Realizing a SAK IS traditional has helped

shopdoc said:
Somehow I missed this. Covid has my world turned upside down. Trying to change processes at work and incorporate telemedicine for my patients. Kids learning from home for the rest of the school year. College visits cancelled so trying to figure that out without a formal tour. I will adapt as will we all, but I'm not good with change. Knife talk does help relax me.

So, the Executive has become a permanent fixture in my pocket. I'll admit that one day I decided to carry my Pioneer and thought I would be fine just adding my Rambler in the watch pocket. It just didn't feel right. I quickly switched back to the Executive.

While tinkering around in the garage this afternoon and examining the various tools on my SAKs, I decided something. If I carry any other knife with my Executive, it's the Pioneer. I realized that I do not really need the can opener/small phillips tool. I really do not need a can opener in my day to day life, but have always needed this tool because of the small phillips head...use that all the time. However, now that I have the Executive, I do not need the phillips on the can opener anymore. Soooo, I grabbed my electrician and threw that in the pocket instead. The sheepsfoot blade is fantastic (wish it did not have the wire scraper, but that's ok). It was the floral knife that made me think of this. I was using it to tear down some cardboard boxes. My wife and I travelled to a local meat processing store to pick up around 200lbs of beef from 1/4 steer we split with 3 other families and there were several boxes that needed cut up. Man, that floral knife has just blown me away! I would like to carry the floral sak with my Executive (when I'm in the mood to carry a second SAK), but what has kept me carrying the Pioneer, and now the Electrician, is that I like having a heavier duty pry tool. The awl also comes in handy when I want to start a screw or hole to drill.

All the above being said, I know I can get by 99% of the time with my Executive. When the Executive is not enough, I have whatever other tool I need nearby. I might just have to walk into the next room is all.
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I'm glad you're discovering the floral knife, doc. Its a mean slicer and dicer!

When I augment my CYS knife with another SAK, its either my Old Wenger SI, but more of late the Floral/garden knife. The thing is a cutting machine, and soooo easy to sharpen when needed. I can do without the tools of the SI/pioneer type SAK as long as my Victorinox quatro and P-38 are in my wallet. Those two little flat tools let me loose a whole opener layer of the bigger SAK's.

If I'm home, theres a tool kit in the house and the tool pegboard out in the shop with real full size tools on it.

Did I mention the Victorinox garden/floral knife cuts like the dickens?:D

WWCYD. (What would Chuck Yeager do?)
 
Floral knife is good,i wish victorinox makes a larger model ,with 4 inch blade,also regular blade with same handle as floral knife in 4 inch configuration with bottle-can opener-single layer combo.Some of these knives are just too short when i cut food.
 
One thing that has always amazed me about Swiss Army Knives is the quality control.

I've probably owned 2 dozen Swiss Army Knives over the years. Every single one was flawless and I've never had one fail. If only other manufacturers could build knives to this standard!

When I was in 4th or 5th grade, MacGyver was a big deal. I felt like I could do anything with my Swiss Army Knife. LOL.
 
shopdoc said:
Somehow I missed this. Covid has my world turned upside down. Trying to change processes at work and incorporate telemedicine for my patients. Kids learning from home for the rest of the school year. College visits cancelled so trying to figure that out without a formal tour. I will adapt as will we all, but I'm not good with change. Knife talk does help relax me.

So, the Executive has become a permanent fixture in my pocket. I'll admit that one day I decided to carry my Pioneer and thought I would be fine just adding my Rambler in the watch pocket. It just didn't feel right. I quickly switched back to the Executive.

While tinkering around in the garage this afternoon and examining the various tools on my SAKs, I decided something. If I carry any other knife with my Executive, it's the Pioneer. I realized that I do not really need the can opener/small phillips tool. I really do not need a can opener in my day to day life, but have always needed this tool because of the small phillips head...use that all the time. However, now that I have the Executive, I do not need the phillips on the can opener anymore. Soooo, I grabbed my electrician and threw that in the pocket instead. The sheepsfoot blade is fantastic (wish it did not have the wire scraper, but that's ok). It was the floral knife that made me think of this. I was using it to tear down some cardboard boxes. My wife and I travelled to a local meat processing store to pick up around 200lbs of beef from 1/4 steer we split with 3 other families and there were several boxes that needed cut up. Man, that floral knife has just blown me away! I would like to carry the floral sak with my Executive (when I'm in the mood to carry a second SAK), but what has kept me carrying the Pioneer, and now the Electrician, is that I like having a heavier duty pry tool. The awl also comes in handy when I want to start a screw or hole to drill.

All the above being said, I know I can get by 99% of the time with my Executive. When the Executive is not enough, I have whatever other tool I need nearby. I might just have to walk into the next room is all.
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I don't know if you're up to it but if you take a SAK Ranger you can grind off the curve of the blade and you have in essence an Electrician without the wire scraper. I've been rather tempted myself for the same reason.
 
jackknife said:
Have ya found any use for the orange peeler yet? o_O
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Ha. Not other than peeling oranges. Funny you ask as I took a dremel to it yesterday in an attempt to make a bottle opener out of the orange peeler. Just could not make it work. Sooo now I just have a screw driver. Ha. Which is fine, but then I started to think I should have tried the orange peeler on those clam shell bomb/advanced weaponry proof packages. Long story short, I have a 2nd Executive on the way ‍♂️.
 
shopdoc said:
Ha. Not other than peeling oranges. Funny you ask as I took a dremel to it yesterday in an attempt to make a bottle opener out of the orange peeler. Just could not make it work. Sooo now I just have a screw driver. Ha. Which is fine, but then I started to think I should have tried the orange peeler on those clam shell bomb/advanced weaponry proof packages. Long story short, I have a 2nd Executive on the way ‍♂️.
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Wow doc, it sounds like the CYS knifes becoming a habit with you. Be veeeery careful doc!:D
 
I actually own three Executives...the first one that I carried for a short while is red, and then I got two black ones, one of which is my EDC. The other black one was because I liked the design and color so much, I bought it as a back up, and it still hasn’t been used yet after 21 years. :) I’m still carrying the first black one.

I’ve found the orange peeler does work well on that hard-to-open plastic packaging. IMO, better than as an orange peeler, especially if the orange has particularly thick skin. It also works well as a scraping blade. I thought I read somewhere that the original purpose of the ‘orange peeler’ blade wasn’t necessarily for peeling oranges, but Victorinox settled on that name for it.

Jim
 
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James Y said:
I actually own three Executives...the first one that I carried for a short while is red, and then I got two black ones, one of which is my EDC. The other black one was because I liked the design and color so much, I bought it as a back up, and it still hasn’t been used yet after 21 years. :) I’m still carrying the first black one.

I’ve found the orange peeler does work well on that hard-to-open plastic packaging. IMO, better than as an orange peeler, especially if the orange has particularly thick skin. It also works well as a scraping blade. I thought I read somewhere that the original purpose of the ‘orange peeler’ blade wasn’t necessarily for peeling oranges, but Victorinox settled on that name for it.

Jim
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Jim do you have any idea of the original intent of the orange peeler?
 
shopdoc said:
Jim do you have any idea of the original intent of the orange peeler?
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I’m not certain, but it might have originally been intended as a scraper blade(?). That little hooking edge is also good for cutting/breaking those plastic security seals around jar lids and aspirin caps, for example. The tool also gives you a nice little serrated edge for things you might not want to use the spear and pen blades for.

Jim
 
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Actually, it does a very good job on small plastic zip ties and slippery polypropylene rope that regular knife blades slide on. The little serrated edge bites right into the fibers.

I only wish Victorinox would make the serrated edge longer, like in at least half the length of the tool.
 
My Pioneer has been an alternate carry to my Spartan that accompanies my Executive, but I’m planning on making the Pioneer the Executive’s main companion in my EDC. I’ve been using an eyeglass screwdriver kit that tightens the eyeglass screws better than the little mini-driver that lives in my Spartan’s corkscrew; it has a longer handle, which gives more leverage in use. The mini-screwdriver was the main reason I carried the Spartan more than the Pioneer. I think I’ll let the Spartan take a rest for now and concentrate on the Pioneer with the Executive.

Jim
 
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