Moving on to a Wenger mod

[AimlessWanderer]

After I finished my first SAK mod today, the Mega84, I decided to start looking a little more closely at the next project I have in mind (1 down, 3 to go).

A bit of background.....

You might be aware that I quite like the Wenger Traveller. Like a climber but smaller, the nail file replaces the redundant (in my mind) small blade, and again in my opinion, the toothpick and tweezers are less likely to be lost by inadvertantly pulling them out. I'll be honest, I do still prefer the Victorinox scissors for things like nail cutting, but the Wenger ones are better for things like plastics which might just push out of the Vic scissors. You do also have the nail file on the Wenger for tidying up.

Other notable features on the Traveller is the punch (awl) isn't sharpened like the Vic one is. It serves as a general purpose pokey thing, but if you want the function of the Vic awl, you have to move to the can opener. I don't have preference over either can opener, as it seems to depend on the can. I've used both on cans which have caused them to struggle, switched to the other and found them better for that particular can. Both will let you get fed though. The Wenger can opener can also be used as a scraper or clam pack opener, and the Vic's can double as a Phillips....

.... other than the nail file being suitable for a few smaller Phillips screws maybe, there's nothing on the Traveller to handle a Phillips screw. Normally this isn't an issue, as I usually carry a pliers tool with a Phillips, but some days you want a lighter simpler carry, and a Traveller with Phillips would be ideal

[AimlessWanderer]

I've already said that I do favour the Traveller slightly over the Climber for a few reasons, so this mod would in effect be comparable to an Explorer.... kind of. Nail file replaces small blade, and aligator wrench (usually) pairs up with the Phillips instead of a mag glass..... but the aligator wrench is something I would hardly ever have call to use.

Ages ago, I managed to score a Snap Shackle aka In-Line Skater, which has a carabiner type clip instead of the aligator wrench. Now that's something I would use. Clip it to a belt loop, rucksack strap, nearby small branch... all thos time when you're doing something and need to put the tool down for a moment.... but there,s nowhere sensible to put it.... blah blah blah...

So anyway, for a couple of years or so I've been meaning to do this mod  and tomorrow I'll be taking them apart and having a go at it 

[AimlessWanderer]

Having a few spare parts left over from the Mega 84, I intend to have a little play around and see how interchangable a few things are, just out of interest. I want to keep the locking screwdriver, so that backspring needs to stay too, but I might have a look at trying to fit the Vic awl instead of the Wenger one, and am undecided on the can opener 

[enki_ck]

I did a bit of compatibility testing on the opener layer a while ago, maybe year or two back. I'll try to find that.

If you need any Wenger parts, I have some around. A saw layer if you need it too.

[enki_ck]

Here it is.

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,49726.msg832117.html#msg832117

You might find the tests and info from that thread useful.

[AimlessWanderer]

Nice one, thanks mate  I'll go have a read of that now 

[firiki]

I could also send a Soft Touch 18 and Recruit your way, so you can experiment and harvest some parts.

I'm tempted to know if the clip point blade can be mounted on the Recruit along with the awl and scissors.

From what little I've read, Vic/Wenger cross-mods aren't all that easy.

I won't be using this Wenger so it's either this or sell/trade it.  Now look what you've done 

[AimlessWanderer]

Thanks for the offer on parts chaps  I think I'll have everything I need, but if I totally screw anything up, I'll come grovelling 

Firiki, are you not using that Wenger because you'd prefer it to have something by Vic on it? Is that why you were asking about cross-breeding them in the Mega84 thread? What are you wanting done?

[firiki]

Well, first and foremost, I'd like to get rid of the Evo scales. The rubbery grip they provide is fine but I hate how they make the knife bulkier than it needs to be. Plus, I don't think that effect is durable, pocket carry would probably make that coating wear off soon. Also, that coating makes pocket carrying the SAK uncomfortable because of extra friction against the fabric. Nylon scales on the other hand 

Then, I'd like to replace the wood saw with something I'd use, this one is a little short for my liking. That's where the Recruit's blade comes into play.

Ideally, I'd like to merge the two knives and just leave the wood saw out. Some redundancy there, I know, but great versatility in a small package.

If I'm being realistic though, I'd like to know which combinations are feasible.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

If you want the recruit "shell", then you're going to need the recruit's liners and bushings too.... which basically means you're putting Wenger parts in the recruit rather than the other way round.

[AimlessWanderer]

Surprise number 1:

The In-Line Skater has the liners peened direct with no bushings, and the scales clip direct to the liner on special attachment points

The Classic 14 doesn't have the attachment points raised, and clips to the scale with bushings just the same way as Victorinox.

I have no interest in being careful and trying to preserve the bushings, so it looks like this mod will have translucent scales.

[AimlessWanderer]

The raised attachment points make for a very unstable tool when laid flat, making it very awkward to centre punch the old pins.....

[hiraethus]

Drill some holes to take the ends of the pins in a piece of scrap wood, then you can lay the knife flat on the outer liners to work on it.  Drill them right through, then you can flip the board to work on the other side of the knife if you have to.

[AimlessWanderer]

Good suggestion Chris  I ended up doing it "freehand", and the the Inline Skater is no longer inline  I got the centre pops central enough to drill enough away so that a small pair of end nippers could trim away the rest.

Just going to make a cuppa, and start taking the Traveller apart. 

[enki_ck]

Surprise number 1:

The In-Line Skater has the liners peened direct with no bushings, and the scales clip direct to the liner on special attachment points

The Classic 14 doesn't have the attachment points raised, and clips to the scale with bushings just the same way as Victorinox.

I have no interest in being careful and trying to preserve the bushings, so it looks like this mod will have translucent scales.

That must have been a late model then. Probably last year or two of production when they started prepping for the changeover to Vics way of assembly.

[AimlessWanderer]

Yeah, I'm guessing so. The scales from that one, rather annoyingly, have two out of the three attachment points for the other liners on each scale.... and different ones on each (both outers on one, and inner and outer on the other)

[AimlessWanderer]

I did get this built up today, but didn't get it finished. My little end cutters aren't up to going through 2.5mm think rod (they're only dinky ones), and it was raining heavily outside (where I'm doing the peening).

Shouldn't take much to finish it off though 

[AimlessWanderer]

Firiki, I didn't try any crossbreeding with Victorinox, as that would have meant opening pivot holes up, and I figured that was too much trouble for a kitchen table and cordless drill project 

[AimlessWanderer]

DONE!

[AimlessWanderer]

.

[enki_ck]

 

[AimlessWanderer]

This one seems to have gone together a lot more solidly than the first mod. There's no daylight in the backsprings, and it does feel robust.

It was a real swine to peen though. The connection areas for the scales sit higher than the heads of the peened rivets, so you couldn't just sit this flat on the stidy (anvil) and bash away. The other issue was the size of the ball pein hammer compared to the clearance between the side of the rivet you were trying to form and the adjacent scale fixing clip.

I ended up holding the SAK in ring finger and pinky with just the rivet I was working on resting on the corner of the stidy, and then the other digits of the same hand holding a 4mm punch over the area of the pin I wanted to swage over. It was a rather tricky affair, and more than once once the hammer hit, the punch, stidy and SAK all went flying in three different directions.

Thankfully, this knife looks like it won't need any further work doing (fingers crossed), unlike the Mega84 which will be going back under the drill at some point for further refinement.

[AimlessWanderer]

There were only two things left to do with this mod. Firstly I've got to dig out a mini driver for the corkscrew, and then name it.

It seems most names for mods are derivatives of the models it was based on. In this case I wanted to start with a Traveller (Classic 14) and add the Phillips and snap shackle. As it turned out, I ended up using the Inline Skater (Swiss Roller) as the base, and adding the scissors and removing the bulky PH3 layer. So it could be a Scissored Skater if I left the PH3 layer in, or a Scissored Snap Shackle as it stands now. Applying Victorinox's rules, that makes it a Super Snap Shackle so maybe the S3 or Triple S just to totally confuse everybody.

The Traveller was still the influence though, and the basis for the concept. There's no precedent I know of for changing a name by adding a Phillips like there is with Vics scissors (Super) or pliers (Deluxe). Wengers don't have the Plus scales, so you could argue I could call it the Traveller Plus without too much confusion. Personally I think it's just going to be easier to call it Brian

[enki_ck]

Brian's already taken.

A few times in fact I'd say.

Maybe Travelling Tinkerer?

[AimlessWanderer]

You call it whatever you want, this ones called Brian 

Not just me with insomnia tonight then? 

[enki_ck]

How do you think I got to the 18x no lifer club, by sleeping regularly?

[eddie1115]

Brian seems like a good choice to me (my first name ) and the mod looks great .  Swapping in that shackle is great, though I do think I'd like the wrench too.  I've been thinking a Wenger mod is next for me.  That and Harley asked if I'd work on one for him as well, so I might as well practice first. 

[kirk13]

That's a real nice mod Al

[AimlessWanderer]

How do you think I got to the 18x no lifer club, by sleeping regularly?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Brian seems like a good choice to me (my first name ) and the mod looks great .  Swapping in that shackle is great, though I do think I'd like the wrench too.  I've been thinking a Wenger mod is next for me.  That and Harley asked if I'd work on one for him as well, so I might as well practice first.

Just keep the relevant scales and liners together. The newer ones have a bushing on one side, and a preformed bushing shape end on the other. This means if you take apart two, you're going to need all the bushings for one knife.... so you can't use three knives to make two mods for example

Older versions don't need the bushings, but you still need to keep the scales with the matching liners (there were several versions over the years), but see my comments above about peening them and avoiding hitting the scale clip