Sosakonline Archive

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I thought I would post a few pictures of SAK innards for those who might be contemplating this type of Mod.
Top pair is a Tinker and a Waiter with scales removed. Note the difference in the liners at the front rivet; I believe this is to accommodate the differences between the combo blade and the pen/nail file blades.
The lower knife is a Safari (108mm), the rivet arrangement is the same as the smaller knives.

I relearned some things about re-assembling SAKs, it has been a long time since I did the original 4 blade in the Disassembly / re-assembly thread.

Remember I said you need a lot of patience, 3 hands and a small dog? Well, add a trained monkey to that - unfortunately the one I got drinks a lot. If I do many more of these, I would definitely build some sort of fixture.

The pins I have are listed as 3/32", but they need to be reduced in diameter to fit. I chuck them up in a cordless drill and use a file and sandpaper to turn them down a bit (caveman lathe!). Use the hole in one of the blades as a gauge and go slow (or else you get sloppy blade fit).



Corkscrew and Phillips can be swapped directly, so can Nail file and Pen blade. Single tool backsprings such as a saw or file can be added easily. As long as the blade/tool stays in the same group and relative location on its backspring, then it can be removed or added as a complete layer without any modification.

Note the different shapes of the backsprings. I swapped the Phillips and the Corkscrew in the top 2 pics.



The fixture I was alluding to would just be something as simple as a small block of micarta the holes drilled in it to match the pin pattern. The greatest difficulty in reassembly is to keep all the pins in line as you try to put the blades and liners together against the tension of the backsprings. The pins get skewed at all the wrong angles because there is not enough rigidity in the liners to hold them straight and the next thing you know, everything goes sproing! The fixture would hopefully keep all the pins parallel and rigid as you do assembly of the layers.

I think the "Function Dense" concept was very well covered in the other thread, not a whole lot more can be done to re-engineer a SAK without major modifications. You can send your Yeller SAK for experiments if you like

Stay tuned, you don't think I took apart all these knives for nothing now do you? Right now I'm up to my elbows in SAK guts!

My 1st Vic with Saw layer removed.



I put the bushings back in place and use a 4oz. ballpeen to rivet them back into place. The bushings have a small countersink so you just have to upset the pin stock to fill it. If you are not planning on using the original scales, the bushing could be omitted I suppose. Personally I would always put them back in, just as an extra margin in case I go too far with the riveting. I think they might act as sort of washer allowing the pin to rotate if there is any binding in the blade hole.
I suppose you could substitute welding/brazing rod, I just stick with the stuff sold as knifemaking supplies. Just don�t use steel drill rod because it will rust.
I have been using brass rod stock sold for knifemaking, just ordered more at $.50 per 12" from Texasknife.com. While you are there, check out the pre-made pocket clips. The small size looks like just the ticket for SAKs.

I went ahead and made the pin fixture I was talking about. Notice there are holes to accommodate either side of the knife. On the underside of the block there are another set of pin holes for a 91mm knife.



scissors can�t be transferred from a Cellidor 91mm to the Farmer and his cousins. The backspring is the key, and they are not the same.
In order to make it work, you would have to make a thicker custom backspring and fit it to the scissors to make it nest properly.
If 84mm scissors were obtainable (like from an old Golfer), then it appears to me that it would be possible to fit it directly into an Alox Bantam, Cadet etc. This is because these models have the same uneven end handle shape as the Cellidor knives. The Soldier/Pioneer Alox knives use an even ended cigar shape.



Two 91mm Scissors Layers:

Top: Scissors only from a Compact model. There is an extra piece in this layer, around the center pin I found a spacer.

Bottom: Scissors and Hook from an Explorer model.




Magnifying Glass and Phillips screwdriver layer.



LISTEN UP! Re-discovered something important about the 91mm size knives.

The pins and bushings of the 91mm knives are larger than the center two pins. The stock size is still 3/32" but they do not have to be reduced in diameter for use on the end rivets. Do not mix them up during re-assembly or the stock scales will not fit properly.

(For a 84mm knife, the information found above is still correct.)



Left photo shows the countersunk pin heads in the process of being drilled out for removal.

Right photo (hopefully) shows the size difference in the pins and bushings on a 91mm knife.



Wood Saw and Metal File layers from a Ranger.



If I get lucky, sometimes I can remove the scales and replace them without having to resort to any type of adhesive. More often, the sharp lip of the bushing will tear away a small ring of material from the scale so that when you reuse them, they are loose. Victorinox considers the scales unusable after they are removed.

I use the beveled edge of a SAK can opener blade and work it around the rivet while prying gently. I found that if you pry only from one side of the bushing, either the handle will crack or you break a big chunk away from the bushing hole. Normally, I loosen the end rivets first, then the center one.

The pins are riveted just like any slip-joint knife, the major difference being the bushings, which have a countersink inside. You use a small hammer to strike the end of the pin to upset the pin material to fill up the countersink (look at the above photo of the pins and bushings).

The process of removing the pins will shorten them; they will not be re-usable unless you are removing a layer from the knife.

In regards to your disassembled knife, you can get some new pin stock and rivet it back together without bushings if you choose. Custom scales would have to be made and attached using epoxy. This would give you back a usable custom knife and complete your "learning experience."

Hope this helps and remember to post your custom work in SOSAK!

"Void Your Warranty!" - Dave