Multi-blade users please weigh in on most useful ones to get

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I love my big tactical style knives but recently got interested in the multi-blade type of knives after having a discussion with friends of PJ Tomes at the recent knife show. I also became aware of the sheer usefulness of small or tiny blades after having won this miniature Buck whittaker bottle-top opener and tiny folder combo at a previous show. Damned if I have not used that thing time and again while my monster folders stayed in pocket. So I started seeing different blade shapes and know that a sheepsfoot would be useful for cutting out newpaper articles. Good to have a nice pointy blade in addition. There are others I have seen by cannot identify. I guess the real question becomes, what are popular multi-blade patterns and what type of cutting are the various blade shapes intended for? No use in reinventing the wheel if I choose to order a custom or seek a production model of one to tide me over. Thanks for any opinions.
 
Whittler patterns are a fav of mine, I spend time each day, making big hunks of wood into those curly shavings. Sometimes something interesting emerges from the hunk of wood.

Large blade on the whittler is good for hogging waste wood away, pen blade for medium tight carving areas, and the coping blade for really tight areas like eyes and teeth in caricature carvings.

I have Queen D2s in delrin and Bone carved stag. Also a Queen Oarcarver which is like a canoe pattern, only it has two different sized wharncliff blades.

Also have other whittlers in carbon steel. Great pattern.


Thomas Zinn
 
Victorinox Swiss Army knives are definitely the best multi-blade knives in existance.

The Pioneer Harvester is terrific because it has a main spear-point blade that can be used for all general cutting, a woodsaw that is very effective, a bottle opener/screwdriver for when you need to pop open a Heineken or pop open the battery compartment of the remote, an awl/scraper that can handle all kinds of piercing and scraping tasks, and a pruning blade that I actually wish was a typical pen-blade.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
If you're transitioning from tacticals to slipjoints, you might find the whittler pattern useful. One heavy main blade at one end, and two smaller blades at the other.

One of my favorite EDC slipjoints is an old Fight'n Rooster "Canittler" (whittler with canoe-shaped handle). The main blade is very sturdy, sturdier than many of my small tactical folders; the secondary blades are handy for detail work, the blades take and keep a nice edge, and it rides well even in dress pants. Bright yellow bone scales make it hard for even ME to misplace, too. ;)
 
I am not a real big fan of multi-blade knives, just prefer my tacticals is all. However I do always carry a LM Squirt P4, the one with the pliers, on my keychain. I really do think that the most useful multi-blade knife is a SAK or small multi-tool. This way you will not only have a smaller cheaper knife, but also some basic tools. No more need to use a knife as a screwdriver or bottle opener, you will have the proper tool with you.
 
Has to be a stockman for me. Clip point, sheepsfoot, and a smaller blade-spay blade. For a SAK I really like the Tinker.
 
First thing you need to know, only buy Case CV or Queen D2.

Check out the Large Stockman, Trapper, and Canoe models you'll be happy with any you get.
 
I must chime in support for the SAK Tinker.

I've lurked here for a while, but I've carried a Tinker for close to 25 years.
I've raved the 'Gospel' according to SAK for years as a nice EDC that took and held an edge better than anything else in my experience. I liked the Tinker because it has a phillips screwdriver, along with can/bottle openners, punch, two decent blades, tweezers and toothpick, something of which got used daily. (Phillips *really* handy.) Relatively light profile in the pocket too. I think I have 'used up', maybe 3, admitedly from heavy use.
Only recently have I picked up a SOG Twitch XL and Spyderco Calypso Jr, both of which have amazed me for their use and as a 'gadgetaholic'.
But I cannot live with just a blade anymore.
Tinker still an EDC.

Good luck!

Regards,
DeadFish
 
I like the trapper style. The swell fits the hand and the blunt blade has a lot more uses than I ever imagined. I also like the long and short toothpicks, but these are single bladed slipjoints. I see the appeal in muskrats, but have yet to get one. I also like picking up old ones that the "collectors" don't care for, but still have some use in them. SAK are nice but boring. I have one custom medium trapper by Gary Crowder in ATS34 and brown pick bone scales. Nice knife for about $200.
 
My favorite new Vic SAK is the Tinker with blue translucent scales. Looks nice and very functional. Also does not take up much room in the pocket.

When I'm not carrying that its the Soldier. I'm hoping to add the Vic Farmer and Fieldmaster collection in the future.
 
My most used knife is a Case large Gunstock pattern from the Case Brothers series. It has the long spear point blade and a short pen blade. I use it everyday for one thing or another. Mostly for sharpening pencils!
 
The proper combination of tools and cutting blades depends on your particular needs, I EDC a Victorinox Huntsman and a Schrade stockman, the SAK is used mostly for the non cutting blades and the scissors, in the stockman the sheepfoot is all around utility, the clip slices (as for bread or fruit), the spey is kept very sharp for delicate work.

Luis
 
Don Luis said:
The proper combination of tools and cutting blades depends on your particular needs, I EDC a Victorinox Huntsman and a Schrade stockman, the SAK is used mostly for the non cutting blades and the scissors, in the stockman the sheepfoot is all around utility, the clip slices (as for bread or fruit), the spey is kept very sharp for delicate work.
Click to expand...

I always like Luis's suggestions.

For a traditional folder the Stockman probably is a very good choice for a multi-blade. 3 knife blades on two backsprings and mostly pocket-friendly slim:
Case_Schrade.jpg

a now collectible Schrade Uncle Henry Signature stockman 897UH shown with a Case 6318 pattern stockman with CV steel.

My long time "favorite" (cough! splutter!) person on rec.knives has been an advocate of the Stockman pattern and Case CV steel. He sharpens the blades with different angles - and he does things like opening cans with one of the blades! :eek:

Being much less adventurous than him
(nor as stup..... nevermind :D)
I like SAKs - the basic Victorinox Spartan (low priced at about $14!) actually has a spear point large blade and a small pen blade that artsig1 likes so much....
along with screwdrivers, reamer/punch, corkscrew
and a proper can-opener -
some translucent Spartans -
TransSpartans.jpg


From all my years of handling slip-joints I have not found anything that beats Victorinox SAKs for consistently good action - at least no where near their price.
Try something like their SwissChamp and know how difficult that is to do.......
53501_l.jpg

and all that for about $40!

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net
 
Another vote for the sak tinker. I keep coming back to it for over 20 years. Team it up with a good carbon steel stockman and I doubt there is any cutting job you can't do.
 
Chalk me up as another fan of carrying multiple tools for the job. I EDC either a stockman or a moose pattern. The latter is basically a trapper with a blade pivoting on either end, which makes for a narrower knife. Either way I use the clip blade for food-related cutting and the other blades for messier jobs.

However, I've never been a big fan of SAKs, simply because they tend to be uncomfortable in the pocket. I keep a Leatherman Clip-It clipped in my left front pocket at all times, and it's hardly noticeable. Comes in handy, too, since I use the wirecutters on baling wire all the time. It's also nice because I don't have to worry about taking care of the blade as much, and don't feel bad about using it for things like scraping car battery terminals.

In any case, enjoy.

James
 
I keep a large SAK expressly for the amount of tools it has for "just in case" situations. It rides in a bag, not on the body. The ones I was thinking about are the traditional models in nice handle scales and decent steel. Stockman looks interesting with the three blades, as does the the trapper style. What is the spey blade designed for? Is is for any special type of cutting?
 
Ah yes! The spey blade AKA castrating blade. You keep that one very sharp in case the young bull takes it away from you and uses it on you.

Or, to refer to another thread, in case you want to do some reconstructive surgery on an errant chimp ;)


Thomas Zinn
 
In some older knives the spey was ground thin and tempered hard, this made it a bit brittle but better for making clean cuts when castrating animals, it was sometimes etched "For flesh only" to indicate that any hard use might break it.

Luis
 
I tend to carry two knives with me, always a SAK Soldier model and either another slipjoint or a locking knife. The SAK Soldier has the alox scales that can take the rough ride with your keys, change, and other metal objects in the same pocket, and you get a sub-3" spearpoint blade, screwdriver/can opener, screwdriver/bottle opener, and awl.

When carrying a slipjoint, I usually stick to a two-blade knife. I have a Case mini-trapper in CV, which has the clip and spey blades in a sub-4" handle. You get the comfortable handles that brownshoe mentioned in an easily pocketable package. I also like my Case small Texas Jack, which has a long clip blade and a short pen blade. The shape of the handle along with the jigged bone makes for a relatively secure grip. The short blade is very useful for those precision cuts as well as for not scaring the populace.

Hope that helps,

Matthew
 
Victorinox Soldier. Actually, any SAK that catches your fancy will be used more than you realize.
My personal favorite is the V-nox Pioneer Settler. It only has the large and small blades, both spear point.

Paul
 
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