DimeRazorback
Flashlight Enthusiast
I don't think it was his fault... I believe it was a manufacturing mistake which is also costing Gene as not many people will by the head now!
New Malkoff Twisty
- Thread starter elumen8
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jahxman
Enlightened
Here's mine:
litetube
Enlightened
Can the light be operated using one hand?
Any chance of a pic in the hand?
Any chance of a pic in the hand?
Gene43
Enlightened
Yes, Yes, Yes, we will be toning down the lettering on the next run. The laser engraving bleaches the black dye leaving white. The black sharpie trick works quite well on these. Any stray marker can be cleaned up with a Q-Tip moistened with rubbing alcohol.
Thanks, Gene
Thanks, Gene
jahxman
Enlightened
It is easily operated with one hand.
Being a twisty, there are three possible threads that could turn to turn this off or on - the threads joining the two parts of the VME head, the threads joining the two parts of the twisty body, and the threads joining the head to the body. When I first loaded the battery, the threads I was turning were the ones seperating the two parts of the body, and subsequently used these to turn the light on and off. This may be the way the light is supposed to be operated, but I prefer another way. When I operate the light by twisting from the threads joining the two parts of the body, this made the body several mm longer and the light would come on quite early, while there was still a lot of travel in the threads. Also the battery would rattle noticably when off, and even a bit when on.
I found that if I made sure the threads joining the two parts of the head and the threads joining the two parts of the body were tightened firmly, my AW RCR123 fit inside the body better, and off and on were controlled by the threads joining the two parts of the light.
When using the threads joining the body and head to turn the light on and off, the contact point is the bottom rim of the drop-in with the end of the body tube (negative), not the spring with the positive button of the cell. This allows the body to be shorter, and the battery is always held snugly with no rattle.
Here's some pics in the hand:
Being a twisty, there are three possible threads that could turn to turn this off or on - the threads joining the two parts of the VME head, the threads joining the two parts of the twisty body, and the threads joining the head to the body. When I first loaded the battery, the threads I was turning were the ones seperating the two parts of the body, and subsequently used these to turn the light on and off. This may be the way the light is supposed to be operated, but I prefer another way. When I operate the light by twisting from the threads joining the two parts of the body, this made the body several mm longer and the light would come on quite early, while there was still a lot of travel in the threads. Also the battery would rattle noticably when off, and even a bit when on.
I found that if I made sure the threads joining the two parts of the head and the threads joining the two parts of the body were tightened firmly, my AW RCR123 fit inside the body better, and off and on were controlled by the threads joining the two parts of the light.
When using the threads joining the body and head to turn the light on and off, the contact point is the bottom rim of the drop-in with the end of the body tube (negative), not the spring with the positive button of the cell. This allows the body to be shorter, and the battery is always held snugly with no rattle.
Here's some pics in the hand:
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Toohotruk
Flashlight Enthusiast
That really looks cool!!! :naughty:
litetube
Enlightened
wow, that looks smaller than I figured based on previous comments. Thanx for putting up pics so quick . It is much appreciated!!!
I am a bit suprised though, so that little thing has 3 threaded areas? I understand the head needs to come apart so as to get the drop in inside of it, but why does that stubby little 1 cell body need to unscrew into 2 pieces? Seems like one more point of possible water intrusion and I wonder if in daily use different sections are gonna loosen and come apart . Since it is a twisty not a clicky, the light will be manipulated more thus causing different sections to come loose over time
I really like the concept here though of a simple compact twisty using Malkoff dropins.
I am a bit suprised though, so that little thing has 3 threaded areas? I understand the head needs to come apart so as to get the drop in inside of it, but why does that stubby little 1 cell body need to unscrew into 2 pieces? Seems like one more point of possible water intrusion and I wonder if in daily use different sections are gonna loosen and come apart . Since it is a twisty not a clicky, the light will be manipulated more thus causing different sections to come loose over time
I really like the concept here though of a simple compact twisty using Malkoff dropins.
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Rothrandir
Flashaholic
The unit is intended to be turned on/off by rotating the 2 body pieces into each other. This is because the e series design relies on the top of the battery tube to make contact with the bottom of the lamp/module/etc with just over 1/4" thread engagement, it was designed by SF to be threaded all the way in and left there, with just enough counterbore for the oring to set in. What that means is that the oring point between the top of the tube and the bottom of the head will not seal properly if unscrewed too far. This 2pc body design allows for the body to be unscrewed far enough to turn the light off (especially when you consider not all batteries are the exact same length) and still retain water resistance.
The best illustration for this would be to compare the SF E series light to an old Arc LS light (for those who have been around long enough to have owned the old Arc...). They both share the same thread pitch but the SF is designed for the tube to remain in a fixed position while the Arc has a much longer space inside the head that allows it's battery pack to be twisted in and out to complete the circuit while keeping the oring engaged all the way.
The best illustration for this would be to compare the SF E series light to an old Arc LS light (for those who have been around long enough to have owned the old Arc...). They both share the same thread pitch but the SF is designed for the tube to remain in a fixed position while the Arc has a much longer space inside the head that allows it's battery pack to be twisted in and out to complete the circuit while keeping the oring engaged all the way.
PoliceScannerMan
Flashaholic
Already have a VME head. Wish I could just buy the tail, these look sweet! :thumbsup:
Great job guys!
Great job guys!
Rothrandir
Flashaholic
Just the bodies (and a bunch of other stuff 
) are available at JSBurly's
) are available at JSBurly's
jahxman
Enlightened
The problem that I run into by using the body threads to turn the light on and off, rather than the threads between the body and head, is that if the contact point is between the spring and button top of the battery, the light turns on several mm longer. This also means that the battery rattles when the light is off, and even a bit when it is on.
If I use the threads between the head and body, the O-ring is still completely covered when off, and there are no rattles at all, because the spring is compressed. This may not be what was intended, but it is the way I will use the light.
Here's some pics of the parts, as you can see there is an o-ring at every thread join. If both the body threads and the head threads are kept tight, then the middle threads turn easily (when lubed) to turn the light on and off and the other threads seem to stay put:
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StandardBattery
Flashlight Enthusiast
I don't know why it took so long for all these details to come out, it's a very interesting idea.
jahxman, thanks for the great photos.
jahxman, thanks for the great photos.
Rothrandir
Flashaholic
Yes, by "setting" the length with the 2pc body you can use the body/head joint with very minimal movement of the oring.
StandardBattery
Flashlight Enthusiast
Is there a spring in the bottom of the tube for - battery contact?
Rothrandir
Flashaholic
In the bottom of the tube there is a bump to make contact with the battery, no spring.
PoliceScannerMan
Flashaholic
Just the bodies (and a bunch of other stuff
Sweet, thanks man! :wave:
Toohotruk
Flashlight Enthusiast
Any guesses as to runtime with an M60, or M30 with an RCR123?
Dead_Nuts
Enlightened
All this discussion about alternative twisting methodologies got me to experimenting. I found that my head could be tightened a great deal more than I had it. When I did so, screwing the battery compartment into the head (or other body aprt as some to be calling it) does exactly what I want. The light comes on at the very end of the threads' travel and there is absolutely no ratlle in any position. The other method mentioned is not easy to do with one hand, but this is. No overtravel at all. I thought I had my head tightened completely, but did not.
Forget what I said before, this is a non-problem.
We will have to agree on what to call the different pieces of this light. There is clearly only one part that holds the battery (battery tube, perhaps). There are 2 pieces that, when screwed together, hold the drop-in in place (I would call this the head). The 'head' consists of a bezel and light-engine compartment. These are my terms and others seem to disagree. But let's at least decide what to call what.
Forget what I said before, this is a non-problem.
We will have to agree on what to call the different pieces of this light. There is clearly only one part that holds the battery (battery tube, perhaps). There are 2 pieces that, when screwed together, hold the drop-in in place (I would call this the head). The 'head' consists of a bezel and light-engine compartment. These are my terms and others seem to disagree. But let's at least decide what to call what.
