Innovyx Scales for Swiss Army Knives, by Thomas Christianson

By adding a pocket clip to my venerable Victorinox Mechanic Swiss Army Knife, Innovyx Carbon Hex 91mm Plus scales greatly improve the utility of that knife. The improved scales also provide a more secure grip surface than traditional Swiss Army Knife scales.

Innovyx offers other Swiss Army Knive scales in a wide variety of sizes, colors, and materials as well at a variety of different price points. They are made in the USA.

The carbon hex 91mm plus scales with a pocket clip cost $34.98 at the time of this writing at Goinnovyx.com. I am very happy with mine, and highly recommend them.

Background

I like Swiss Army Knives. They come in a wonderful variety of configurations. They are beautifully machined. They have a size and weight that just feels good in my hand. They were used by McGuyver. There is a lot to like.

For more than half a century, the Swiss Army Knife was the definitive multi-tool. Then beginning in 1983, the Swiss Army Knife began to become gradually eclipsed by the development of the Leatherman multi-tool and its host of imitators.

The modern everyday carry (EDC) knife also began to offer the Swiss Army Knife some stiff competition on the cutlery marketplace. The modern EDC knife offers three features that are lacking on the traditional Swiss Army Knife: a pocket clip, a locking blade, and provision for one-handed (preferably ambidextrous) deployment. A bladed multi-tool like the Leatherman Skeletool that incorporates these three key features may be considered an EDC knife for the purposes of this discussion.

Last Spring, I had the opportunity to review the Swiza D03 which modernizes the Swiss Army Knife concept with the addition of a locking blade. During the testing of that knife, I found the absence of a pocket clip on that knife to be so disruptive that I terminated my testing early.

I recently found out that Innovyx makes scales for Swiss Army Knives and that those scales can include an optional pocket clip. That sounded exciting, so I contacted Innovys to see if they would provide me with a sample for testing and evaluation. They were kind enough to agree. About a week after they created the order, a plastic padded envelope arrived in my mailbox.

First Impressions

The envelope came via USPS Priority Mail from Innovyx, Unit 1616, 17806 E. Greenwood Drive, Aurora, Colorado, 80013.

The particular model that I requested was the Carbon Hex 91mm Plus version. The scales are called “carbon” because they are made of carbon fiber-infused polylactide at 100% infill. The “hex” refers to the hexagonal texture on the outside of the scales. The “91mm” refers to the size of the Swiss Army Knife for which they are designed. The “plus” indicates that they are designed to accommodate the Swiss Army Knife pen as well as the traditional tweezers and toothpick. This particular model is available in three colors: lava grey, black, and green. I requested green.

The envelope contained a packing list, the scales, a pocket clip, screws to attach the pocket clip to the scales, and a Torx screwdriver to install the screws.

I requested the scales for installation on my Victorinox Mechanic, which I had previously reviewed on SurvivalBlog. The Mechanic model is no longer in production. A slight upgrade (which includes scissors in addition to the other tools incorporated by the Mechanic) is currently available as the Deluxe Tinker, which cost $68 at the time of this writing. The Mechanic includes two blades, a can opener, two screwdrivers, a bottle opener, a reamer/punch/sewing awl, a Phillips screwdriver, pliers, toothpick, and tweezers.

Installation

The product page for the scales on the Innovyx website includes a link to an installation video. The video features Felix Immler, a Swiss YouTuber and author who specializes in demonstrating bushcraft skills using Swiss Army Knives. The installation process can be summarized as follows:

• Remove the tweezers, toothpick, pen, and similar accessories from the knife.
• Place the knife in a pan of 158 degree Fahrenheit water for 3+ minutes.
• Slide a small knife blade between the divider and the old plastic scales on the knife. Slide the blade to one of the 3 rivet heads holding on the scales and twist the blade gently to free the scale from the rivet.
• Repeat this process with the remaining rivet heads on both of the old scales to remove them from the knife.
• Pad a vise with a towel.
• Put the new scales in the correct position and gently tighten the jaws of the vise to seat the new scales on the rivet heads. Be careful not to over-tighten the vise, as this may cause the scales to crack.

I carefully followed these directions to install the new scales. I then installed the pocket clip utilizing the supplied screws and Torx driver. Next, I reinserted the tweezers.

In place of the toothpick, I inserted a Tortoise Gear Firefly ferrocerrium rod. I had reviewed the Firefly in an article published on SurvivalBlog on April 7, 2021. I then tested the sides of the various tools on the Mechanic with the Firefly, and discovered that the awl was the most effective at striking sparks.

I also placed an order for a Swiss Army Pen, since that accessory was not originally available with the Mechanic. I was not 100% happy that I could only find the pen with blue ink, since I prefer black.

Testing

I clipped the knife into the left front pocket of my pants, and carried it on a daily basis over the course of more than a month.

I used the knife for a variety of tasks during the testing period:

Cutting cheese to eat with chili and crackers for supper,
cutting open a package of devotional booklets to be placed in the church foyer.
cutting a couple of pieces of shrink wrap to encase stain brushes overnight to keep them from drying out.
opening a bag of dog food.
cutting tape that was holding a rivet to a new shovel handle that I was installing.
trimming the ends from lengths of paracord so that they could be melted to prevent unraveling.
cutting open a package of meat for grilling.
cutting open the dog’s monthly flea and tick treatment.
opening letters.
cutting open an old first aid kit with a broken zipper to see what it was like inside. The contents were so degraded that I threw them all away.
stripping the coaxial cable running from our antenna so that I could install a new connector.
digging food scraps out of the crevasses of a child’s booster seat after hosting a missionary family with four children.
cutting a large cardboard box to be used as targets for patterning a shotgun.
opening a shipping box containing the book Where’s the One About the Bobcat. That book contains an index and summaries of all of Patrick F. McManus’ collected short stories.
scrapping corrosion off of battery poles in a TV remote.
opening a box containing an order of Ballistol.
opening a box containing a splitting maul from Motor City Axe.
opening a can of paint using the larger flat screwdriver.
trimming excess wood from a piece of trim that I was installing in the living room.
cutting open a bag of pothole patch to fill a hole in the pole barn floor.

During that time I found that the pocket clip greatly enhanced the utility of the knife. It was much easier to access, and much more comfortable to carry while clipped than while sitting in the bottom of a pocket.

I also found the Innovyx scales to be much easier to grip than the original scales, both in terms of the material from which they are made and in terms of the texture provided by the hexagonal indentations patterned into the surface of the material.

The Perils of a Non-Locking Blade

I had become so accustomed to using EDC knives with locking blades that I was not sufficiently careful with the non-locking blade of the Mechanic. While I was trimming the end of a length of paracord, the blade closed on the index finger of my left hand, producing a deep cut on the top of the second knuckle. I cleaned the wound with liquid hand sanitizer and then covered it with a bandaid from the first aid kit in the pole barn.

That was not enough to stop the bleeding. Next, I put a rubber band around the finger to stop the bleeding, re-cleaned and dried the wound, sealed the wound with superglue, cut off the rubber band, and then covered the wound with a second bandaid.

That was still not enough to prevent the wound from reopening. The problem with a wound on the top of a knuckle is that every time the knuckle bends, the wound wants to reopen. Over the course of the following week, I accidentally reopened the wound on a number of occasions, and left unintentional bloodstains on a number of objects. Finally, after about a week, the wound healed enough that it stopped reopening.

There were also times when I regretted the absence of the one-handed-opening feature of modern EDC knives. As a result, I needed to free up both hands every time I wanted to open the Mechanic. I also needed to remove at least one glove if I was wearing a pair in order to open the knife.

Conclusion

Innovyx scales represent a significant upgrade to the traditional Swiss Army Knife, especially when they include the optional pocket clip. I still prefer a knife that also incorporates a locking blade and that can be opened one handed. But for those who are committed to the Swiss Army Knife platform, Innovyx scales with a pocket clip would be a worthwhile investment.

Disclaimer

Innovyx provided me with a sample of their Carbon Hex 91mm Plus Scales for testing and evaluation. Tortoise Gear had provided me with a sample of their Firefly ferrocerium rod for Swiss Army Knives for a previous review. Motor City Axe loaned me a sample of their splitting maul for an upcoming review. I tried not to allow the kindness of these vendors to interfere with my objectivity, and I believe that I have succeeded. I did not receive any other financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.