich über der von 15-Euro-Baumarkt-Tools liegt.

Anmerkung: Versand und Rücksendung über Amazon wie üblich perfekt.


Can you explain a better context for "can not be avoided"?

I struggle to understand why parallel grinding and vertical drilling isn't producing better results.  I think that is something that Leatherman manages on every tool I have seen.

One of the Amazon.de reviews speculated about a bad batch.  My open question is what happens to the significant number of returns to Amazon?

I know quite a bit more about manufacturing than I do about German  :P but working off the Google translation makes sense to me, and I'd always expect to see some variation somewhere on the tool. Picking up on one thing pingu mentions, not all mating surfaces on the pieces that lead to this are machined by the looks of it. Pliers heads and pivot pins, yes, but not the pressed steelwork. I keep looking this over and over trying  ... hang on ... I might have found something.

Back in a bit ...


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gb Offline AimlessWanderer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #72 on: September 26, 2014, 09:05:40 PM
By jove, I think I've found it!

BRB


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gb Offline pingu

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #73 on: September 26, 2014, 09:07:16 PM

This would suggest to me that there is something inherrent in the design which is leading to this,


I think you are on to something there.  I don't regret returning mine, though I do regret not making a good photographic record of the "offending" pivot.  But going by the grabs from Nutfancy's vid, compared with LM plier heads there appears to be some angled parts present.

Not aware of any retail outlets to check before purchase otherwise I would in pursuit of obtaining a "duff one"  for my collection. :D

I'm typing this with an ex-Kick plier head in front of me.  Two parallel ground mounting bushes (hope I've used the correct term) and (presumably) vertically drilled pivots.  Elegant simplicity.  If something else is going on with the Spirit, and it appears to be from the photos, I'd like to understand what :think: before making allowances.


« Last Edit: September 26, 2014, 09:29:50 PM by pingu »


england Offline Beery

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #74 on: September 26, 2014, 09:19:14 PM
It´s a tool and that´s it. Not a piece of art.

If I'd said that to my boss when I was working as a mechanical engineer, in response to him coming to me with a mistake I'd made that was not functionally important, but which misaligned the tool by 2mm, I'd have probably been fired right there and then. It's not about whether or not it's art (although I'd argue that these tools are pieces of art) - it's about craftsmanship. Anyone who works with their hands knows what craftsmanship is all about: a craftsman doesn't want to produce a product that is off by so much that a layman will know it looks wrong. Heck, if we don't need craftsmanship, we can go to China and get similar tools for half the price. We go to Switzerland because we want craftsmanship. Craftsmanship is important because when it's done right it lets the end user KNOW that he's holding a product that the maker cares about.

I own a Spirit X - it's perfectly aligned from what I can tell. It would REALLY bother me if I spent that much on a tool and it was off by even a millimeter. As an engineer whose job required similar tolerances, I'd be embarrassed if anything I produced was off by that much, because with the precision that these kinds of tools are made, a millimeter is huge.

Of course, when you add stamped sheet metal into the mix, the tolerances get kinda big (though they still shouldn't be that big). I'd imagine the problems might be found in this area.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2014, 09:44:36 PM by Beery »
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gb Offline AimlessWanderer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #75 on: September 26, 2014, 09:40:59 PM
OK, this is purely a THEORY at the moment, I don't have sufficiently accurate measuring equipment to verify, and I'm not prepared to disassemble a tool either  :ahhh :ahhh It might take me a while to explain ... but please bear with me. I'm going to use Nikola's pic from earlier in this thread to explain this ...



....

OK, the key to what I's going to explain is nothing to do with how well the machined faces/components are produced OR what tolerances they are working to. The answer appears to be how bendy a bit of steel is. Between the machined faces at the head end, and all the machined faces at the tools end, there is just sheet steel - that's it - just pressed steel sheet.

Now if you look at the piccy above, you will see that the view here is assymetrical. The pressed steel component which forms the left side of the arm is totally different to the pressed steel component that runs down the right.. Now (for those of you that still have a tool handy) if you look to the side view of those arms you will see that the two seperate components actually have a different cross section too. The piece that runs down the left hand side is level (pertty much) with the piano spring, wheras the right hand section actually runs down under the piano spring. Now we're getting to the good bit

What it means is that the piece on the right is slightly smaller in cross section than the piece on the left, and there is an operation that needs to take place before the tool is assembled. The steel must be crowned! What I mean by this is that not only has the steel got to be coined into the L section, but also must bow along it's length. This is so the pressure and rivets set the correct tension on the plier heads and the tool pivots, but allow clearance olong the length of the handles so that nothing fouls. The tools are then built up and rivetted, blah blh blah.

Now then ... hard to explain .... as these steels vary in respect of section, they will also vary in terms of elasticity. In the space of a second or two, these things will be spat into a press die, WHUMP goes the die to coin the profile, and then these things are spat out again. Depending upon the actual material chemistry and condition (which WILL vary within certain parameters and is outside Vic's control) depends on how much springback will occur when they come off the press brake. It appears that the thinner section (on the right) is being crowned ever so slightly more than the one on the left ... but of course this will vary according to everything we've just looked at.

Now imagine everything built back up. The pressed pieced of steel to the right being slightly more bent (in most cases) to the piece on the left, shifts the tool assembly a fraction over to the left. Flip the whole tool over and the same thing has happened on the other arm. The actual positioning of the tool assembly relative to the pivots is not dependent on any machining but on the springiness of those two pieces through that one operation.

Don't believe me? Get a steel ruler and just offer it up down the length of the handle at each side. I'm betting that you'll see a fraction more curve on the thinner section than on the thicker one!

I might have missed something, but from what I can see right now (at 8:30 on a Friday night after a couple of beers  :P) the whole thing comes down to how bendy/plastic/deformable/springy (however you prefer to word it) a particular piece of steel is from any particular batch/cast. I will also add that from experience I know it is not practical to expect all these pieces to bend 100% identically every time. I know this because I used to design these type of machines. If anyone thinks I've missed something technically, feel free to say and I'll try and look at it again from your perspective - but otherwise, from what I can see, that's where the variation is coming from, and it's nothing that can be changed/rectified without redesigning the entire tool


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gb Offline pingu

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #76 on: September 26, 2014, 09:43:43 PM
Thanks for posting that.  Bedtime reading I think. :(


gb Offline AimlessWanderer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #77 on: September 26, 2014, 09:49:24 PM
Yeah, sorry for it being wordy - not an easy thing to convey to everyone


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us Offline Kampfer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #78 on: September 26, 2014, 09:55:17 PM
Feeling a little sick today, i have no idea what you said.  :poh:
Was hoping the new MT would cheer me up, but it didn't.
EDC: Black Talon, Black Cat, Spirit, LD02


england Offline Beery

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #79 on: September 26, 2014, 09:56:06 PM
Quote from: 50ft-trad link=topic=47468.msg954752#msg954752 date=1411760459The answer [b
appears to be[/b] how bendy a bit of steel is.

Having worked in the sheet metal stamping industry, I can totally see where you're coming from on this. I think you may be correct (although I would argue that how bendy a bit of steel is does have to do with tolerances - the tolerances for folds and bends have to be bigger, but they are still there). They would have to set the metal folding tool (I can't remember what they're called now - haven't worked in the industry for 30 years) to bend the longer piece just a bit more to achieve the perfect 90 degree angle.

Still, if it's a design issue, one would think that the problem would be caught in quality control. On the other hand, in these big corporations, management seems to have little patience for QC these days.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2014, 09:58:04 PM by Beery »
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bavaria Offline Humppa

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #80 on: September 26, 2014, 09:57:00 PM

Hi Humppa

I was going to leave this thread having made up my mind to spend the money on a Crunch (or perhaps a Wenger Evo 18).  Something to make me feel better.  But since you are from Germany perhaps the German original is interesting to you and your comments useful to English speaking members.

I did not think the Google translation was easy to understand.  Here is the full review in German...

oder ... bemerkenswerte "Produktionstoleranzen" einer Schweizer Präzisionsmanufaktur.

Schade!
Das Produkt macht egtl. einen sehr guten Eindruck: Verarbeitung, Haptik, Optik alles sehr gut.
Leider weisen die Griffhälften einen deutlichen Versatz auf. Offensichtlich kein Einzelfall. Das Austausch-Tool wies ebenfalls einen vergleichbaren Versatz (s.Fotos) auf.

Eine Anfrage beim Victorinox AG Kundenservice war ebenfalls wenig hilfreich: "[...] Die Zangen für das SwissTool und das SwissTool Spirit werden im Feingussverfahren hergestellt. Ein leichter Versatz der beiden Griffhälften liegt innerhalb der Produktionstoleranz und ist nicht zu vermeiden." Meine eingesandten Fotos wurden "an [die] Qualitätskontrolle weitergeleitet"
Eine Rückmeldung der Qualitätskontrolle erfolgte -erwartungsgemäß- nicht.

Wer dieses Multitool also in der Hoffnung kauft eine bessere Qualität als beim großen amerikanischen "Vorbild" zu bekommen, wird -entgegen der sonstigen Qualitätsanmutung des Werkzeugs- im Bezug auf den Versatz der Griffhälften mit einer Produktionstoleranz "belohnt", die offenbar deutlich über der von 15-Euro-Baumarkt-Tools liegt.

Anmerkung: Versand und Rücksendung über Amazon wie üblich perfekt.


Can you explain a better context for "can not be avoided"?

I struggle to understand why parallel grinding and vertical drilling isn't producing better results.  I think that is something that Leatherman manages on every tool I have seen.

One of the Amazon.de reviews speculated about a bad batch.  My open question is what happens to the significant number of returns to Amazon?

Sorry for being later here - I was quite busy lately.

Ok here is the translation in the context of "can´t be avoided" - I think the inner context disappeared through translation. I also can translate the whole comment.

But here is the translation - at least for my mind  :whistle: (look at the parts I marked in broad typing)
"A slight mismatch of the two handle parts is in the production tolerances and can´t get due to this being avioded."

It is also written the line above that the plier heads are getting made by investment casting process. The line below that the mail has been sent to QC at Victorinox. But this is in the tolerances due to the production process.

I hope this helps a little to understand. If you guys wish to read the whole comment in correct context please let me know and I will translate it.
You can call me Papa Andi

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gb Offline pingu

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #81 on: September 26, 2014, 10:03:19 PM
Danke Humppa :salute:


england Offline Beery

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #82 on: September 26, 2014, 10:03:48 PM
But this is in the tolerances due to the production process.

If the production process includes a tolerance factor that allows a 2mm offset of the tool handles, I would argue that the production processes need to be changed.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2014, 10:09:34 PM by Beery »
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gb Offline AimlessWanderer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #83 on: September 26, 2014, 10:07:29 PM
Quote from: 50ft-trad link=topic=47468.msg954752#msg954752 date=1411760459The answer [b
appears to be[/b] how bendy a bit of steel is.

Having worked in the sheet metal stamping industry, I can totally see where you're coming from on this. I think you may be correct (although I would argue that how bendy a bit of steel is does have to do with tolerances - the tolerances for folds and bends have to be bigger, but they are still there). They would have to set the metal folding tool (I can't remember what they're called now - haven't worked in the industry for 30 years) to bend the longer piece just a bit more to achieve the perfect 90 degree angle.

Still, if it's a design issue, one would think that the problem would be caught in quality control. On the other hand, in these big corporations, management seems to have little patience for QC these days.

Looking at the folding first. If you're thinking something like a cramp folder, they yes you overbend to allow for springback, but this means human intervention on each component or at least running very small batches between sampling. I suspect though that this is more of a "coining" die, where the die is preformed and there isn't the option for adjustment. You get less springback when coined (impact) rather than bent, but you can still get some. Hope I'm not trying to teach you to suck eggs there Granny  :salute: :P :D

As for QC issues, I'm not surprised that a toolmaker doesn't see this as a flaw to be overcome, as that springback is hard to engineer out and doesn't affect function. The only way to try and overcome it would be to stamp each handle from one piece (as a channel) with a fixed centre distance than the two pieces they have been doing. That changes the entire ethos of the tool though, and would mean they lose the spring assembly, the space efficiency ... frankly I think the tool would be worse off if they did what they have to in order to get it to sit flat.


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bavaria Offline Humppa

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #84 on: September 26, 2014, 10:16:02 PM
Danke Humppa :salute:

It was a pleasure, Pingu - Gern geschehen!  :cheers:

I wouldn´t give a mismatch of two milimeters too much attention when it doesn´t effect on the function of the tool.
It would bother me if it would cause blade wobble or any other negative effects.
You can call me Papa Andi

R.I.P. Lemmy Kilmister 24th Dec 1945 - 28th Dec 2015


wales Offline hiraethus

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #85 on: September 26, 2014, 10:17:21 PM
From the misalignment on my Spirit I think there are two factors at work: the play in the pliers pivot and the tolerance on the length of the side plates. Mine are only out by 0.8mm though, or a little less than 0.5°over the length of the tool. I need to work out what a small variation in the centre-centre distance of one of the side plates would do to the angle of the handles.


england Offline Beery

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #86 on: September 26, 2014, 10:17:43 PM
I suspect though that this is more of a "coining" die, where the die is preformed and there isn't the option for adjustment.

Well, not at the point of final assembly, true. But someone has to make the die, and the quality of the die determines the quality of the final product. If it's impossible to counteract the spring-back in the die, then there should be a second process in which the stamped product is adjusted.

Whatever the situation, there are ways to fix it, and in my view, not fixing such an obvious issue is not acceptable. I mean, heck, at the very lowest level of technology, they could do it the old fashioned way and have someone give them a final bash with a rubber mallet to align the handles before they do the final QC on function.

Now sure, Victorinox may be facing financial pressures in the post-9/11 world, but surely cutting corners in terms of quality is not going to help. This is, after all, Victorinox we're talking about, not some Chinese knock-off artist.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2014, 10:22:01 PM by Beery »
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gb Offline AimlessWanderer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #87 on: September 26, 2014, 10:26:18 PM
From the misalignment on my Spirit I think there are two factors at work: the play in the pliers pivot and the tolerance on the length of the side plates. Mine are only out by 0.8mm though, or a little less than 0.5°over the length of the tool. I need to work out what a small variation in the centre-centre distance of one of the side plates would do to the angle of the handles.

Good point actually ... I'll mull that one over too

I suspect though that this is more of a "coining" die, where the die is preformed and there isn't the option for adjustment.

Well, not at the point of final assembly, true. But someone has to make the die, and the quality of the die determines the quality of the final product. If it's impossible to counteract the spring-back in the die, then there should be a second process in which the stamped product is adjusted.

Whatever the situation, there are ways to fix it, and in my view, not fixing such an obvious issue is not acceptable. I mean, heck, at the very lowest level of technology, they could do it the old fashioned way and have someone give them a final bash with a rubber mallet to align the handles before they do the final QC on function.

Now sure, Victorinox may be facing financial pressures in the post-9/11 world, but surely cutting corners in terms of quality is not going to help. This is, after all, Victorinox we're talking about, not some Chinese knock-off artist.

 :D :D

Yeah, I know what you mean. That's one of those instances where commercial viability craps on what the engineers want to do isn't it  :P


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england Offline Beery

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #88 on: September 26, 2014, 10:26:46 PM
Just a quick observation: I have a Spirit X, which has the same offset stamped metal handles as the regular Spirit, but mine is perfectly aligned. Also, I have the later version with the Victorinox shield on the handles, so I can attest to the fact that it's not happening on all of them.
"See all, 'eer all, say nowt.
Eyt all, sup all, pay nowt.
An' if tha ivver duz owt for nowt,
allus do it fer thi-sen."


gb Offline AimlessWanderer

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Re: Bad Swisstool Spirit?
Reply #89 on: September 26, 2014, 10:32:27 PM
Can you put a straight edge down both sides of the arms and see if the "crowning" looks uniform too, Beery?


The cantankerous but occasionally useful member, formally known as 50ft-trad


 

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