The scissors spring on my 20-year-old Swiss Army ‘Champion’ finally broke. I have replacements. Getting the broken spring out was fairly easy, using a small punch. It was definitely in there, though. Getting the new spring in is not working out for me.
First, I tried to push it in with the punch. That didn’t work. Next, I put some tape on needle-nosed pliers and tried to squeeze it in. That also didn’t work. Finally, I put some tape on Vice Grips and tried that. I though that the more-vertical pressure would help. Nope. I only managed to destroy the loop at the end of the spring.
The problem as I see it is that the spring has a bend in it, no doubt to keep pressure on the loop so that it doesn’t slide out. The notch through which the spring passes, is just the right width for the spring, so the bit near the loop has to be straight. Only I don’t have small enough fingers or tools or a jig to keep this bit straight.
After I started typing this, I found this post on a message board:
That’s what I’m trying to do, but it’s not working for me (so far).
Has anyone replaced a spring on a SAK? How do I do it?
Well, I should have tried more before posting. Still, maybe someone will find this one day and it will be helpful.
I put the ‘shank’ of the spring into the slot – just s little, but in there. Then I squeezed with the taped needle-nosed pliers. The spring went in with a loud snap.
Unfortunately, I managed to close the scissors while a finger on my off hand was in the way. Off to find an adhesive strip…
Glad you got it fixed. Sorry about the wound. I normally send them in for repairs. The two authorized manufacturers of SAK have lifetime warranties. Which includes free return shipping.
You can replace the parts yourself but Victorinox also has a lifetime warranty with a repair center in Connecticut. It costs just $5 for shipping and handling. They may fix it or just give you a brand new knife of the same model they the warranty. I just sent one off myself this week.
I have to say that my three Victorinox Swiss Army knives are on my very short list of things I love about this world. They the single most useful thing you can have with you. They are the smart phones of the tool world and I keep a mid-range one on my at all times. I have used them to do everything from replacing a car battery, putting together furniture, to opening over 100 bottles of wine in a pinch when an Italian party didn’t have a wine opener to be found otherwise. The other multi-tools like Leathermans are useful too but can’t approach the real-world convenience of having a sleek and streamlined tool chest that you can just drop into any pocket without even thinking about it every day.
I can give you the address to their repair department if you want but it is easily found on their website. I don’t want to post it here because this board gets indexed by Google and I don’t want to be at fault if their address ever changes.
You can also get replacement toothpicks, tweezers, the mini screwdrivers that screw into the corkscrew, and ballpoint pens.
Shagnasty: I’d hate to have my Champion replaced! They no longer make this model; and it was my first SAK, which traveled through Europe with me and has been near-at-hand and used over 30 years. (I now carry a Swiss Champ on the internal lanyard of my backpack.)
I understand. You have to provide a note and instructions on what to do with when you send it in. You can tell them to fix the spring but not replace the knife. They will follow it and call you if there are any issues. It is like the ER for Swiss Army knives. They stand by it and it only cost $5 plus your mailing fee.
Victorinox also sells the tweezers, toothpicks, and I believe springs on their site as well. Those are the most common parts that get broken. The problem with mine was that part of the red plastic handle broke off spontaneously on the edge. It was still perfectly usable but not good enough for me because I loved it so much. They called and told me they will either fix the handle or give me a new one. It isn’t an issue because it is a newer model.
Damn, that sounds great. I have my late father’s mega-SAK (everything but the corkscrew, pretty much), in the original leather case, and it has great sentimental value to me.
But it’s at least 50 years old now and desperately needs cleaning and sharpening, besides replacement tweezers and probably the scissors spring as well. Will they do that for me, do you think? (fingers tightly crossed)
It has got a true lifetime warranty and you can send it in for minimal cost. I would enclose a letter telling them exactly what you want them to do and to just send it back if they can’t You would be surprised what some companies like that will do for goodwill and PR value. My uncle sent in a Daisy pellet rifle from the 1950’s in for service a few years ago because it had leaky valves and didn’t shoot as well as once did. It had a lifetime warranty though and he is famously cheap. They don’t make any air rifle like his now but they completely refurbished the whole thing for free including making custom parts for it. He got it back like-new condition.
This is why I like my Wenger-- The scissors are of a different design, that’s much more robust.
See, my solution is to carry both a Swiss army knife and a Leatherman. And a 13-function utility pen, and a little pack I keep in my side pocket with matches, birthday candles, band-aids, alcohol wipes, and Post-its.