Victorinox Classic knife

I think you would be nuts to do this. It saves no more than a few grams, and makes the knife really less elegant and less comfortable to use. I admit pocket knives could do with lightening, but butchering the plastic off is not the way to go.

I never considered taking the plastic off. Some has chipped off my Explorer. It looks like the metal plate under the plastic is contiguous. Looking at the outside blade/tool compartment walls also suggests this.

The way I see this is, superfluous stuff should come off. Stuff that serves a purpose should stay on. The plastic sides hold the toothpick and the tweezers on and make the grip more comfortable so they should stay.

I love my explorer. It has just the right tools for me. I never leave my bedroom without it. I just wish they'd do something about that lame blade. I've had it close on my hand and it ain't fun. They make one utility knife that has a bigger locking blade but it lacks some of the explorer tools.

I've toyed with making a little pouch to hold some other tools, but that would sap a lot of the utility.

I agree, I would not do it. If you want a light knife, why use a swiss army knife? I mean if you are backpacking using minimum equipment then what do you need all the extra tools for? If you need a lighter knife, I would suggest something like a spyderco ladybug.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6TT4vU53Ow

I use the larger Spyderco Salt 1 in H1 steel and it is literally rust proof. As a firefighter in my previous job we used very corrosive chemicals and they did not affect the blade one bit. The lady bug comes in at 18 grams and is an ideal little knife if you are not limbing trees or skinning game. Here are the specs:

http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=399

Oh and btw, I would probably get it in the plain edge if anyone is interested. The spyderco edge is great for cutting ropes and seat belts, but, for other tasks it is less than ideal and harder to resharpen than plain edges.

P.

I am with william… don't do it, you will make a knife that is less comfortable to hold. If you are down to counting grams switch to small single blade knife or a safety razor blade like the durma-safe.

–mark

I had one when I was a kid that I took the plastic off of because… well… I was a kid. Why do kids do anything? For what it's worth I was probably trying to figure out how it was put together. I'm not 100% sure if it was a genuine Swiss Army Knife or not but they're probably similar.

Anyway, IIRC under the plastic was a metal plate with 3 or 4 of what looked like brass roll pins going through and holding it all together. It was a thicker knife so the grip wasn't small after the plastic was gone – just uncomfortable.

The entire knife weighs slightly less than an oz. What are you really going to gain? A knife needs to have a functional grip to be a safe tool to use. I think taking off the plastic of a knife that weighs less than 1 oz. is pretty silly if you ask me. Its one thing to get rid of everything in your pack that doesn't serve a function. Getting rid of a critical piece of a knife that weighs fractions of an ounce is another. It simply is not a good idea.

If you end up cutting and injuring yourself while using the knife without a handle you will regret having taken it off. A knife is a potentially dangerous tool and you could cause serious harm to yourself by using it improperly. I view my Classic Swiss Army knife as a survival tool. I use the scissors to cut first aid supplies open and open Micropur tablets. I use the tweezers very frequently on the trail. The knife portion comes in real handy as well and would be vital in an emergency. For less than an oz. I can't really complain about the weight. What are you going ot make it weigh 1/2 an oz. after taking the plastic off? Big deal.

Since you just asked for pictures, and not a lecture from the safety police, I figured I’d give you a link to some info. In this thread, David Lewis mentions that he’s removed the plastic. You can get to his website and email through his profile, if you’re interested.