Help me, SAKi-Wan, you're my only hope...My niece is starting as a Ranger for the National Park Service. I am making her a custom knife. I'd like it to be somewhat slim, as it will possibly be pocket carry only, and I'm not sure how young, female, summer Ranger outfits accommodate gear.I'm planning on kind of an Explorer-Compact-saw mashupFront -- Back======================== ================================Blade + Combo -- Corkscrew with micro screwdriverWood Saw -- small screwdriverMagnifying Glass + Philips -- nothingScissors -- HookPlus Scales - possibly wooden custom, if I can figure it outSo, two things: First, I think I'm set on that configuration, but any feedback? Second, and more importantly, does anyone know of a good source of a combo tool without buying a Compact for just taking that out? I know some people dislike them, so if you know anyone that might have taken them out of older models, please let me know.Thanks,David
Exactly the knife I made
The waiter is cheaper than the Compact and has a combo tool, as does the Bantam
Garth, did this mod about fifteen years ago he called it Huntsman Light. I made one for myself as well. Check out this thread on a Camper I modded l added a lot of goodies you might be interested in some of them. Check out Felix Immler on you tube for lots of ideas and how-tos as well as all the ways you can use the tools on your Swiss Army Knife it really is a supper tool. Wood scales are totally doable a planer or table saw are nice but can be done with a belt sander or even hand tools if’s that’s all you have. I have a lot of tools in my shop but from time to time I break out my hand tools for fun. For your tweezer, tooth pick, and pen slots start them with triangle needle file then go to a round file then a square file for the tweezer and tooth pick slots. Check out this link on adding a pen to a standard Swiss Army Knife scale. https://youtu.be/CTfEkOQY3ZU It will give an idea on how to make that T and T slots. Unless you want to buy a Compact you are going to need to drill a waiter combo tool. A drill press well make this a lot easier I can drill a combo tool with two new drill bits on a drill press. DeWalt 2x and 4x work a lot better. Good luck with your project and have fun.Mike
I didn't realize that. Thank you!
While they look nearly identical, I don't believe the 84mm and 91mm combo tools are the same part, so the Bantam/Waiter/Walker might not work for harvesting the part.
The wiki says it should work, just need to drill out the hole for the bigger pins and it'll sit a little lower in the frame
My niece is starting as a Ranger for the National Park Service. I am making her a custom knife. I'd like it to be somewhat slim, as it will possibly be pocket carry only, and I'm not sure how young, female, summer Ranger outfits accommodate gear.
Congrats to her and to you for making a wonderful gift! Does she know where she's going to be assigned?
She will be in Zion.
You’ll certainly be getting a lot of functions into four layers.Given that she is going to a “wild” national park and not an “historical” national park, my first choice for scales would be alox for superior resistance to physical (will generally survive drops from reasonable heights onto hard surfaces with no more than cosmetic damage), thermal (you can put it in boiling water if you need to sterilize it in the field), and chemical (bug repellent, camp stove fuel) attack. Second choice would be G10 or micarta. I’d stay away from cellidor (too prone to damage if dropped or exposed to common hiking/camping substances) or wood (if not stabilized may have poor water resistance and issues with expanding and contracting due to humidity, may have problems with cracking if dropped even if stabilized).
At first I thought one of the National Parka SAKs would be a nice choice. Or, of course, this custom crafted one. But I agree with NateJ here. Alex will take more of a beating.
Ooooo. I just had an idea. I have some super reflective tape. I also have some outside-rated glow powder. I could either make a reflective/GID fob, or incorporate pieced of tape and epoxied GID powder into the design as leaves on trees or something.