Discussion on practical SAK configs

S

Steelwolf

Joined
Jul 19, 1999
Messages
443
Well, I've been on the forums for a while, posting a bit, but mainly reading, and I think Uncle Bill has a point.

Personally, the knife I carry most often is one of those new-fangled SAK with a single locking blade. I've been taking a good hard look at what I use it for and realised that it doesn't really fulfill all my needs. I tend to have to open it with one hand, cause the other is busy holding the thing I need to cut, so I've got into the habit of using my teeth to open the blade. It's a little bit dangerous for the uninitiated, and it really rattles the teeth when it snaps in to the fully open position, but I don't have a cute chick to kiss and my teeth are pretty strong, so it's ok for me.
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The other stuff in the SAK? Well, I don't use them all that often, but I would really like to have a pair of scissors and that metal file/metal saw-with-emery-board-on-the-other-side thing. Don't really need a wood saw, cause I can usually break wood with my bare hands or cut it with the blade. Try doing that to metal. Coupled with what's already on the knife, that would really fulfill what I really need to carry a knife for.

So... I suggest a SAK type knife with:
[*]locking blade you can open (and preferably, close) with one hand.
[*]metal saw/file and emery board thing
[*]can opener
[*]bottle opener
[*]scissors
[*]X-head screwdriver on the end (the model I currently own has it in the middle, in place of the corkscrew)
[*]corkscrew with mini screwdiver insert
[*]photon white microlight in one scale
[*]clip on the other (G-10 or other similarly hard material?)
[*]standard reamer
[*]tweezers in the scale (does anyone really use the toothpick?)

I can forsee that it wouldn't be much thicker than 2cm (my SAK is 1.5cm thick).
So... just to stimulate a bit of discussion, and to get those thoughts off "tactical" and on to "utility"...
1. Does anybody else have a special SAK configuration they need to fulfill daily use.
2. Can anybody forsee this design (or their own design) being built.
3. Is there a customs maker out there who can design and build such a knife.
4. Is there anybody in the upper halls of Victorinox or Wenger who can grease the wheels and get something like this made?
 
The wood saw has come in handy for cutting broken hickory ax handles flush so that they can be knocked out. A Wegner that I have, the Handyman or something, has a nail cleaner and file instead of a small blade, which I like. I was also wondering what two knives have the least overlap and the largest combined tool sets, maybe even considering the multi-plier tools. Anyone know of a SAK database :^)
 
I have an original Victorinox "Soldier" model with the hollow rivet, and a current "Pioneer." These have the thicker blades than the "Officer" models (all the red or black cellidor-sp models). The models I first mentioned have thicker blades than the officer models--2.75 mm. They have fewer attachments but were made more sturdy for use by the Swiss Army. The newer Soldier model has no hollow rivet, and no means of attaching a lanyard (a cost saving requested by the Swiss Army--I guess defense spending is tight everywhere!). This causes more of these knives to be lost as you have no means to secure it to your web gear or belt while on patrol or hunting or hiking. I e-mailed Switzerland and complained. They stated they were going to put a key ring on the Soldier sometime in the future but none have shown up in the U.S. yet.

Bruce Woodbury
 
I've got two models that have come in *very* handy over the last few years.

The first is a somewhat standard Victorinox "Rainier" (I think). It's got the large and small blades, scissors, can opener and bottle opener, wood saw, reamer and corkscrew. Even though the tweezers and toothpick have long since been lost I remain attached to it - it went all over the U.K. with me when my then-fiancee and I went over there for vacation. I've used every tool on there except for the can opener. There's never been a case where I needed to open a can and couldn't find a more specialized tool.

The wood saw has come in handy for everything from pumpkin carving to yard work to shaping heavy partical board to be used to cover the tire well in the trunk of my old Honda.

If they would just replace that darn can opener with the small, recurved serrated blade on the Hunter model it'd be perfect.

The other one that's really useful is the little Mini-Champ II. I've used *every* implement on it and the ballpoint pen is an excellent replacement for the toothpick.

It seems like no matter what flashy "tactical" one hander is with me, one of these two is always within arms reach.

Jon
 
(Forgot a few things)

I don't know if any SAK big-wigs
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read this forum but somehow I doubt it. The Victorinox website used to have a configuration feature that would allow you to search for models that match what you're looking for. I don't know if it's still on there - try www.victorinox.com.

I think they (Victorinox) offer a number of smaller Classic-sized knives with red LED lights. I doubt you're going to see high-end Photon type lights though.

I'm about to re-scale my Sentry (single blade Victorinox) with Micarta. I'd imagine an enterprising DIY'er could take apart a Photon type light and fashion a new scale for their favorite SAK...

Jon
 
Wenger has the Esquire with a white LED designed by David Allen who designs photons.


<A HREF="http://www.photonlight.com/swiss_army_knife/microlight_esquire.htm" TARGET=_blank><img src="http://www.photonlight.com/images/microlight_esquire.gif" border="0"></A>


They can be bought from Photonlight themselves:

http://www.photonlight.com/swiss_army_knife/microlight_esquire.htm

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"A knifeless man is a lifeless man"
-Nordic proverb

 
I would like to take this opportunity to defend the SAK toothpick.

Yes, I use it. Every day, several times per day.

Last time at the dentist, when I told him I don't floss, he nearly crapped his drawers. But I haven't had a cavity since 1969. I don't floss, I SAK my teeth.

I always whittle the toothpick down to real thin first. The Victorinox have better toothpicks for this. I've rarely broken a whittled-down SAK toothpick. They are tough.

BTW, anyone out there with a woodhandled SAK? I picked one up about a year ago. Only one I've seen.



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Hoodoo

Cogita tute
 
Bruce- Check swiss-knife.com, they have several more large models not availible in the U.S. The scales are the same but you will find the other combinations of tools you want.
 
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