A month with multitools

StuntDouble

StuntDouble

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2004
Messages
2,414
I decided to challenge myself starting with the first of the month. I'm going to put away all my dedicated folders, and limit my daily carry to SAK's and Multitools. Lately I've been saying that a Swiss Army knife or Leatherman could be the only thing that I carry, so I've decided to put my money where my mouth is. I'll likely stick with the Leatherman Free T4 for work, since I can disassemble it when it starts getting grungy and rusty, and switch between my Spartan and Huntsman for outside of work carry. Or, maybe I'll just carry the Rambler when I'm off from work.

I'll be curious to see if I actually miss having a regular folder on me, or if I find I can't live without it. Looking at what I've been doing the past couple weeks, this might not be all that difficult. I'd ask if anyone else is interested in participating, but I imagine most of the folks on here already do this on a daily basis without even thinking about it.
 
I think the one thing I'll miss is the rust resistance. I've gotten spoiled by my Boye knife and Spyderco's H1/LC200N, especially in my work environment. All these multitools have so many nooks and crannies for salt water to seep into, and I'd rather not have my stuff dripping in oil.
 
StuntDouble said:
I decided to challenge myself starting with the first of the month. I'm going to put away all my dedicated folders, and limit my daily carry to SAK's and Multitools. Lately I've been saying that a Swiss Army knife or Leatherman could be the only thing that I carry, so I've decided to put my money where my mouth is. I'll likely stick with the Leatherman Free T4 for work, since I can disassemble it when it starts getting grungy and rusty, and switch between my Spartan and Huntsman for outside of work carry. Or, maybe I'll just carry the Rambler when I'm off from work.

I'll be curious to see if I actually miss having a regular folder on me, or if I find I can't live without it. Looking at what I've been doing the past couple weeks, this might not be all that difficult. I'd ask if anyone else is interested in participating, but I imagine most of the folks on here already do this on a daily basis without even thinking about it.
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Be veeeery careful there, StuntDouble!

I've done just this, and no surprise, I didn't miss my dedicated knife at all. A pocket knife/folder of any kind is just a knife. A one trick pony. But a SAK or Leatherman is a bundle of solutions to a host of little problems that pop up in day to day life.

With a SAK in the pocket or on the keyring, I feel no need for a dedicated knife very often.
 
jackknife said:
Be veeeery careful there, StuntDouble!

I've done just this, and no surprise, I didn't miss my dedicated knife at all. A pocket knife/folder of any kind is just a knife. A one trick pony. But a SAK or Leatherman is a bundle of solutions to a host of little problems that pop up in day to day life.

With a SAK in the pocket or on the keyring, I feel no need for a dedicated knife very often.
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That might not be such a bad thing. It's certainly a lot cheaper to replace a Swiss Army knife. I really can't think of too many tasks I do with the dedicated knife that SAK couldn't handle.
 
I don't think you'll have any problems carrying a " Swiss Army knife " since it is after all a pocket knife first and foremost, they are in my opinion a dedicated knife in every sense.

Multitools are a different because they definitely aren't a dedicated knife, for me they are not a pocket knife at all but of course everybody is different.
 
StuntDouble said:
That might not be such a bad thing. It's certainly a lot cheaper to replace a Swiss Army knife. I really can't think of too many tasks I do with the dedicated knife that SAK couldn't handle.
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Thats because there isn't any task. As much as I love my Case peanut, and the heritage I had with my dad carrying a Case peanut, I had to admit that I wasn't doing anything with it that I couldn't do with a SAK classic or executive, or cadet, or alox bantam. But the reverse is not true. That time I was out in the middle of nowhere, and my Vespa motor scooter conked out suddenly, I found the problem but would have been up the creek with no way to deal with a Phillips screw. Or the time the control stick on the trolling motor came apart in my hand out at the far end of a long and winding lake, I used a SAK to put it back together. A dedicated pocket knife would not have got me home in either case.

I can't count the times I was off someplace, and just having some basic screw driving capability got me home within ordeal. A pocket knife is just a one trick pony, but a SAK is a small bundle of choices and repair capability in a pocket size package.
 
StuntDouble said:
I decided to challenge myself starting with the first of the month. I'm going to put away all my dedicated folders, and limit my daily carry to SAK's and Multitools. Lately I've been saying that a Swiss Army knife or Leatherman could be the only thing that I carry, so I've decided to put my money where my mouth is. I'll likely stick with the Leatherman Free T4 for work, since I can disassemble it when it starts getting grungy and rusty, and switch between my Spartan and Huntsman for outside of work carry. Or, maybe I'll just carry the Rambler when I'm off from work.

I'll be curious to see if I actually miss having a regular folder on me, or if I find I can't live without it. Looking at what I've been doing the past couple weeks, this might not be all that difficult. I'd ask if anyone else is interested in participating, but I imagine most of the folks on here already do this on a daily basis without even thinking about it.
Click to expand...
I will be interested in your results. For myself I rarely carry a modern folder. I carry a Rambler and Nite-ize Doohickey (mainly because it is $5) on my keys. I could probably do 90% of daily tasks with this combo however I do carry a SAK Climber or a Case Mini-Copperlock for the other 10%.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I don't think you'll have any problems carrying a " Swiss Army knife " since it is after all a pocket knife first and foremost, they are in my opinion a dedicated knife in every sense.

Multitools are a different because they definitely aren't a dedicated knife, for me they are not a pocket knife at all but of course everybody is different.
Click to expand...

I guess I’ve always lumped SAK’s under multitools because, well, they contain multiple tools.

SteeleJ1976 said:
I will be interested in your results. For myself I rarely carry a modern folder. I carry a Rambler and Nite-ize Doohickey (mainly because it is $5) on my keys. I could probably do 90% of daily tasks with this combo however I do carry a SAK Climber or a Case Mini-Copperlock for the other 10%.
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If not for some of the heavier cutting tasks I deal with, I could likely get by with just the Rambler.
 
StuntDouble said:
If not for some of the heavier cutting tasks I deal with, I could likely get by with just the Rambler.
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As much as I love the 58mm classic as my EDC, sometimes there is some heavier cutting. For that, I augment the 58mmSAK with the Victorinox florist. I love, love love the florist for heavy cutting because that thin ground chisel blade cuts like an Opinel, but without the fussiness The sheepfoot gives a sharp point if you use it an an angle, and its a very rugged piece that can take heavy use. With a 58mm and the florist knife, I feel well equipped for the day.

Did I mention that it cuts like the dickens?
 
jackknife said:
As much as I love the 58mm classic as my EDC, sometimes there is some heavier cutting. For that, I augment the 58mmSAK with the Victorinox florist. I love, love love the florist for heavy cutting because that thin ground chisel blade cuts like an Opinel, but without the fussiness The sheepfoot gives a sharp point if you use it an an angle, and its a very rugged piece that can take heavy use. With a 58mm and the florist knife, I feel well equipped for the day.

Did I mention that it cuts like the dickens?
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We actually had a bunch of those Victorinox Gardener knives at work, and I would reprofile and sharpen them every time I got the chance. It got to the point that I started writing warnings on the handles, because people had gotten used to using them when they were dull. They would get what I called "queasy sharp", because I dread to think what would have happened if someone slipped up using one.
 
StuntDouble said:
We actually had a bunch of those Victorinox Gardener knives at work, and I would reprofile and sharpen them every time I got the chance. It got to the point that I started writing warnings on the handles, because people had gotten used to using them when they were dull. They would get what I called "queasy sharp", because I dread to think what would have happened if someone slipped up using one.
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You don't even want to know what I did to the tip of my finger one day with the Gardner I had as a teenager.
If I remember correctly I was cutting some leather along a ruler, and it skipped across the top and well let's just say that finger is technically a hair shorter than it used to be.
 
StuntDouble said:
We actually had a bunch of those Victorinox Gardener knives at work, and I would reprofile and sharpen them every time I got the chance. It got to the point that I started writing warnings on the handles, because people had gotten used to using them when they were dull. They would get what I called "queasy sharp", because I dread to think what would have happened if someone slipped up using one.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean by queasy sharp. I feel the same way about Opinels after I did a really good cut on my left index finger in 1983. Seven stitches from a blink of an eye of carelessness with a number 8 Opinel. I gained a lot of respect for Opinels that night. The Vic garden knife gets as sharp. 😮
 
I don't even have a "dedicated folder". The only single-blade folding knives that I have are Opinels and a Victorinox florist.


No, wait. I also have a Case Toothpick.

StuntDouble said:
I think the one thing I'll miss is the rust resistance. I've gotten spoiled by my Boye knife and Spyderco's H1/LC200N, especially in my work environment. All these multitools have so many nooks and crannies for salt water to seep into, and I'd rather not have my stuff dripping in oil.
Click to expand...
You might have a problem with a SAK in a salt water environment. The stainless steel is very rust-resistant, but the aluminum liners will corrode. I left a SAK in the pocket of my fishing vest one time....
 
Ever since I got my Leather bond pocket clip I have pretty much carried just the bond. Very comfortable in the pocket and I really have hard time leaving it out since it offers much more function than just a knife (especially now that we have winter = more complications). I use my knife really rarely to need quick access knife anyway. For work I have box cutters that are quick to get and at home I have my knives laying around for random tasks.
 
hsherzfeld said:
I don't even have a "dedicated folder". The only single-blade folding knives that I have are Opinels and a Victorinox florist.


No, wait. I also have a Case Toothpick.


You might have a problem with a SAK in a salt water environment. The stainless steel is very rust-resistant, but the aluminum liners will corrode. I left a SAK in the pocket of my fishing vest one time....
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I think that's why I'll stick with the Leatherman Free T4 at work. All stainless, and it can be taken down for cleaning.
 
I went for about 2 months this past summer with nothing more than a pioneer and rambler combo, or a swisschamp. Didn't really miss having a dedicated folder. I have since gone back to carrying one along with the pioneer and rambler, but that's because I waited a year for the knife and I just like it. I could and probably will return to victorinox only in the future.
 
Well, I'm just under 9 hours away from putting away the folders for the next 31 days.

Here's the bunch I get to pull from for the next month:

ElhEsDVh.jpg
 
StuntDouble said:
Well, I'm just under 9 hours away from putting away the folders for the next 31 days.

Here's the bunch I get to pull from for the next month:

ElhEsDVh.jpg
Click to expand...
Well there goes another knife buyer because...
...that bunch should be more than sufficient.
Personally I'm with Wild Willie, carrying a SAK (or two) as an EDC while pocketing a traditional (quite often) but just because I like them, the traditionals rarely gets used.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS!!! 🥳
 
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