How useful are the pliers on an SAK?

L

Little claw

Joined
Mar 4, 1999
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I'm thinking of getting a Cybertool (I like the idea of trox drivers easily to hand), but the pliers and 'multi-purpose hook' look like a waste of size and weight to me.

Who likes the little SAK pliers and what do you use them for? And what do you use the hook for, for that matter?

Thanks.

Dom
 
I have used the pliers for the small hardware in some electronic devices and holding small parts while cleaning them or for filing,sanding kind of work. Also used them for holding a wire or part while soldering.

The hook, well, I've not found a use yet.

edit: Oh, and for when the little ring breaks off the pull top on cans.
 
Thanks SLD.

I've been browsing the Victorinox site.

Apparently its a 'Universal' hook (as opposed to Galactic, I suppose :rolleyes: ) and (in addition to being 'universal') its a parcel carrier.
 
If you're into fishing the pliers are great for unhooking fish....
Other than that i don't know what you can do with pliers that small....
The hook however....i have no use for....but i'd still have it since it looks cool
 
I've used the hook a couple times in the past.

1. Carrying newspapers tied for recycling (parcel carry)

2. Tightening Ice Skate laces

Also, though I have never done it, couldn't it be used to help tie or untie certain sailors knots?
-Kevin
 
theres a hook on my SAK, no pliers tho. I couldnt think of anything to use it for other than a lame impersonation of captain hook...
 
I find that the SAK pliers, while no substitute for a real set of pliers, are still quite useful. They are great for minor repairs of zippers etc, twisting light wire, etc...

I've happily carried a cybertool in place of my swisstool x when I feel like travelling light...
 
Hey, Dom, I have a Cybertool and I have to say that the pliers are just not that good. The first time I tried it was to remove those giant staples that hold together TV boxes and such and the handles are just really uncomfortable. I now carry a Leatherman Squirt P4 for the pliers--the handles on that are much more comfortable than the SAK ones. The truth is, though, they're not really made for big jobs, but they do come in handy for a lot of little things. The hook has yet to come in handy, but I thought it was an interesting concept.
 
I had a use for the hook and forgot that I had the hook. I was moving a bunch of suits on hangers and used wire to tie them all together. Carryed it by the wire and it was a painful affair, but I was too lazy to make a few trips. That hook would have handled that situation great!
 
Bizarrely enough, I love the tiny pliers on my SAKs. Why?

They're one of the best things I have found for holding the little torx screws in place when I move or remove a clip on another knife.

They're also good for pulling pins out of watchbands and stuff like that. If you have big fat old sausage fingers like I do, you'll understand!
 
Morgoth412 said:
Also, though I have never done it, couldn't it be used to help tie or untie certain sailors knots?
-Kevin
Click to expand...

I'm no expert but they usually use marlin spikes for that dont they? I think its more a case of stabbing the rope and levering it throug rather than just hooking it :confused:
 
I wouldn't count myself as an "expert", but I was once paid for putting ratlines on a sailboat, so I guess in that sense I'm a "professional". :D Yes, a marlinespike (or marlingspike) is normally used to push between indvidual wraps of the rope and then lever them apart. Alternately, it can be used to increase leverage on the rope to pull a knot tight. You can also use a "marlinespike hitch" to get a REALLY good grip on the line to pull knots VERY tight. All that having been said, I can think of times when some sort of little hook might be handy in ropework, but if I had to choose, I'd chose the spike.
 
I feel the SAK is a great collection of tools that will help in a pinch, like if you have some serious work for a screwdriver you use a real screwdriver but in a pinch the one in the SAK will do, the same holds for the pliers, awl, etc., If you often have a need for pliers in your everyday activities you´ll be served better by a leatherman type multitool.

I tie decorative knots, and often use fids, spikes, etc., I find the corkscrew in the SAK more usefull for knotting than the little hook.
 
The hook is of so little use, that one could, perhaps be forgiven for wondering if there might not be a hook shaped piece of steel left over from cutting out other tools...I'm not sayin'....I'm just sayin'
 
I use the pliers mostly to remove staples. The pliers are not heavy duty, of course, but they can be surprisingly useful. Their shape allows you to use them as a wrench, if the bolt is small enough. I used them to disassemble a malfunctioning fan late one summer night a few years back. An SAK can be a wonderful thing to have in a pinch.
 
The pliers can be useful. When I did flooring instaling, I'd use the pliers on a Vic Swiss Champ to lever out staples. As for the hook, it can be used for pulling tent stakes and opening pull tab containers; sardine cans, spam, beer, etc... Can't pearsonaly say how useful it is for those jobs, but I know people who use the hook for them; I don't have a SAK with a hook.
 
Has anyone tryed using the hook to open paint cans?
It seems like the hook would do the trick for that.
 
I was thinking about it when I read this thread. It would've been handy to have when trying to fix my guitar as I had to loosen some nuts, use a phillips and flathead screwdriver, all of which I had to take three seperate trips downstairs to get :grumpy: . Sure would've come in handy to have all three tools in one :) .

"It is better to have and not need than to need and not have."
 
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