I guess I never have been enamored with SAKs

I adore my Victorinox Climber. The fact that it was named after his love, Victoria. And combines the name of Stainless in Europe, INOX. You can find them in all shapes and sizes and brands. They do seem to be under appreciated, as I have never paid more than 3 dollars for one. I adore classic Traditionals but there is something about these SAKs, that intrigues me. All the uses, the compactness of the build, the various tools. The ease of sharpening.
This Christmas...I gathered up a bunch of them, put them in my pockets and gave them out to extended family. I got nothing but ohs and ahhhs and I have not seen one of these for years..its mine?...no...wow thanks.
 
The nice thing about knives is that there are different knives to suit different knives.

No disrespect meant to SAKs or those who love them, but they just leave me totally cold.

I do admit to begrudging respect for the simple Pioneer and will get back to that in a minute. But in general, I'm really underwhelmed by each and every SAK (all Victorinox) that I've owned. Pretty much every one that I've owned has lost it's plastic scales. The just bust and fall off. The springs on the scissors, the one really cool tool on them, eventually bust (the Wegner scissors are nicer). I generally don't care for stainless and definitely don't like the shape of the Victorinox spear point compared to the classic US style spear point like you see on the Camillus or Ulster Camper/BSA style knives. In terms of tools, I strongly dislike Leatherman style multi-tools but would choose a Leatherman type tool over an SAK for any tool you can name. I do carry a small Leatherman in my pack at all times but I reach for it almost never. I would rather walk out to my barn or down to the basement to fetch a proper screwdriver to bust my thumb nail trying to get open an SAK only to deploy a crappy screw driver that will succeed at nothing other than stripping the screw. Feh.

I do have a soft spot in my heart for the old US Camper style knife and recognize the Pioneer as its cousin. I prefer the carbon steel and blade shape of the US knives though, by a long, long shot. But at least the Pioneer has decent scales. If I found one, I wouldn't give it away. I would give away any other SAK I found though.
 
I purchased two models of Victorinox knives recently; my first ever purchase of a Vic or any SAK. They were the Electrician and the Pioneer. Really quite similar knives and I like them, but I am not enamored with them. They are fine utility knives, I'm sure and that's what I will save them/use them for. They will reside in my toolboxes as they should be plenty durable and corrosion resistant which I consider to be necessary traits for tool box duty. I don't think I will become a SAK collector, but I will probably own one or two from now on out.

Ed J

I forgot to mention that I do have a Vic Spartan, given to me by Jani (thejamppa) with the Finnish Lion emblazened on the scale. It's a nice gift and I keep it in a place of honor in my chest; it won't go in a toolbox with a bunch of wrenches and pliers.
 
Now if only GEC would make a Scout pattern similar to the Soldier/Pioneer with Jigged Bone scales......
 
jakemex said:
I understand they have their place and etc. but They just are too plain and unappealing. I'd rather use a wooden toothpick to do EDC tasks than use one of them. Give me a TL-29. :cool:

Why are they so great except for being unobstrusive in hand and in pocket?
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Interesting post

The SAKs lie on the border of traditional by force their being slipjoints and on the market for so long
But they also are modern by their uniformity in production and lack of any materials that will change with time

So they are utalitarian good functioning knives, but real issue is they lack athetic appeal


I have plenty of lovely knives that do not give me in a package what I get from different SAKs
So the usage from my SAKs, over-rides their lack of flair
 
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after reading all these threads about SAK's and SAK size i decided i needed to buy one. i thought it would be out of my pocket in a few hours but i find myself taking it absolutely everywhere. earlier in the week while in night class after work i needed to sharpen my pencil which i previously had to do discretely with my zt0300, but instead used my SAK to sharpen the pencil. that was just one example where it makes me happy to have it with me.


i find it more suitable and sometimes more acceptable to use the SAK, all in all i will probably be buying a larger SAK soon
 
I probably own several dozen SAKs, and have them stuffed into bags, pockets, glove boxes, and drawers all over the place. But, I can't say I really like them; I am not even sure that I would even consider them true knives. To me they are more like tiny tool sets, somewhat ackward to use, but very handy to have around.

n2s
 
I can't seem to like SAKs either. I have a couple non-Vic SAKs, and I know they aren't as NICE as the Victorinox knives, but they just seem too bulky for getting nothing really useful (in my life). In my opinion, I just find that most of the SAK tools are pathetic. I carry a knife everyday, and I find about five to ten uses a day out of it, but two tiny flathead screwdrivers?? I've stripped too many screws with the improper size/type screwdriver; I've learned to reach for the right tool now. How about the awl? That will come in handy for me about once every month. The scissors I would never use because they are too tiny, and more importantly, they would take away from my already limited uses of my knife!! I haven't had corked wine in years, I haven't encountered a knot I couldn't untie with a key or sharp knife tip, and I haven't had the need for a miniature saw since I went camping, and when I go camping I take an actual saw... The can opener would also come in handy camping, but nowhere else for me. And finally, I have a bottle opener on my belt buckle.

The Vic SAKs actually DO appeal to me aesthetically, but the tools just won't ever be used and I like clip or drop points much more than spear points. SAKs just seem like a mini toolkit, kind of like trying to patch a bullethole with a band-aid. I would love to try an Alox Farmer model to take camping this summer, but I have a limited fund supply like everyone else, and I choose to spend my little cash stash on USA products. I just enjoy seeing "USA" on my knives more than any other product. I'm sure that several Swiss people like carrying SAKs. This is a personal opinion, just like whether someone likes SAKs or not.
 
I'm not so fond of the plastic scaled models and I guess I'm pretty picky of the ones I like even when scaled with ribbed Alox. But I really like the Alox models. I think part of their charm and allure is that you can almost get them as large or as small as you like or need. You can even get different colors if you've enough resources and patience. If I want a scout knife - pick up a Pioneer Harvester. There's probably a SAK equivalent to almost all of the traditional patterns, well, I guess not really but when you need an inexpensive grippy knife for work, it's a good alternate.

Somedays you feel like some stag, or bone, or celluloid, sometimes you feel like ribbed Alox.
 
I'm surprised at all the disdain for the SAK screwdrivers; sure they're not perfect, but if Im in the middle of doing something, it's a hell of a lot handier to just grab it out of my pocket instead of stopping and running to the other side of the building. Plus the large flat headmakes a nice pry bar, and opens beers when I'm finished.:D
 
The screwdrivers also have too rounded edges. The phillips will strip rather than turn a screw and the flats as mentioned are too small and also rounded edges on too soft steel. Sorry, I gave away all the SAK's that I've been given in my brief lifetime. I can't like them. YMMV :thumbup: :cool:
 
Obviously we can't all like the same things, then we'd have nothing to discuss! Very interesting how two people have have completely opposite experiences with the same items.
 
Now if only GEC would make a Scout pattern similar to the Soldier/Pioneer with Jigged Bone scales......

GEC alox with amber scales.
 
I've owned sak's, and carried sak's, but I have always had mixed feeling about them. They sure don't have the appeal of nice jigged bone or stag, or even nice grained wood. THey don't hold a cutting edge as long as some, but do hold a decent edge good enough for day to day use. They sure do well in wet environments that would rust my little CV and damascus peanuts. They have good and bad points about them. They do have nice flat ground blades, that even when less than shaving sharp, seem to still cut. The screw drivers are a little too polished, and over on a ask forum, it's common knowledge to take a large mill file, and square up the screw driver edges. I did it to mine, and it changed the whole dynamics of the drivers.

I admit I don't have any use for the big ones. The ones that have wood chisels and fish scalers, and such. I've always like two layers at best, like the tinker size. But my absolute favorite ask is the little 58mm ones. They are small enough to fit on a keyring, the tools really work, and I've actually fixed things with the little screw driver tip on the nail file blade. The little scissors are sharp and really work. That SD tip fits all the phillips screws that are holding the world together. The tweezers have pulled a tick now and then off our welsh corgi, and splinters out of me and the kids. I've taken apart and put back together a clothes dryer door with my SD classic when fixing a broken door latch. I've fixed a door knob assembly with the same as it fit the little phillips screws holding everything together. A fishing reel, electric trolling motor out in the middle of a lake, and a stalled Vespa motor scooter out on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, all fixed in a minute with a sak.

But...

I still have mixed feelings, as my old stand by wallet tools, consisting of a Sears 4-way keychain screw driver and my old army P-38, will do the same thing, and have done similar things, when I didn't have a ask on hand.
Add to the fact that the standard tools on a ask are becoming obsolete with changes in our society, and production methods, and a sak looses points with me, except the 58mm. I do love the little classic.

I see more and more canned goods having pull tops. All the Campbell soups are pull tops, and Tuna fish is in nice little foil packs that can be cut open with a sharp knife. So that does away with the can opener in time. More and more companies are going to twist off tops, so that rules out the bottle opener. I even saw an article in a magazine, where the wine companies are seriously looking at twist off caps, because the supply of good cork is shrinking, and the plastic liner on twist off's actually seal better in tests. Not that I drink wine, can't stand the stuff. Plus, when my college going son showed me how to open a imported beer without a real opener, I felt liberated. No more need of a dedicated bottle opener. Drop a flat little P-38 in your wallet or on your keyring, and that eliminates one whole layer of a sak tinker plus the phillips driver on the back. The flat end of a P-38 makes a decent flat screw driver, and the sharper of the two bottom corners make a decent phillips driver. For the two knife blades I've got my Case peanut with the Devin Thomas damascus blades that will out cut any sak ever made. I like sak's, but I reached a point in my life where I'd rather carry a few flat little tools in my wallet for the once in a while need, and carry a real knife with better cutting and looks. I'm closer to the end than the beginning, and what's left of the rest of my life is too short for carrying an ugly knife. Or even a plain one.

But I do see the use for the keychain size like the classics, rambler, mini champ. They serve more like an emergency backup for life's little unforeseen suburban problems.

Carl.
 
I must disagree about the bottle opener being useless with twist offs...they tear my hands up something fierce, I always use an opener. In fact ive always wished I could add a SAK cap lifter to my other knives. The 4 ways don't do it for me, useless for most screws I encounter daily.
My usual EDC is a swisstool spirit and some sort of traditional knife. That way I have the best of both worlds. Plus pliers, which I find indispensable.
 
It was either on BF or the other compititor that starts with a K I read or heard of that the Victorinox and Wegner SAs sold in european nations never have philips head. In place of the plilips head Europeans use the can opener which I too prefer! It works so much better, I even use it on my Super Tinker in place of the philips head! Our European knife brothers are good ones to learn from. I really like the INOX steel it sharpens so easy and keeps that edge plenty long enough but I'm also partial to spear blades!
 
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