Favorite: Lockback Hunter or Camper/Scout/SAK (4-blade)?

This week's bake-off is shaping up to be closer than I would have thought


Current tally is:
5: Lockback folding hunter (e.g. Buck 110, GEC #72)
8: Scout/Camper/Swiss Army Knife (particularly the 3-5 blade versions)
 
Guess if I had to choose it would be the SAK. I carry my cadet almost every day, but a small lockback sure is useful, just a little bit heavy.
 
I pick the Scout/SAK, hands-down.

I always carry some form of SAK at work, and the various screwdriver blades are indispensable. The large screwdriver often gets pressed into service as a scraper, as well. It would be hard to pick just one favorite (depends on my mood and other factors), but the standard Tinker is perhaps the best as far as size/function ratio, IMHO.
 
I pick the Scout pattern, in particular a Victorinox alox Soldier. I don't do a lot of heavy cutting (otherwise I'd consider the 110) and there are just too many things made by man that require a tool to work with. The Scout/SAK is too handy and easy to carry not to keep in my pocket. That it's 1/3 the weight of a 110 sure helps.
 
Remember folks, the lockback class also includes lighter and smaller versions, like teh Buck 501, GEC#72.

Does that change your votes?
 
Doesn't change mine. It's the whole "I have this lump in my pocket, might as well get more use out of it". Comparing say a light lockback like an LST and a 2 layer Alox SAK. The SAK weighs twice as much but overall dimensions are similar and it has more functionality.

Now... if I was a tradesman and carried a pliers based multitool on my belt daily, a lightweight thin lockback in the pocket would be nice.
 
I had (and wanted) only Swiss Army Knives for the first forty-some years of my life, and my first-- a small Tinker-- remains eminently useful today.

Single-blade Lockbacks have no established place in my experience or imagination (not due to any deficiencies of their own; I was simply not aware of them-- at all-- until very recently), so it's SAK all the way for me.

~ P.
 
4-blade Camper/Scout, definitely. My long time EDC was a Vic Spartan, just perfect for my purposes. While I've got a couple of Buck 110's here and there, the practicality of the SAK just blows them away. Usage comparison ratio, SAK to 110: 95:5

Never had a classic scout knife with bone scales, but I imagine those would be pretty damn sweet.
 
SAK's all the way. I carry an Alox Cadet with me at work and I always have my Stay-Glow Rambler on my keychain. A 110 is a great knife, but it's too bulky for me 95% of the time. And even though it's already been said, I'll repeat it again. SAKs are probably one of the most useful tools you can carry.
 
This is a tough choice, the Alox Farmer and Buck 501 have shared close to equal time in my pocket. If I had to choose I would go with the lockback hunter, reluctantly:D
 
What a funny poll!

In my wallet, there is a Vic Executive. On my belt in a pouch is either a Vic Soldier (4 blade, Alox), a Tinker, or a Mechanic - oh, today, is the Soldier. In my right rear pocket is a Spyderco Delica. When I was at work, I had a Case penknife (CV) in my watch pocket as well.

I guess I have to say that if I can only carry one knife, I need to put on more clothes! :D Seriously, though, both styles have their uses (even though I don't dig the Buck 110 much). When I go out exercising, I usually have a Spyderco clipped to my shorts. When I go out hiking, I usually have have the Mechanic on my belt b/c of the pliers - I can pull thorns from my dog with it. Day to day, I usually have both on me. Different uses.

I grew up in a house where traditional slipjoints were the rule. Lockbacks were tiny, slender little things with 2" blades for watch pockets and Sunday suit pants. Real work meant a big jackknife, stockman, trapper, or a sheath knife - and we made most of the sheath knives we had, and they were all carbon steel. I hated scout knives - that clumsy, awkward blade didn't really seem designed for real serious use. Didn't have a point on it, for one thing, it was the only one you had, and you had all that other crap in there that weren't very good tools and weren't very useful. If you need a screwdriver, I thought, get out the toolbox and get a proper screwdriver! Got a very painful cut while putting an edge on another scout's stupid scout knife, and that clinched it. I had an emotional, gut reaction to that blade shape for years afterwards - hated them.

Well, time marches on, and I was living in Louisiana instead of my beloved desert southwest, and my carbon steel pocketknife was struggling mightily to survive the humidity. I was riding a bike a lot, and discovered a need for a compact tool kit that didn't ride in the trunk of a car or truck bed. I got a Vic Tinker, and stopped worrying about rust. It was an improvement over the scout knife, to my mind, due to the small secondary blade. I had yet to discover that carrying several knives was an expedient answer to making up your mind about what to carry.

My karate teacher had a Spyderco Delica, and I loved it, but I was too poor to buy one. Got another, less expensive one-hand opener lockback, and have been hooked on them ever since. I've got a lot of traditional slipjoints, but I've got a bunch of single-blade lockbacks, too. They kind of take the place of a traditional small sheath knife for lots of things. With modern designed locks, they're supposed to be as tough as one. I don't know. I've never pushed mine that hard - I get out a sheath knife if I really need one. :D

So that's how I ended up with a nice, slim lockback in one pocket, a traditional slippie of some description in the right front pocket (where it belongs, gosh darn it!), and an SAK or two, all in the same pair of pants.

So, I don't think I can pick what the best thing is. I use my SAK a lot. But I use my lockback, too. Hmm. I could probably get along easier without the lockback, just grab a sheath knife instead. Not much replaces the utility and unique adaptability of an SAK (or heavy, fat multitool lol). But if I could only have one knife at all, and these were my two choices, I'd have to pick a lockback for being able to take on any cutting problem, and a small toolkit to deal with other stuff.

Lockback. Spyderco Delica, stainless, for me.
 
Hey guys, thanks for the responses. Loads of fun to hear the stories and reasons.

This non-poll poll is done with the winner being the Camper/SAK. The current bake-off is between the stockman and puukko/mora. You can weigh in on that one here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...orite-Stockman-or-Puuko-summer-bracket-series

...but better hurry because that round will end sometime over the weekend!

@Six-gunner: funny that lockbacks were Sunday knives for you growing up. I definitely find them capable of more, not less heavy work. Great stories.
 
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