The advantages of keeping your knife or Multi-Tool inside a custom made "Cocoon" are many. It keeps the item from accumulating pocket lint. It stops bangs and dents from marring the tool, which is an inevitable result of general pocket carrying. It quietens things down in your pocket somewhat as the Cocoon adds sound-deadening qualities. And it prevents wear to any other items that share the same pocket. A Cocoon adds very little thickness or bulk, and the tool or knife can be extracted from its Cocoon very quickly indeed. To my mind, there are so many advantages that I make a Cocoon for every knife or tool that I carry frequently.
Here's how to make one.
Take the tool/knife, and try slipping it inside Electrical shrink-tubing. It needs to slide in, without undue force, and not be a really sloppy fit. Shrink-tubing is available cheaply in a huge variety of diameters, usually sold by the foot, on Ebay. For my Vic Compact here, I found that 20mm diameter tubing was perfect. Cut the tubing about 1/4 inch longer than the knife. The extra will form around the ends of the knife after molding, increasing retention, and reducing wear and tear on the very ends of the tool. Take some Priority Mail tape, and wrap 2 thicknesses around the whole knife. Smooth it out as best you can.
Look at the tool/knife in profile, and imagine trying to extract it from a form-fitting tube. You'll want the greater volume to be at the end that you mold first. I have found that all my Victorinox knives extract easiest by pulling on their keyring attachments, so I always make my Cocoons with the keyring on what will end up being the open end of the Cocoon, with the keyring at the bottom. Slide the tool/knife into the tubing after rubbing a little light oil on to the Priority Mail tape. Without the oil, you will have a very hard time extracting the knife/tool.
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Now, I use a cigarette lighter, with a medium to low flame for this next part. I guess a Heat Gun would be best, but I don't have one. A lighter allows for a more precise heat application anyway. I apply heat to the tubing, not too close, not too far, constantly moving the flame, till the tubing contracts tightly around just the "tight half" of the knife/tool (the end of the tool that you envision extracting it by). Don't do more than half of the length.
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Stop heating the tube, let it cool a minute or two, then, using a toothbrush end, or a small dowel, push out the knife tool. Remembering the orientation of the tube to the knife/tool, cut a small slit, with a rounded end (otherwise the tube may tear with use). This slit will permit the tube to give enough, and you'll be able to get the knife/tool in/out easily soon.
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Return the knife/tool to the tube, in the correct orientation, and repeat the heating process to shrink down the whole tube till it fits seamlessly, and without lose areas.
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Next, pull out the knife/tool through the slit you made. It should slide out reasonably easily. Remember, it still has the Priority Mail Tape on it, when you remove this, it'll slide easier still. Remove the Tape, and the Cocoon and knife/tool will look like this.
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Finally, carefully trim the Cocoon around its opening for neatness, and check for fit as you slide the knife/tool in several times. I find that making small changes slowly is best. You can never add material back on !! Also, the best scissors to use are the tiny scissors on Vic Classic's, Rambler's, MiniChamp's etc. Tight circular cuts are best made in an anti-clockwise direction. Lastly, the area that often gets caught up with Victorinox knives, is the area around the corkscrew (if your knife has one). The most central first wind of the corkscrew catches easily on the thin shrink-tubing, and I usually pare back the tubing in this area till the corkscrew clears easily.
Remove the oil on the inside of the tubing with a cloth, and check for final fit. You have something that probably looks like this:
.JPG)
If you still have issues with the Cocoon being too tight a fit, you can try paring away a little more on the areas that might be catching, or I have also used a very small amount of Baby Powder rubbed in to the inside of the Cocoon.
Conversely, if the fit should be too lose for you, put the knife into the Cocoon (without the Priority Mail tape on it), and gently warm an area of the tubing till you see it start to contract a little more. Keep checking for tightness, Don't overdo this part.
If you want to hide the lettering that runs the length of the Cocoon, you can use a black Sharpie, or sometimes the lettering will easily buff off with a little metal polish.
Look at the tool/knife in profile, and imagine trying to extract it from a form-fitting tube. You'll want the greater volume to be at the end that you mold first. I have found that all my Victorinox knives extract easiest by pulling on their keyring attachments, so I always make my Cocoons with the keyring on what will end up being the open end of the Cocoon, with the keyring at the bottom. Slide the tool/knife into the tubing after rubbing a little light oil on to the Priority Mail tape. Without the oil, you will have a very hard time extracting the knife/tool..JPG)
Now, I use a cigarette lighter, with a medium to low flame for this next part. I guess a Heat Gun would be best, but I don't have one. A lighter allows for a more precise heat application anyway. I apply heat to the tubing, not too close, not too far, constantly moving the flame, till the tubing contracts tightly around just the "tight half" of the knife/tool (the end of the tool that you envision extracting it by). Don't do more than half of the length.
.JPG)
Stop heating the tube, let it cool a minute or two, then, using a toothbrush end, or a small dowel, push out the knife tool. Remembering the orientation of the tube to the knife/tool, cut a small slit, with a rounded end (otherwise the tube may tear with use). This slit will permit the tube to give enough, and you'll be able to get the knife/tool in/out easily soon.
.JPG)
Return the knife/tool to the tube, in the correct orientation, and repeat the heating process to shrink down the whole tube till it fits seamlessly, and without lose areas.
.JPG)
Next, pull out the knife/tool through the slit you made. It should slide out reasonably easily. Remember, it still has the Priority Mail Tape on it, when you remove this, it'll slide easier still. Remove the Tape, and the Cocoon and knife/tool will look like this.
.JPG)
Finally, carefully trim the Cocoon around its opening for neatness, and check for fit as you slide the knife/tool in several times. I find that making small changes slowly is best. You can never add material back on !! Also, the best scissors to use are the tiny scissors on Vic Classic's, Rambler's, MiniChamp's etc. Tight circular cuts are best made in an anti-clockwise direction. Lastly, the area that often gets caught up with Victorinox knives, is the area around the corkscrew (if your knife has one). The most central first wind of the corkscrew catches easily on the thin shrink-tubing, and I usually pare back the tubing in this area till the corkscrew clears easily.
Remove the oil on the inside of the tubing with a cloth, and check for final fit. You have something that probably looks like this:
.JPG)
If you still have issues with the Cocoon being too tight a fit, you can try paring away a little more on the areas that might be catching, or I have also used a very small amount of Baby Powder rubbed in to the inside of the Cocoon.
Conversely, if the fit should be too lose for you, put the knife into the Cocoon (without the Priority Mail tape on it), and gently warm an area of the tubing till you see it start to contract a little more. Keep checking for tightness, Don't overdo this part.
If you want to hide the lettering that runs the length of the Cocoon, you can use a black Sharpie, or sometimes the lettering will easily buff off with a little metal polish.
