Can & bottle openers on knives in 2020, purposeless

I've never gone thirst for lack of a bottle opener. But I have passed on several knives that included a bottle opener.

Cork screw? All the wine I ever drank had a screw cap. I did save a neighbors New Years Eve when he knocked and asked if I had a cork screw- A swiss army knife I had had one.
 
Hickory n steel said:
But do they still have the flat blade driver ?

I know the solo and the gardner are single blade knives with no other functions as are a few others on the list and others that aren't like the day packer ,but as far as I know the only way to get a knife with a flat blade driver and no cap lifter is a TL-29 pattern electricians knife.

Victorinox just doesn't offer what I want and I'm not going to pay more to have it made, I have to just grudgingly live with it and I'm okay with that.
Given the choice I'd do things differently for sure but I can't and its probably best that way.
I'm the kind of person where If I'm paying for one improvement I might as well go all out and pretty soon I start seeking perfection and wind up with a completely different knife, so I'm better off just living with it as is.
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It sounds to me that you would just be better off carrying both a knife and a screwdriver.
 
While it may have been years (decades?) since I've had a beverage that I needed a cap remover before I could enjoy it, I have used the screwdriver portion of that blade many times.
As for the can opener ... the canned foods I could afford (generic and house brands) when I was still preparing my own meals rarely had that new fangled pull tab or key open. SPAM, Sardines, Smoked Oysters, Cuttlefish, and Octopi being the exceptions. Canned shrimp still needed the can opener, if I recall correctly. (no guarantees)
Still, that (one piece) post WW 2 can opener on the Scout/Camp/Demo knife is the best I've found. (The SAK can opener is a close second place.)

Also, the cap lifter/bottle opener and can opener can both be used as a precision scraper. The cap lifter/bottle opener can be used to pry open a can of varnish, stain, or paint. (the leather punch can double as a handy dandy awl) Thus they are worth having, and are not "obsolete", "worthless" or "useless". :)

The one "blade" I've never had much use for is the cork screw. I might have used it once in all my 65 years, and that was back around 1977 when I had a New Years party in which my then live-in girlfriend and I was the only ones (out of 10 people including family members invited) who showed up. (Yes. I learned my lesson. That was the first and last time I attempted to host a party or gathering.)

I've never been much of a wine/champagne drinker ... on the rare occasions I bought wine, it was in a box and had a screw on/off cap. (last box was about a year Anna half ago. No recollection of when the box before that was ... I'd guess it be close to 40 - 43 year ago. It might a been when the boxed wine first hit the market? (it was legal for 18 and over to join the military, learn how to get shot at, how to shoot back, and get a beer(s) and/or shot(s) of Rye whisky, Jack Daniels, or even wormy Tequila, when I bought my first box of wine.)

Until Victorinox brought out/invented that itty bitty screw driver that screws into the cork screw, I had no use for one.
(I still "need" (note quotes) to get one of them itty bitty screw drivers ...)
 
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Triton said:
No kidding? Rather than a purpose built tool?
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Yuppers!! I have NO idea where the corkscrew is at the house or if it works.. my wife also has bad luck with manual can openers . I Kno where both my corkscrew and can opener are at all times.
And the corkscrew keeps tract of my Mini screwdriver that I use to check screws on my glasses or reset my Elog and a cpl other things .
 
Use mine fairly often.
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allenC said:
It sounds to me that you would just be better off carrying both a knife and a screwdriver.
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At work I do and jve always got a small multitool on me anyways.

I have options to get the job done, I would simply be happier if most didn't include a cap lifter but that's just how it Is and I've accepted it.
 
I EDC a Spartan. The bottle opener is a great little pry bar and flat head screwdriver. The can opener is a great metal finger nail and phillips screwdriver. The corkscrew is very useful at opening knots and holds the little eyeglass screwdriver.

I've used them all for their original purposes also. :) All beer here still requires bottle openers, I've broken off loads of ring pulls on cans and some still don't have the ring pull, that's ok at home but not if I'm outdoors. Pulling a cork with the corkscrew was not my favourite activity in comparison to a real corkscrew but it's possible.

You can of course simply remove the opener layer if you want. I did that originally (shown below) before I realised just how useful those tools were for all the uses that they don't advertise. I can't go back now. It's all so darn useful!

sakedcnew_1.jpg


Most of all though. If you just want a knife, buy a knife. There are a zillion out there without anything but a blade.
 
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guy g said:
Yuppers!! I have NO idea where the corkscrew is at the house or if it works.. my wife also has bad luck with manual can openers . I Kno where both my corkscrew and can opener are at all times.
And the corkscrew keeps tract of my Mini screwdriver that I use to check screws on my glasses or reset my Elog and a cpl other things .
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One of the few and the proud.:thumbsup:
 
Of all the tools on my MT's, the one I need the least is the knife blade. I have and often still just tear into things with my hands, fingers, key, etc. I just use the knife since I have it... although I usually have a separate more purpose-built knife if I know I'm going to do real work which requires a blade, e.g. cutting insulation, breaking down super thick cardboard, or even for cutting food. The only time I really need the knife on my MT is when I'm on the road and need to open up a blister pack that's sealed.

When I travel, I usually take one MT, and it has to have a can opener, scissors, and needle nose pliers with wire cutters. It's common for me to eat a can of beans without a pull top lid from the local grocery store when I'm traveling. Some of my ex's preferred wine with dinner where a cork screw comes in handy, especially on trips... not everyone can get away with the box-o-wine on dates. I can't speak for all Europeans, but in my experience they drink a lot more wine, including on outings... considering SAK's are from that area.

When I'm around 'my' friends, the bottle opener comes in handy. I don't drink that often anymore, but will have one now and then when hanging out. Usually they ask me to use my bottle opener since they don't want to run inside the house to get theirs (or mine if we're at my place), e.g. when hanging around the outside grill cooking up steaks or having a cigar.

Around home, I usually use the screwdrivers, pliers, and wire cutters the most.
 
I've never used a bottle opener in my life, I had great difficulty choosing a sak because they always include one, complete waste of space. There's no reason for bottles to require a tool to open these days, stop making the tool and they'll stop making the bottles.
 
My Old Lady's gym had a dinner party for its members one night, and all the beer was of European origin. The gym had no bottle opener. I had my Vic Spartan on me that night. That little Spartan opened dozens of beer bottles. Guess who saved the party? Victorinox Spartan for the win.
 
onewing said:
I've never used a bottle opener in my life, I had great difficulty choosing a sak because they always include one, complete waste of space. There's no reason for bottles to require a tool to open these days, stop making the tool and they'll stop making the bottles.
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I've gotta ask...how old are you?
 
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