Plus2 scales for Swiss army knife

thingiverse

The Victorinox Plus^2 (Plus+) 91mm scales offer all the features of the original Plus scales, including a pin, tweezers, pen, tooth pick, plus extra space for an SD card and fire steel. I initially considered purchasing a Firefly, but shipping costs from the USA made it prohibitively expensive in the UK. I decided to create my own variant instead. The Plus^2 scales are based on a 3D model of the original Plus design shared by Stevetecx on Thingiverse. To make space for an SD card and ferro-rod, I used the remaining space within the Plus scales. The ferro-rod is a 2.38mm diameter x 50.8mm long rod sourced from Greenmanbushcraft at £1.65 plus postage. Experimenting with various methods to create a handle for the ferro-rod, I found epoxy to be the most successful option. Here's my method: 1) File one end of the ferro-rod to reduce its diameter to about 1.5mm over a length of 4mm. 2) Create a mould using a small piece of wood. • Drill a 2.5mm hole through the wood. • Expand the hole to 6mm diameter with another drill bit for a depth of 5mm • Push the ferro-rod into the mould so that it is flush with the top of the 6mm hole • Fill the 6mm hole with epoxy resin and wait until completely hardened around the ferro-rod. 3) Once the epoxy is dry, you will have a 6mm diameter, 5mm long handle. To process the handle: • Remove the wood mould (using saw, file or knife) • Shape the handle using a file and sandpaper, checking regularly for fit against the scales • Paint the handle (optional) Printing & Finishing Tips: Print so that the outside of the scale is on the bottom. This will improve print quality inside the scales, ensuring a good push fit to the knife. Lightly sand using progressively higher grit for a very glossy finish. I used specialist plastic polishing cloths finishing with 12,000 grit. Use luminous PLA for a glow-in-the-dark function as suggested by Stevetecx. Alternative: By happy coincidence, the pen on the plus scales has the same diameter as the ferro-rod. If you don't have a 3D printer and prefer to keep the pen, you can use that space on the Plus scales instead.