How To Repair Swiss Army Knife Scissors

I used to spend my summers as a youth in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. My aunt and uncle would fly me out to Minneapolis, and so we'd take a piffling plane to Light-green Bay, so have a ii-hour drive across the Michigan edge. My uncle's family unit would accept me out fishing and on boat rides on the Great Lakes. When I wasn't out doing fun things similar that, I was taking advantage of their cable Boob tube in the basement, watching MacGyver and wishing I was part of the Phoenix Foundation. 1 summertime, I asked my uncle to buy me a Swiss Army knife from the minor town'due south outdoors store. He bought me a Wenger Backpacker II and I cherished that thing so much I kept the original box and instruction canvas for the next 15 years.

I recently was organizing my EDC and found the Wenger again. It'southward all the same in perfect condition with non a hint of rust or wear. Truth be told, I only used it around my uncle'southward basement to cut sheets of newspaper and saw through empty soda cans and chopsticks. I have a number of multi-tools now including many Leathermans, a Victorinox SwissTool, a Gerber, and a SOG PowerLock model, but the long tradition and classiness of a Swiss Regular army knife has e'er appealed to me. I started looking into what the globe of SAKs was like and I had the same question that almost all fans have – how come up there isn't a perfect SAK. Or, how come up I tin't accept a Swiss Army knife exactly the way I desire?

Often, users aren't request for much. Usually, they've plant a SAK that is most of the fashion there but they'd just like one tool swapped out. For instance a person might find the Victorinox Compact perfect, but since they don't drink wine, they'd like the corkscrew replaced with a Philips screwdriver. Well, too bad! Victorinox does not brand a model exactly similar that. Luckily, there is a small group of craftspeople out there that are serving this niche community of Swiss Regular army pocketknife enthusiasts. These mostly self-taught engineers take figured out how to leverage everything from handfiles and homemade forges to even CNC machines to produce custom scales on upward to completely custom SAKs.

Before I introduce you to them, a few things demand explaining. First, a brand new Swiss Regular army knife can be had for $20-40. The prices of these mods can be ten times that amount. The reasons are simple – information technology'southward a combination of time, material, talent, and a defended audition that is able and willing to pay these prices. At that place'due south also very little competition, or at least a much larger marketplace need than modders tin can supply.

Modding Primer

So, what can exist replaced or modified on a standard Swiss Ground forces knife? Practically anything, really. The history of modding SAKs doesn't go that far dorsum and if you were corking, y'all could probably still detect the genesis on places like the Multitool.org forums. Early mods were really elementary and consisted of drilling out the rivets, swapping out tools for a configuration that was more appealing, and then peening the ends of the brass pins to secure it. A lot has changed since those early days and at present nearly every function can be swapped or modified.

Scales

The simplest way of adding some flair or customization to your SAK is past swapping out the scales. All stock SAKs come with cellidor (plastic) scales. They attach by snapping onto three washers on each side and are friction fit. They can be loosened only each time they are removed, it becomes harder to reinstall them. The simplest scale upgrade would be to but purchase a new ready of scales from the manufacturer, mayhap in a different color, and snap them on.

The next level would be to purchase aftermarket scales. These come in contumely, copper, G10, carbon fiber and wood. Usually they have 3 slots on each side to arrange the washers. Most of them arenot friction fit because makers don't seem to want to dedicate the time needed for precision milling. Instead, they oversize the holes so y'all'll accept to apply some two-part epoxy to secure them. One matter to go along in listen is almost whatever change in scales you brand will result in greater weight, especially if you are replacing them with brass or copper; they are significantly heavier than plastic or titanium.

Finally, the ulimate scale upgrade would exist replacing not just the scales just also the external structure of the SAK itself. This can be seen in the Victorinox Alox series where the scales make out the outside frame of the multitool while the regular versions have the plastic scales sitting on aluminum frames.

Near fully custom makers will replace the brass pins with screws that are countersunk into titanium scales. This makes the tool serviceable and oftentimes results in a less thick tool.

Liners

Liners are the plates that get between each layer of the tool. These are ofttimes replaced with contumely equivalents, merely sometimes customers go for a titanium option. Lately, I've been seeing colored G10 liners which expect great when the tools are deployed and you await into the side of the SAK.

Tools

Of all the modders I contour beneath, I only know of two that are making their own tools. There are some hybrid situations, for case, where a modder volition take a tool from some other Swiss Army knife, or other knife altogether, and integrate it into a SAK mod. However, for masters like Robert and Zhang, you start to see truthful adroitness with fabricating a hidden drawer for scale tools, to hand-shaping a custom big blade.

Replacement Scales

A quick and like shooting fish in a barrel way to freshen up your SAK is to supercede the scales. The stock Victorinox or Wenger scales are made of a really cheap resin plastic called cellidor. Even brand new SAKs, out of the package, tin can have fine scratches all over them. They look great when they are new and polished but they pick up scratches even without whatever pocket carry. There are many modders who create replacement scales that you can install in under ten minutes. The actual hardware of a SAK is fabricated of pretty wear-resistant and atmospheric condition-resistant metallic then the scales are where they wait the dingiest and where a new gear up will exist like a new coat of paint on your automobile. Scales range from 3D printed versions up to custom milled, engraved, and anodized from titanium.

Remade Knives

Brandon Bankston started out three years ago making his own scales by creating a mold of the stock ones, and filling it with resin epoxy. This created a mess only information technology showed him that using the OEM scales as a model, it was possible to create your ain custom versions. Nigh eighteen months agone, he created a 3D model of the scales and made modifications to make them easier to print. He now produces them using high-terminate SLS nylon printers and finishes them using his hole-and-corner recipe. At the moment, this is just a hobby but luckily for the states, information technology's self-sustaining, and then that gives Brandon the flexibility to offer new patterns and sizes. Remade Knives currently offers 84mm and 91mm scales on Etsy. I really dig the colors offered and the finish looks top-notch. I am curious to see what designs Remade Knives comes up with next.

If you want to get a sense of what 3D printed scales would look like on your SAK, Brandon has generously provided the STL file for download, but note that this is an early revision merely similar to the electric current offerings in advent.

Swiss Bianco

Roger "Swiss" Bianco was born in Switzerland and served as an MP in the Swiss military for half-dozen years in the early nineties. He started Swiss Bianco to produce his vision of a new blazon of knife, that he formed while learning metalworking. Since then, he has formed a unique relationship with Victorinox, which has granted him unprecedented special editions and even runs of retired models, for the Swiss Bianco brand. In addition to the same versions, Swiss Bianco offers a full range of replacement scales. Yous tin can buy OEM Victorinox standard and plus scales from Roger, but the real magic is in the custom scales he designed and had produced. Currently, these include G10 scales, G10 with glow dots, carbon fiber, and finally titanium scales sitting at the deluxe end of the spectrum.

I have a pair of his titanium scales in a matte finish and they are amazing. They are a perfect fit and finish and they were near $35, which is quite a bit cheaper than another scale manufacturers. The all-time part, to me, is they are actually "plus" scales which ways they support the ballpoint pen and a condom needle. Many scale designers completely exit out all the scale tools which might make for a cleaner wait, but also eliminates two to 4 potentially useful tools. Roger moved to Georgia in 2007 so items ship quickly, arriving in nearly parts of the U.s. in 2 days. I too have the G10 scales with the glow dot and while I think they are pretty nice, the titanium ones are where the true talent is.

Daily Customs

Daily Customs hails from Hamburg, Federal republic of germany and is evidently a self-contained pattern and manufacturing team, nether one roof. I say apparently because they are sort of an enigma and it'south actually difficult to get a sense of the person or persons behind the make. Their social media presence consists of roughly the aforementioned products and shots (mostly reposts), posted over and over once again, in various nighttime moody scenes. In that location's someone who is closely aligned with Daily Customs but he, too, uses a pseudonym and online persona, so it's difficult to figure out the connection. They make some amazing scales and I suppose this secrecy makes them even more desirable!

Daily Customs offers scales in aluminum, contumely, and titanium ranging from $76 to $115, earlier shipping. The prices are really lower than what's listed on the website considering non-EU residents don't need to pay the xix% VAT. What sets Daily Customs autonomously is their scales have a cut-out cantankerous plus an inlay that lies backside information technology. This allows for cool customization options. For case, I have an aluminum filler tab behind my brass scales. Daily Community also offers some unique patterns in addition to their standard scales. I am really fond of the 45-caste version; pair that with a contrasting insert and yous have a head-turner. Another absurd affair nigh DC is they have pocket clips. This doesn't audio like a big deal, and it'south not if you are talking about flashlights and pocket knives, but SAKs are almost always carried on keychains or lanyards attached to keychain loops. The just way to get a working pocket clip is to accept a custom SAK made, where the clip is mounted to the custom scales.

Daily Customs allows for an optional clip and their implementation is super clean and clever. They take an indentation in the back scale that accepts a titanium prune, secured with a unmarried screw. If you decide you desire a clean look and want to become clipless, you lot can fill up in that notch with a little slab comprehend. Genius! The simply niggle I have about this setup is the clip is mounted nearly 12mm from the edge and then it leaves a 3rd of the SAK peeking out of your pocket. I much prefer a deep behave clip, like what SAKModder has on his community.

A few things to note nigh Daily Community. Showtime, their scales forgo scale tools so you get very clean lines but get used to non having those tweezers and toothpick. Next, I establish shipping tests your patience. Information technology took 22 days for them to achieve me in California. Once you get the scales, installation is a breeze. Every producer of metal scales always instructs you lot to press fit them but this is never possible, the fashion it is with plastic scales. I've always had to sand down rivet lips to get metal scales to fit. Daily Customs does non carp with this. They over-size their holes slightly then they fit over the rivets, and then they instruct y'all to use two-part epoxy.

Andrzej Woronowski

Better known every bit woro_knives, Andrzej is a full-time engineer and knife-making hobbyist out of Poland. I listed him last because his custom calibration work is out of this world. Every bit a child, Andrzej was fascinated with Ray Mears' volumeThe Survival Handbook and was obsessed with making his own survival pocketknife. Soon after, he gave upwards on the survival aspect of things and just focused on blades. He made his first set of scales ten years ago out of G10, wood, and micarta. Since then, he has teamed up with his brother, Kamil, and they have been working out of the basement of an sometime industrial building in the sometime part of Gdansk, the city where Andrzej resides. I was surprised to learn that Kamil, a very talented engineer, designs and builds custom the CNC machines which do the piece of work for cut out blanks and engraving duties. In describing Kamil, Andrzej says, "My brother is an essential part of this story. I am a hobbyist knifemaker for more than a dozen years already, but it is thanks to my brother and his CNC machines that I am able to make enough piece of work so the pocketknife and EDC customs tin can discover me. My brother was besides a knifemaker many times ago but decided that he prefers building machines." Everything is nevertheless hand-finished by Andrzej using files and grinding tools.

What's interesting about Andrzej and his blood brother is they don't take any orders. They make whatsoever they experience like and put it up for auction. The last time I saw a custom slice was a topography design Andrzej did for avid outdoorsman Piotr Ma. This freedom allows Andrzej to concentrate on bringing some amazing designs to life. I am fond of his video game series where he pays tribute to Fallout, Squad Fortress ii, and Portal. Stormtroopers as well make an appearance, equally well every bit various textures and patterns. He confirmed he likes to incorporate pop-culture into his work. I cannot name another modder that keeps things as relevant. Andrzej called himself a "simple engineer" when asked about his blueprint background. I guess some people really are simply naturally talented.

A prepare of woro_knives scales run about lx Euros but good luck getting your hands on a pair! Andrzej is then busy he only devotes a fraction of his time reading and responding to emails. But luckily a solution is around the corner. Beginning August 2022, he's partnering with Smooth Custom Knives who'll handle the shopping cart and order fulfillment side of things, leaving Andrzej to focus on what he loves well-nigh – producing scales. In the meantime, make sure to check out his Instagram and website where he occasionally posts new projects.

Fully Custom

SAK Custom 58mm

Sean Dooley has been customizing Swiss Army knives, particularly the 58mm MiniChamp, for four years now. He's an Electrician Technician past trade, working on nuclear subs for the U.S. Navy, so it's non a stretch to imagine he'southward really handy with hands-on projects. It all started when he was browsing online forums and came beyond a tutorial past Robert Lessard, where he laid out all the steps to customize a SAK. Sean gave it a try and soon had his outset custom SAK. He showed the guys at work and soon orders started trickling in.

Sean works out of his garage and by and large uses his Mini-Mill which allows him to shape his scales and liners, engrave the cross, and drill holes for the screws. He also uses a simple bench grinder and a Ken Onion Workshop to get a nice bevel and edge on his knives. Unlike most makers who focus on the 91mm size (which is the most popular), Sean likes the 58mm SAK considering he wants to button the limits and see how perfect a SAK this size can go, plus he loves the patience and detail required to work on such small tools. What I like about the 58mm size is because everything is then small about it, even the largest model, the MiniChamp, can even so fit comfortably on a keychain. As a comparison, the v-layer MiniChamp is a little over 14mm thick while a 3-layer Super Tinker (91mm length) is 17mm thick.

The thing I like about Sean'south creations is he goes a step further to customize the actual tools that become into his SAKs. Spydernoxes (what he lovingly calls them) have a MiniChamp and add a small Spyderco Honeybee bract. This is such an original idea and sits squarely between modders similar Lessard who make small tweaks to existing Victorinox tools and rain_z who fabricates full blades from scratch. Information technology's the offset instance I've seen of a maker taking tools from a dissimilar company and putting them in a Swiss Army knife. He also estrus treats his blades and puts custom finishes on the tools, such as stonewashing, which makes for a very absurd Mad Max vibe. He recently picked up a Mini-Lathe which will finally allow him to make threaded standoffs, setting him apart from other makers. He has a lot in store for the time to come too, including Damascus work, applying his Spydernox Midas touch on to the 74mm Executive, and a few others he all the same has under wraps.

Sean'south creations run around $180US and take anywhere from 2 days to two weeks to consummate. If you are keen on grabbing ane of these gems, you tin can check out his Facebook page. Right now, his books are closed for the summertime so most work posted is SAKs that have previously been commissioned. Hopefully in one case the weather cools down, we'll be able to place our orders. In the meantime, enjoy his Instagram gallery to tide yous over.

Chris Custom Works

I was surprised to learn about Christoph's work at the 11th hour of this commodity'south publication. He is a modder out of Germany and you'd exist best served to actually navigate his site in ascending chronological social club because I truly believe some of his nigh amazing pieces were fabricated prior to the legal complications with Victorinox. Currently, he specializes in mods of all sizes and models of SAKs (except Alox) and always finishes them off with a pair of cute wooden scales.

Growing up, Chris was a fan of folding knives but only when he got older did he think virtually customizing his SAKs past embellishing the scales. After some trial and fault, he received positive feedback from family unit and friends, and thus Chris Custom Works was born!

Similar other modders, Christoph is a ane-man show, with a modest workshop in his German dwelling house. All his mods are handmade, without employing avant-garde tools like CNC and waterjets. Currently, the books are open up and a 91mm mod starts at 50 Euros plus the cost of the wood and the SAK tool itself. The sky's the limit, so it's best to contact him straight to get a quote on your dream SAK. Just employ the contact class on his website and be certain to check out Facebook for additional information. Wait 4-6 weeks for a custom lodge to exist completed.

875fps

Okay mind upwards because things might get confusing. John Smith'southward Instagram personal is 875fps while his website and business concern operations is Brasswerx. Whatever you call him, John is making some of the cleanest community I've come across. He has a signature fashion that is immediately recognizable and is keen at exercising restraint. We are mostly looking at titanium and brass here, brass liners, and a signature Swiss cross cutting-out. If you flip the SAK around, y'all'll also come across a hex cut-out to back up 1/4″ bits and it perfectly lines up with the cross in front, which allows you to take awesome "come across-thru" shots.

Different others, John is relatively new to modding, having sold his commencement modernistic just May 2022. The origin story is not unlike we've heard before: he started out making pocketknife thumb-studs and lockbar stabilizers out of old shell casings. Afterward he made his own canteen openers when those became popular. Eventually, he got his hands on a custom SAK past ALM out of Poland and in his quest to buy one, saw how much need there was for titanium SAKs. The rest is history and he's sold over 100 tools to appointment.

John focuses on the larger 93mm model, which I think is an underserved category, then I am glad he's giving it some attention. As you know, the 93mm is the larger SAK size and includes popular models like the Pioneer, Electrician, and Harvester. He has his pieces cutting and tumbled by Spectrum Energetics. I idea it was refreshing that he not just named one of his suppliers, but went out of his fashion to give a shout-out to the company. This made me view him in a different lite.

Currently, all of his prices are custom. Unlike many modders for whom pricing tin can exist so subjective or secretive, all the prices are clearly stated on the Brasswerx website. Things start at $150 for titanium scales and manufactory polished tools. This is as simple equally you can become! Stonewashed tools add $30 to the toll and throw in another $10 for a pocket clip. Allow me step back for a chip – even at the simplest level of replacing the scale, there's a lot of work involved! The knife needs to be broken down and reassembled with custom stainless pivots and screws. Correct now, the lead fourth dimension is 8 weeks and the best way to get on the listing is to e-mail him using the Contact Class on the site.

One time in a while John will offer upward a set of tools that he'southward whipped up. These are usually announced on his Instagram so it'southward all-time to follow it for the latest news.

DECUSTOMFORGE

Denis hails from Moscow, Russia and is one of the more professional and perhaps experienced modders of multitools I've come across. He has a very specific artful and is multifaceted, choosing to present a complete solution (merely take a look at his packaging). Like many other craftsmen, he started out making wooden scales for his personal multitool. Once he perfected this freshman effort, he moved on to other fabric handles – micarta, G10, kirinite, mammoth ivory. Ever since he saw scales made in titanium, he got hooked and has focused on that recently, while perfecting his skills. He works in ii workshops – one in his house for "make clean" operations and then the garage for work that might boot upwardly some droppings.

Unlike other modders, Denis is happy to work with all sizes (58, 91, 93, 111mm)! Surprisingly, he does all this work by hand so no CNC'south, though he does cut the initial blanks out with a waterjet. Currently, his books are closed and turnaround times for custom multitools are impossible to state due to the personal nature of each piece. Luckily for usa, he has been turning out other awesome EDC tools such as titanium prybars, which yous tin can detect on his Etsy shop. While you lot're at it, you can keep upward with Denis and his amazing work on Instagram and Facebook.

rain.z_knives

As far as I know, Zhang is the simply custom modder from China. This is non surprising considering the cumbersome laws and regulations that quite simply make modding blades a real headache; not to mention, the restrictions on communication that makes regularly keeping up with customers a real hurdle. Despite all this, Zhang is producing some of the almost advanced SAK mods in the world. I have handled the work of a few makers and there are noticeable skill gaps between them. I would not hesitate to say that rain.z_knives is among the height two custom SAK modders. Allow's acquire more than about him.

In contrast to some other makers, Zhang owns a few successful manufacturing companies in China and they are pretty self-sufficient and then he is able to devote more time to his new hobby. I say new because he's just been modding SAKs for 2 years, while starting to take orders just a year agone. He doesn't discriminate on size so 58, 85, 91, 93, 108, 111mm have all passed through his shop. I think about of his fans admire him for his SAK work but lately it'south his slipjoint work that has been more than popular, at least in terms of sales. Luckily, he still works on a skilful number of custom SAKs.

Like any good brand, rain.z has some unique and consistent "trademarks". Beginning, he is the only modder I accept seen that offers certain types of textured scales. He besides often annodizes the scales in multiple tones (perhaps blue for the scales and statuary or copper for the cross). He also offers a RWL34 (or Swedish damasteel) knife blade for all models as well 58mm. This mod immediately jumps out at you lot because of the unique bract shape. And while the blades are all hand-shaped and finished, you would swear they came from a factory.

Everything is 100% custom designed and fabricated in-business firm. He has a shop that any maker would be jealous of, including a CNC! His books are currently open but because of the same communication issues, don't expect a quick order process. Near of his mods are in titanium merely he supports copper, brass, carbon cobweb, and even G10 if customers demand information technology. Liners are washed in either titanium or brass and are upwardly to the customer. For unproblematic mods (i.due east. swapping scales), the turnaround time can be just 3-5 days but more complicated mods, similar replacing the bract, can accept iii weeks. Prices range from $150 to over $400. Starting in early on August, pelting.z started getting some distribution with Urban EDC Supply. So far, nosotros've seen his titanium hex tool plus a completely custom 85mm SAK with cigar cutter. Here's hoping for more than drops in the future!

SAKModder

I've saved the all-time for last. The undisputed rex of Swiss Regular army pocketknife modifications, Robert Lessard hails from Canada and may be the only person working full-time on this craft. A few of the modders above accept credited him for (indirectly) education them the craft and it's probably safe to say that without his willingness to share early how-to's on the Internet, many modders wouldn't be in the concern today. From what I can tell, Robert works out of a small shop in his laundry room, where you'll discover a Tormach CNC, the crown precious stone of his modding tools. The CNC has really prepare Robert's work above and beyond the competition, since it has unlocked so many possibilities and solutions that would otherwise exist impossible.

For case, Robert makes all his scales himself and he is able to produce complex designs such as skeletonized scales and fifty-fifty an Alox-inspired diamond cut pattern. Creating his own scales and not relying on Alox scales may accept avoided Robert scrutiny by Victorinox, since they seem very protective of their proper name and logo. He is also able to create full back scales, then you can skip the notch reserved for corkscrews or the screwdriver that is then iconic in Swiss Army knives. Robert is able to precisely engrave text or logos into his creations. He is also know for creating custom tools such as the titanium subconscious drawer with built-in jump latch, brass magnifying glass, Marlin spike, and even custom tweezers complete with a contumely nub.

Robert's books are currently open up and the best mode to accomplish him is via a direct bulletin on Instagram. He is swamped with work merely if you are polite and persistent, he will get dorsum to you. I've found he is incredibly patient and is willing to answer every bit many questions as you'd like. In one case he starts the job, information technology could be a matter of days before completion, depending on parts and tools on hand. Prices range from $275 to $450 and beyond, depending on the level of customization.

Robert's piece of work is top-notch and it's impossible to notice any indication that things are handmade rather than factory produced. There is a level of fit and finish that is beyond what you'd find from other, even skilled modders. In my opinion, his pieces are worthy of grail status.

Source: https://www.carryology.com/utility/a-beginners-guide-to-custom-made-swiss-army-knives-saks/

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