How to Make Your Own Victorinox "Style" Keychain for About USD 5.00!

In some cases, we cannot understand why some accessories are so expensive. This keychain is a case. Here in Brazil, it costs about USD 30.00 . All right, all right! You will tell me that it is an excellent keychain, swiss made and with best materials available in the hole word, and I agree. Someday I decide to buy my own of those, but the price is greater than another Swiss Army Knife. I've preferred to buy the knife and make my own keychain :)! I refer to the model 4.18 60 of the catalog.

Let me clarify that THIS INSTRUCTABLE DOES NOT INTENT TO TEACH HOW TO MAKE A "FAKE VICTORINOX KEYCHAIN", BUT A GENERIC KEYCHAIN THAT LOOKS LIKE THAT STYLE. DO NOT USE THIS INTRUCTABLE TO PRODUCE OR SELL ANYTHING AS A VICTORINOX PRODUCT! PLEASE RESPECT TRADEMARKS AND LAWS OK?

As in all my Instructables, I'm sorry about English language mistakes!

Step 1: What Stuffs You Need

This is the materials list you will need to make your keychain:

- 01 large flat carabiner;
- 01 large key ring;
- 01 medium key ring;
- 03 opened iron rings;
- 01 standard carabiner;
- 01 meter (3.28 feet) chain.

You also need a plier to open and close the iron rings, but if you are so strong to do it with your hands, forget the pliers!

A NOTE FOR THE FLAT CARABINER: The flat carabiner is also called "table style" carabiner here in Brazil. I don't know how it is called outside here, but I include a pic of it here. Also, this model was choosed only because it is similar to the original model and anyone of your choice will work fine!

Step 2: Step One - Iron Rings on Large Key Ring

Start your work by insert two iron rings on the large key ring.

Step 3: Step Two: Key Ring on the Large Carabiner

In the next stage you must insert the large key ring (with the two iron rings) on the large flat carabiner.

Step 4: Step Three: Cuting the Short Chain

As in the original model, you must take a chain with 10 rings length. You can cut an amount of chain or only open a ring and separate the 10 rings chain portion.

Step 5: Step Four: Attach the Short Chain to an Iron Ring

The next step is to attach the short chain to an iron ring. Use your pliers (or even your hands if you do not pay attention for the pain!!!) to open the ring, insert the chain on it and close the ring again.

NOTE TO THIS STEP: IF YOUR CARABINER DOESN'T HAVE A MOVABLE TERMINATION THAT ALLOWS THE KEY RING "ROTATE" AND IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW THE ORIGINAL MODEL, THE SHORT CHAIN MUST BE PLACED ON THE RIGHT SIDE.

Step 6: Step Five: Cut the Longest Chain

Now you will need a long chain with 70 rings length, as on the original model. Do the same way to cut or separate the long chain you've used to the short one.

Step 7: Step Six: Place an Iron Ring on the End of the Chain

Now, take the last iron ring and place it on the end of the chain.

Step 8: Step Seven: Attach the Longest Chain on the Key Ring

Now, as you do with the shorter chain, attach the long chain to the key ring, using the iron ring that remains there. Remember that the long chain will have an iron ring on each end.

Step 9: Step Eight: Place the Small Carabiner on the Short Chain

Now is the time to place the small standard carabiner on the short chain. You have noted that this short chain haven't iron ring on the end. I is because that in the original model the carabiner is attached directly on the chain, but you can use another iron ring to place it. If not, open the last ring of the chain and insert the carabiner on that, and close the ring again. I prefer to use pliers than hands to do it!

Step 10: Step Nine and Finish: Place the Key Ring on the Long Chain

This easy step is only to place the medium key ring on the end of the long key chain, on the iron ring. Just place the key ring using your hands... (in this case, I prefer do not use pliers!).

After you finish this step, you can say "Hooray!", because your keychain is ready to use!

Use the short chain with the carabiner to place your Swiss Army Knife and the long chain to place your keys. This long chain is designed for you can use your keys without take your keychain out of the belt. Yet, you can place your Swiss Army Knife in or out your pocket, as you prefer!

I have attached a pic of the original Victorinox model in order to compare the results. I'm sorry about the small pic, but it was the only one I've found!

I hope you enjoy this easy Instructable and I ask you make your comments of this job! If you make one of this with this Instructable, please place a pic if you can.

Best Regards for all!

Comments

[katerlyn]

I am thinking I should take my extra unused dog choke chains and do something like this. Thanks and I enjoyed the language banter...I, too, took a lot of Spanish, but I only get bits and pieces when I hear friends talking. smile.

[Mixster]

Any recommendations on an online place to purchase the materials? Thanks!

[AngelKaita]

Hola!! Buen trabajo!
I know you dont speak spanish, yet its so similar to Portuguese...haha anyway, I really like this idea, and all the instructable
The only thing I would like to ask you, is some ideas of how can I use that.
I mean, I dont really know what can I fit into them or whatever...
Thanks!
Saludos desde México!

[old n grumpy]

Well heck as usual I'm a day late and a dollar short...I have 2 of those key chains and I never thought to post the idea here. I have the long chain with my keys on it and the short chain has my pocket watch. Hiciste un buen trabajo Cesarscavone.

[mynameischeese]

Great 'ibles! Just a tip for your english, stuffs is not a word, you might want to say what things you need, or materials. i love your altoids usb drive!

[cesarscavone]

HAHAHAHAH!!! Thank you very much for your correction! I every time thing that "stuff" is a regular word, because I have seen it in some movies... One of that is Jim Carey living a lier father and his son receive some baseball equipments and he said "BASEBALL STUFFS!!!" Altoids drive is a lucky instructable... Here in Brazil Altoids are very rare and expensive (think about USD 10 each tin). Some day I was join some old "things" (I think in use "stuffs") and I saw myself with some USB drives and an Altoid tin... So, I use my agressive feelings to see how a USB drive looks inside and start to open one by one. And I need to confess you that I hate those white Kingston drives. As I cannot assemble they again, I use the Altoids tin to make a new case for all. I use the mine until today and it makes success whenever I show it. Lets keep chat together, ok? Cheers!

[zzoe]

Actually, using 'stuff' is fine - it IS, indeed a word, and very common in American use. The problem is that STUFF is a word, but STUFFS isn't a word. Allow me to explain. I'm not sure about in Portuguese, but it in English, some nouns are substantive nouns - they can't really be singular or plural because the thing they indicate is always thought of as coming in a group or quantity... For example; Flour, Rice, Fish, Happiness, Air, and... Stuff. You can have, in English, 'a thing' or 'some things', but, though you can have 'stuff', you can't have 'a stuff' or 'some stuffs' It gets weirder - while, normally, 'water' is substantive, you CAN have 'a water' or 'those waters, some waters' etc. IF you ar referring to different kinds of water (e.g. the waters of the Atlantic versus the waters of the Pacific or different bottled waters). So 'thing' can take the plural 's', but 'stuff' can't. Sorry English is such a bizarre language - if i wasn't a native speaker, i doubt that it would make any sense to me, either. I hope this helped. Your English is actually quite good, as is your instructable. Peace.

[mynameischeese]

Wow 10$ a piece!? What is Brazilian money called? It was really hard for me to disassemble my drives too. What kind of food is Brazilian?

[cesarscavone]

Yes... here in Brazil an Altoids tin is about US$ 10 per tin. Our money is called Real (R$) and using international notation is BRL. I never can disassemble a flash drive (here called pendrive) without damage the case. Here in Brazil our food is not so easy to define.

The base of food may differ place to place. Here in São Paulo, our base food is rice, beans, French fries, eggs and beef. This is the very basic food you can find in any restaurant in each corner.

Yet, "pasta" based food (spaghetti and Italian food) is very common here.

Different of USA, our Breakfast is not based in ham or bacon with eggs, or other heavy foods (we see this in movies, do not take me bad!). Here we take breakfast with bread with butter, fruits and milk with coffee or chocolate.

In lunch we have our main food time. Is in lunch we eat that rice, beans, eggs and beefs.

In dinner we repeat that dose or a simple sandwich of cheese, tomatoes and ham is OK, with juice or Coke.

Is rare we have supper, but if we do, we eat a few, like a soup or a sweet pie.

And coffee each 15 minutes! hahahaha! Here the coffee is cheap (about USD 1.50 each 500gm)and we drink coffee many many times a day. In business, we have fresh hot coffee each half hour. After food, a small cup is an obligation. After work another one is good too and in home other many cups... But youngs doesn't drink coffee so many. Only adults drink coffee as I tell (I'm 34).

We have some tipical foods too, like we call "feijoada", that is black beans with pieces of pig (good ones have just noble parts), but "complete ones" have all parts! ALL I mean nose, necks, knees, tail, ears and feet. I HATE COMPLETE FEIJOADA!!!! :p

But you must prove good ones. Look how it looks good here http://retratoserelatos.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/casa-da-feijoada.jpg .

This food is historical because here in Brazil the afro slaves brings it to our culture and Brazil have many afro culture imported to our standards.

But please don't think that Brazil is a place that have lions and tigers walking on the streets, and monkeys on the trees like I heard when I was in Italy.

São Paulo is the fourth largest city of the world, and a city with status of first world in life quality. We have a large pole of technology and many top quality high tech of the world is here.

I'm not telling this with that bad "proud", but its true.

But we have a great misquality: out patriotic feelings are as much 1% of Americans. If our people are proud of be Brazilian as USA people to be Americans, we sure live in a better place. My humble opinion.

Cheers!

[dombeef]

Cool!

[matrix828]

lol nice 'ible! i am english so i might not do this. is that Swiss Army Knife a "Huntsman" knife? i have a Huntsman knife!!! lol

[MKohen]

This is pretty cool. And your english is great! I'm in third year spanish and I still sound like a toddler when I speak or write...

[craig3]

i cant figure out how its used? like it clips onto the belt straps, the pocket knife would just hang out in the open and the long chain would have keys or something on it in the pocket?

[cesarscavone]

The intention of this keychain is you haven't to take it out your belt to use the keys. In the small chain you place your SAK and in the long chain you place your keys. I'm sorry to do not place my own keys to show in picture, ok? My way to use it: I place the keychain on my own belt, and not on the belt straps. The keys are placed into the large right side pocket and the SAK is place on that little pocket, common in almost all jeans. Another way to do is take the long chain out and use the large key ring to place your keys there. Victorinox handles are very easy to scratch, so the intention of this keychain is to keep keys away from the SAK in order to keep it free of scratches. Thank you for your comment! Best Regards!

[craig3]

ah, i understand now. Thank you very much and i really love this instructable, its very well made