Multitool.org Forum
+-

Hello Lurker! Remove this ad and much more by logging in.


A little SAK magic

Nix · 59 · 1655

us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
A little SAK magic
on: January 04, 2019, 03:15:49 AM
This will be nothing new to you guys, but I'm still delighted at how nicely SAK's clean up.

I ordered some stuff from the MTo a little while ago, and thought I'd splurge and get one of the random, used Spartans on offer there.  Well, it arrived today.




So.... :o....OK....it wasn't the prettiest thing ever..... Maybe one day I'd try to sit down and salvage it....or some parts from it...eventually.

But as I handled it I started to become fond of it. There is just something inherently charming about a Spartan for me. Perhaps it's their quintessential 'SAKness'.

This knife clearly had some stories. The tools were all in good shape, but clearly showed some use. The toothpick had been chewed. The scales were pitted and dull.

I noticed the cool old crossbow logo... Nice!




So that makes it a pre-2005 Spartan..... But the corkscrew was four turns and had no groves: a child of the nineties? Maybe as late as 2005.

I wanted a better look at the crossbow logo, so I ran the Spartan under some hot water and wiped away some crud.  And then I found myself cleaning the whole knife up a bit more.

The action was really sluggish and slow. None of the blades had any 'snap', and the small pen blade felt 'gritty' when opening. But...it was cleaning up pretty well.

I put the Spartan in a bowl of hot water and some Simple Green. While it soaked, I went and found a toothbrush (Mrs Nix's, not mine, duh). With a little brushing and a little more rinsing and a little more working the blades open and closed, the action magically improved. The little Spartan had found it's snap!

After it seemed like it was cleaned up nicely and the action had improved incredibly well, I went and got some Novus plastic polish and spent a few minutes polishing up the scales. The dull flat black scales started to come back to life. Some dings remained, but dang this Spartan was starting to look good!




At this point, I had about 15 minutes and $3 invested in this project. And I was having a blast. It was hugely satisfying, as a SAK fan, to take a disused SAK and bring it back to life. Like magic.

The blades still need to be sharpened--I'll get to that over the weekend--but I gave it new T&T. I'll make a lanyard for it also. It will be a user. It will develop more scars and more stories and I'll keep having fun with it.

 :cheers:
« Last Edit: January 04, 2019, 04:53:42 AM by Nix »


us Offline eTripper

  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 3,504
  • "My real name is Cosmo Pombal"
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #1 on: January 04, 2019, 03:34:08 AM
Nothing like finding a 'rescue', and turning-it into a valued member of the collection.  Result:  happy ending!! :hatsoff:
"Those who do evil to others:  the killers, the rapists, psychos, sadists.  Will come to know me well.  Frank Castle is dead!  Call me . . . The Punisher."

"Out of the night comes a man who saves lives at the risk of his own:
Once a circus performer, an aerialist who refused the net...
Once a cat burglar, a master among jewel thieves...
And now, a professional bodyguard - primitive, savage, in love with danger."  - T.H.E CAT


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #2 on: January 04, 2019, 03:35:21 AM
 :tu:   :cheers:


us Offline CallsignBadger

  • *
  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 3,253
  • Honey Badger Don't Care
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #3 on: January 04, 2019, 03:48:06 AM
I want to find that offer when the store opens back up now!

 :like: :like:


us Offline Rapidray

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,490
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #4 on: January 04, 2019, 04:00:31 AM
That is a great rescue! Will look for that Nexus plastic polish.  :hatsoff: :cheers:


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #5 on: January 04, 2019, 04:56:27 AM
That is a great rescue! Will look for that Nexus plastic polish.  :hatsoff: :cheers:

Sorry, Ray. I mis-typed there. The product is actually 'Novus'.




This product was recommended to me for removing scratches from motorcycle helmet visors and windscreens. For the Spartan above, I used all three, starting with #3 and working my way down to #1. #1 leaves celidor shiny and slick!


us Offline CallsignBadger

  • *
  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 3,253
  • Honey Badger Don't Care
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #6 on: January 04, 2019, 04:59:48 AM
I could probably use some of that  :like:


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #7 on: January 04, 2019, 05:02:56 AM
 :tu:  Works well.


us Offline Douglas

  • *
  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 4,064
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #8 on: January 04, 2019, 05:16:15 AM
Just more proof when it comes to SAKs magic really does exist. 
WELL DONE SIR!!
 :hatsoff:
"LOGIC!  My God, the man's talking about logic!  We're talking about Universal Armageddon!"
Dr.  McCoy

MTo...The BEST place on Earth!


us Offline Rapidray

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,490
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #9 on: January 04, 2019, 07:05:11 AM
That is a great rescue! Will look for that Nexus plastic polish.  :hatsoff: :cheers:

Sorry, Ray. I mis-typed there. The product is actually 'Novus'.

(Image removed from quote.)


This product was recommended to me for removing scratches from motorcycle helmet visors and windscreens. For the Spartan above, I used all three, starting with #3 and working my way down to #1. #1 leaves celidor shiny and slick!
Not a problem...thanks!  :hatsoff:


england Offline Kev D

  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 8,567
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #10 on: January 04, 2019, 07:40:53 AM
Nice job, that cleaned up really well    :tu:

I need to get some of that plastic polish,  thanks for the info


nl Offline glenfiddich1983

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 6,861
  • aka "G-Fiddle" and "Glen-Fizzle"
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #11 on: January 04, 2019, 11:30:16 AM
Good job!  :like:
[--- arms length ---] (-.-) 

                                ^-- where the cat sits


gb Offline Fuzzbucket

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 9,585
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #12 on: January 04, 2019, 11:57:45 AM
Well done mate.  :salute: Old Spartans really are lovely... now fondle that SAK!!!  :ahhh


ca Offline Greg Jones

  • *
  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 2,872
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #13 on: January 04, 2019, 12:02:07 PM
Great resultsl  :hatsoff:


wales Offline magentus

  • Admin Team
  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *
    • Posts: 20,386
  • mmmmm SAKrelicious
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #14 on: January 04, 2019, 12:17:13 PM
It's incredible how well they clean up! Great job Nix  :cheers:
'Use the force Harry' - Gandalf


nl Offline Serena

  • *
  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 1,741
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #15 on: January 04, 2019, 12:47:12 PM
Very nice! Now I want to clean my SAK…

Need to find something in The Netherlands to make the scales on my Wenger shiny again.


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #16 on: January 04, 2019, 02:47:21 PM
Thanks, guys!  A lot of fun.

Serena, Mechanickal found something in Belgium that works for him. It might be a French headlamp polish. He posted  it in a thread here somewhere.  But I bet and motorcycle or scooter shop would have a similar product.


us Offline VICMAN

  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • ********
    • Posts: 12,472
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #17 on: January 04, 2019, 03:28:10 PM
This will be nothing new to you guys, but I'm still delighted at how nicely SAK's clean up.

I ordered some stuff from the MTo a little while ago, and thought I'd splurge and get one of the random, used Spartans on offer there.  Well, it arrived today.



Nice pics and great job cleaning the Spartan up Nix! :like: :tu: :tu: :cheers:



us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #18 on: January 04, 2019, 03:50:23 PM
 :cheers:  Thanks, VICMAN! 


us Offline Aloha

  • Global Moderator
  • *
  • Point Of No Return
  • *
    • Posts: 31,235
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #19 on: January 04, 2019, 04:18:00 PM
I too enjoy the restoration process on knifes and tools.  Its relaxing to sit and clean up the blade and scales getting them pocket ready.  Very nicely done.  :like:
Esse Quam Videri


us Offline Myron

  • *
  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 2,172
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #20 on: January 04, 2019, 04:28:39 PM
Very nice! Now I want to clean my SAK…

Need to find something in The Netherlands to make the scales on my Wenger shiny again.

I use a German product called Quixx and can report that it works very well.  I would expect you could find it in Holland. 

Nix, great work on restoring this Spartan!  I also use Simple Green for my soak and cleaning phase.  I've left a SAK in 1:1 diluted Simple Green for up to a week and forgotten about it.  The first time it happened I was a little worried that the scales might be damaged, but I needn't have been concerned as they are totally unharmed by this and emerge sparkling clean. 



us Offline Rapidray

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,490
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #21 on: January 04, 2019, 04:33:58 PM
Very nice! Now I want to clean my SAK…

Need to find something in The Netherlands to make the scales on my Wenger shiny again.

I use a German product called Quixx and can report that it works very well.  I would expect you could find it in Holland. 

Nix, great work on restoring this Spartan!  I also use Simple Green for my soak and cleaning phase.  I've left a SAK in 1:1 diluted Simple Green for up to a week and forgotten about it.  The first time it happened I was a little worried that the scales might be damaged, but I needn't have been concerned as they are totally unharmed by this and emerge sparkling clean.
A week...wow...life must have really gotten busy for you!  :tu:


us Offline Barry Rowland

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,623
  • Bon Journee!!
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #22 on: January 04, 2019, 05:34:40 PM
Great job Jack and I agree about the Spartan... there is just something about them that I love.  It's always great to bring something back to life!!
Barry


us Offline Rapidray

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,490
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #23 on: January 04, 2019, 06:05:15 PM
Great job Jack and I agree about the Spartan... there is just something about them that I love.  It's always great to bring something back to life!!
:iagree: on the bring something back to like


es Offline ThePeacent

  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • ********
    • Posts: 14,599
  • Firm believer of Sturgeon's Law
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #24 on: January 04, 2019, 06:26:11 PM

A week...wow...life must have really gotten busy for you!  :tu:

great job, Nix!
It is indeed a pleasure to bring them back to life in a few steps  :tu:

Ray, I once left a few metallic cable ties that had been rusting in the rain outside in a glass with vinegar, but then saw a huge spider on a corner of the room. Glass still in hand, I escalated my way to the top corner of the room to kill it, and left the glass in between two old boxes for a minute.
After smashing the spider I went to wash my hands and forgot what I was originally doing. :dunno:
Phone rang, life happened...

Eight months later the vinegar glass fell on me when pulling out one of the boxes  :facepalm:
My toys:

MTs: Surge (2x), Skeletool CX, Rebar, Blast, Fuse, Micra, Squirt (3x), Wave, Crunch, Mini, Spirit (2x), Pro Scout, MP700 (2x), Diesel, Powerlock, PowerPlier (2x), PocketPowerPlier, Blacktip , ST6 (2x), 5WR, A100

SAKs: Bantam, Executive, Ambassador, Minichamp, Classic Alox, Champion, Farmer, Explorer, Swisschamp, Golf Tool, Wenger Champ, EVO 52, Pocket Tool Chest


us Offline Rapidray

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,490
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #25 on: January 04, 2019, 06:35:40 PM

A week...wow...life must have really gotten busy for you!  :tu:

great job, Nix!
It is indeed a pleasure to bring them back to life in a few steps  :tu:

Ray, I once left a few metallic cable ties that had been rusting in the rain outside in a glass with vinegar, but then saw a huge spider on a corner of the room. Glass still in hand, I escalated my way to the top corner of the room to kill it, and left the glass in between two old boxes for a minute.
After smashing the spider I went to wash my hands and forgot what I was originally doing. :dunno:
Phone rang, life happened...

Eight months later the vinegar glass fell on me when pulling out one of the boxes  :facepalm:
:rofl:
Oh no! Life happens!  :hatsoff:


ie Offline McStitchy

  • Global Moderator
  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • *
    • Posts: 19,785
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #26 on: January 05, 2019, 01:40:02 AM
Awesome SAK magic Jack  :like:

... suddenly I want to burry one of my SAK's in the garden till summer to rotten a bit only to dig it out again and do the same magic just for fun?  :D

Btw, what did you do to remove the rust?
And what is that green stuff please?  :pok:


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #27 on: January 05, 2019, 03:00:54 AM
Matt,

Simple Green is a biodegradable, all-purpose clean/degreaser. I have to say, it has become my go-to cleaner for numerous chores, from cleaning SAK's to cleaning the grill. It does an amazing job....on everything.




I'm not sure it can be found outside the US, although I think they have ambitions to market it world-wide. 

Initially I thought the Spartan was badly rusted. But what appeared to be rust was mostly grime. The Simple Green and hot water, with a bit of scrubbing, cleaned it off nicely!   :tu:

p.s. I don't advocate SAK abuse or mistreatment, but I bet Grant has another couple of grungy SAK's at the MTo store that would love new homes with caring Swiss Army Knights!


us Offline CallsignBadger

  • *
  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 3,253
  • Honey Badger Don't Care
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #28 on: January 05, 2019, 03:24:32 AM
p.s. I don't advocate SAK abuse or mistreatment, but I bet Grant has another couple of grungy SAK's at the MTo store that would love new homes with caring Swiss Army Knights!

I want one  :gimme:


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: A little SAK magic
Reply #29 on: January 05, 2019, 03:34:37 AM
And I want another.....  :cheers:


 

Donations

Operational Funds

Help us keep the Unworkable working!
Donate with PayPal!
April Goal: $300.00
Due Date: Apr 30
Total Receipts: $152.99
PayPal Fees: $8.68
Net Balance: $144.31
Below Goal: $155.69
Site Currency: USD
48% 
April Donations

Community Links


Powered by EzPortal