Question for the SAK experts

harronek · Aug 18, 2014

I have a question for the SAK experts in regards to the nail nick ( is that how you spell it , or is it knick ? ) on the main blade of the Alox range of knives .
Do different models have the nail nick positioned in different places or is it a a standard blade for all models.
Don't crucify me , but I really love a Sheepsfoot blade shape and I'm considering altering the standard blade to a Sheepsfoot configuration . I have no problem losing a bit of blade length to achieve this .
Problem is that the nail nick is quite forward towards the tip of the blade on the models I have in front of me .
I can still achieve what I want with this setup , but it would make my life easier if it were fractionally back towards the handle .
So the question is are all the main blades the same ?

Ken

Alnamvet68 · Aug 18, 2014

No expert here, but a casual glance of several of my SAK's, alox and celidor, show the main blades for roughly each size category, to be the same. 91mm cellidor's and 93mm alox's use the same blade, with Wenger's blade's nail nick to be slightly different, but in the same place. Not for nothing, but doing what you want to do is the height of blasphemy, and will earn you a spot in SAK hell.

iSaur · Aug 18, 2014

As you have noticed, the nicks are all far forward. This is good from the point of view of leverage when opening, bad for modifications. I've often thought I would like a SAK with a clip blade, but that wouldn't look right unless I cut a new nail nick, which I hesitate to do. You may have to be satisfied with a very abrupt sheepsfoot. Or you can just sharpen it until you have a Wharnecliffe.

SAK Guy · Aug 18, 2014

iSaur said:
As you have noticed, the nicks are all far forward. This is good from the point of view of leverage when opening, bad for modifications. I've often thought I would like a SAK with a clip blade, but that wouldn't look right unless I cut a new nail nick, which I hesitate to do. You may have to be satisfied with a very abrupt sheepsfoot. Or you can just sharpen it until you have a Wharnecliffe.

glassjaw · Aug 18, 2014

SAK Guy said:

I swear you have every variation of a SAK! Someone mentions anything and I feel you have a knife around to show. With impeccable photos to boot. It's always a pleasure seeing them.

SAK Guy · Aug 18, 2014

glassjaw said:
I swear you have every variation of a SAK! Someone mentions anything and I feel you have a knife around to show. With impeccable photos to boot. It's always a pleasure seeing them.

LOL, Thanks glass, I appreciate that! A few knives, a Photobucket account and no life makes it all possible......

Did someone mention Sheepsfoot?

Homemade but still....

comis · Aug 19, 2014

Alnamvet68 said:
No expert here, but a casual glance of several of my SAK's, alox and celidor, show the main blades for roughly each size category, to be the same. 91mm cellidor's and 93mm alox's use the same blade, with Wenger's blade's nail nick to be slightly different, but in the same place. Not for nothing, but doing what you want to do is the height of blasphemy, and will earn you a spot in SAK hell.

Actually, 91mm cellidor's model has different blade than 93mm Alox. The 93mm Alox has sligtly longer and beefier blade than the 91mm cellidor. If you put them side by side, you will see the difference is obvious.

Alnamvet68 · Aug 19, 2014

comis said:
Actually, 91mm cellidor's model has different blade than 93mm Alox. The 93mm Alox has sligtly longer and beefier blade than the 91mm cellidor. If you put them side by side, you will see the difference is obvious.

Yes and no...it really depends on how many layers a SAK will have, and how much crinking is involved. Some Solo alox's for example, come either centered, or canted to one side, and that's because some Solo blades were specifically ground for the Solo, and these blades would not be used in a 2 or 3 or more layered knife. My understanding is that these perfectly symmetrical blades are no more, and so blades used for multi-layered models are found on some later Solo's. Sometimes one side is ground thinner than the opposite side, and sometimes there is a distinctive bend in the the tang so they can be installed in multi-layered models; all this crinking and bending, or asymmetrical grinding is to insure that multi-layered SAK's don't develop blade rub...a feature Vic has perfected.

kershawguy13 · Aug 19, 2014

Alnamvet68 said:
Yes and no...it really depends on how many layers a SAK will have, and how much crinking is involved. Some Solo alox's for example, come either centered, or canted to one side, and that's because some Solo blades were specifically ground for the Solo, and these blades would not be used in a 2 or 3 or more layered knife. My understanding is that these perfectly symmetrical blades are no more, and so blades used for multi-layered models are found on some later Solo's. Sometimes one side is ground thinner than the opposite side, and sometimes there is a distinctive bend in the the tang so they can be installed in multi-layered models; all this crinking and bending, or asymmetrical grinding is to insure that multi-layered SAK's don't develop blade rub...a feature Vic has perfected.

93 mm Alox has a thicker and longer blade than 91 mm.

Alnamvet68 · Aug 19, 2014

kershawguy13 said:
93 mm Alox has a thicker and longer blade than 91 mm.

...and the blade on the 84mm is thicker and longer than a 58mm. The blade on my 35+ year old 91mm Traveler and on my 93mm Alox Pioneer are different because the 91mm blade is ground on one side, so it's not symmetrical...2 different blades for 2 different sized knives. That said, your post does not address the salient points of my post, even though you quoted it.

comis · Aug 21, 2014

I am not a grind or symmetry expert, so I won't comment on whether a specific blade on certain model during a certain period will grind differently or has different symmetry. But just looking at the spine and the total length of the main blade, 93mm aloxes have longer blade length and thicker spine, than my 91mm cellidor.

I have so far collected 121 91mm cellidor models and 86 93mm aloxes, if you could name a particular 93mm alox(model and era) that has main blade with shorter length and thinner spine than a 91mm cellidor(model and era), please do let me know and I would look it up or even try to get one.