Lil forgotten gem

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Mar 22, 2006
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As is no big secret here I'm a big fan of saks and multitools...We here allot of talk here about One handed trekkers, and vic farmers.. but I just wanted to give props to a forgotten gem... the victorinox camper... Having all the attributes of the much regaled Farmer including a venerable woodsaw.. the camper has the addition of a tiny pen blade, + the ever useful tweezers (at leatst here in tick country)..
The vic camper was my first knife I recieved when I was a child during the height of the macguyver days.. and I spent many a night camping with that as my only tool... I had long since strayed... but recently spotted a great deal on line where I scored the knife and a small led for 16 bucks.. in terms of bang for buck knives we are essentially looking at the Mora of the multifunction knife world..
While slightly more diminuitive than the farmer the camper feels slightly more comfortable in the hand.. and the razor sharp flat grind makes it a more than usable carving tool... At any rate for the price it's worth grabbing one to throw in the pack, and another to throw in the pocket...Great piece of kit all around.
 
The Camper is nice.But I prefer the Alox models - sturdier blades and overall construction,better awl and bombproof scales.
I have a Camper in my PSK - it's red - higly visible,the two blades would be better than one in a survival situation and the tweezers are very handy !
I have another Camper that I use for yard work ;)
I have to get a Farmer for EDC... :D
 
I still have mine too after over 12 years. It was my first knife my dad gave me. I normally carry it as an edc, but lately I moved on to a kershaw leek. When I go camping or hiking I normally have to choose between it and a LM wave.
 
i love the SAK camper... it's one of my favorite's... i have had one for years and it has seen a lot of use... i am rarely in the woods without it...
 
The Vic Hiker was was my very first SAK, same as the Camper except the corkscrew is replaced with a Philips screw driver. It was one of the most useful things I had, and I carried it for many years.

Then, the multi tool bug bit me, and I went through various Gerbers and Leathermans, forgetting about SAKs.

A few weeks back, I rediscovered SAKs, and now have a Huntsman.
 
SAK's are definitely the Mora of the multi-tool world. I just got my Farmer a couple months ago for $19 and it hasn't left my pocket since. Yep, the cheapest blade I own is the one I use/carry the most.:rolleyes::)
 
I agree. I have a Camper, or should I say HAD one. I stupidly used it at work to clear a paper jam out of the shredder--WITHOUT turning off the shredder! IDIOT! Great knife. Now the debate is whether to replace it with same model, a Hiker, or a Farmer. Like I need another knife anyway...lol
 
I, too, own a Camper. It was a gift from a long ago, special person. It saw quite a bit of use over the years, but has been retired to desk duty, literally. (It's sitting in front of me as I type this.)

I never thought I would ever switch from a SAK to a multitool. I once bought a Wave at a really good price, took it home and played with it for an hour or two and then took it back - I was not impressed.

However, once I put a Vic Swiss Spirit in my hands, it was all over for the SAK's. (I was carrying a Ranger at the time - an excellent SAK - probably my favourite of the mid-range number of tools).

Nowadays, my Vic Spirit goes everywhere I go, when I'm wearing clothes. :rolleyes:

I'm glad that I still have that Camper, though - brings back some great memories!

Doc
 
I've owned a bunch of different SAK's over the years but I keep coming back to a traditional folding multitool like a LM or Gerber. For me, a multitool does everything I need that a SAK would offer. I found myself carrying a SAK and a multitool of some sort and decided to just do away with the SAK. The one thing that I use daily on my SAK on my key chain is the toothpick. I sure wish there was a multi with a toothpick and tweezers in them. That's an awesome design to put them in the handle.

That being said - I'm looking to purchase a SAK Pioneer Harvester for messing around in the garden.
 
A Camper was my first SAK, then a Huntsman (Camper with sissors to trim nails) and a Rucksack (like a large Camper with a locking blade). A Fieldmaster (Huntsman with a phillips bit instead of a corkscrew) was the first knife I bought my boys. The last SAK I got was a Farmer - love them all.
 
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A Vic Camper was the first knife I even bought myself. After carrying dozens of other knives and multitools, I'm back to a Vic Farmer.
 
A Camper was my first SAK, then a Huntsman (Camper with sissors to trim nails) and a Rucksack (like a large Camper with a locking blade). A Fieldmaster (Camper with a phillips bit instead of a corkscrew) was the first knife I bought my boys. The last SAK I got was a Farmer - love them all.

Those scissors are great to cut the quill along both sides of a feather for fletching.

Doc
 
Excellent post.:thumbup:
What a coincidence. :eek: I decided that today I was going to edc my Camper.
Then I see this post. :)
Pure chance? :confused: I think not....FATE!!! :D:thumbup:
 
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