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Thread: Swiss Army Knife Refresh

  1. #1

    Swiss Army Knife Refresh

    One of my older ones was loosing bits of the case , which was bothering me , but , replacement "scales" are available for a tenner and easily fitted,<br>Happy with the result

  2. #2
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    Where do you buy “parts” and how easy is it to dismantle - and, more importantly, reassemble?

    Thanks.

  3. #3
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    I did the same recently too, but I went for the green scales.
    Very easy to do, flat blade in the edges just prises the old scales off, and the new ones are a press fit on. I found a eBay seller for the replacements, £11 I think, really refreshes the SAK nicely.
    It was a bit of a upgrade too, the new scales came with the pen slot which the original ones didn't have, so ordered a pen too.

    Cheers..
    Jase

  4. #4
    I know modding and switching out SAK knives is a rabbit hole, but I've a couple of old ones that could do with a refresh - thanks for posting, I think I'll give it a go!

  5. #5
    I went on a full Victorinox Alox binge a few months ago, got to 6 before I realised I’d probably never really use any of them apart from the first - an Alox mini champ - that now lives on my keys. They are pretty cool things to collect though!


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  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonM View Post
    I did the same recently too, but I went for the green scales.
    Very easy to do, flat blade in the edges just prises the old scales off, and the new ones are a press fit on. I found a eBay seller for the replacements, £11 I think, really refreshes the SAK nicely.
    It was a bit of a upgrade too, the new scales came with the pen slot which the original ones didn't have, so ordered a pen too.

    Apparently the trick is to soak everything in very hot water first, makes the whole process much easier


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  7. #7
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Qatar-wol View Post
    I know modding and switching out SAK knives is a rabbit hole, but I've a couple of old ones that could do with a refresh - thanks for posting, I think I'll give it a go!
    This is who I got them from

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/human-201...p2047675.l2562
    Cheers..
    Jase

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by David_D View Post
    Where do you buy “parts” and how easy is it to dismantle - and, more importantly, reassemble?

    Thanks.
    Bits came from http://www.ukoutdoorstore.co.uk . The scales are easily prised off and , as has been mentioned, I heated the scales and bare knife in hot water, not boiling but 70/80 degrees C for a few mins and them pressed the scales into place, one side at a time and it was very straightforward,

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by notnowkato View Post
    Bits came from http://www.ukoutdoorstore.co.uk . The scales are easily prised off and , as has been mentioned, I heated the scales and bare knife in hot water, not boiling but 70/80 degrees C for a few mins and them pressed the scales into place, one side at a time and it was very straightforward,

    Thanks! I’ll have a look.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonM View Post
    Thank you! When I'm out of hotel quarantine, I'll have a proper look!

    While we're talking SAKs, I thought I'd show this off - it's on my desk and I have little else to do with my time! A gift from my department when I left employment a couple of weeks ago!






  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Qatar-wol View Post
    Thank you! When I'm out of hotel quarantine, I'll have a proper look!

    While we're talking SAKs, I thought I'd show this off - it's on my desk and I have little else to do with my time! A gift from my department when I left employment a couple of weeks ago!





    That's a proper leaving gift, did you get a heavy duty belt on which to hang it as well???

  12. #12
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    Thinking of sending mychamp back for a refurb. Only decent thing an ex-wife ever gave me . Had it for about 28 years .

    Also foolishly dismantled my leatherman ti as I’d bent the blade lock . Figured it was easy to straighten and reassemble . Think I’ll have to build a jig to get the bolts back in .

  13. #13
    Grand Master magirus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr.D View Post
    Also foolishly dismantled my leatherman ti as I’d bent the blade lock . Figured it was easy to straighten and reassemble . Think I’ll have to build a jig to get the bolts back in .

    Send it to Whitby .
    F.T.F.A.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by magirus View Post
    Send it to Whitby .
    Can't praise these guys enough. The micro eyeglass screwdriver finally snapped on my Charge TTI after 10 years of service. Although it was a consumable item and was out of stock, they sourced one for me and posted it out to me free of charge.

  15. #15
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    Thanks for this, I have just ordered a set for my knife, which saw a lot of action during my career and is now looking a bit tired. Going from red to black.

  16. #16
    Master John Wall's Avatar
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    Victorinox and Leatherman have a lifetime guarantee.
    There’s a place in Leicester called Burton McCall who,
    If you send your damaged knife to will refurb and return for free.
    My champ went off with broken side plates. I took out the pen, tweezers screwdriver and toothpick
    Before sending and it came back as new with all the little tools replaced.
    Truly excellent service.... and FREE !

  17. #17

  18. #18
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    That wouldn't cover damaged scales.

    'Damage caused by normal wear and tear, misuse or abuse are not covered by this guarantee'.

  19. #19
    Master John Wall's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by K-Z1R View Post
    That wouldn't cover damaged scales.

    'Damage caused by normal wear and tear, misuse or abuse are not covered by this guarantee'.
    Well, it did for mine.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Weirdfish View Post
    My wenger nomad went to them not so long ago to be repaired, it had to go to somewhere else as they couldn't repair it, unfortunately it came back with damaged scales where they'd prised them off, so it's gone back to the same place to repair it again, can't say that they are brilliant as it took several emails phone calls to get it sorted, but we'll see.
    Is Wenger a bit more problematic these days, availability of scales, parts that sort of thing? Wenger ceased 10+ years ago, different sizes and patterns to Victorinox and Wenger and Victorinox scales are attached entirely differently. The Victorinox Evo pattern is based on a former Wenger model but I’m not sure if it is interchangeable with with the original Wenger pattern. Hope it gets sorted for you.


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  21. #21
    Grand Master magirus's Avatar
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    I brought my Explorer out of retirement recently to keep in a Lands End Square Rigger shoulder bag I've started using again. The bag is older than my son, so easily 30yrs old, and I'm pretty sure the knife was bought when I was 20, so that's 44yrs old! Gave it a good clean, oiled the pivots, got the blades back to shaving sharp with the Lansky and buffed the scales to take away the dullness. I left the scales on rather than replace them because there's a couple of epoxy repairs and various dings that are part of it's history. I had to buy a new spring for the scissors and also added a glasses screwdriver on the corkscrew. The blade steel takes a lovely edge. My old fire brigade number is still on there where I scratched it all those years ago, I kept it on a cord in my fire tunic.











    F.T.F.A.

  22. #22
    Grand Master GraniteQuarry's Avatar
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    Splendid YT channel on these puppies

    https://youtube.com/c/FelixImmler

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by magirus View Post
    I brought my Explorer out of retirement recently to keep in a Lands End Square Rigger shoulder bag I've started using again. The bag is older than my son, so easily 30yrs old, and I'm pretty sure the knife was bought when I was 20, so that's 44yrs old! Gave it a good clean, oiled the pivots, got the blades back to shaving sharp with the Lansky and buffed the scales to take away the dullness. I left the scales on rather than replace them because there's a couple of epoxy repairs and various dings that are part of it's history. I had to buy a new spring for the scissors and also added a glasses screwdriver on the corkscrew. The blade steel takes a lovely edge. My old fire brigade number is still on there where I scratched it all those years ago, I kept it on a cord in my fire tunic.













    These are, quite literally, the " Swiss Army Knives" of the penknife world, in my view ...........................

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by magirus View Post
    I brought my Explorer out of retirement recently to keep in a Lands End Square Rigger shoulder bag I've started using again. The bag is older than my son, so easily 30yrs old, and I'm pretty sure the knife was bought when I was 20, so that's 44yrs old! Gave it a good clean, oiled the pivots, got the blades back to shaving sharp with the Lansky and buffed the scales to take away the dullness. I left the scales on rather than replace them because there's a couple of epoxy repairs and various dings that are part of it's history. I had to buy a new spring for the scissors and also added a glasses screwdriver on the corkscrew. The blade steel takes a lovely edge. My old fire brigade number is still on there where I scratched it all those years ago, I kept it on a cord in my fire tunic.











    Lots of memories held by these pieces of kit. One of mine includes having to cut down a suicide victim and saying to my colleague 'Do you want to catch him or shall I?' He replied ' Well you have the knife, so you cut and i'll catch'. I then remember having to assist catching the falling body and making sure I didn't stab it!

  25. #25
    This fella has been with me for many years and seen a lot of action over that time.
    It's been around the world (twice), done hundreds of dives, confiscated several times and helped me out on countless ocassions.
    It'd never occured to me to get it repaired, but thanks to the posts here I've just ordered some replacement scales and am upgrading it to a Plus.






    R
    Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.

  26. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by ralphy View Post
    This fella has been with me for many years
    R
    ~1991?


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  27. #27
    Journeyman v15hal's Avatar
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    I constantly got through a cycle of finding and loosing mine.
    I think I may have to buy multiple and stash them everywhere!

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  28. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by v15hal View Post
    I constantly got through a cycle of finding and loosing mine.
    I think I may have to buy multiple and stash them everywhere!

    Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk
    Only way to do it, one with bike, one with canoe gear, one with camper van, one in daypack, one for best unused with box and papers.

    All the same or different models?


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  29. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by ralphy View Post
    This fella has been with me for many years and seen a lot of action over that time.
    It's been around the world (twice), done hundreds of dives, confiscated several times and helped me out on countless ocassions.
    It'd never occured to me to get it repaired, but thanks to the posts here I've just ordered some replacement scales and am upgrading it to a Plus.






    R

    I highly reccomend Victorinox own oil for all knives,its food safe and lubricates better than anything.

    You can add a pen and a pin to plus scales and a mini driver that fits in the corkscrew.

  30. #30
    Master
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    Felix is addictive watching.




  31. #31
    Journeyman v15hal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyCasper View Post
    Only way to do it, one with bike, one with canoe gear, one with camper van, one in daypack, one for best unused with box and papers.

    All the same or different models?


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    Agrees.
    I've managed to have a few confiscated at airports as I used to fly a lot for work.
    So I'll start buying them again.
    All different! Need a bit of variety!

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  32. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by BillyCasper View Post
    ~1991?
    Probably about right! How can you tell?

    Quote Originally Posted by v15hal View Post
    Agrees.
    I've managed to have a few confiscated at airports as I used to fly a lot for work.
    So I'll start buying them again.
    All different! Need a bit of variety!
    Such was my attachment to mine I obtained permission to leave security and go back to landside in order to post it back home. On another trip I was approaching the Immigration desk on my return landing back in the UK and the officer at the desk pointed out my Swiss knife hanging out of my flight bag on its lanyard. Two of the many memories of the knife.

    R
    Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.

  33. #33
    Grand Master magirus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ralphy View Post
    Probably about right! How can you tell? R

    You may find these links of interest Ralph.

    https://www.sakhome.com/304372180

    https://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=75774.0

    https://www.victorinox.com/uk/en/Swi...iss-army-knife
    F.T.F.A.

  34. #34

    Swiss Army Knife Refresh

    Quote Originally Posted by ralphy View Post
    Probably about right! How can you tell?



    R
    My sheer pointless male geekery. A bit like the detail of minor variations on watches.

    1991, the first year for the hook back tool and last year for the scissors with a screwed pivot, thereafter changed to a brass or steel rivet.

    Pattern of the stampings on the main blade tang is a normal way of dating SAKs.

    SAKWIKI is a primary source of information together with the forum referenced above.

    Apparently the hook was introduced because Swiss people bound their recycled newspapers in string and it’s a way of carrying the packages to the bin or recycling point. Maybe true, maybe not. The hook has many uses including securing the scale pen in a more comfortable writing position. I can’t remember ever using the hook.


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  35. #35
    Oh my word, I had no idea of the depth of detail!

    Quote Originally Posted by BillyCasper View Post
    My sheer pointless male geekery. A bit like the detail of minor variations on watches.

    1991, the first year for the hook back tool and last year for the scissors with a screwed pivot, thereafter changed to a brass or steel rivet.

    Pattern of the stampings on the main blade tang is a normal way of dating SAKs.

    SAKWIKI is a primary source of information together with the forum referenced above.

    Apparently the hook was introduced because Swiss people bound their recycled newspapers in string and it’s a way of carrying the packages to the bin or recycling point. Maybe true, maybe not. The hook has many uses including securing the scale pen in a more comfortable writing position. I can’t remember ever using the hook.
    Oh my word, again!

    I've used the hook frequently to loosen knots in paracord at which, along with the reamer, it is superb. Also for pulling wires through holes.\

    R
    Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.

  36. #36
    Replacement parts have arrived and duly fitted.

    As you can see, I decided to upgrade at the same time to a Plus...



    Good to see the availability of parts, old-fashioned service at the best.

    R
    Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.

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