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Newbie modding SAKs

m47mu74nt · 117 · 13609

fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Newbie modding SAKs
on: January 17, 2016, 07:55:58 PM
My first scale mod is a Victorinox Compact with micarta

This was my first Swiss knife i had -but the scales broke one day-, so it was time to make some new scales out of a micarta piece i had:


Due to the limitation of my tools, i only kept the tweezers : it was hard enough to make it that i didn't bother carving the place for toothpick, pen and pin...





The second scale mod is a bit more interesting: titanium (T40) scales on a Victorinox Classic:
This one is the first time i made anything successful with titanium, and first time riveting brass rods
Sadly i didn't take much pictures during the build (my two hands were already used) and i had some trouble with the springs when re-assembly the whole baby:





Maybe this can count as a kind of WIP:


Detail of the anodised Titanium:

The final product on top of the raw material:


Both micarta Compact and Ti Classic:


Hope you like these :)
« Last Edit: January 17, 2016, 07:58:17 PM by m47mu74nt »


gb Offline Sparky415

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #1 on: January 17, 2016, 08:01:18 PM

Welcome  :salute:

Very nice work M  :cheers:
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00 Offline kirk13

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #2 on: January 17, 2016, 08:03:19 PM
Great work :salute:
There is no beginning,or ending,and for this we are thankful,cos now is hard enough to understand!


fi Offline Crow

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #3 on: January 17, 2016, 08:05:00 PM
Welcome to the forums.

As Sparky and kirk said, very nice work indeed.


us Online SteveC

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #4 on: January 17, 2016, 08:08:32 PM


fr Offline Michel M.

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #5 on: January 17, 2016, 09:10:18 PM
Welcome. Very nice work :tu: and micarta.
Michel


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #6 on: January 17, 2016, 10:17:55 PM
Thank you all !

Welcome. Very nice work :tu: and micarta.

This micarta is called Céloron, no idea where to get some more, this material was given to me. (I still have some spare that still can be used)


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #7 on: January 19, 2016, 12:08:34 PM
Flame anodizing is fun, but what about playing with electricity and lemon juice?

Here is a test :

- 40V, using an old Epson printer PSU, (12V from computer PSU gives a nice bronze/gold)
- Some cotton dipped in Lemon juice as electrolysis solution
- The + is connected to the scale, the - clamped to the cotton
- The scale is wiped with the cotton a few time until the color is the one desired (this technique at 40V gives a random pattern between gold, deep-violet and light blue)
Ti_Classic-blue-accents.jpg
* Ti_Classic-blue-accents.jpg (Filesize: 331.6 KB)


Offline Teno

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #8 on: January 19, 2016, 01:29:22 PM
Love them both!
The micarta is glued to the knife?

Enviado desde mi SM-T210 mediante Tapatalk



fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #9 on: January 19, 2016, 02:09:00 PM
Love them both!
The micarta is glued to the knife?

Enviado desde mi SM-T210 mediante Tapatalk

Sadly, yes.
I wanted to be able to snap the scales on like cellidor ones, but as i needed to test fit a few times i finally broke the recessed holes i had done... So i ended glueing the scales with epoxy instead.  :whistle:


gb Offline Zed

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #10 on: January 19, 2016, 05:29:23 PM
Both are awesome  :drool:  :salute:


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #11 on: January 19, 2016, 09:28:35 PM
Both are awesome  :drool: :salute:

Thank you   :D

Project 3: Ti Sentry (let's start with something simple)
Part one: disassembling the baby ==> nothing new regarding this part, just the usual stuff
removing red nylon scales


Drilling rivets (let's try not ruining the bushings this time  :oops: )


Removing bushings:


Tear down completed !


But, wait, i've been told Victorinox was using 1.6mm rivets for Classic and 2.25/2.4 for the Alox... but ... 84mm Sentry has 2.0mm rivets  ??? .... need to also get a 2.0mm brass wire then   :facepalm:


On the first build (the micarta scales) i used the cellidor scales as template but i've noticed that using the liners gives much better results. So that's how i'll proceed this time :
Using double sided tape and pasting them on the Titanium plate



No drilling for today, i'll first need to buy the 2.0mm brass rod before starting to cut in the Ti plate.
Part two coming in a few days :)


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #12 on: January 20, 2016, 07:50:27 PM
Part one (bis)
Local retailer doesn't have ANY 2.0mm bras rod  :rant: :rant: :rant:

So... let's investigate the anodization part a little more.
As said before i'm using lemon juice as acid solution (i doesn't even have white vinegar at home) until i get some H2SO4.

Interesting fact is that with my setup the color depends of 3 parameters: Volts, Time, Surface
i'm using 3 PSU savaged from random stuff:
- a computer ATX PSU ==> 12V
- an epson printer PSU ==> 40V
- an old VHS recorder PSU ==> lots of strange voltages available including 34, 48 (wiring the +34V and the - 14V) and 57V (wiring +34V and -23V). It also needs a dummy load to correctly outputs enough current (a computer fan plugged between +12V and gnd is enough)

Making some dots with and brush connected to the - give the following results:
From left to right: 40V waiting from 3 to 15 seconds per dots, the longer the contact the more blue.


With the titanium plate [slightly shorter and wider than a Vic Classic scale] in the water+lemon solution (maximum surface area)
Sand paper (grit 320) between two tests to remove the oxide formed on the surface. (as expected, the higher the voltage the thicker the oxide and the harder the removal)



12V, 5 minutes : dark bronze


34V, 5 minutes : deep violet


You may notice there is no picture at 40V since the Epson printer PSU cannot give enough current when the contact surface is that big...

48V, 5 minutes : deep blue-violet


57V, 5 minutes : blue with some violet


57V, 10 minutes : light blue

it is quite interesting to see that when the PSU start the current is about 160mA @57V, and then it decreases to 10mA after 1minutes.

A 'painted' lightsaber and some shading test:

 


gb Offline Sparky415

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #13 on: January 20, 2016, 08:24:53 PM

Interesting stuff M
Everything’s adjustable


us Offline sLaughterMed

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #14 on: January 21, 2016, 04:28:40 AM
Laughter is the best Medicine
Slaughter is just Laughter with an "S"

We are looking for Multitool Encyclopedia Editors! If you are interested, please give me a PM!

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us Online SteveC

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #15 on: January 21, 2016, 05:53:44 AM
Very cool  :tu:


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #16 on: January 21, 2016, 06:34:56 PM
With the angle grinder out for a while, the scale making project is on hold  :facepalm:  :rant:

In the mean time, here is a new Ti experiment:
Heating (flame) with some Salt crystals (table salt) held in place my wetting the Ti plate before applying the salt. Heat gives the bronze color, the salt crystals create the blue dots on the surface
heat-salt-Ti.jpg
* heat-salt-Ti.jpg (Filesize: 125.93 KB)


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #17 on: January 22, 2016, 04:31:23 PM
Part two : drilling and cutting the Ti scales (Classic and Sentry)

Pre-drilling through liners :
(No, this is not a drill press, but a hand drill on a stand)






NB: applying double sided tape long before working is not a good idea, i had some pain to remove the liners without ruining them  :facepalm:

Drilling done:




Time to cut the scales out of the Ti plate: Titanium screams while being cut by the hacksaw...




Testing Alignment:






Blank testing the Sentry:


End of this part for now, still lacks the angle grinder to continue the scales :)
Next is a texture test on Ti that i'm doing right now.


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #18 on: January 23, 2016, 10:02:30 PM
I hope this step by step WIP isn't too boring, if so, don't worry this is the last part!

Part 3: grinding, anodizing, assembling
As the angle grinder is back, that's time to shape the scales: *grind* *grind* *grind*


Sanding the scale border held together to get an even surface:




After sanding a few steps are left before anodizing : drilling bevels in the rivet holes to ease the peening process, breaking the angles on the scale borders
and for fun, 3 dead holes to get textured anodizing


Anodizing result (step by step of that bi-color and shading process may come later if needed.):
Light blue holes : 57V, lemon juice
Shading : 34V, lemon juice


Blank testing (yeah, i should have done that before... at that point the spring is a little recessed behind the scales on the back. Let's say "it's not a bug, it's an undocumented feature"
Note the gold anodized inside


Cutting rivets:


Shorting rivets with a file, using a small plastic sheet to protect the Ti scales:


No pic during peening process, only two hands here  :P

And the result:
Sadly the pics does not render the real colors here.
The dots face has the following pattern : light blue dots and scale with violet shading slowly into bronze
The other face is blue>violet>bronze>gold





Conclusion:  :climber: (this gif has far too much tools to represent my build  :facepalm:

This build is far from 'professional grade' work (lots of small defects that i could have anticipated... and fixed?) but i think that on the overall it worths the time i spent :)
This build really lacks the Swiss cross, that i can't do without a milling machine (but it would look great with the bi-color anodized dead holes)
What do you think? should i continue this way or did i made horrible mistakes that i shouldn't do ever again?


au Offline Huntsman

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #19 on: January 23, 2016, 10:36:04 PM
I hope this step by step WIP isn't too boring, if so, don't worry this is the last part!

What do you think? should i continue this way or did i made horrible mistakes that i shouldn't do ever again?

Step by step: definitely not boring - makes it better and very interesting
And all the annodising stuff is fascinating  :tu:

Result looks great to me

Re quality/mistakes - I can't really see any - so  I'd say continue
I guess if you are going to sell on, then you need to correct the mistakes, if there are any

Great work and thanks for the posts


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #20 on: January 23, 2016, 11:23:10 PM
I hope this step by step WIP isn't too boring, if so, don't worry this is the last part!

What do you think? should i continue this way or did i made horrible mistakes that i shouldn't do ever again?

Step by step: definitely not boring - makes it better and very interesting
And all the annodising stuff is fascinating  :tu:

Result looks great to me

Re quality/mistakes - I can't really see any - so  I'd say continue
I guess if you are going to sell on, then you need to correct the mistakes, if there are any

Great work and thanks for the posts
Thank you for your feedback :-)
Bad pictures help not to show flaws  :whistle:
BTW I won't sell anything, at most those amateur builds will become gifts for friends


se Offline Fortytwo

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #21 on: January 23, 2016, 11:27:37 PM
...at most those amateur builds will become gifts for friends

Your friends should be happy!


ca Offline Syph007

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #22 on: January 23, 2016, 11:40:18 PM
Good stuff! I like when people do progress pics, its nice to see how people work and step by steps are much more interesting then just posting the final build.  In fact many successful blade makers started off and gained popularity specificly because they showed how they do their work.  It draws in an audience.

Some things I thought while reading.

The liners are the best templates as you discovered.  I use little clamps to hold them on the material then scribe lines around and remove.  I used double sides tape before too.. annoying.  :D

I didnt realize how much Ti-6-4 hardens when heated so if you are using any method to cut them that involves heat, drill holes first.  This really caught me off guard when I made the fold over clip on the mini champ. It was impossible to tap the holes in that scale after it was heated to fold.

I grind/sand my scales in fully assembled knife mode to get them exactly flush with the backspring. I dont use the 'good' parts that will be in the final build, just junker old ones.  Its the only way I can get the perfectly flush.

Keep up the great work!
PM me or email sakmodder [at] gmail . com if you are looking for custom SAK work.

Modding thread : Here
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scotland Offline Boaz

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #23 on: January 24, 2016, 12:05:19 PM
Thanks for sharing, I love to see this sort of project. I think this one looked very nice, I like the 'dead hole' details, it adds a little something. Nice work


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #24 on: January 24, 2016, 04:04:43 PM
Your friends should be happy!
I hope so :)

Good stuff! I like when people do progress pics, its nice to see how people work and step by steps are much more interesting then just posting the final build.  In fact many successful blade makers started off and gained popularity specificly because they showed how they do their work.  It draws in an audience.
thank you, the issue with WIP is that it's difficult to both think about taking pictures and building, at least for newbies :D

Some things I thought while reading.

The liners are the best templates as you discovered.  I use little clamps to hold them on the material then scribe lines around and remove.  I used double sides tape before too.. annoying.  :D
hmmm so you don't pre-drill through the liners? as i don't have a good drill press, i need them in place to guide the drill bit :-\

I didnt realize how much Ti-6-4 hardens when heated so if you are using any method to cut them that involves heat, drill holes first.  This really caught me off guard when I made the fold over clip on the mini champ. It was impossible to tap the holes in that scale after it was heated to fold.
This explains the behavior i faced when trying to cut Ti with the angle grinder!


I grind/sand my scales in fully assembled knife mode to get them exactly flush with the backspring. I dont use the 'good' parts that will be in the final build, just junker old ones.  Its the only way I can get the perfectly flush.

Keep up the great work!
nice tip! though i can't follow it until i have enough spare parts to make a dummy build dedicated to grinding, for now i already used the two non limited series of SAKs i had.. (the green Classic SD, and that Ecoline Nylon Sentry)


Thanks for sharing, I love to see this sort of project. I think this one looked very nice, I like the 'dead hole' details, it adds a little something. Nice work

Here are some better pics: (i've notice with these that my rivets are far from "nice" so i reworked them a little [no pic yet])
The dead holes aren't perfect either, looks like the old milling cutter (dremel one) i used didn't do it's job [or i failed using it  :whistle:]
This time the color scheme is much closer to reality!






ca Offline Syph007

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #25 on: January 24, 2016, 04:45:09 PM

Some things I thought while reading.

The liners are the best templates as you discovered.  I use little clamps to hold them on the material then scribe lines around and remove.  I used double sides tape before too.. annoying.  :D
hmmm so you don't pre-drill through the liners? as i don't have a good drill press, i need them in place to guide the drill bit :-\




Oh yes I do use the liners as drilling templates too.  But I actually take 4-5 liners rivetted together for that purpose so its a nice thick stack.  I use this to drill that hidden 4th hole in all the 91mm Ti scales I do.
PM me or email sakmodder [at] gmail . com if you are looking for custom SAK work.

Modding thread : Here
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Facebook : SAKModder
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Youtube : www.youtube.com/robertjlessard


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #26 on: January 24, 2016, 06:21:40 PM
Oh yes I do use the liners as drilling templates too.  But I actually take 4-5 liners rivetted together for that purpose so its a nice thick stack.  I use this to drill that hidden 4th hole in all the 91mm Ti scales I do.

Is there any thing i should really know before messing with a 91mm? i'd like to make one for a friend's birthday, but before failing i need some advices: is that much more complicated than a Classic?
i've already found that peening the 84mm rivets (used 2.0mm brass rod) is slightly more complicated than the 1.5mm i used for the Classic. Plus i'm a little worried about the back tools...

On another subject i'm preparing a post about my process of bi-color anodizing, if anybody wants to make colored recessed swiss cross in their Ti builds that could help :) (it is not a revolution, but it's quite different from what i've read before starting)





fi Offline temo

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #27 on: January 24, 2016, 09:04:19 PM
I used 2x2.5mm and 2x2mm brass nails. I think 2.5mm on ends were easier. Also I did some errors with tools so had to rebuild my handyman plus. So good to check everything before peening. I would like to know if there would be simple tools and parts to do riverts like vic have (no need for hammering). Looks like pressed.


Offline Teno

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #28 on: January 25, 2016, 12:13:15 AM
Very nice work!!!!

Marcelo, from Argentina



fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: Newbie modding SAKs
Reply #29 on: January 25, 2016, 06:05:15 AM
I used 2x2.5mm and 2x2mm brass nails. I think 2.5mm on ends were easier. Also I did some errors with tools so had to rebuild my handyman plus. So good to check everything before peening. I would like to know if there would be simple tools and parts to do riverts like vic have (no need for hammering). Looks like pressed.
This video gives us a clue : https://youtu.be/qIpr1_wmvDs
The rivets are friction and press fitted, the tool they use spins and press the rivet end (2min 15sec)


 

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