Multiple blades vs. blades and tools

It's an interesting question and definitely YMMV territory.

I own a beautiful Ulster Camper (similar to the SAK) and I treasure that knife. But that's for emotional reasons. 95% of the time it sits on display on the top of my dresser and it rarely supplants my Opinel #8 (or Schrade 5OT lock back) from my pocket. Here's why...

I have an Ulster BSA knife in my basement bike shop. I got it when I was 8. My first knife. Used it and abused it till I was in college. It sits down on the shop bench with a busted bolster. Repeated use of the screw driver blade eventually wrecked the knife. You might see where this post is going.

I also own 2 nice enough multi-tools. One is a Gerber and the other a Leatherman. Both of them have twisted and damaged screw driver blades.

I'm a former bike mechanic, which doesn't make me some sort tool tough-guy but it has left me with some opinions. Lousy tools frustrate me and I've concluded that screwdriver blades on knives make lousy tools. If it's me, a tight screw and a knife/multi-tool, then the result is always a combination of a stripped screw, barked knuckles, a damaged knife and foul language.

If I were working in a job that required constant access to both a knife and a short stubby standard blade driver, I can see using a SAK style knife. I know a guy who made his career fighting fires out west and he carries a basic SAK and love it. The driver works for removing air filters and adjusting chain tensions and in that situation, the knife is a working knife that can be replaced when (not if) it croaks. I know computer techs who feel the same way as they regularly need to take off computer shells and an SAK is sufficient for that. But, for general around the house and in the shop? Nope, not me. I'll take the extra few minutes to fetch a proper tool.

I find single blade knifes to be vastly superior EDC knives. They're lighter, thinner, have better blades. They pocket better and once open, make better knives. At least for my taste.

The question of camping has come up. I keep a key ring sized SAK in my first aid kid for bandage & moleskin prep and toe nail surgery. Our car camping kit has a can opener in the utensil bag. On bike tours, I carry proper bike tools and like wise, for ski camping and winter hiking, I carry the appropriate tools to fix and adjust bindings and crampons and such. Attempting to repair a ski binding with an SAK is an act of desperation. In all of these camping cases, you'll find my Opinel #8 in my pocket. I find it's a better knife, especially for food prep.

The one multi-blade SAK style knife that turns my head occasionally are the SAK Trekkers. I gave older versions of that knife to all my groom's men in my wedding and I know at least 2 of them still use them regularly (about 30 years ago now!). The blades on those knifes are long enough for reasonable kitchen use and they're nice and light. If I saw one on the ground, I would pick it up and take it home. But I doubt it would replace my #8.
 
Pinnah, I agree about the right tool for the job. Obviously a regular screw driver is just about always a better option than a screw driver on a knife. For me the drivers on a SAK fill the void created by the fact that I don't carry a tool box with me everywhere I go. There are random times that occur when a screw needs to be tightened, a bottle needs opening, or I need to make a new hole in my belt(usually after opening a few too many bottles :p). A good portion of these times I'm away from home or my car. This leaves me with what I have in my pockets. In theory, I would rather have all of these tools in one nice package, rather than a blade in one pocket, a screwdriver on my keys, and a bottle opener somewhere else. If only they could find a way to make these SAKs with a little more character. I guess it's a form over function thing.
 
mdsmith,

There's just no point in arguing about what works best from one person to another. Different rhythms of life/work produce different needs. If the need/opportunity for a driver blades present themselves with regularity, I totally get the appeal of the SAKs.

As for the "character" issue, I think the Victorixox Soldier's have more character than the stock SAK red plastic.
images


But, I think the old US made BSA/Camper knives have even more. Here's mine before I buffed out the blade fully (sorry for crappy picture).
camper.JPG


In terms of character, I'll take the old BSA style knives any day. I also vastly prefer the asymmetric spear point blades. Mine's an Ulster, but lots of other wonderful ones out there.
 
pinnah said:
mdsmith,
There's just no point in arguing about what works best from one person to another.
Click to expand...

There's no arguing, just a couple of knife guys discussing what they chose to carry and why. Sorry if my response gave you that impression.

I also really like the scout pattern. Unfortunately, the only one I have is an old Camillus that I bought used. The blades and pretty rusted up, and while trying to clean the knive up a bit, the wal broke. The regular blade is in decent shape now, but the driver bits are pretty darn hard to open.
 
No two or three people will have the same taste in anything.

Some people will drink their coffee black, some will ad a little sugar, while still others will dump cream and sugar in their morning brew. All individual taste, that while we may like it one way, there will be another who will shudder at our taste.

Nice thing about a free country, we can take it anyway we like, and have an opinion about it.

Carl.
 
Heh... I was trying to ensure *MY* comments wouldn't be heard as being argumentative!!!!! ;)
 
jackknife said:
No two or three people will have the same taste in anything.

Some people will drink their coffee black, some will ad a little sugar, while still others will dump cream and sugar in their morning brew. All individual taste, that while we may like it one way, there will be another who will shudder at our taste.

Nice thing about a free country, we can take it anyway we like, and have an opinion about it.

Carl.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Not to mention that if we all had the same outlook on things, these forums would be pretty boring. I like to pick peoples brains on why they do what they do. I almost always leave with a new perspective and appreciation of things. Take the peanut for example. There was a time, in my tactical knife only phase, that I would have laughed at the tiny knife. Now, after spending some time here, I have a greater appreciatioin of a smaller blade. And while it may not make me sell off all of my one handers, it has definitely changed my overall outlook on knives.
 
pinnah said:
Heh... I was trying to ensure *MY* comments wouldn't be heard as being argumentative!!!!! ;)
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Lol. I guess that's the funny thing about these forums. Sometimes it's hard to grasp the tone or intention of the words that are typed.
 
I carry a Spyderco LadyBug and a Leatherman Style PS. Most people who carry a multi-tool report that they only regularly use the scissors and pliers. Almost no one needs a file regularly or awl punch or any of the other stuff. They almost all have knives, too, but the knives on multi-tools tend to be less-than-stellar or awkward to use (due to the multi-tool they are attached to).

That's why I carry those two things: great knife, great pliers and scissors, nothing else.
 
I've got an Allox Soldier, a Camper, and a Rucksack that I carry on occasion, but I always have a Vic Rambler on the keychain and usually I have a regular knife in my pocket. That little Rambler will do a lot (including opening a beer bottle). I have been known to just have the Rambler and a Woodswalker on me. I generally don't need anything else.

Now when I go to Nicaragua (once or twice a year) I take the Camper. Down there, it is unbelieveably handy and if some local gendarme decides to confiscate it I ain't out a lot of money.
 
6thtexas said:
Now when I go to Nicaragua (once or twice a year) I take the Camper. Down there, it is unbelieveably handy and if some local gendarme decides to confiscate it I ain't out a lot of money.
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Just outta curiosity, what makes the Camper "unbelievably" handy in Nicaragua?
I mean I understand its a different country and things are different, but what differences make the camper so useful for you while your there??
 
Well, down there I have used about everything on it but the corkscrew, and I've used the little eyeglass driver that stores in the corkscrew more than once. Nobody has any tools. One time we rewired an electrical switch with it at church. That was at night and thankfully I had a small flashlight as well. I tried carrying a multitool, but the Camper is a lot lighter in my pocket and cheaper to replace if it "walks off". I took a Huntsman on 2-3 trips but it is bulkier and I never used the scissors.

Last year I took 6 or 7 Campers down and gave them away to some friends down there. They were a big hit.
 
mdsmith said:
I guess that was really my question here.... what makes you chose to carry the knives that you do.
Click to expand...

fixed that for you...
This is a neat thread. I've carried and used several MTs as well as the more common SAKs and traditional folders. What dictates the type of knife, or tool, that I choose to carry has more to do with need and usefulness than anything else.
In truth I carry a Vic Classic everyday. It's just too usefull. I carry it loose in my pocket because it's easier to have full access to the available tools without fiddling with my keys. It gets more use on a daily basis than whatever multi blade folder that is along for the ride. If I'm honest with myself the other knife is more or less a type of pocket jewelry than something carried out of an actual need.
 
My Vic Soldier has a blade, can opener, bottler opener, wire stripper, and awl. I can preform the functions of all those tools with a simple knife, especially a fixed blade or hard-use folder. That's why I never carry any of my SAKs from my boy scout days, and prefer a dedicated knife. With slipjoints I like one or two blades, if the blades are different enough to warrant different uses. For multitools I just carry a leatherman on my belt whenever I am going somewhere to work on something.
 
I dunno.
  • I carried a stockman every day for years.
  • I carried a Vic Tinker daily for a few more.
  • Then Multi-tools came along. Leatherman, Gerber, Schrade made one. I carried one daily for another couple of years.
  • And one-handers, which I still carry most of the time.
So, where does that leave me today?
Most commonly, with a Buck 301 in my front pocket and a one-hander in my back pocket.
Why? Cause it takes care of most of what I need to do on a daily basis.
And because I find carrying them just feels right.
 
sappyg said:
If I'm honest with myself the other knife is more or less a type of pocket jewelry than something carried out of an actual need.
Click to expand...

Ouch!!

Given that most of aren't engaged in work that demands a knife, this is more. True than I might want to admit. But I do find thar I regularly use my knife. After carrying my Opinel #8 along side my slipjoints, I can honestly say that 1) there very few thing I can do with a normal slipjoint that I can't do witch a keychain SAK and 2) the longer blade of the #8 allows me to use it for food prep in ways that I can't with smaller knives. Another way to way this is that the #8 is used constantly. Not at all just pocket jewelry.
 
pinnah said:
Ouch!!

Given that most of aren't engaged in work that demands a knife, this is more. True than I might want to admit. But I do find thar I regularly use my knife. After carrying my Opinel #8 along side my slipjoints, I can honestly say that 1) there very few thing I can do with a normal slipjoint that I can't do witch a keychain SAK and 2) the longer blade of the #8 allows me to use it for food prep in ways that I can't with smaller knives. Another way to way this is that the #8 is used constantly. Not at all just pocket jewelry.
Click to expand...

Do you use the Opi only for food prep, or for other EDC tasks as well?
I started a thread about this a while ago and it seems that the Opinel is used for food prep exclusively and most of the times falls short for other tasks.
So most carry another knife for the more day to day cuttings be it a SAK or traditional slippy.
 
Spydutch, I use it for everything.

If you were to have asked me that this past spring, I would have answered differently. But some helpful people on this board, I was able to make some adjustments on my Opinel that transformed for me. The trick was to remove the locking and to file down the ramp along the top edge so that the ring can spin between 90 and 180 degrees. On my knife, this made the locking mechanism much more secure.

In terms of general ruggedness and security of the lock, I would rate my modified Opinel a solid step below my lockbacks and roughly on par with or better than any liner lock (which I don't trust) that I've used. I would rate the Opinel better than any slipoint I've owned, by a very long shot.

Add to this that the Opinel is lighter than any of them and it's most used pocket knife.

This exactly why my Ulster Camper sits in display. Its way heavier than my Opinel, the blade is shorter, it doesn't lock and if I use it real hard, the joint will loosen.
 
for the past year or so, i have been doing very well with an alox soldier and a case med. cv stockman as edc knives. best part is that i found that both knives ride comfortably in the watch pocket of my jeans. and oh yes--each blade of the stockman is regulated to separate duties. have tried but just can't put that alox soldier away!

brian
 
My first knife was a small Stockman. Oldtimer. I feel like I am at a point now where I am ready to move back to traditional folders. I have a multi tool that goes a lot of places with me, but I really hardly ever use it.

I agree with what has already been said. The multi tool just does not do anything for me. I don't get any pleasure out of carrying it. If I need it, I am glad I have it. But I don't get the happy feeling I get when I pull out a nice knife (be that a quality fixed blade, "tactical" folder, or traditional slip joint)....... Just something about it.

Every knife I carry is sharp as a laser. Convexed, polished edge on the strop. Not my Leatherman. I don't care about it as much as my "knives"

That said, I do like the old slipjoint knives with the tools. (AKA boy scout style).
 
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