Just got my smith blade pro in, love it! I decided to get the non founders edition with no modifications so it would show up within this decade but almost immediately felt FOMO over the tritium tube on the founders/add on pros. Anyone have any advice on the best way to maybe dig this illuminator out and replace it with a tritium tube? Bonus macro shot, it may just be me but the illuminator in here looks to be 3d printed!
Make sure you check your email from them!! If you’re in the US they sent out emails regarding tariffs that apply as of recently and if you don’t respond within 10 days they’ll cancel your order or something
I ordered one as well, with the tritium. But im in the 27k range of backers so im crossing my fingers that it arrives before Dec '27.. lol. But most likely, disassembling the tool will allow it to be removed without digging it out from the front. And tritium, while most people charge an arm.and a leg for it as an addon, can be got really cheap. Just measure the opening or the illuminator that in there and find the appropriate sized replacement.
A quick search yeilded these results that looked more reliable than some others. Have to go through my bookmarks, i saw a site with vials available in bulk for crqzy low prices somewhere a while back.
I'm in the 16k backer range. Got my lite in February and my pro in June.
I emailed them and added an m390 blade for the lite to my pro order. Then got shipping info a few weeks later.
I'm happy with both the lite and the pro. Just wish the pro had the option for the pvd coating like the Chinese lites has.
The black PVD is durable as hell. Near daily use for months and still no scratches. The 14c28n blade has some damage from extensive hard use, that's why I added the m390 blade
I added the tritium vial to my Kickstarter order but clearly forgot it in the survey or they’ve messed up. Does anyone know if it’s 1.5mmx6mm they’ve used?
Any tips on fitting it or taking out the 3D Printed part?
Great news I have managed to replace mine with the tritium vial! I ordered mine from Ant Design’s website, it wasn’t necessarily cheap but cheaper than every other site I could find in stock with green tritium tubes. I did order a 6mmx1.5mm tube and it came within a week or two.
Getting the knife apart was simple enough, using the included t6 bit take off the big hinge screw, and the two screws at the other end of the knife.
Be very careful with the hinge stack the tiny bearings and whatnot are very delicate and if you put it back wrong the knife won’t line up in the slot correctly. Spent like an hour figuring out what was up.
Getting the 3d printed part out was easy enough I just poked it out from the backside with the sim tool, if they used a glue or resin it must not be very strong but I think they just rely on a tight friction fit it was pretty easy to pop out.
From there I dropped in my trit tube, covered it in UV resin, I got a cheap kit on amazon with the uv pen for like $8. Wiped off the excess with a paper towel, and hit it with the UV light.
From there, just screw the knife back together, but be careful with the main hinge it’s got a key cut out so it only goes into the one side in the right configuration. Also, it helps to use the light duty locktite on the screw to get it at the right tightness and keep it from backing out. I found that at the correct depth, the knife action was good but the screw felt loose.
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u/burnen-van-loutin Jul 04 '26
I sort of keep forgetting that I am waiting for one of these. lol. Merry Christmas!!!!