Reworking a Swiss Army Knife – EDC folder rework
I love the blade on the Victorinox florist knife. It has a great shape for what I need in my EDC. I do wish though, that it was a little more sturdily constructed.
This weekend, I set out to remedy this issue.
Here is my trusty apple slicer:
You can see that it is well loved! Well, I loved it so much that I felt the need to grind the pins out and take it apart 😛
This knife is really well thought out and well made but I wanted it to be a bit heavier. Also, I am really surprised that they do not put a half stop in the blade. A half stop makes the blade pause at 90 degrees when you are closing it. A nice thing if your fingers might be in the way!
Here are the new brass liners (to replace the light aluminum ones that came on the knife), red liner material, and micarta scale blanks I planned to put on this lovely knife. I also ground a flat on the end of a blade to make that half stop I was wishing Victorinox would have done for me.
A little time passes (internet magic and epoxy…) and here is the spine:
And here it is, sitting so safely at that hoped for half stop:
My knife now has the heft and safety features I was hoping for. My lunch apples are very nervous!
Happy Making,
Jim
Make Stuff With Your Hands 
June 13, 2011 at 10:16 am
nice job. I have always liked the SAK but thought the plastic was the weekest link. but I never thought of remaking one. great idea, I may have totry one myself.
Steve
June 13, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Thanks Stephen. It was a surprisingly rewarding little project. For a couple afternoon’s work, I now have a knife that I love to pull out of my pocket.
August 22, 2011 at 3:05 am
I have a similar Swiss Army knife and would like to remake it like yours. Any suggestions for a newbie? Also, how does the half stop make it safer? How much material is ground off?
Thanks – I really enjoy your site.
MB
August 22, 2011 at 1:41 pm
The half stop keeps the blade from snapping all the way shut and cutting your finger if it is in the way. I ground just enough that the spring was just about but not quite flush when the blade was at 90 degrees. On a custom knife, the spring would be flush at half stop but I didn’t know if it would work well on this blade.
For suggestions, make sure that your liner material is dead flat. I sanded mine on a trued up granite block.
Also, with these knives, the pins are metric so you will have to get metric pin stock to get everything tight.
I ended up having to turn custom pins on a metal lathe because I could not find the right sized brass rod at my hardware store.
Let me know if you have more questions and please send me a pic when you get yours done.
-Jim
December 31, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Well done, sir. As you have shown you can improve an already useful knife! I have a soft spot for Victorinox folders also, may have to give this a try. Thank you for shraring your experience with it, a very inspiring read.
March 11, 2015 at 2:30 pm
Hey there-this is some nice work! Did you peen the brass rods or are they just held with epoxy? How has the knife held up over the years as far as retaining its tightness?
March 11, 2015 at 2:36 pm
Thanks for the compliment. I countersunk the outer scales a bit and peened the brass rods into the depressions. After that, I sanded and buffed smooth. It has held up great now for years, not wiggly yet.