Another source for a stubby pencil is a dive shop. Divers use them attached to a writing slate for underwater commo. For those of you with no golf courses, dive shops, or other sources could simply cut down a standard pencil<br>My concern about a pen is that the ink can harden and the pen not work when needed.<br><br><br>Jeffery S. Anderson, M.D.<br><br>

Years ago, I received a playing card set in a Christmas grab bag gift exchange. It was a commemorative old-fashined tin with two decks of playing cards, a small pad of paper to keep score, and short, very thin pencil. The total diameter of the pencils was not much more than twice that of the lead... maybe an eigth of an inch or less. Much smaller than the golf course stubbies, which are a normal pencil diameter, just shorter.<br><br>Now... If I only knew where that pencil went off to or where to find new ones... :-)<br><br><br><br>Willie Vannerson<br>McHenry, IL

How did you modify the cork screw and the eye glass screwdriver to fit a 1/8 in. flint rod? I work in a machine shop so as a project I took my SAK (SWISSCHAMP)<br>in and went to work. I milled a pocket for a small (1/2 in. x 1/4 in. deep) compass I found on a Dakota watch. I also milled a piece of steel to fit in the obsolete "toothpick" slot. I was interested in your flint rod solution. I found the compass worked well on one side of the knife but not the other.<br><br>"Audaces Fortuna Iuvat"

>>How did you modify the cork screw and the eye glass screwdriver... <<<br><br>Sorry for the misunderstanding, but I didn’t.<br><br>You’ll note that the sentences you’re referring to in that message are in quotes, and the previous line says:<br><br>“You might be interested in this bit of conversation I copied from a survival kit discussion on : http://pub14.ezboard.com/fwildernesssurvivalmodernsurvivaltechniquesquestionsandanswers.showMessage?topicID=6.topic”<br><br>by which I was trying to make it clear that those sentences were copied from a discussion on that web page- you can find the message there if it helps. I'm afraid I don't have any information other than what's there.<br><br><br>

I found this at http://www.spacepen.com/usa/catalog/1005/index.htm

I remembered this thread, so I thought I'd post it.
Stay safe,
J.T.

<GASP> The SAK toothpick . . ."useless"?

For some of us over 40 whose teeth may have started to wander, the toothpick feature is one of the most useful features on the SAK. In fact, for EDC I have a CRKT "K.I.S.S." for blade purposes, and a Victorinox Classic primarily for the toothpick feature (and occasional scissors use.) And if you lose the toothpick, you can always replace it from a retired SAK (everybody has one or two in the drawer, right?), or buy a new one on the Victorinox site.

Aardwolfe--

Are you sure you're looking at a toothpick? Your description (“The toothpick is a metal rod, about 3/32" in diameter and a bit over 2" long.") sounds more like the pen from my SwissChamp, which is basically half of a standard refill with a grey tip, as on the tweezers, and fits in a recess under the scale, as does the toothpick & tweezers. The 'picks on ALL my SAKs that have them (mostly Victorinox, but there's a couple of Wengers that were given to me) are flat, tapered to a point, ivory colored, and plastic.

I’ve used them, infrequently, but with great success—most memorably, to remove a fish bone wedged tightly between two teeth while dining at a fancy restaurant. That bordered on painful, but the Classic saved the day (much preferable to the 4” Puma Game Warder I carried at the time:) )

David

PresumedLost--
Re: bonding a small-diameter ferrocerium rod to a scale: “then you'd need a striker other than your knife blades.. not good”

Have you tried using the tweezers as a striker? Got the idea from an early issue of Tactical Knives (same article that persuaded me to put lanyards on my larger SAKs.)

I've also heard that anything hard--such as a piece of glass-- can make ferrocerrium spark, but haven't verified it. I'll see what I can come up with after lunch, when I get mine out of the truck.

David

I tried to view the message on the other forum, but got a 404 error.

However, as I read PL's quote, I understood it to mean that the Victorinox glasses screwdriver was modified to accept a flint rod.

The Vic glasses screwdriver is a tiny (about 1-1/4" long) slotted screwdriver with a grey handle grooved in a spiral to match the corkscrew on their knives. It twists into the corkscrew, is held in place by the scale when closed, and the blade of the screwdriver is protected by the rest of the corkscrew. It comes with the SwissChamp, & maybe a couple of other models, and can be added to any one with a corkscrew. Wearing glasses myself, I have one in all the SAKs that can take them. It may be seen at www.victorinox.com. Go to the products/pocketknives page, and look at the SwissChamp or TimeKeeper models.

Removing the shaft of the screwdriver & replacing it with a flint is a possibility, and I took it as what was meant.

David

Toothpicks are weapons !!! Self inflicted damage therefrom fills the offices of periodontists.