How many of you use only a Vic Classic for EDC and do you feel underknifed with it? I have a classic and several full size Vics, the full size SAKs are of course more useful but I would like to be able to EDC a small package like the Classic without feeling underknifed too often so please give me your comments.
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100% Vic Classic
- Thread starter pluto
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2006
- Messages
- 72
The small Vic models are nice and give you good, sharp blades and scissors in a very small package (I have a Classic SD attached to my keyring), but regular SAK's are a lot sturdier. In my opinion, if weight is an important factor to you, a Spartan would be the best choice. It's simple, sturdy, not expensive and light as a feather. I carry a Handyman and I love it, but I'm planning to buy a Spartan just because of its weight: with summer coming, I don't want my shorts to slip down because of that Handyman beast.
I periodically find a Vic Classic on my Keychain, but there's no way it would be my only EDC. It's better than nothing but I would definetely like something a little bigger and more useful.
TheEuropean makes a good suggestion on the Spartan. If you don't have a use for a corkscrew and don't want a precision screwdriver attachment, the Tinker may be a better way to go. You may also be ineterested in looking at a Vic Bantam as well. Also, the Vic Sportsman and Wenger Commander are very similar featurwise to the Spartan except in lieu of a small knife blade they have a comparably sized nail file.
TheEuropean makes a good suggestion on the Spartan. If you don't have a use for a corkscrew and don't want a precision screwdriver attachment, the Tinker may be a better way to go. You may also be ineterested in looking at a Vic Bantam as well. Also, the Vic Sportsman and Wenger Commander are very similar featurwise to the Spartan except in lieu of a small knife blade they have a comparably sized nail file.
Last year I did a "field test" and EDC'd nothing but a SAK classic for about one month. It accomplished just about everything I needed it to do and never failed me. It is however well used and sharpened down a bit ,but otherwise functions perfectly. I carry regular sized SAKs now, but the small classic will work for most cutting chores you would normally come across.
I did something similar a couple years ago. I used the classic on my key ring for a month strait, making an effort not to use the regular size pocket knife I also had on me.
With the exeption of food use, like cutting a sub sandwich in half, the little classic really did 99% of what I had to cut. But then in recent years I've downsized my edc cutlery to knives like the Case yellow CV peanut, and the 84mm sak's like the small tinker and recruit. The past three months I've been edc'ing a Buck Hartsook with a 1 3/4 inch blade and it's done as well as the classic.
Think of all those old guys who got by in years past with those tiny 2 blade pen knives.
Never under estimate a classic. It's one of the best sak's there is.
The Case yellow CV peanut looks nice
, it is however made of high carbon steel, do you ave any problems with rust?Right now I have three or 4 classics acquired via ebay bulk lot purchases. For their extreme tinyness and lightness they are useful but i rarely carry one. I tend to give them away to non-knife people who would generally never think of carrying a knife. The fact that they can easily carry one on a keychain and the "cute" factor usually convinces them to try it out.
I am a SAK-aholic (i have close to 30 of them) but usually for keychain or neck carry i use a leatherman micra. However lately i've been carrying a 74mm Vic Executive on my keychain. It has two blades/scissors/file and strange little fruit peeler screwdriver thingy (which is actually kinda useful).
The executive and micra are about equal in usefulness. If you need a knife more than scissors get the Executive, but if scissors are your thing then get a micra, micra scissors are a little bigger and at least as useful as the saks. Really the executive is a primarily a knife with other tools while the micra is primarily scissors with additional tools. The micra is slower than the executive because you have to unfold it to get access to everything. One thing that bugs me is why can't they shoehorn a canopener in the micro multi's and small SAK's?
Personally if i was limited to one sak for edc i would choose 84mm or 91mm or even the 111mm frame size. A 84mm (1 or 2 layer) is manageable on a keychain. If you can live without scissors and a saw then a 84mm 2 layer recruit/tourist or 1 layer 84mm waiter will do just about everything you need a pocket knife to do.
My 84mm recruit was my primary carry for about 6 years, it is probably the most "used" knife i own. I think the 1 layer 84mm waiter is the ideal ultra minimalist sak, or if you prefer alox the 84mm alox bantam.
I am a SAK-aholic (i have close to 30 of them) but usually for keychain or neck carry i use a leatherman micra. However lately i've been carrying a 74mm Vic Executive on my keychain. It has two blades/scissors/file and strange little fruit peeler screwdriver thingy (which is actually kinda useful).
The executive and micra are about equal in usefulness. If you need a knife more than scissors get the Executive, but if scissors are your thing then get a micra, micra scissors are a little bigger and at least as useful as the saks. Really the executive is a primarily a knife with other tools while the micra is primarily scissors with additional tools. The micra is slower than the executive because you have to unfold it to get access to everything. One thing that bugs me is why can't they shoehorn a canopener in the micro multi's and small SAK's?
Personally if i was limited to one sak for edc i would choose 84mm or 91mm or even the 111mm frame size. A 84mm (1 or 2 layer) is manageable on a keychain. If you can live without scissors and a saw then a 84mm 2 layer recruit/tourist or 1 layer 84mm waiter will do just about everything you need a pocket knife to do.
My 84mm recruit was my primary carry for about 6 years, it is probably the most "used" knife i own. I think the 1 layer 84mm waiter is the ideal ultra minimalist sak, or if you prefer alox the 84mm alox bantam.
The only thing they give me trouble with it extensive whittling and food chores. Whittling the blade cuts into the wood very well, but it's just not very comfortable if you're doing a lot of shaping and the thin blade can bend without much lateral pressure. Functions, just not the best. For food, the shortness of blade makes it difficult to cut off slices of bread, cut an apple in half etc. Otherwise very capable knives that do indeed handle most of what you need a knife for.
The Case yellow CV peanut looks nice
I appoligize pluto for taking so long to respond to your question. I just now looked back here.
To answear you- no there has been no rust problems, even though I have used this knife under what some would call abusive conditions. Last summer I used it for my main edc, and that included fishing with my grandson. The peanut was used for cutting bait, gutting panfish, and swished around in the lake for cleaning. This was in addition to any uses an edc pocket knife got put to. It did get some really good patina on the blades, kind of an irridesent blue/grey. I don't know if it was the fish guts or what. But the knife was cleaned with warm soapy water when we got home, then a shot of Hoppys gun oil in the joint. Then a good stropping on leather to touch up the blade. I've been a kick to see how small a knife I can get away with. My dad used a Case peanut for his whole life as his main edc, and only now do I realize how smart he really was.
So far the peanut has been a great knife.
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2007
- Messages
- 950
But then you go to a knife shop that sells old knives, and half (or more) of those little pen knives are messed up -- sprung springs, scales spread and the hinge pin bent, etc. If you're going to go the minimalist route, you have to pick a quality knife, and then be smart about how you use it.
I don't mind a smaller blade -- one of my favorite knives ever is a jack with a 2" or so pen blade next to the main blade, and that is the blade that I will almost always use most. But I have a full-size handle to hold onto (fit is very important to me), strong springs, and stout hinge to back me up if I have to use it a little bit harder than a penknife can really handle.
The other night, I had an old Kent penknife in my pocket at dinner. Thinking about this thread, I pulled it out to cut my steak instead of my jack. Did fine. Had to hold the knife like a scalpel, but it did just fine.