Inventive SAK uses ?

Hickory n steel

Hickory n steel

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Feb 11, 2016
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I didn't see a thread of everything you can do with the different SAK functions ( some functions seem as though they could do more than intended ) and I thought it would be a good idea for people to share all of the different uses they've discovered.

Can opener - fits Philips screws , hook to lift kettle from fire, use edge to remove spring watch pins, ream or desire small tubing, wenger can opener can be used to deburr tubing most size tubing.
Tweezers - can turn slotted eyeglass screws if you're careful

Nail tool - fits small Phillips screws

Toothpick - can clean nails, pick lint out of your knife.

Wire stripper - bend wire, fits some bike spokes.

Corkscrew - twist in cordage / wire to pull it tight, remove O-rings, testing dry aged meats such as salami.

Cap lifter - can turn flat eye bolts and some wingnuts.

Orange peeler - also cuts clambshell packaging

Small Flathead - can turn some small Phillips screws in a pinch, will also turn 4mm Allen screws.

Philips screwdriver - can make holes in wood ( not great but it works )

Awl on alox models - open zip ties with having to cut them.

If anyone has any others, maybe for tools that haven't been mentioned I'd love to hear them and will ad them to the list 👍
 
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Easy: Knife blades- cut stuff, Can opener- open cans and use tip for phillips and slot drive screws, Bottle opener- open bottles and use larger tip for larger screws, AWL/Reamer- Make holes and on some models use for crude sewing, Cork Screw- remove corks from bottles is holder for tiny screwdriver, Scissors- cut stuff, Saw- Cut more stuff. Easy!
 
I don't recall ever opening a bottle with the corkscrew on my SAK back when I carried it, but it always made a dandy tool for removing O-rings when I was working on faucets. The parts department manager used to borrow it from me because the magnifying glass on it was the only one around the place strong enough to let him read the numbers on the gas orifices.
 
NMpops said:
Easy: Knife blades- cut stuff, Can opener- open cans and use tip for phillips and slot drive screws, Bottle opener- open bottles and use larger tip for larger screws, AWL/Reamer- Make holes and on some models use for crude sewing, Cork Screw- remove corks from bottles is holder for tiny screwdriver, Scissors- cut stuff, Saw- Cut more stuff. Easy!
Click to expand...

I knew I was gonna get a smart ass answer 😁
I was thinking of things like the standard vic can opener fitting into Phillips screws when your in a pinch, the nail tool fitting into some small Phillips screws, and using the wenger can opener ( same shape as my leatherman fuse can opener ) to deburr tubing.
I also hear that the orange peeler works great on clambshell packaging.

Using the bottle opener to remove o-rings is a great one ( if I had one ) and is exactly along the lines of the out of the box uses I had in mind.
 
For older arthritic fingers, the can opener makes a good tool to hook onto and pull out the big cotter pin that holds the trailer hitch in the frame mount.

The can opener make s great staple puller.

The can opener also makes a great pistachio nut opener for those nuts that have just the tiniest little crack in the shell. Insert and twist open.

Tweezers make a decent roach clip.

If you're in a bad part of town, the back mounted phillips driver sticking out from between the index and middle fingers make a wicked little puncher that gets one's attention.

Corkscrew makes a good knot untangled.

The tip of the awl makes a good very small hole in the end of a tube of crazy glue.

The awl makes a good cigar puncher for enjoying a good cigar after dinner. After cleaning the crazy glue off of it of course!
 
Running late to class, pull up, sort out the books I need, head into class. Come out reach for my keys, not to be found in my trouser pocket. There in the front passenger seat I can just see the keys sticking out under some paper work. Driving a 1990 Nissan Sentra, with the back windows open (the kind that hinge open horizontally) as it is Summer time. Can I reach in and unlock the door? No, but I can take my SAK, reach in and unscrew the rear of the hinge, now I can open the window far enough to reach in and unlock the door, saving a call to a lock smith. Had a harder time re-fastening the hinge, then I did unscrewing it. John
 
jackknife said:
For older arthritic fingers, the can opener makes a good tool to hook onto and pull out the big cotter pin that holds the trailer hitch in the frame mount.

The can opener make s great staple puller.

The can opener also makes a great pistachio nut opener for those nuts that have just the tiniest little crack in the shell. Insert and twist open.

Tweezers make a decent roach clip.

If you're in a bad part of town, the back mounted phillips driver sticking out from between the index and middle fingers make a wicked little puncher that gets one's attention.

Corkscrew makes a good knot untangled.

The tip of the awl makes a good very small hole in the end of a tube of crazy glue.

The awl makes a good cigar puncher for enjoying a good cigar after dinner. After cleaning the crazy glue off of it of course!
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That one with the tweezers sounds exactly like something my grandma would do as she's been toke'n since the 60's 😁
 
Here are some alternative uses I've had:

Can opener: Like Jackknife, I've used mine as a light prying and hooking/pulling things, as well as staple removal. Also sometimes to scrape the waxy stuff off of apples before washing them. I do the latter if the SAK I'm using is a cellidor model.

Awl: If the SAK is an Alox model, I'll use the awl to scrape that waxy stuff off of apples.

Corkscrew: To hold my eyeglass screwdriver and to loosen overly-tight knots.

Large blade: I use the nail-nick side as a small mirror in a pinch to check my nose and mouth, to make sure there is nothing in my nostrils or between my teeth. :)

Way back when I lived overseas and my only knife was an old version of the SAK Spartan, I used to tighten the screws on my glasses with the tip of the edge side of the small blade. Now, of course, I use the small screwdriver I've added to the corkscrew.

I use the toothpick to clean pocket lint out of the joints of the knife.

*Edit:
I forgot to mention that I also use the bottle opener/large screwdriver as a light prying tool and as a box opener, especially to open cereal and other food-type boxes, as well as to initially pry/lift up that "ring" on those pull-off tops on soup cans.

Jim
 
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Hickory n steel said:
I knew I was gonna get a smart ass answer 😁
I was thinking of things like the standard vic can opener fitting into Phillips screws when your in a pinch, the nail tool fitting into some small Phillips screws, and using the wenger can opener ( same shape as my leatherman fuse can opener ) to deburr tubing.
I also hear that the orange peeler works great on clambshell packaging.

Using the bottle opener to remove o-rings is a great one ( if I had one ) and is exactly along the lines of the out of the box uses I had in mind.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself!
 
NMpops said:
Sorry, I just couldn't help myself!
Click to expand...

You never know, some people might not know these things 😁
I can't tell you how many SAK related YouTube video's there are out their where they have no clue that there's a wire stripper / bender ( my package listed it as a wire stripper )on their cap lifter.
 
I work in an old building and the handle for the lock had fallen off leaving just a hole with an exposed locking mechanism in the door. I used the flathead screwdriver of an SAK Classic to lock and unlock the door. I felt pretty clever, and yes locking the door is necessary otherwise many people, men and women, are able to see you answer the call of nature.
 
I found the corkscrew good for pulling off wall plates for electrical switches and outlets when there stuck on from paint.

It's also good for pulling plastic wall anchors out of drywall.

I'll use the hook to untighten wing nuts that can't be undone by hand.
 
I use the flat head screw driver more than anything (other than the knife blade) for opening HVAC return grills. I open quite a few of them. Yes to opening to beer bottles. Hate the twisty caps. The phillips head sees some use, but I'm always hesitant to put much force on it. And if you need that much force, a regular screw driver is in order anyway.

Once I had to "break into a house" with only my SAK and the phillips screw driver for removing a sheet of plywood from a window. Yes, I was supposed to be there, just no key unfortunately that was supposed to be there. I wasn't about to drive 3 or 4 hours without finishing the job.
 
The can opener makes a great pot hook for getting a pot on and off a campfire. I've also used it many times to hook bales of hay in the back of the pickup truck and pull them towards me so I can lift them.
 
I used the can opener to fish a ring of keys out of a Detex vault at work the other day. In case your not familiar
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just fingers don't work, so needle nose pliers are usually used. Well all I had was my pioneer, but that's all I needed!
 
I've always used a SAC bottle cap lifter to open gallon buckets of paint. It's a simple pry bar in my pocket that I naturally grab when I open paint cans.
Once I used the parcel hook to grab an O ring that had slipped into a hole and tettered on the edge of being lost forever. Luck be with me that day.
 
The following turned out well because someone else wrote of an inventive use of a certain multi-tool, I simply remembered it. Yesterday, I put on a pair of lounging pants that I occasionally find comfortable to wear around the house and I sat down in front of the TV. Waking a short time later only to discover the draw-string around my waist was so tightly knotted it was impossible for human fingers to untie it. It was like trying to untie a rock, not gonna happen. Using the cork screw on my handy Vic sportsman enable me to easily loosen the knot and proceed with life as planned. Not having a method of freeing myself from my confines would have relegated me to either cutting the offending draw string, thereby rendering the pants nearly useless or learning how to live in very casual slacks for the foreseeable future. Victorinox's excellent multi-tool improved my life by giving me an acceptable solution to a bad situation and the event made me feel just like McGiver. ;)
Thanks Victorinox! :thumbup:
 
We sometimes buy ears of dent corn to feed to the squirrels. Keeps them away from the bird feeders, or at the very least, makes for some big fat corn-fed squirrels for the neighborhood cats and hawks. The feeders for these are essentially a big screw attached to a tree, and you screw it into the cob, or a circle with metal spike that you just shove the ear down on. The awl on a Pioneer is the ideal tool for reaming out the bottom of the cob to allow you to put it on the feeder.

Prior to that, my wife used an old ice-pick, which was both less effective and somewhat more risky. The bad news is that after I handed her my Vic Electrician to use for that, I never got it back. She kept the knife and now I only get to see it when it needs sharpening. She uses that knife for all manner of things at work. Makes me wonder how they got by without a knife before this.
 
No glasses screwdriver? The tweezers will fit. Bit fiddly but it works.
The flathead on the can opener will fit 4mm Allen bolts.
The awl can be used on simple window locks in place of the key, a bit of a jiggle and the pins of the lock will align and open it. When I was a kid, we had a rotaryphone with a lock. For a payment, I would unlock it for my sister.

This is a good thread, given me some new uses for the tools.
 
Used the bottle opener to disconnect the plastic tent clips from the tent posts. Also used the hook to pull out tent stakes.
 
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