How many of your daily tasks could be done with a SAK instead of your tactical knife?

[Joe Dirt]

I just wondered how many of you do daily tasks with your "tactical" knife that could be done with no problems with a Swiss Army Knife, or even a slip-joint?

I'm finding that the only time I would need a knife that is NOT a SAK is when I am using the knife for something that I shouldn't use a knife for anyway.

As weird as it sounds, I seem to be putting SAK's or slipjoints in my pockets instead of my tactical knives. They seem to get the job done just as well and plus they have extra stuff that I use like scissors and a bottle opener.

Anyone?

 

[SpyderJon]

Well, the answer is that 100% of the things I do during the day COULD be done with a SAK or a slipjoint. I use locking folders because I feel safer using them. I use SAKs and slipjoints around NKPs where they might freak out if I use a locking folder. For me, they BOTH have a rightful place as EDCs.

 

[patarak]

I usually carry a "tactical" knife everywhere I go. That is until I bought my alox farmer. I soon realized that was all that I needed on a day to day basis. Great knife. Still enjoy all my knives though.

 

[jackknife]

I have'nt carried a locking blade knife in years, exept for the occasional Opinel. All my folders are slip joints and sak's. A stockman, barlow, or sak does everything I need out of a knife. In fact the sak's will do many jobs not possable with the latest tactical whiz bang. If I need something more sturdy, thats what my Mora's are for.

 

[gutsy]

hmmm...... my cqc8 has a wave on it and i have a bad habit of biting my nails off so i guess my excuse for not using slip joints is that i dont have the patience to open the darn things . if i need to cut something i want it done right then . buck 110s are nice i think cause they actually lock and i can grab the blade easier and open it .all these things i say is imho.

 

[Jay_Wyatt]

There are days when I never even open my knife. But I got it if I need it. I could get by with a slip or sak if I had to. On the other hand ; I get a lot of pleasure useing my benchmade, spydercos and small sebbie. It is nice we have such a large amount of choices that we can choose from.

 

[Evolute]

Many of my daily tasks could be handled with an SAK instead of my more robust ("tactical") knife, but many of them couldn't. It's not that uncommon for me to need to chop, pry, pound, etc., with my knives. Even if that only comprised a small percent of my knife use, it's worth carrying the tactical knife because: when I need it, I need it. I'm outside a lot with my job, and I carry a lot of heavy stuff around while walking a lot, so I don't want to carry many specialized cutting tools when I can carry fewer that do more jobs adequately enough.

I've never understood these kinds of comments about "stuff a knife shouldn't be used for". Not all knives are the absolute optimum tool for every task, but plenty of knives are built tough enough to withstand chopping tasks, prying tasks, and so on. If a maker has designed a tool to withstand a certain kind of use, and a buyer has bought that tool with that use (among others) in mind for his particular situation, then who is anyone else to say that stuff shouldn't be done with a knife?

This "I'm finding that the only time I would need a knife that is NOT a SAK is when I am using the knife for something that I shouldn't use a knife for anyway" statement seems particularly ironic when you quickly follow it up with a sentence about the SAK's extra stuff like a bottle opener. Imagine if someone told you that you shouldn't be using an SAK to open bottles, and that you should be carrying around a dedicated bottle opener in addition to your knife, if you want to open bottles. Sounds pretty goofy, right? That's the way it sounds when people start talking about doing things with knives that knives shouldn't be used for. Let makers and users decide for themselves what stuff knives should be used for.

Until someone volunteers to be my full-time, unpaid assistant, and follow close by me, carrying my axe, prybar, shovel, hammer, saw, etc., I think I'll continue to carry and use a knife built to withstand whatever I need to do with it.

Mike

Edited to Add: On second thought, I think my comment came across too harsh, and I apologize for that. I see a lot of folks on these forums make various comments about "A knife is not a prybar" and "Chop with an axe, not a knife" and "Knives aren't made for ...[add hard use of your choice, here]" and "Use the best tool for the job" and so on. I was reacting more to that stuff than anything you said. Again, I apologize.

 

[gordonk]

For me, probably just about everything I do some things that would not be good for a SAK, but these would be rare instances. My last round of reno work on one of my rental properties could potentially have hurt a SAK but then again....... I just recently purchased a Vic Soldier (Alox) and just used it for a couple of days for everything I could at work and home. It handled everything very well, all things considered. I did find that there was the odd instance where before I used just thumb my usual EDC blades open, I would have to stop and physically open the knife before using. Just a habit thing more than anything. Would I just use a SAK exclusively? No - I enjoy my other blades more. I would however have one on me at all times - they are just like my Micra - just plain handy to have. I'm leaving for 'Vegas for the N/A 8-ball championship in a week or so and going pretty bare bones - my Recruit, Soldier and Spydie Delica 4. Of course, my LM Micra/Inova X5/LM Wave II will be tagging along, but compared to my normal carry - that's pretty slim I may have to acquire another one or two "items" down there so I don't go into withdrawal

- gord

 

[TFin04]

I carry a very basic SAK (Bantam. Has a large blade, bottle opener, tweezers and toothpick). That blade is used for food only.

I also carry a BM Mini Griptilian for everything else.

I'll use the Bantam at work or in front of Sheeple, but other than that the blade is reserved for cutting things I'll eventually be eating.

 

[Bayoublaster]

Probably all of them, but I don't consider a plain edge Delica or a Native to be "tactical" knives in the mall ninja sense.

 

[Trout Tamer]

It depends on what I'm doing and where I am. For normal, around-town use, a SAK could do about 90% of my tasks. However, when I'm out fixing a fence (I've become the family fence repairman ) I like to have a stout-locking, thicker knife. When I'm out in the woods/wilderness, I'll have a large fixed blade with me, but I like to have a smaller-bladed folder for finer work, such as my Griptilian. So I have a definite use for about 3 different knife styles, merely for everday use.

 

[flipe8]

I'm pretty certain most things I ask of my Spderco could be done with my SAK. I also find it more people friendly and a knife I'll hand over to someone in need of one. That said, I like the fact my Spydie is a dedicated cutter that happens to see other duty from time to time(I used it to hammer the stuck bike chain free on my son's bike today as well as cut open a couple of boxes from the hardware store). I could get away with my SAK for EDC purposes, but my Spydie is the only one guaranteed to be on me each day.

 

[IUKE12]

Technically, I could get by with just the SAK for my cutting tasks, but I find a locking single blade folder to be much more convienient to deploy and use 99.9 percent of the time. Can you use a SAK one handed? I didn't think so.

 

[Jeff Clark]

I would say everything since I virtually never carry a "tactical" knife. When I carry something heavier it is for a field task rather than an EDC task. My EDC is one of the SAK's with locking 3.25 inch blade. I do like having that extra blade length and a lock. I don't need a thicker blade. There are lots of tasks that I do with my SAK that I wouldn't consider doing with a tactical folder.

 

[tarmix101]

If you are looking for a %.... about 99.9% of any tasks I need to do my Vic "Farmer" is all I need. I like the looks of the so called tactical knives... but I have no real use for them. Just my opinion!

 

[WadeF]

Like probably everyone is saying, I could use a SAK for almost everything, but they take longer to get out, open the blade, the blade doens't lock securely if I were to slip or do something stupid while making a cut, etc. I love having a folder like a Benchmade 710 with the AXIS lock so I can quickly flip it open, make my cut, and flip it closed. I couldn't open a SAK with one hand, but I can open and close a knife with an AXIS lock in a flash with one hand.

 

[stevekt]

Can you use a SAK one handed? I didn't think so.

I couldn't open a SAK with one hand

 

[The Drifter]

I carry an Alox Farmer and love it but besides the lack of a lock SAK's are not always the best tool for all my cutting tasks. The blade steel on SAK's is decent but having the longer lasting edge of carbon steel or D2 (also available in a thin, non-locking knife style) is very convenient. One hand opening is also very convenient in a fast paced work environment where a slipjoint would require too much time to access. A blade lock can also be reassuring but I rarely need one. That being said, Alox Farmer can probably handle 90% of what I need a folding knife to do.

 

[kamkazmoto]

I guess the crux of the matter for me is that occasionally I need to be able to open a knife with one hand. I can do it with my One Hander but it is a lot easier with my mini SOCOM or even my Buck 110.

 

[IUKE12]

Wiping egg off face, I should have said that none of my SAK allow me to open or close one handed. I can see how yours can.