I pulled out my SAK Super Tinker, and they all stopped talking and looked at it. Almost to a man, they all went "If that's a REAL Swiss Army knife, then it can't be beat. Those get REAL sharp. Those are REAL tough. Those are REAL handy. Those are REAL famous. REAL funtcional. REALLY good knives." Etc., etc.
Only time I've ever seen a similar chorus of respect for a particular knife like that was many years ago when someone mentioned Old Timers (
of course, I'm talking about the real U.S. made carbon steel ones). The guys I was yakking with didn't even call 'em Schrades - to them, "Old Timer" said it all: Great edge holding, tough as nails, dependable, affordable, etc.
It's funny. Looking back, the Old Timer knives really cut (pardon the pun) across a lot of lines. Growing up in Florida, I came across Old Timer fans who were old, young, black, white, city, redneck, and so forth. All had two things in common: an appreciation for a quality pocketknife, and the certitude that, if the knife said "Old Timer" on the side, that's exactly what it was, a quality pocketknife.
BTW, great post El Cuchillo. I'm with your boys - SAK are great!
