Not to be a jerk, but why are SAKs so popular?

[SgtCuts]

Ill give you the one word answer.......MACGYVER............need I say more?

 

[BladeChick777]

Because they're good knives, awesome quality and fit and finish, come with so many options and colors, different tools, are economically friendly, and handle just about anything you throw at them. I agree that I do have a one handed folding knife that I carry and use. But I love the SAK's as well. I often have one with me. Sure there are other multi-tools out there but you just aren't going to get what you can with an SAK. An SAK is compact, can pack as many tools(if not more), is well designed to be able to get to all of your tools easily, making everything simple. The Multi-tools that have what SAK's have are usually the larger ones that are often heavy and sometimes just don't carry well. A lot of people don't like bulk, so a pocketable SAK that is normally light is a good alternative.

 

[hjoe78]

McGyver gave the publicity they need, they are easy to get and come with reasonable price. I remember when I was a kid I used to carry one and they came in handy. I think I'm gonna get one now .

 

[Marc9910]

I don't feel like i would even get one for traveling overseas, i'd grab a multi-tool, a lightweight folder and a small fixed blade and be done with it.

That's the whole point of a SAK, so you dont have to cart 3 knives around with you...

Realistically, and I am talking about the alox versions, they are strong tools that can get a job done when you don't have the actual specific tool for each job. They fill the gap of still being able to do the job versus not being able to do the job without going back to the house/car/garage to get the specific tool.

 

[shecky]

I had one, got it at age 10. Cut my thumb in 1/2 [almost] when i was 25 with it. I have no clue where it went but i never had the urge again to get a replacement. [too much blood lost?? ]

Blade spontaneously close on your thumb?

Low cost models offer high utility, reliable and consistent performance that many highly esteemed knife manufacturers can only dream of. They're easy to maintain. Anyone unfavorably comparing a SAK to a Leatherman either doesn't realize that SAKs come in different configurations, or that Victorinox makes plier-based multitools. Anyone unaware that SAKs compare favorably with knives costing many times more in fit and finish hasn't seen many knives.

 

[DylanMW]

I always found them rather worthless also until a year back my mom got my a Leatherman P4 squirt as a gift. I would throw it in my pocket every day and was AMAZED at how much I would use it! I didn't think I would ever use it, but once I knew I had it there were all kinds of ways it would make my life easier!

Recently I started carrying a SAK Recruit in my pocket at work. I work maintenance at a clinic part time at night so when I am walking around breaking down boxes there are always little kids running around who came from a late night emergence check up or something. If I busted out my 0560 a mom would more than likely freak out. The red SAK is just so accepted that no one even notices when I am using it to tighten a screw, or whatever it is I am using it for.

I will say that a full size multi tool like the Leatherman Surge or Wave would probably be more useful there size is just not something I want in my pocket all the time.

 

[t1mpani]

I have several---haven't carried one for years, but haven't decided to get rid of them quite yet. I suppose, for me, I find a Leatherman to be superior simply because the driving tools are actually square-edged and not rounded. I remember attempting to help somebody put a desk together once at work with my SAK Farmer and the polished/rounded screwdriver just seemed to glide right out of the screw heads when they started to get a little harder to turn. Look at true screwdrivers--you'll never find a high quality one with a mirror polished head and radiused corners. Yes, you can square them with a file, but its annoying to need to. Same is true with the Swiss Multitools (I have a Spirit) and I just find that the slightly "rougher" surface finish of a Leatherman makes for more go (with admittedly less show) when I actually want to use one for something. The replaceable bits is also a feature which just really floats my boat, I like being able to zip open the pouch on my wallet and pull out a hex, torx or square drive when I need one. Now there's absolutely no denying that you pay for the rougher finish in terms of tools/blades that can be a good deal harder to pull open than a nice Victorinox, but I've come to the conclusion that I'd rather have to bear down on the nail nick a little harder than be cursing the tool the whole time during use. The mutli-surface (one of them diamond) file on my Leatherman Charge Ti also is vastly superior to any SAK file I've ever seen. I also, personally, have far more use for a pair of pliers than a corkscrew.

In SAK's favor, I think--though very similar--Victorinox (can't really speak to Wenger) really nailed the saw a little bit better than Leatherman. For a start, the SAK teeth are straight as opposed to the rear-pointing, pull-saw setup on my Leatherman models, and this really is superior when using teeth as large and aggressive as these little saws have, it's just easier to get a cut channel started. Also, I'll agree that the SAK scissors are a little better than the Leatherman's, though neither is my choice for true precision, and I seldom need scissors in the normal run of things.

Now, as to the "real knife people don't carry SAKs" argument...well, that's just false. I suppose I can, however, relate to a certain disinterest in them, based PURELY upon the fact that a SAK really is the beige Volvo of the knife world. Serviceable, sensible, very pleasant and polite and civilized in a pleasantly dull sort of way, and absolutely devoid of any kind of personality. I love one-hand opening (assisted or flipper is even better), high end steels, G10/Micarta/carbon fiber/titanium/exotic hardwood and all the rest, and get about as excited about a red-plastic handled knife (the aluminum ones are slightly better) with 420HC blades as I would about drinking a light beer. Now, I can just hear it: the bubbling assertion in somebody's fingers that...let's all say it together...knives are just TOOLS to them and they don't go in for all of that enthusiast stuff. I smile because it's BS and you know it. If you're a member of an internet forum about knives with hundreds or thousands of posts, you're an enthusiast. I can almost guarantee that you do not have an equal number of posts on "socket wrench forums" elsewhere on the net, nor that you regularly pop into "power vac forums" just to see what's going on. So, admit it, you're fan-boys too.

All of that said, however, the basic truth is that people like different things, and the NEED that some people exhibit (I'm not pointing fingers at anyone specific, just throwing this out here) to have people see things the same way they do exhibits insecurity and lack of confidence . There are plenty of folks who have as little interest in my knives as I have in their SAKs, and we all spend our money where we want to spend our money when we can. The best SAK makers have been delivering satisfaction to a very large segment of the knife-buying public for longer than anyone on these boards has been alive, and will continue to do so long after we're all gone.

 

[RogueBowie]

My first knife was a SAK that my dad gave to me with my initials engraved on it. I still have it, I will never use or sell it. That's enough for me to like them plenty.

I actually just bought a new Vic Tinker today too just because I knew that it would be 25 bucks well spent. Consistency of quality is another great thing about SAK's in my opinion.

Another thing I like about them is that if someone comes up to you and asks you if you have a knife they could use for something you know that if you hand them your SAK they will most likely know how to use it and not be scared or think you're a serial killer. Where as if you hand them your ZT 0550 or Spyderco Military they might start slowly backing away from you. Also if they break your knife it's not expensive to replace.

 

[mrdeus]

I've had my SAK for 20+ years and it has come in handy many many times. Especially when back packing or living abroad under kind of spartan conditions. Nowadays I carry an EDC blade and some tools for my bike, but I always have the SAK in my bag. Are there better multi tools? I'm sure there are. Are there heavier tools? Yes. Someone mentioned that "there are better tools", but I for one won't lug around my professional wine opener and set of top of the line screw drivers in my bag _every day_. If I know for sure that I'll need a specific tool, then I'll bring it, but a SAK is for carrying all the time. A SAK is convenient, to put it in one word.

 

[powernoodle]

SAKs = most utility in the smallest package. There are many other reasons that they are popular, but I think it boils down to that.

 

[timberweasel]

SAKs = most utility in the smallest package. There are many other reasons that they are popular, but I think it boils down to that.

As the Fonz would say... "Correctamundo!" :thumbup:

 

[jmsodpc]

I stopped using my sak once I got a swisstool.

I never liked how the blades didn't lock on the sak

 

[Morrow]

Better multi-tools exist. Better knives exist. Better small knives exist, and I don't understand why SAKs have such a high rep on a forum built around knife-owners who know more than the average sheeple. Why are they so popular when I see no reason for them not to be replaced by a higher quality substitute that can get the jobs done better?

Blah blah blah. Why don't you back up some of your statements? Better how? Better why? The fact that SAKs have such a good rep on this forum should tell you something. You see no reason for them not to be replaced with what?

 

[Daddyo16]

Why are they so popular? Cuz people like 'em and they have stood the test of time.

Why do people start threads that try to cast doubt on the preferences of others?

 

[klute]

He wasn't necessarily casting doubt. Seems to me he was defining his reasons as to why he doesn't understand why they are so popular.

 

[klute]

Because they're good knives

If we are talking the traditional non-locking red handled SAK then i would disagree. The ergos aren't there and a slip joint just doesn't bode well for anything more than light use. I can spend $25 and get a much better knife.

A SAK is a compromise.

 

[crom]

Get one here on the for sale boards second-hand and see for yourself. I recommend getting an ALOX model but that's just my preference.

 

[KP]

Or buying real tools.

I commute to an office everyday so my "real tools" are at home. A SAK has the tools that I can realistically carry in my pocket and would most likely use in a NYC office. That being said, I do keep the pliers-based SwissTool Spirit in my briefcase too.

And I do believe in carrying real knives but unfortunately, I can get a ticket for having a locking or fixed blade in NYC. I save that for evenings or the weekend when I'm not in the city.

 

[KP]

If we are talking the traditional non-locking red handled SAK then i would disagree. The ergos aren't there and a slip joint just doesn't bode well for anything more than light use. I can spend $25 and get a much better knife.

A SAK is a compromise.

That's the point. If you need something for heavy use, then get something else. If you like to have a few common tools in a well designed, pocket sized format that will get small jobs done in a pinch, then a SAK will be the tool you have with you, not the one you have to go to your toolbox or truck or shop to get.

Again, tell us these better knives for $25...

 

[klute]

There is one i saw, had 3 or 4 "blades" on the metallic handle was a green badge with a cross on it. Looked like it was capable, decent ergos, i would give it a shot.