Gerber Flik revival

[Sam Lim]

The pliers mechanism on my Filk was broken for quite some time. Did contacted Gerber but this is apparently discontinued. Worked something out to bring this oddball back to life. Not that I will be using it, but I think its pretty enough to earn a place on the shelf.  Fully functional, pliers lock, open and close without problems. For Flik fans. But not many I suppose.

[lowtech]

Nice work.
I wonder if MP 400 pliers would maybe retract further without being too rattly.

[Sam Lim]

Nice work.
I wonder if MP 400 pliers would maybe retract further without being too rattly.

I have tried.. unfortunately.. a 400's pliers is not wide enough to engage the retaining clip properly to slide on the rail.. and, will not sit in properly..

[Poncho65]

Nice work around Sam I have always liked the looked of the Flik and have looked at them several times over the years to buy and never found one at the price point I wanted, so never have gotten one

[AimlessWanderer]

The pawl mechanism on the pliers was very weak on the Flik. It's a shame really, as it could have been a very good tool if they'd have refined the design and built it properly. I never tried a Freehand

[Sam Lim]

The pawl mechanism on the pliers was very weak on the Flik. It's a shame really, as it could have been a very good tool if they'd have refined the design and built it properly. I never tried a Freehand

That mechanism is really complicated. I still can't figure how it's works.  anyhow, what you said is correct. The idea of outside oho tools with flickable pliers is great. But this design had too many weak spots. Even the locking area around the 4 oho tools are poorly thought out and fragilely built. Pretty sad to say, this tool had too many flaws.

[gerleatherberman]

Sam,

The Flik plier system is dependant on the little coil spring. If the spring isn't broken, you can fix the mechanism. I repaired the head on my Flik by simply moving the bent end of the coil spring passed the plate that rides inside the channel. Only issue is getting it bacl together holding the spring in place. That is why the Flik stops operating properly sometimes when it is disassembled.
There is a rocker that sits in each side that is tensioned by the spring, and there is a fixed piece with a tooth and valley. When the pliers are pulled out, it is all still static. And when you open the handles to deploy the pliers, the rockers move into the fixed piece. The release buttons push the rockers out of the valley in the fixed piece. It is all very dependant on the coil spring. Also, and this is very important, the tightness of the mounting screws can cause mechanism to stop working properly. Overtightening will cause the rocker to stop moving freely.
Simple, right?

[Sam Lim]

Sam,

The Flik plier system is dependant on the little coil spring. If the spring isn't broken, you can fix the mechanism. I repaired the head on my Flik by simply moving the bent end of the coil spring passed the plate that rides inside the channel. Only issue is getting it bacl together holding the spring in place. That is why the Flik stops operating properly sometimes when it is disassembled.
There is a rocker that sits in each side that is tensioned by the spring, and there is a fixed piece with a tooth and valley. When the pliers are pulled out, it is all still static. And when you open the handles to deploy the pliers, the rockers move into the fixed piece. The release buttons push the rockers out of the valley in the fixed piece. It is all very dependant on the coil spring. Also, and this is very important, the tightness of the mounting screws can cause mechanism to stop working properly. Overtightening will cause the rocker to stop moving freely.
Simple, right?

Simply in-understandable. 

Anyway the failure on mine I remember was cause by the popped rivet on one side. That side "simply" fell apart. I couldn't peen it back.. It seems too short in the very first place. 

[gerleatherberman]

You're right. The pins, in the best case, seem recessed in the holes they sit in.

[AimlessWanderer]

The pawl mechanism on the pliers was very weak on the Flik. It's a shame really, as it could have been a very good tool if they'd have refined the design and built it properly. I never tried a Freehand

That mechanism is really complicated. I still can't figure how it's works.  anyhow, what you said is correct. The idea of outside oho tools with flickable pliers is great. But this design had too many weak spots. Even the locking area around the 4 oho tools are poorly thought out and fragilely built. Pretty sad to say, this tool had too many flaws.

I covered this in another thread a few years ago, which Photobucket probably killed. The problem is that the two pawl pieces in each arm, were stamped from too thin a material, which is why they had to pair them up. Unfortunately, this also meant they could crab on the pivot. Had they been made in one thicker piece of material (which would have ruled out stamping, so they would have had to cast it, or produce by some other method), the whole assembly would have been a lot stronger and more reliable.

[Sam Lim]

Thank you 50 and GLBM for the explanations. 

Not foreseeing myself choosing it as a user, it found a permanently lot beside its siblings. 

[gerleatherberman]

By the way, Sam, love the 600 pliers in the Flik. Very cool.

[Sam Lim]

By the way, Sam, love the 600 pliers in the Flik. Very cool.

 
Definitely. A tested and fail proof design. Simple is best.

[gerleatherberman]

 
Definitely. A tested and fail proof design. Simple is best.

I bet the Flik would have sold better with that configuration. I watched a youtube video a long while ago where someone didn't even realize the pliers needed to be engaged. Imagine how crappy it would to be to use like that.

[AimlessWanderer]

 
Definitely. A tested and fail proof design. Simple is best.

I bet the Flik would have sold better with that configuration. I watched a youtube video a long while ago where someone didn't even realize the pliers needed to be engaged. Imagine how crappy it would to be to use like that.

Very crappy! I nicknamed mine the Flik & Poke, as you had to prod the latching pawl with your finger to get it to engage

[Gareth]

In the poor Flik's defence; I carried it as my main MT in my job as a maintenance engineer for a long time and never had a serious issue and certainly never with the pliers.  Not to say the design can't have problems, but I used mine pretty hard and they still work perfectly.  I do like the revival job though. 

[gerleatherberman]

Very crappy! I nicknamed mine the Flik & Poke, as you had to prod the latching pawl with your finger to get it to engage

One of my Freehands came with the issue. I loosened one of the slider screws(lower) and it started working properly. Not saying that would work on another one, but it did do the trick on the Freehand.

In the poor Flik's defence; I carried it as my main MT in my job as a maintenance engineer for a long time and never had a serious issue and certainly never with the pliers.  Not to say the design can't have problems, but I used mine pretty hard and they still work perfectly.  I do like the revival job though. 

I can't say any of mine have severely failed either. One of my Fliks got carry time and still works flawlessly. The one I worked on was purchased as a dud. It worked great until I broke it down for parts. 

Wish I hadn't taken it apart for parts now, but I did get the saw and phillips in an MP600. The saw required a special bushing I made and the phillips was a minor grind and drop-in. The Flik tool pivot is odd, as the center pin is standard Gerber size pivot, but the screws act as pivots for the outboard tools, which have a larger pivot size.

[Sam Lim]

In the poor Flik's defence; I carried it as my main MT in my job as a maintenance engineer for a long time and never had a serious issue and certainly never with the pliers.  Not to say the design can't have problems, but I used mine pretty hard and they still work perfectly.  I do like the revival job though. 

Was at first concerned the 2 pivots wouldn't align and screw up the opening and closing. Pretty glad they worked out. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I am glad to see someone reviving the Flik.  It's an odd model and those pawls just complicated things, but I have to say that it was, at one time one of my favorites, despite it's oddities.   

Now mostly I don't carry it simply because if it was lost or damaged I'd be up a certain creed with no means of conveyance.   

Def

[Sam Lim]

I am glad to see someone reviving the Flik.  It's an odd model and those pawls just complicated things, but I have to say that it was, at one time one of my favorites, despite it's oddities.   

Now mostly I don't carry it simply because if it was lost or damaged I'd be up a certain creed with no means of conveyance.   

Def

  it sure is an odd ball. Heavy tool with oddly short and too cute implements. 

[AimlessWanderer]

Despite my mocking it, there were plenty of aspects that I liked about the tool too. I'm working from memory here, and it was several years since I last handled one, but I'm pretty sure the plain edge knife was good, and indeed one of the better multitool blades for scoring type cuts (the art deco serrated one was covered in fash on mine), the scissors were excellent, the saw was OK, but maybe a bit thick, and the ergonomics were very good. The drivers while stubby were well formed, and the can opener that can't would at least serve as an awl/scribe IIRC. It wouldn't have taken much effort to make it into a far more impressive tool.

Making the pawl segments out of one piece instead of two, would fix the deployment mechanism. Aside from that, I think the pliers were fit for purpose. An extra 6mm or 1/4" at the tail end of the tool would not have spoiled pocketability or ergonomics, but that extra 1/4" translated to longer drivers would have significantly improved the 4 (?) short external tools. Then offer one model with serrated blade, and another with three sided file, and you've got a much stronger competitor than you had before.

Whether you like the Flik or not, I think most of us would agree it could have been better than it was, without too many changes.

[Sam Lim]

So they did. They came up with the Freehand. Everything was bigger and longer. But they stuck to the same cute tools. 

[gerleatherberman]

Yeah. The same size drivers/openers on a MUCH BIGGER tool.

[ThePeacent]

it sure is an odd ball. Heavy tool with oddly short and too cute implements. 

[Sam Lim]

it sure is an odd ball. Heavy tool with oddly short and too cute implements. 

(Image removed from quote.)

  What happened to the rest of the hair on the Troll TP!

[ThePeacent]

  What happened to the rest of the hair on the Troll TP!