Just can't warm to SAKs

We keep a Cadet in each vehicle and I have an Electrician in my travel kit when on the road, but they are basically too sterile for me to "get into." Alox is wonderfully functional and light in weight, but just does not feel traditional to me, in spite of how long they have been around. The plastic covers have NO appeal for me in any way.

I think an SAK custom shop would be a huge hit. Pick your size, the number of springs, the color of covers, the tools/blades, etc. With their manufacturing and construction methods I don't think this would be difficult, and shouldn't be too expensive.
 
Find SAK's too sterile for ya', well, there are many custom scale makers who specialize in customizing your Celidor or Alox SAK using exotic woods, ivories, precious stones, not so precious stones, animal bone, etc. While the list of these custom guys is quite long, none are sponsors here, so I'll leave it up to your resourcefulness if you wish to turn a sterile knife into a warm, squishy, and sensuously tactile knife like a Case, GEC, et al...

 
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Oh, not everyone loves pecan pie and boiled peanuts either, but to each his own. Just because there is no excuse for it does not make it wrong.
 
abcdef said:
Just because there is no excuse for it does not make it wrong.
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:)



SAK's are nice, not great but a decent, useful knife available at Walmart. They do have a harmless gestalt which adds to their charm and usefulness.
 
Love them all! Fat, skinny, cellidor and ALOX. Never want to be without one and the very, very rare days I am, I always need an awl or screwdriver etc. Indispensable here on the farm.

Also, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I think a worn red Farmer or Pioneer is just gorgeous!

Pioneerheart_zps5512c58e.jpg
 
jackknife said:
....They don't do anything for me, emotionally. There is a sterile coldness to them, that will never endear them to me in a way that my traditionals do. They have about the same character as a Bic pen.....
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Two comments, the first in response to the above quote (which has been much shortened). SAKs appear to me just as jacknife notes. And that goes in spades when you're talking about the alox models. Now the paradox is that I like the alox models in part because of their chilly sleekness. But it's a sometimes thing.

The plastic handled jobs look less sleek and accumulate signs of wear much faster. However, SAKs have always struck me, ever since I saw my first one as a kid, as foreign. These are not American knives. They come from a design esthetic that's European, not American. For some, that's a plus. For me, it's just a fact to be lived with because I find some SAKs generally useful. But no matter how often I use them, they always remain alien in my hand.

Now the second comment. When I look at the SAKs I have, I notice that the one I'm most likely to carry is either the Classic or a camper-pattern (Standard Issue, older-style Vic Soldier, Pioneer). The biggie SAKs, bristling with blades and tools, leave me totally cold. Just too much metallic capability going on there, tucked into the handle. The most complicated I have is a Vic Trekker — and it dwells at the bottom of the car's center console ("for emergencies") and never sees the light of day or pocket time.

So, yeah, I get it when people announce mixed feelings about SAKs.
 
Interestingly, for me, an SAK seems to take on 'warmth' and 'personality' when I've carried and used it a lot, over a long period of time. I feel that way about the Spartan that was my only knife for 10 years overseas and after returning home for a while. Because it was there with me through my experiences and has the marks to show for it.

I still love SAKs, but the only SAK I carry all the time is my Executive, which is smaller than a Recruit but bigger than a Classic. It's proved its usefulness to me, but disappears in my pocket. Been carrying it over 15 years now. It's compact size means I don't require an either/or scenario. My Swisstool Spirit on my belt handles anything a regular-sized SAK could, so I don't regularly carry any other SAKs.

Jim
 
I adore, but never carry, my Wenger AlOx soldier. The extra tools do not actually come in handy during my day-to-day (although I use the reamer when I am monkeying around with leather projects). I just love the good old fashioned, light-weight, patina-acquiring Opi No.8 so much more as a quotidian-carry tool.
 
I should mention that I do own a SAK and have used it for whittling on the beach. But my other traditionals work better for whittling. I do keep my SAK in the trunk of my car in case I forget to bring a knife so I have a backup but using them just isn't as much fun as using one of my barlows for example.
 
There are no words to describe the absolute utility, capability and warm, huggable, caressable, coon fingerability of a well cared for, and well worn, ultra-light and uber strong, all in a disappearable in your pocket, alox SAK. When the question is asked about what one did with his knife today, most SAK owners never answer....it just takes too darn long to enumerate a SAK's daily accomplishments. If the same question is asked of a traditional single bladed knife owner, typically he/she responds with a "I stropped it while lovingly casting warm gazes on my blade patina", or "I sliced individual sheets of toilet paper into a thousand strips after sharpening her", or....;)

 
It's a knife and a very useful tool to me. I get that many don't see it that way. But hell I'm a Electrician, Carpenter, Plumber and all around Handyman and I get attached to a tool that serves me well for years.

I lost my all time favorite Klein Hammer and still morn losing it to this day:D True story:thumbup:

Like Frank said on page one, there's no right or wrong answer, just personal preference.
 
I used to not care for them. We had a member here who had a thread on properly batoning wood using an Alox Farmer. It was pretty awesome and I felt I needed one for my collection. Only problem, it had to be a black one like in the thread. I had to figure out how to get one shipped to me. After carrying it for a while I discovered that is was really a perfect pocket knife.

It's slim size fits in the pocket and carries well with rounded edges.
It's stainless requires very little maintenance.
It sharpens easy and gets a nice edge.
It holds an edge well.
It has a great compliment of tools (the Pioneer is basically a scout knife), but isn't larger than most knives.
It probably has the best awl/punch you will find.
It ages and wears well.
It's spear point is a great compromise for all the other blade shapes out there... and the awl takes up any slack.
It's lanyard ring is handy.

The variety of cool colors make them more interesting.


I didn't fall in love with them because of their bone covers or patina on the blades, I fell in love with them because they do everything quite well. They are an exercise in refinement of function over form. I love great jigging, carbon steel, classic patterns, but there is something to be said for the SAK despite it being none of those things.

Long live the SAK!
 
Woodrow F Call said:
I used to not care for them. We had a member here who had a thread on properly batoning wood using an Alox Farmer. It was pretty awesome and I felt I needed one for my collection. Only problem, it had to be a black one like in the thread. I had to figure out how to get one shipped to me. After carrying it for a while I discovered that is was really a perfect pocket knife.

It's slim size fits in the pocket and carries well with rounded edges.
It's stainless requires very little maintenance.
It sharpens easy and gets a nice edge.
It holds an edge well.
It has a great compliment of tools (the Pioneer is basically a scout knife), but isn't larger than most knives.
It probably has the best awl/punch you will find.
It ages and wears well.
It's spear point is a great compromise for all the other blade shapes out there... and the awl takes up any slack.
It's lanyard ring is handy.

The variety of cool colors make them more interesting.


I didn't fall in love with them because of their bone covers or patina on the blades, I fell in love with them because they do everything quite well. They are an exercise in refinement of function over form. I love great jigging, carbon steel, classic patterns, but there is something to be said for the SAK despite it being none of those things.

Long live the SAK!
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I may be checking out the ideas put forth here.... I think they are ugly little things, but I do appreciate a useful tool. I am hoping to do perhaps 160 mile section hike on the Appalachian Trail next Spring with my brother. I am approaching my 70th year and I am not crazy for carrying a heavy load. We are counting grams, not ounces, and I may be looking into this odd SAK thing.... Thanks for the interesting thoughts.
 
I used to feel the same as most in terms of SAK's being sterile. My favorite pattern for many years was the stockman. After needing a tool enough times and not having it, I switched to a SAK Climber for an EDC, for me, the best tool/size/weight compromise. When I'm in the woods it's a Huntsman or Farmer.

SAK's have earned their place in my pocket. Sadly, I haven't carried a stockman in years, I'm looking at them in my drawer and wondering why I still have them. I can be sentimental over my knives, but not at the expense of functionality.
 
I grew up with SAK's around, and the first knife I bought was a Spartan.
I like them, I carry a Classic everyday.
My "regular" (sized) SAK's don't see much pocket time, but I keep them around, in my bag, in my car. They come in handy.
No reason to force yourself into SAK's if you don't like them, or if you feel better carrying something else.
Taste is taste. :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
I´m a big fan of SAKs in general. I always carry one - wherever I go. I like the scissors and the bottleopener (caplifter :rolleyes: ).

Here in Germany when someone is speaking about a pocket knife - actually an SAK is meant. Not even the great german Solingen cutleries are realised by most people here. Usual "non-knife-people" tend even to accept the existence of an SAK over another pocket knife.

My very first knife was a Vic Huntsman I was given by my dad when I was eight years old. I still have it - retired in the drawer with its family members.
 
Up until a couple of months ago the Traditional forum was where I spent most of my time , but I only seem to visit the Traditional forum these days to keep an eye on a couple of threads that involve SAK's .
I guess my tastes have changed and SAK's are the direction I seem to be headed in .
I still have my Traditional knives but they have been carefully boxed up and put into a kind of time capsule that I plan on opening in a couple of years . Hopefully by then I will have renewed my enthusiasm and vigour for classic Traditional's .
In a very short space of time I've acquired 6 Alox SAK's ( sorry but I have no love for the plastic fantastic's ) and will probably get even more as the mood takes me .
I now own single , two and three layer knives and to tell you the truth there is no way I'd own anything fatter than a three layer and even then I'm still a little undecided about the three ( I haven't had it long enough to make a real judgement )
For me the Can Opener is a wasted resource and is much better replaced with a second blade ( Electrician , Rancher )
I own a Electrician , Rancher , Farmer x 2 , Pruner , Cadet ( old one with the pen blade instead of the nail file , which I'd personally find a waste of space ) .
If I had to pic one it would be the Rancher because of size and tool - blade selection .
I personally think a SAK should have to Blades , with the two blades it is sort of more knife and less tool if that makes sense and suits my requirements better .
What I am sure of though is that there is a SAK to suit everyone because the range is huge .
I'm very happy to be associated with the " I love SAK's " team .

Ken
 
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