Changing opinion.

[1Tracker]

Wow, JK, I have no words. I remember us having this discussion about whether SAKs can or cannot become personal, and I remember asking you if your dad had carried a SAK rather then a Case, if it would make a difference. Well, my friend, I am glad to read what you wrote. It is interesting, though, how things change right before your eyes and you don't even realize it, isn't it? I MYSELF never thought I'd see the day where I'd have you talking about a SAK on a personal level. I love mine, and yes, the Super Tinker is a dime a dozen, but....... I guess it's like the Marines chanted in Full Metal Jacket "This is MY rifle. There are many like it but THIS one is MINE!!!!" Knives, and most posessions for that matter, being what they are, only gain value through use. Those scratches, dents, dings, etc., is what makes an object, a knife in this case, our own. We can remember when that scratch happened. We can remember the time the knife fell and got a dent in the handle. We remember the time we were sharpening the blade, slipped, and put a big mark on the side of it. These marks are the stories of our lives, and they are what make these tools our friends. Glad to see you've come around my friend.
Ok, so I had a few words.

JK, you and EL just stated my feelings about why I like having a pocketknife in my pocket and a beltknife on my belt. It's the familiarity that you get from daily use and it's undying servitude to you. It's the care you use while using a knife, and the careful cleaning and oiling after use that makes it 'mine'.

 

[LukeC]

How's this for a way of looking at it: A nice slip-joint can come with character, and gain more with time. SAKs don't really come with it, but they can recieve it. Sounds corny, but it's what I've been getting from this thread...

 

[sixgunner455]

Well, I grew up with carbon steel pocket knives, and blued steel/wood guns. My father could not understand why I wanted a stainless steel pocket knife, but bought me two: a Case Muskrat (lost shortly after it started becoming MY KNIFE) and an SAK Tinker (ditto). Both lost before I was 20.

I bought my replacement SAK Tinker my first weekend at AIT, since I could finally have a knife again after 2+ months without at Basic. I went to the PX and could get a red one or a green camo one. Green camo one looked odd, so I went with the red. It's been all over the world with me since. I realized recently that, instead of being the beater I could easily replace, I would likely be upset if I lost it. Scars, scabs, scratches, slight twist to the tip of one of the screwdrivers when I *really* needed to turn a screw one night in Afghanistan. All are memories of places and things and people, and while the knife itself could be replaced easily and relatively cheaply, the things this one reminds me of would be still there, but changed. Sometimes I think of getting a Mechanic, so I can have pliers w/the knife w/o carrying a 2 pound multitool, but then I would not be staying loyal to my friend that has been so loyal to me.

My blue Copperhead I've posted a couple of times, came to me when I was on R&R from the combat zone. It was a rebellion against all the ugly black knives I saw (and used in addition to the SAK). I wanted a nice knife, one that was pretty and had a bone handle, and it was a reminder that things at home are not the same as life in the sand pit.

Those are the two knives I carry most, frequently at the same time. Both of them are MINE.

So I see where jackknife is coming from. Sentimentality is alive and well, I guess!

 

[Ron53]

I have several SAKs that have accumulated sentimantal value to me over the past 30 years. I have a black-handled one that was picked up at a NATURE Company Store, with a nickel silver inlay of a rabbit on the opposite side from the Swiss Cross, and that has accompanied me on many adventures. Another is the Wenger Soldier picked up in 1997 when I was working in South America, as well as the Huntsman without the tweezers and toothpick picked up at the Puente Aereo in Bogota in 1998.

 

[Dave_Markowitz]

Last December, I posted this on my blog:

In Praise of the Non-Tactical Pocketknife
For most of the past 10 years my pocketknife has been a "tactical" folder. First, it was a Spyderco Delica. When I lost the Delica (found it 3 months later) a few years ago, I replaced it with a Benchmade Griptilian. I've been very happy with both knives. They are well made, hold a nice edge, lock securely, and need only one hand to open.

Last weekend I dug out my old Victorinox Pioneer Swiss Army Knife (SWAK). I've had this since sometime in the early '80s. Unlike the current production silver-colored Pioneers the aluminum handle scales on mine have a red oxide finish. It has a spear point blade, bottle opener, can opener, large and small screwdriver blades, a wire stripper notch on the bottle opener, a reamer/awl, and a key ring. It's the same as the real issue SWAK or "Soldier," with the exception of the key ring. Picking up the Pioneer felt like getting reacquainted with an old friend.

I carried my SWAK for years. It accompanied me on a six week trip to Europe in 1984, following me behind the Iron Curtain into Hungary and Yugoslavia and back. I've used it to cut stuff, tighten and loosen screws, pop open sodas and beers, and poke holes in things with the reamer. In other words, it can do a lot more than a knife with only a blade.

My job is in an office pushing bits and bytes around. Dress is business casual. I'd look goofy with a multitool on my belt. Like it or not, fashion can influence knife choice. (And I'm hardly a fashion plate.) And as for tacticality, the closest I have to training in knfe fighting is a semester of fencing in college, close to 20 years ago.

So, Sunday I checked the edge (still shaving sharp after a few years languishing in the handlebar bag on my mountain bike, out in a shed) and sprayed out some dust with some Superlube dry teflon lubricant from a can, and since then I've been carrying the Pioneer instead of my Benchmade. It fits nicely in my pocket like it belongs there and offers more functionality than the Griptilian. The only real advantage the latter has is one-hand opening.

I'm liking having my old friend with me once again. I may even order another one or two to stash away for the future or in an emergency kit.

Since posting, I've acquired one more Pioneer for each of my family's vehicles and a Vic Farmer which has largely supplanted the old Pioneer for EDC.