I upgraded from 58mm to 84mm SAK's

F

Fass

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Mar 8, 2020
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When it comes to SAK's, I have always been in the '58mm-is-great' camp. My only problem with the 58mm line though, is that I like to carry my knives in the right front pocket. These tiny 58mm SAK's though, just disappear in the pocket and I never physically feel that I am actually carrying one. To me this is important, it does not need to be bulky, but I do like the reassuring feeling of carrying a knife. In order to solve this problem I started carrying 84mm SAK's that include the small pen blade. In use, this gives me a 58mm 'feel' with the benefit of a larger frame. I must say that I am really enjoying it and for now I don't see myself going back to a real 58mm SAK anytime soon. Does anyone else have similar experiences? Did you ever upgrade or downgrade for reasons that have not much to do with the actual capabilities of a knife? I hope all of this makes some sense.
 
I own zillions of SAKs in all sizes, and go back and forth between them depending on which way the wind is blowing. My primary is the 91mm Explorer Plus. But in the 84mm class, the small Tinker is prolly my favorite. Its pretty basic in the tool selection, and does not have scissors. So I would supplement the small Tinker with a Classic or more like a Manager (both 58mm) to get scissors and a pen. Part of the fun is experimenting to see what works best for you.
 
I too have many SAKs in various sizes. I have found that 93mm alox and 91mm cellidor SAKs are well complimented by a 58mm one. And you can also compliment a larger SAK with a small Leatherman like the Micra or Squirt family. And the 84 and 85 mm SAKs can workout this way too. Nice to have many choices to make up your EDC
 
I saw on the other thread you’re carrying a recruit, which I think is a great choice. I carried a Small Tinker for almost 30 years, splitting pocket time with an Old Timer. The backside Phillips did come in handy here and there, and the reamer got used a few times. But I would’ve been able to accomplish the same things with the recruit. There’s a few of the 91mm’s they could produce in the 84mm size and I’d be extremely happy. A Camper or Hiker would be on my short list.
 
I carry many sizes of SAK's, and I find an added pocket clip quite useful. Knives clipped at the top of the pocket don't scratch or get scratched by stuff in the bottom of the pocket. Knife retrieval is also enhanced.View attachment 1525047
 
Yes, though it has more to do with the way a knife feels in hand or carries.
Knives with blades more than 3" don't carry as well, certainly not on dress clothes. The extra blade length isn't useful in day to day life.
Anything smaller than a peanut is a bit awkward in hand, so 75mm closed length is as small as I like to go. It's a shame, because I have a beautifully made Tuna Valley Tadpole that's 2.5" and never carry it.
 
Ourorboros said:
Yes, though it has more to do with the way a knife feels in hand or carries.
Knives with blades more than 3" don't carry as well, certainly not on dress clothes. The extra blade length isn't useful in day to day life.
Anything smaller than a peanut is a bit awkward in hand, so 75mm closed length is as small as I like to go. It's a shame, because I have a beautifully made Tuna Valley Tadpole that's 2.5" and never carry it.
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Well, when I was going to the office I would carry 91mm SAKs and other knives in dress pants without issue regarding the size. (The problem I tend to encounter is that the knife (or my keys) would ruin my pockets and I'd get holes after some time.) To prevent that, I would either use a sheath or buy some cheap clips and attached to my SAKs to have them dangle inside the pocket.
 
Enkrig said:
Well, when I was going to the office I would carry 91mm SAKs and other knives in dress pants without issue regarding the size. (The problem I tend to encounter is that the knife (or my keys) would ruin my pockets and I'd get holes after some time.) To prevent that, I would either use a sheath or buy some cheap clips and attached to my SAKs to have them dangle inside the pocket.
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Check out this SAK dangler.View attachment 1525406
 
Enkrig said:
Well, when I was going to the office I would carry 91mm SAKs and other knives in dress pants without issue regarding the size. (The problem I tend to encounter is that the knife (or my keys) would ruin my pockets and I'd get holes after some time.) To prevent that, I would either use a sheath or buy some cheap clips and attached to my SAKs to have them dangle inside the pocket.
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Yep, I've found that keys do that. Also SAKs with keyrings. One reason I don't like them! I keep my keys on a pocket clip like yours to prevent holes.
 
Fass said:
When it comes to SAK's, I have always been in the '58mm-is-great' camp. My only problem with the 58mm line though, is that I like to carry my knives in the right front pocket. These tiny 58mm SAK's though, just disappear in the pocket and I never physically feel that I am actually carrying one. To me this is important, it does not need to be bulky, but I do like the reassuring feeling of carrying a knife. In order to solve this problem I started carrying 84mm SAK's that include the small pen blade. In use, this gives me a 58mm 'feel' with the benefit of a larger frame. I must say that I am really enjoying it and for now I don't see myself going back to a real 58mm SAK anytime soon. Does anyone else have similar experiences? Did you ever upgrade or downgrade for reasons that have not much to do with the actual capabilities of a knife? I hope all of this makes some sense.
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For me, the 58mm is always a backup, my favorite being the alox MiniChamp on my keyring.

have you ever tried the uniquely sized 74mm Executive? I always found it as the best 5th pocket SAK, and the two knives serve different needs.

44552914-3D2B-4638-9FDD-46DEE2B7CC7C.jpeg
 
Dimashkieh said:
For me, the 58mm is always a backup, my favorite being the alox MiniChamp on my keyring.

have you ever tried the uniquely sized 74mm Executive? I always found it as the best 5th pocket SAK, and the two knives serve different needs.

View attachment 1529939
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Sorry for my delayed response, but the Executive is very expensive, even online. Well over 35 Euro at most places. I think that is overpriced. I can get an alox pioneer for 2/3rd of the price. That's pretty much the sole reason I still haven't bought one.
 
J jackknife still happy using the Executive now and then? I think 74mm closed could very well be the best size for a pocket knife, but imho the Executive is overpriced. I'd really like to see some more basic and cheaper models in the 74mm line someday...but I guess that would kill off their own market for the 58 and 84 sizes as the difference in sizes would get too small. As such the 74mm line is more of a novelty line I guess.
 
Fass said:
J jackknife still happy using the Executive now and then? I think 74mm closed could very well be the best size for a pocket knife, but imho the Executive is overpriced. I'd really like to see some more basic and cheaper models in the 74mm line someday...but I guess that would kill off their own market for the 58 and 84 sizes as the difference in sizes would get too small. As such the 74mm line is more of a novelty line I guess.
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I still have an carry my executive that was gifted to me, and I do like it.

BUT...if anything happened to it, I doubt I would replace it. As much as I do like, it really doesn't do much that the little 58mm classic doesn't do, and the classic is replaceable most places for way less cost. Even Walmart has them for 11.95. If I need more blade, then I will have a dedicated pocket knife on hand. The executive, as much as I like it, is still in my opinion a weird half way knife of some sort. It has no real screw driving capability, no bottle opener, no can opener, and that so called orange peeler tool bugs me. If I have to carry my P-38 and Sear's 4-way keychain driver in my wallet, then I don't need the added bulk of the executive. I just got back from 3 weeks in California, and I had left the executive home and just carried the classic. It opened all kinds of packages including the infamous plastic blister packages that defy tooth and nail and small charges of C4. It cut twine, sliced some nice Danish Havartii with caraway and baguette on the beach, pulled a sticker our from our dogs paw pads, and trimmed some stray beard hairs before going out to a nice restaurant.

If Victorinox was serious about selling the 74's, they would be around. I can walk into any Academy Sports, Walmart, Target, Dick's, and find a classic for anywhere from 11.95 to 16.95. But, you never see a 74mm anywhere, and ordering it its still over 30 dollars. To me, just ain't worth it.

Now Victorinox is discontinuing the 74's and I don't see it as any loss. If I need more knife than a classic, I'll just drop my Victorinox florist/garden knife in my pocket. I love that sheep foot blade and it cuts like the dickens.
 
jackknife said:
I still have an carry my executive that was gifted to me, and I do like it.

BUT...if anything happened to it, I doubt I would replace it. As much as I do like, it really doesn't do much that the little 58mm classic doesn't do, and the classic is replaceable most places for way less cost. Even Walmart has them for 11.95. If I need more blade, then I will have a dedicated pocket knife on hand. The executive, as much as I like it, is still in my opinion a weird half way knife of some sort. It has no real screw driving capability, no bottle opener, no can opener, and that so called orange peeler tool bugs me. If I have to carry my P-38 and Sear's 4-way keychain driver in my wallet, then I don't need the added bulk of the executive. I just got back from 3 weeks in California, and I had left the executive home and just carried the classic. It opened all kinds of packages including the infamous plastic blister packages that defy tooth and nail and small charges of C4. It cut twine, sliced some nice Danish Havartii with caraway and baguette on the beach, pulled a sticker our from our dogs paw pads, and trimmed some stray beard hairs before going out to a nice restaurant.

If Victorinox was serious about selling the 74's, they would be around. I can walk into any Academy Sports, Walmart, Target, Dick's, and find a classic for anywhere from 11.95 to 16.95. But, you never see a 74mm anywhere, and ordering it its still over 30 dollars. To me, just ain't worth it.

Now Victorinox is discontinuing the 74's and I don't see it as any loss. If I need more knife than a classic, I'll just drop my Victorinox florist/garden knife in my pocket. I love that sheep foot blade and it cuts like the dickens.
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I fully agree with you. I've happily been using my 58mm Rally almost exclusively for two months now. I never felt the need for more knife. It cut strawberries and mint in our garden and it even managed to cut the huge box our new lawn mower came in. Of course the latter took some time, but it got the job done. And there is nothing like the precision and control of a small blade. Better still, sharpening is a breeze. Just two or three VERY LIGHT strokes on my small Fällkniven DC 3 gets it razor sharp again. The fact that it is 'people friendly' also helps in the suburbs of western Holland. And should I lose it, it can easily be replaced which is a bonus. I carry mine loose in my rf pocket for easy access. To me these 58mm knives are far more than 'just' a key chain knive. I even doubt if they were ever intended as such since they were originally produced without a bail or keyring at all.
 
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Fass said:
I fully agree with you. I've happily been using my 58mm Rally almost exclusively for two months now. I never felt the need for more knife. It cut strawberries and mint in our garden and it even managed to cut the huge box our new lawn mower came in. Of course the latter took some time, but it got the job done. And there is nothing like the precision and control of a small blade. Better still, sharpening is a breeze. Just two or three VERY LIGHT strokes on my small Fällkniven DC 3 gets it razor sharp again. The fact that it is 'people friendly' also helps in the suburbs of western Holland. And should I lose it, it can easily be replaced which is a bonus. I carry mine loose in my rf pocket for easy access. To me these 58mm knives are far more than 'just' a key chain knive. I even doubt if they were ever intended as such since they were originally produced without a bail or keyring at all.
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I don't know what western Holland is like, but I do know American cities like D.C., where I grew up, Baltimore, New York city, and some others. In general, cities and the people who live there are not really knife friendly. Its another culture. But they do have knives, and I wish I had a dime for every little keychain size pocket knife I've seen in the city. Boxes still have to be opened, packages belt with, plastic price tags cut off, and the occasional snack dealt with. I've seen more small SAKs and small pen knives in the city that I can shake a stick at. The little cutters go under the radar.

My own father was a very typical city guy. Although he came from rural roots, his life after WW2 was centered in Washington D.C. with "business trips" often. He wore a suit more than casual clothes. His pocket knife for most of his life was a little Case Peanut. Sometimes he carried a Christy knife, but always the peanut. It did for most things he needed a knife for. Opening boxes/packages, and such. Sometimes dealing with snack food. A lot of his attitude rubbed off on me.

I think theres such a thing as 'obsessed fan over kill'. I've seen it in car nuts, gun nuts, motorcycle nuts, knife nuts. Its where the fan boy of the particular cult worship object gets soooo into the thing, that some perspective of reality is lost. Like the car nut thinking anything less than a Porsche 911 or Dodge Charger with the 426 hemi will do for commuting to work at 45 miles per hour on the crowded freeway. Meanwhile the rest of humanity uses a humble Toyota Corolla or Volkswagen Golf and does very well. The knife nut is guilty of the same thing. Anything less than enough blade that opens in a flash and can takeout an enemy sentry or pry open a tank hatch in some video game is not enough to get him through the day in his office cubicle. And the SAK fan boy is convinced that anything less than a 91mm with 15 tools is inadequate for him to go out the door with. I used to be there in my younger day.

It took me until I was an old man to realize how much BS the gun manufactures, knife manufactures, car companies, and every consumer goods maker uses to stimulate sales by getting us to put wants over needs. The sheer materialism is staggering. Now as a gen-u-ine old fart, I seem to have lost the drive for the material stuff like I had in years past. Now as long as I have some sort of little pen knife size SAK in my pocket, I'm good to go. I don't need anything that will skin an mastodon, or fight off hostile Comanche's on the war path. I'm just needing to open my mail, Amazon packages, cut some twine for the tomato and pepper plants, deal with a loose screw, and maybe some scissor work. The teeny 58mm leaves room in my pockets for the RONCO pocket defibrillator in case of a vapor lock.
 
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