Some Swiss Army Knives Have a Secret Tool Under the Handle

Not all SAKs are created equally.

Published August 30, 2024

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Updated August 30, 2024

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The classic Swiss Army knife is known around the world for its versatility, with every edition of the multitool packing a variety of handy functions into a pocket-sized form factor.

But did you know some SAKs can be hacked to accommodate yet another implement? An utterly charming Swiss YouTuber named Felix Immler has found a way to add yet additional tools like a toothpick or firesteel.

swiss army knife accessories — A hidden slot in some SAKs can be opened to hold extra tools.

In one of his popular SAK modification videos, he explains that Victorinox Swiss Army Knives featuring PLUS Scales, designed to accommodate a pen, have a hidden miniature slot.

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This slot was created as a place for mini tweezers to go in special editions like the Traveller that have a digital display, but it lies dormant, unused and closed off in analog SAKs of a similar shape and size.

felix-immler-swiss-army-knife-hack — Immler is a big fan of the PLUS scales due to their ability to accommodate a small pen.

How to hack your Swiss Army Knife

With a bit of clever hackery, you can modify your own SAK to access this slot. The first step is to remove the scale.

Then you can cut through the sidewall that blocks access to the slot and use a needle file to essentially grind out a little notch to accommodate the head of the implement you’ll be adding.

swiss army knife sidewall cut — First, remove the scale and cut through the sidewall to open up access to the miniature tool slot.

Now, what to do with that extra space you’ve opened up? Immler likes to slide a modified toothpick into that slot and then, where the toothpick normally goes, he adds another pretty indispensable tool — Firefly firesteel ($16.49 for a 3-pack).

The Firefly folks themselves recommend replacing the toothpick with their product, but with your newly accessible mini-slot, you don’t have to abandon that handy little sliver of white plastic.

Instead, you can cut off the top of the toothpick, then cut a small piece from what you have removed and glue it to the top of the leftover sliver, essentially replacing the head of the now-shortened toothpick. Next you can use the needle file and a bit of sandpaper to round the head so it fits seamlessly into the bonus slot.

The result is a Swiss Army Knife that can fit the tweezers into one of the scales and the pen, modified toothpick and firesteel (as shown above) into the other. Now you can go out into the backcountry, extract a splinter from your finger, build a fire, clean your teeth after some delicious S’mores and even write home about it. Check out a full breakdown of the hack in Immler’s video below.