Anyone break a SAK? Tell me your story?

M

Mora2013

Joined
Dec 1, 2013
Messages
311
I've got my share of tools, I've abused my share of tools. But not an SAK. The worst Ive done to a SAK is gouge a compact's combo tool on a tight Phillips screw - with the screw head stripping out. Strangely, the SD tip of a classic subsequently took that screw out easily.

My SAKs are usually EDC tools, which means to me, that they're carried to have a few tools when I'm not expecting to need any. There are times where I've started to feel a "flex" the screwdriver on an SAK and stopped, and then deferred to a heavier duty tool.

Anyone willing to share stories of what you've broken? I'm curious as to what and how a failure has occurred.
 
In all these years I've never broken one. The blades and tools tend to bend and deform.
 
Yes, trying to straighten a blade on one I bought cheap.

Wengerinox%2520Sportsman%2520Series.jpg
 
I broke the saw blade on mine 6 years ago.
I was felling an ash sapling approx 2 inches in diameter,
and the wind blew the sapling, pinching the blade just as I pushed.
I suppose I was pushing 'abusing the blade' trying to fell a 15 ft high sapling
I wanted for a pole lathe 'spring'.
I bought it in 1972, so it doesn't owe me anything (SAK is 44 years old now).
Used every day, and still in use today, just not for sawing though.



Also I soldered a loop onto the body where the toothpick used to live,
and added a stronger ring to it. Kept me from losing it many times
via a string/lanyard to my belt (SAK in trouser pocket).
 
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Got my first SAK in 1969. Used the ever lovin' dog poo out of them and no breakage. I always have one around close if not on me, and a SAK has saved me from some situations ranging from a long walk to a long paddle by having a few basic tools. Put a slight bend in a screw driver tool by prying the bead of a tire back on the rim of a BMW R65 in the early 80's. A little careful tapping with a hammer put it almost strait again.

I've had two scales on a keyring classic crack, but they were easy to replace. New scales just pressed on.
 
I've broken or worn out the can opener (not the bottle opener) tips off quite a few Spartans over the years. The tips are small and thin and are very useful for prying and for light duty as Common, Robertson and Phillips screwdrivers. This puts a lot of strain on them if the screws happen to be tight. 40 years ago I snapped off a big blade but that was due to stupidity from trying to separate an already split piece of wood by prying sideways. I do recall losing my balance when that happened; those blades are plenty strong!
They tell me Victorinox will repair broken knives (can somebody confirm this?) and maybe someday I'll unearth my handful of unserviceable SAKs and send them in.
 
300Six said:
They tell me Victorinox will repair broken knives (can somebody confirm this?) and maybe someday I'll unearth my handful of unserviceable SAKs and send them in.
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Yes. Contact the Victorinox Service Center in Monroe, CT.

Email: knife.repair@swissarmy.com
Phone: 800-442-2706
Fax: 203-926-1505
Address:
Swiss Army Brands Service Center
7 Victoria Dr.
Monroe, CT 06468
 
Victorinox is awesome but be careful sending one in for repair if it has sentimental value. A buddy of mine sent one in for repair and they replaced it with a brand new one. Its cool thats they may just give you a new one to replace a worn one but unfortunately the knife he sent in was one of the few gifts he ever received from his dad. He never did get that knife back. So be very specific in your instructions when sending it in!
 
tholiver said:
Victorinox is awesome but be careful sending one in for repair if it has sentimental value. A buddy of mine sent one in for repair and they replaced it with a brand new one. Its cool thats they may just give you a new one to replace a worn one but unfortunately the knife he sent in was one of the few gifts he ever received from his dad. He never did get that knife back. So be very specific in your instructions when sending it in!
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Then he didn't specify it had sentimental value. Vic Service Center instructions even tell you to do so if that's the case.

I sent one in and explained the sentimental value. Was cleaned and given the spa treatment and repaired and retuned repaired. Requested the logo scale not be replaced. They replaced the other scale and returned the original to me with the knife. Cost me nothing excepting the shipment there.

Just give specific instructions re the sentimentality, and they'll take good care of you and your knife.
 
leghog said:
Then he didn't specify it had sentimental value. Vic Service Center instructions even tell you to do so if that's the case.

I sent one in and explained the sentimental value. Was cleaned and given the spa treatment and repaired and retuned repaired. Requested the logo scale not be replaced. They replaced the other scale and returned the original to me with the knife. Cost me nothing excepting the shipment there.

Just give specific instructions re the sentimentality, and they'll take good care of you and your knife.
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Yeah this was almost 10 years ago he's not a knife person and honestly he was surprised that they even offered a repair service. He just never thought they would go that extra mile and replace it so he never mentioned "repair only do not replace". Honest mistake on his part.
 
The most I have done damaging a SAK is trying to cut things like nails and screws unintentionally and chipping the blade. I have used the tools for unscrewing or tightening screws, but you can generally tell when you are starting to stress the knife and I would stop and look for other options. Prying is the other use that will break a blade or a tool on a SAK, but I haven't done so (yet). I could see breaking/cracking a scale dropping the knife as well, but they are pretty tough.
 
Well, I've had one broken for me. On a high school class trip in 1980 a friend of mine asked to use my knife. I handed over my silver alox electrician. When he gave it back to me two minutes later the awl was snapped in half.

After that day, if someone asked to borrow my knife, they were apt to be told no.
 
leghog said:
Yes. Contact the Victorinox Service Center in Monroe, CT.

Email: knife.repair@swissarmy.com
Phone: 800-442-2706
Fax: 203-926-1505
Address:
Swiss Army Brands Service Center
7 Victoria Dr.
Monroe, CT 06468
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Far out! I wonder if these guys stock the old style small blades that I prefer (covet, in fact!) to what they switched over to in the 1980s. I am entirely a utility user and can't say nice enough things about the handiness of SAKs and if 50 years of EDC (and physical use) isn't enough then I don't know what to say. I was a young lad when I got the first SAK (found it in the grass of a public pool in 1965, to be honest) and wasn't long in tossing the clumsy-bulkier 'official' Boy Scout version of whatever equivalent was available at the time.
Rural school kids used to play 'stretch' at one time (1960s the way I remember it) which involved sticking a tossed knife in the ground as close to your competitor as possible and then their having to move over to see how close they could get to you. I wound up giving up on that game because I couldn't see 'scratching the paint' (forcefully sticking a sharp knife in the dirt) on my carefully honed and treasured SAK. Either I'd begun to grow up or the value I attributed to a pocket knife had increased.
Anyway, this all happened a long time ago.
 
300Six said:
Rural school kids used to play 'stretch' at one time (1960s the way I remember it) which involved sticking a tossed knife in the ground as close to your competitor as possible and then their having to move over to see how close they could get to you. I wound up giving up on that game because I couldn't see 'scratching the paint' (forcefully sticking a sharp knife in the dirt) on my carefully honed and treasured SAK. Either I'd begun to grow up or the value I attributed to a pocket knife had increased.
Anyway, this all happened a long time ago.
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Urban kids also. A city boy, I played many a game of 'stretch' in the '50s, a prime use for my Imperial Schrade Kamp King. I bought that thing at age 12, carried it 15 years, gave it to a girl friend (who promptly lost it) and replaced it with a SAK. Haven't played a game of 'stretch' since.
 
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