Tools required to mod?

[Lynn LeFey]

So, I'm considering buying a chunk of old beat-up Vics, mostly to restore by taking apart and reassembling into useable knives.

I'm not sure what tools are required.

I've removed and replaced plastic scales. I've taken Leatherman and Gerber tools apart to clean, and reassemble, but I've never done pin peening, at least not the subtle, friendly kind. I've smacked the crap out of chinese knockoffs to get the pins tighter.

So, What do I need?

I have wirecutters, and a dremel, and a small vice/anvil, and a hand drill. I do NOT have a drill press. I have hammers, but the carpentry kind. Do I need a little ball peen hammer? Do I need bushings along with rod stock? Do I need some kind of jig for assembling parts? I don't plan to do much more than just reassemble existing parts back into familiar combinations. Or... you know... if the mood strikes me, maybe something interesting for myself, but no heavy modding.

Sorry if this has been asked, and i'm just not seeing it in the sticky links.

[Simyo]

Someone suggested it recently a 4oz ball peen hammer, and you would need replacement brass rod, if you are doing 91mm models it’s  2.5mm and 2.2mm rod.

[Dutch_Tooler]

From my recent and extremely limited experience with modding one (1) Swiss Champ into something smaller (which is why I can still remember  ), as well as reading up while preparing for another mod:

Tools:
Hand drill will be sufficient for drilling out pivots on 91mm models, if you are careful in pre-punching the hole so as not to drill off-axis and damage the liners and bushing. The 93mm rivets are tougher (not simple brass) so I think a drill press will work better. Centre punch (manual and/or automatic). For 93 mm I am preparing to use a centre drill bit for precision pilot hole drilling in combination with a drill press.

If you need to adapt 91mm tools for use in 93mm and want to keep using the stock 3mm pivot size of the latter, a carbide-tip 3mm drill bit (or ten - apparently they use up pretty quickly - to be confirmed) will come in handy. Upgrading to 1/8" (see below) will require bits of that size (duh). Drill press required.

Ball peen hammer. Debates rage whether 4 or 8 oz - I've used 8 and that works on 91 mm, but for "exterior finish" look peening the smaller one may aid in precision peening, such as might be required for 93 mm. For the latter, some members also use a special hollow-point former centre punch (I presume hollowed out with a Dremel and ball grinding attachment) to give the externally visible rivets that perfect look (ask hiraethus).

Jig: not necessary I think for 91 mm as there you essentially flat-peen, but I am counting on having to make one (probably a harder grade of wood) for 93 mm so as not to damage the heads I just peened after reversing the SAK.

Stock:
Pivot rod: 91 mm brass 2.5 and 2.2 mm (as said above), 93mm is 3 and (I think) 2.5 mm, the latter for the fake centre pivot - note the original material used in these is not the same brass, but a tougher alloy.
That is, if you want to use the original pivot sizes. Others, notably those that prefer to be able to disassemble the SAK again, use 1/8" pivots (length 1/2") with screws (and appropriate drilling tools), available online (US). 3 / 2.5 / 2.2 mm is also possible, but reportedly not available already tapped and needs to be made.
Bushings for 91mm are tool-specific and have a special outer profile, but I hear they might be for sale online - I tend to want to keep them intact so I can re-use them, this worked the last time.
If you want to make liners, liner sheet material. I've stocked up on 0.6 mm aluminium for a future project.

Hope this helps. The usual disclaimers apply
 

[pfrsantos]

Good for you, Lynn! Wish I could get myself to try my hand at modding...

 

Remember:

[hiraethus]

Gareth's how-to guide is a great place to start: https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,9808.0.html

In terms of tools, I've found the following useful:
4 oz ball pein hammer (too big a hammer can be hard to control)
Files (a selection of coarse, first and second cut 8" files is nice, but anything will do really - multitool files even)
Centre punches for marking the pins before drilling
Small screwdrivers for prying layers apart and for poking things into place as you reassmble.
Pin/parallel punches
Bench vice (for holding stuff as well as acting as an anvil when peening)
An old chopping board to work on - HDPE or similar won't mark the scales but is easy to modify if you need to.  A block of wood will do.
Digital caliper and a small steel rule for measuring stuff.
Digital camera for recording stuff - where tools go, which spring goes with which tool, which liner fits into which layer, that sort of thing.
Sharpies.
Good lighting.  No one ever complained about having a workshop that was too bright.

I also have a couple of power tools - a pillar drill and a 1x30" bench mounted belt sander (my favourite SAK modding tool - think of it as a powered file - it comes in handy for many different things) but they're not strictly necessary.

A jig is nice to have if you're doing a lot.  I have one that is made from a 1/2" thick block of acetal that has holes to accept the bushings on the opener side of the knife.  This means that the pins are free to slide out after you've drilled the heads off, and the knife stays where you left it when reassembling.  I keep meaning to make one to hold the pins when reassembling knives.

You can save bushings if you're careful disassembling the knives.  They're not available to buy anywhere that I've seen - if you have a source, please let us know!
Pin stock can be hard to find in the US, particularly 2.2mm which is used for the centre pins on 91mm knives and for all pins on 84mm.

[Vidar]

Pin stock can be hard to find in the US, particularly 2.2mm which is used for the centre pins on 91mm knives and for all pins on 84mm.

If someone can't find stock 2.2mm rods (or otherwise), then it might be worth looking around a bit at welding suppliers and car bodywork shops.

TIG welding rods comes in surprisingly many different diameters (check different manufacturers), all kinds of materials, and are typically very round. 2.2mm is also a common size for stud welding pins for dent repairs.

[Mike 56]

A spring-loaded center punch Makes things a lot easier.  https://www.harborfreight.com/automatic-center-punch-with-brass-handle-62141.html If you have a tack hammer it works instead of a ball peen hammer. https://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=asc&order=EAScore%2Cf%2CEAFeatured+Weight%2Cf%2CSale+Rank%2Cf&q=tack+hammer Finding soft brass stock makes peening go a lot faster and better.
51

[TennTexan]

Others have already covered the tool requirements pretty well, but I wanted to chime in and let you know where I ordered my 2.2mm brass rod...

Jeremy Lewis out of the UK has it available at a reasonable price.  You can email him at jeremylewis100@googlemail.com and tell him what you need.

It was the perfect size for swapping out the corkscrew on my Compact for a Phillips.

[mastoras]

Sorry for asking this here but is there any chance to find somebody to modify for me a 84mm sak?  I am new here didn't really know where exactly I could ask this. Blog is awesome by the way , have a nice day

[Don Pablo]

Hi and welcome to MT.O. 

Where on the earth do you live?
That could help us suggest a modder. 
And what are the details of this potential mod? 

[mastoras]

Thanks for welcoming, I am Greek from Athens and living for now on hamburg. The sak i wanted to have is an 84 mm sportsman with the current nailfile and corkscrew, but replace all other tools with 85mm wenger type awl, 91mm victorinox type scissors, fully serrated victorinox type blade and can/bottle opener combo tool from vic/waiter. Thank you for replying and have a nice day

[ThePeacent]

Thanks for welcoming, I am Greek from Athens and living for now on hamburg. The sak i wanted to have is an 84 mm sportsman with the current nailfile and corkscrew, but replace all other tools with 85mm wenger type awl, 91mm victorinox type scissors, fully serrated victorinox type blade and can/bottle opener combo tool from vic/waiter. Thank you for replying and have a nice day

cool project  and welcome aboard!!! 

[hiraethus]

Thanks for welcoming, I am Greek from Athens and living for now on hamburg. The sak i wanted to have is an 84 mm sportsman with the current nailfile and corkscrew, but replace all other tools with 85mm wenger type awl, 91mm victorinox type scissors, fully serrated victorinox type blade and can/bottle opener combo tool from vic/waiter. Thank you for replying and have a nice day

Hi mastoras, and welcome! Your mod is possible - but you'd need to either extensively modify 91mm scissors and spring or find some old 84mm scissors.  Do you want the plain blade and the serrated blade?  I'm not sure there has ever been an 84mm serrated blade.  It might be easier to build on the 91mm frame instead.

[mastoras]

i was wondering if somebody can modify the 91 mm scissors to stuck on 84mm frqame and also if a 85mm wenger blade should fit there. I want one blade fully serrated