Build your own Vic

Finally... I was able to build up a stockpile of used Vic parts and make a brand new one of it. It wasn't easy and you need patience, but believe me.... It was worth every minute! The first obstacle you'll bump against are the Victorinox rivets. Maybe you can buy them brand new or others that look alike, but I looked for an easier approach. I changed them with small screws of 2,50 mm. They're hard to find because most shops start with M3. The only change you need to do, in order to keep it simple, is drilling the two center holes in a slightly larger diameter of 2,50 mm. You can use screws of 2,50 mm and 2,25mm, but in my opinion it's far to difficult to obtain them. I changed everything to 2,50mm. When you start, you need to place the first spacer (the one with the corkscrew opening) and start building the construction you want... Start with the spring, back-tool and then the two/one tool(s) on the sides. 

UPDATE 09/2013 : My first mods were constructed with screws, as you can see, but I changed to the original rivets, which in my opinion are far more secure and give the knife that genuine feel and look. If you try to make an exposed rivet design, you'll have to change to the brass rivets. Keep that in mind! 

The scales are another story... You can always buy brand new ones and glue them on, but where's the fun with that? Buy some small pieces of tropical wood and  start cutting them in the same shape as the outer spacers.I use Brazilian Cambarawood. It's a tropical hardwood with a natural dark shade, but without the nice lines you would have with oak or other local wood... I clamp the outer spacers on the rectangular wooden plates and start from there. I use a Dremel-tool and follow the spacer shape with a small sanding tool on the Dremel. After the scales have the same shape as the spacers, you can use the same tool to make a nice edge. You can decorate the scales with a soldering iron or a small grinder. I kept it simple, after some failures... There are so many ways to build the scales. The easiest way is to use the right tools, and in my case it was a Dremel...

This "lucite design" is an idea from Michael M. Young, or better said an idea I stole from his book. It gives you a nice idea how the knife actually works. It was very hard to manipulate the lucite without scratching it, but everything turned out fine, as you can see...

...less is more...

Custom knife with my initials...

Here are the failures... The checkered design is a possible "next one", but the right one was an attempt to clone the Vic logo... BAD IDEA!

Custom job for my father in law.... Leon...

Back to basics... Large blade, small blade and reamer. The lanyard is made of 550 paracord strains in the shape of a square knot. The scales are made, as usual, from Brazilian Cambarawood.