Has anyone seen Mike Horn's SAK?

[JayGoliath]

I couldn't post the link here but do google up Gear Junkie.

Here's some scoop of the interview:

Gear Junkie: How did you and Wenger come up with the concept?

Mike Horn: Meeting with Wenger, I dumped out my old tool kit from a North Pole expedition, and I told the designers that I wanted all the eight tools in one place. After a lot of development and back and forth, we put the tool kit into a knife form. It cut the weight in half from my old kit.

How often do you use it on an expedition?

It is the only tool I use every day of an expedition.

Tell me about the serrated blade. Why the rounded-off tip?

It’s rounded for safety. I once cut the side of a man in the water when I needed to cut him free. It had a sharp point. With my knife, you could slide it along the body and still cut a line or whatever it is to assist.

Knife and driver bits fit in a case

The pliers are unique. Why a needle-nose design?

That is for tent poles. On polar trips, with the thinner pliers you can get inside the end of a tent pole to grab elastic cord [and pull it out]. The file was also added with tent poles in mind. You have to repair poles on expeditions. The file is made to score aluminum tent poles, and then once scored all around you can crack to break them clean.

Other unique features that might not be obvious?

The can opener has a sharp tip, and you can press it to score a point. And I use the awl as a drill. I have re-mounted ski bindings by drilling a hole for the binding screws on the ski when something failed in the field. Another thing: The file is made to sharpen ski edges.

Implements on the Mike Horn knife

I noticed you keep a couple of them around on the deck and inside the boat here. Do you use them on the Pangaea?

Yes, most every day. The blade or the bits. The universal bit acceptor was to let it work with a screwdriver or almost any kind of driver head.

Finally, what about the handles?

I call the handles the scales. They are made of recyclable material and with bits of wood. It has a nice grip, and it’s also an environmental story. Two things I like.

 

[edge-holder]

It looks cool! I've been thinking about buying a SAK for a while now, and this may have pushed me over the edge.

And, for those who don't feel like googling it, here's a pic:

 

[meako]

whats the lever that stems from the pliers on the right handside with the pin shaped thing at the end?
cheers
looks great

 

[eKretz]

It would appear to be the handle for squeezing the pliers shut. I think it just looks pin-ish because we are seeing the narrow side of what is actually a wide handle.

 

[Javelin]

I thought to my self "I want this!" then I saw the price, yikes.

For that much I could buy one of my grail knives.

 

[holygoat]

I'm also bizarrely tempted by the Ueli Steck knife from Wenger. Titanium, big broad blade that's easy to open, bit driver. They do three versions: just a blade, with a saw, or fully loaded.

But yes, both of these knives are crazy expensive. I was also put off by how small the pliers are in the Mike Horn (and the Alinghi), and how fat it is: three layers of tools and pliers? Damn thing must be square in cross-section! A regular knife and a Leatherman Juice are probably a better fit for most needs.