Started doing some mods

[fr1tzlang]

Hi everyone,

I started doing some mods. First results are not perfect, but I think there are some ideas I have not yet seen elsewhere.

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1. Kind of standard, Yeoman Mechanic. I thought a bit about the order of the layers. Eventually, I decided to go with the one used by Victorinox for the Swiss Bianco exclusives as it maximizes centering of the hook. Red alox scales from Swiss Bianco.

2. Deluxe Climber. Made from a Deluxe Tinker by replacing the Philips with a corkscrew. I removed only the pin holding the Philips without disassembling the whole thing. Black alox scales from Daily Customs.

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3. Red fiber Spartan. I always liked the idea of the 1897 with the fiber scales and the brass pins visible from the outside, but found it too expensive and the tools too outdated to actually use it on a daily basis (no bottle opener, no small screwdriver). So I disassembled a Spartan, epoxied 3mm vulcanized fiber on the outer layers and grinded it down to the liner with a Dremel 408, then smoothened the edges with a Dremel 615. I drilled through the holes in the liner and gently widened them a bit from the other side (Dremel 125 by hand) to make space for pins to expand. Then reassembled and peened it (working with approx. 1.5mm brass extending from the fiber). It is not perfect, mostly because I did not use a fresh 408 for grinding the fiber. When I have time, I will do another one with a Dremel 9901 instead.

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4. Black oxide concrete Spartan. Removed the scales from a Spartan and made a negative from them using two-component silicone. Then mixed fine-grained concrete with something like 2-5% iron oxide, filled it in the silicone form and pressed the Spartan into the mixture from the top. Repeat on the other side. It takes a few attempts to get right, but if you mess it up, you can just hammer it off and try again. Not sure how stable the thing is in the end. I would not expect it to live if thrown on a hard floor.

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5. Ivory Super Tinker. I do not like the Climber and Super Tinker models that much. I feel you can put SAKs generally in three categories. One and two layer models are more high than they are wide. This gives them a natural orientation in your pocket when carrying them. Three and four layers have comparable height and width. They rotate in your pocket all the time. Except for the weight, there is no reason really to favor three layer over four layers. (Instead of a Super Tinker, you might as well get a Deluxe Tinker). Then five layers are more wide than they are high so they stay oriented in your pocket, but 90 degrees rotated compared to the two-layer models. (A Swiss Champ is as thick in your pocket as a Climber). To give three layers a chance, I had to reduce the width, so I built a Super Tinker in the same way as the fiber Spartan, but using 1.5mm artificial ivory (Elforyn Super Tusk) as scale material. (You have to user the Tinker if you want a slim package because the Philips is smaller in diameter than the corkscrew).  I made the scales using a Dremel 9901 with the active section of the tool directly between the aluminium and the Elforyn to get it exactly aligned. The result is only marginally wider than a Spartan. Unfortunately, I kind of messed up the peeing here (2mm on each side was too much and I did not hit it straight). I will probably also do an even slimmer ivory Spartan from leftover parts.

Hope you find it interesting :-)

[Barry Rowland]

Nice job!  They look great.  I never had the courage to move beyond scale swapping 

[Rizio Il Ghiro]

Nice work, fr1tzlang! Tha ey look awlsome!  !

[Farmer X]

I can only echo the previous statements. Great work!

[proletenstahl]

Those look great! 

That reminds me that I need to do some practice peening before putting my Golfer back together.

[Neon Sunset]

Phenomenal mods!

[Enginears]

 

Your peening is next level 

[Aloha]

I agree with you that non are perfect so please send those my way so I can put them in my imperfect SAK daily carry 

Seriously tho, these look wonderful.  Great job!     

[psyjohn]

Those all look great! I have everything laid out to assemble a Yeoman Mechanic, but I was trying to figure out how to arrange the layers. Seeing how you put double liners next to the pliers solved the problem for me. Thanks.
I was also considering making a Yeoman Cyber Mechanic (I guess that's what you'd call it) by replacing the phillips/magnifying glass layer with the bit driver. Not sure if I want it that thick but I'll probably make a mock-up to see if I like it first.
Thanks for sharing your nice work.

[fr1tzlang]

Those look great! 

That reminds me that I need to do some practice peening before putting my Golfer back together.

Yeah, definitely practice a bit before putting it together. It is so frustrating when you screw it up at the very last step

Those all look great! I have everything laid out to assemble a Yeoman Mechanic, but I was trying to figure out how to arrange the layers. Seeing how you put double liners next to the pliers solved the problem for me. Thanks.
I was also considering making a Yeoman Cyber Mechanic (I guess that's what you'd call it) by replacing the phillips/magnifying glass layer with the bit driver. Not sure if I want it that thick but I'll probably make a mock-up to see if I like it first.
Thanks for sharing your nice work.

Thanks! I tried to follow the layout from Swiss Bianco and approved by Victorinox as described in one of his videos:

.

I looked at all possible alternatives, but I think this one makes the most sense. The alternatives being...

| Knife | Philips | Pliers | Scissors  | <- Cannot open the scissors without opening the pliers first. Also, the hook is not centered. Thinnest option because you need only 2 reinforced liners.
| Knife | Scissors | Philips | Pliers ||  <- Also okay I would say. Hook not as centered as in the first option though. You can put the Philips between two reinforced liners here.
| Knife | Scissors | Pliers | Philips | <- I do not like having the Philips at the end. It looks weird. The newer version of the Phlips also eats into the liner I think.
| Knife || Pliers | Scissors | Philips | <- Cannot open the scissors without opening the pliers first. I think you still need an extra liner for the Pliers to make room for the Blade.
| Knife || Pliers | Philips | Scissors | <- Hook not centered at all.

[kottskrapa]

Nice mods! 

[BarbaBaba]

Nice mods, how are the vulcan fiber holding up?

[DavZell]

Great job on these!  I'm envious of your peening. 

[fr1tzlang]

Nice mods, how are the vulcan fiber holding up?

Thanks! Pretty good, I would say. The pins also hold well through the fiber.  It does get more shiny with time. If you throw it directly on an edge, it is possible that the outermost layer of the fiber starts to peel off a bit.

I also made some new scales (Fiber Climber, Elforyn Spartan, no repeening). You can see how the fiber looks when not polished. But it does not stay like this forever :-) The Elforyn is rough cut/not polished either.

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[Humayd A R Mahomedy]

Hi everyone,

I started doing some mods. First results are not perfect, but I think there are some ideas I have not yet seen elsewhere.

  [ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ]  

1. Kind of standard, Yeoman Mechanic. I thought a bit about the order of the layers. Eventually, I decided to go with the one used by Victorinox for the Swiss Bianco exclusives as it maximizes centering of the hook. Red alox scales from Swiss Bianco.

2. Deluxe Climber. Made from a Deluxe Tinker by replacing the Philips with a corkscrew. I removed only the pin holding the Philips without disassembling the whole thing. Black alox scales from Daily Customs.

  [ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ]  

3. Red fiber Spartan. I always liked the idea of the 1897 with the fiber scales and the brass pins visible from the outside, but found it too expensive and the tools too outdated to actually use it on a daily basis (no bottle opener, no small screwdriver). So I disassembled a Spartan, epoxied 3mm vulcanized fiber on the outer layers and grinded it down to the liner with a Dremel 408, then smoothened the edges with a Dremel 615. I drilled through the holes in the liner and gently widened them a bit from the other side (Dremel 125 by hand) to make space for pins to expand. Then reassembled and peened it (working with approx. 1.5mm brass extending from the fiber). It is not perfect, mostly because I did not use a fresh 408 for grinding the fiber. When I have time, I will do another one with a Dremel 9901 instead.

  [ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ]  

4. Black oxide concrete Spartan. Removed the scales from a Spartan and made a negative from them using two-component silicone. Then mixed fine-grained concrete with something like 2-5% iron oxide, filled it in the silicone form and pressed the Spartan into the mixture from the top. Repeat on the other side. It takes a few attempts to get right, but if you mess it up, you can just hammer it off and try again. Not sure how stable the thing is in the end. I would not expect it to live if thrown on a hard floor.

  [ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ]  

5. Ivory Super Tinker. I do not like the Climber and Super Tinker models that much. I feel you can put SAKs generally in three categories. One and two layer models are more high than they are wide. This gives them a natural orientation in your pocket when carrying them. Three and four layers have comparable height and width. They rotate in your pocket all the time. Except for the weight, there is no reason really to favor three layer over four layers. (Instead of a Super Tinker, you might as well get a Deluxe Tinker). Then five layers are more wide than they are high so they stay oriented in your pocket, but 90 degrees rotated compared to the two-layer models. (A Swiss Champ is as thick in your pocket as a Climber). To give three layers a chance, I had to reduce the width, so I built a Super Tinker in the same way as the fiber Spartan, but using 1.5mm artificial ivory (Elforyn Super Tusk) as scale material. (You have to user the Tinker if you want a slim package because the Philips is smaller in diameter than the corkscrew).  I made the scales using a Dremel 9901 with the active section of the tool directly between the aluminium and the Elforyn to get it exactly aligned. The result is only marginally wider than a Spartan. Unfortunately, I kind of messed up the peeing here (2mm on each side was too much and I did not hit it straight). I will probably also do an even slimmer ivory Spartan from leftover parts.

Hope you find it interesting :-)

very cool,neat and clean

 

[BarbaBaba]

Thanks! Pretty good, I would say. The pins also hold well through the fiber.  It does get more shiny with time. If you throw it directly on an edge, it is possible that the outermost layer of the fiber starts to peel off a bit.

I also made some new scales (Fiber Climber, Elforyn Spartan, no repeening). You can see how the fiber looks when not polished. But it does not stay like this forever :-) The Elforyn is rough cut/not polished either.

  [ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ]

That´s encourageing to hear. I have some 3mm vulkan that I thought I might try, but when I glued it to a brass liner and got it wet, it twisted. I guess I will try it again