SAK for survival???

Junkyard

Junkyard

Joined
Aug 8, 2002
Messages
710
I have been reading a lot lately about survival, and I understand that the best survival knife is the one that you have with you when the survival situation arises. When I was younger I did quite a bit of camping and carried a Victorinox Hiker as my only knife. Now I'm a bit older and have expanded my knife collection, but I still carry a SAK, (a Victorinox Pioneer w/ saw blade) to "back -up" my Sebenzas. I know of people going on "survival weekends" where you go hiking into the woods with only the clothes on your back, some water and a pocket knife to "test" your skills. Have any of you guys done this, or been in real survival situations with only a SAK? How has the SAK faired?
I know there are far better choices, but if you only had a SAK in a situation, could it be done?

Thanks in advance,
Jason
 
I've never done any "survival" walks as such, but will offer a few observations.

Any knife can be pressed into service as a "survival" knife. The key thing is to not push the blade beyond it's capabilities unless it truly is a life or death situation. If it comes down to a true survival situation, the various SAK models will give you more options than a knife with a single blade. This is especially true of the ones with a saw blade as it increases your shelter building capabilities. The saw blade also works well for building deadfall triggers. No matter what you choose to carry it will be a trade off. There is no perfect do-it-all knife.

Chopping is not the most important use of a "survival" knife.

I have carried a SAK in the woods for years...hunting, fishing, trapping, camping, hiking, etc. Not once have I felt that I didn't have enough knife.

Hope this makes sense, and as always, your mileage may vary.

Paul
 
Workchamp! Workchamp!
 
Having carried a SAK for a couple of years now after "re-discovering" them, I would place them near the top of the list for almost any survival situation. But it also depends on what you're trying to survive. If you are wood walking, hiking, skiing or some other outdoor sport the SAK will do you well. Involved in a self defense fight for life...probably not.
 
What Robert H said, WORKCHAMP, WORKCHAMP, WORKCHAMP! I just got one for Christmas and it is the perfect tool for eveyday needs.

I attached a small white Photon II light to the split ring as I do with all of other SAK's.

It's a big knife and daily pocket carry is pretty much out, but I carry a small belt pouch where ever I go.

Have a great weekend!
 
My best friend had only an Officer's model SAK (with saw) when he and another guy got dumped from their inflatable raft on the upper Skeena River one chilly October, a decade ago. They both survived, barely, by good preparation and luck. One factor was their float jackets and thick synthetic underwear (the kind you wear under waders). My buddy struggled to shore while his partner was washed up further downstream on an island. He lit a fire using flares sewn into his survival jackaet, and cut firewood with his SAK for several days until a search party showed up when they were overdue. You'd be surprised how much firewood you can saw with a SAK when you've nothing else to do but try to stay warm, he said later.:p
 
I hate SAK's, i used to use them alot when i was a kid but when i grew up i kept breaking them and pushing them too hard. I will admit i am hard on my knives and tend to abuse them alot. SAK's are still useful around the city for the bottle opener and scre drivers but in a survival situation i would much prefer a more solid tool, in a survival situation the only thing a SAK has over any other knife is the saw. So i take a good strong Full tang construction FB and a small wire saw. Then i dont have to worry about breaking the thing when i most need it. Just my .02
 
I think the most important thing on a SAK besides a saw is the magnifying glass. If you have no other way of making a fire, I would prefer the loupe to the firebow.
 
in a survival situation the only thing a SAK has over any other knife is the saw.
Click to expand...

I agree...and I carry my multitool everyday for that reason....*grumble*....the one time I'm in the woods and I DIDN'T bring it, I actually could have REALLY used it's saw:(. Nothing like making a fork (as in, the eating utensil) out of wood with a SOG X-Ray Vision...

Warthog
 
I agree with the part about the saw, and I carry an SAK and a multitool with one, plus a mid-sized knife and a larger tool like a bolo or survival knife depending on where I'm going. I see no need to have just one tool, especially in a survival situation.
 
The whole point of a SAK in a survival situation is that because you are in the habit of carrying one you might just have it on you when you are in a survival situation. Then its very handy and you will do some remarkable things with it. Most survival situations are short term and a SAK is more than able to last that long. I like the Hunter as its one of the smaller ones which I hardly notice I'm carrying even when wearing swimming trunks.

Though I carry one almost every day I don't use it as a work tool. Rifter, you are right: if you work them and work them hard they break. I have other tools to do the donkey work. However, bigger tools tend not to stay with you when everything has gone pear shaped.
 
I've never broken one because I don't use one to do the work of a big knife. Sure, I could probably get by with one if that is all I have, but I wouldn't deliberatly put myself in such a situation. In addition to a Recruit my EDC is a CQC-7 and an Endura, along with a neck knife on occasion, with the Recruit replaced by a Huntsman or Wenger Mountianeer and the CQC-7 by a Buck Mini Strider when going on outdoor activities, in addition to a mid sized fixed blade. I keep a bolo and an SRK in my car, so I'll have them if I get into an emergency on the road. I'll probably get a couple Trailmasters to see how those work, since the larger say on the Mounianeer is more effective than the smaller one on the Huntsman. IMO an SAK vs. fixed blade debate is about as useful as a pliars vs. wrench debate. :)

Edited to add: For my survial kits, I usually have several ways of doing things. In the firestarting sections of my kits, for example, (My kits are made up of sub-kits such as first aid, firestarting, etc.) I have a butane lighter, matches, a freznel lens, and a BSA Hot Spark with lint. Years ago, when one of my Boy Scout leaders saw a demonstration of the Hot Spark, he told everyone to take the matches out of their kits and replace them with Hot Sparks. I did not agree since I like having several options. I do use the Hot Spark to this day whenever I need a fire started unless it is for a propane grill, so I can use one well, but I still like having the matches and lighter in case I really need them.
 
i have broken 3 of them, 2 during use and one because it hurt me so i hurt it back lol doing the following:

Opening a bottle of wine(corkscrew was pretty stuck and i turned the handle but the corkscrew did not turn. It screwed up the thing pretty good inside the handle)

Snapped blade(was trying to dig a hole in a tree)

Got hit with a hammer(big hammer, maybe 10lbs) many times until all that was left was some red dust and a heap of metal that did not at all look like a SAK, I got pissed when i cut myself because the blade doesnt lock and i cut my finger open so i went nuts on it :D


since then i have bought one SAK and i carry it around with my for urban carry but would not in a million years trust my life to one in a survival situation. If i head to the woods or anywhere out of town i take a good strong FB and a wire saw. And whatever else the trip calls for.
 
I guess that most of you are much more prepared for a survival situation than I am. It sounds like you’re carrying a hundred pounds of steel and flint on you. I carry a small fixed blade and a SAK when I'm out in the woods. I have a Bic lighter in my pocket. Now that I think of it, these are the same items that I carry around town. I've never felt helpless with them, and they've never failed me. What they could not do, my own ingenuity was able to take care of.
 
Does anyone know where I can buy the new Victorinox Pioneer with the wood saw? Thanks in advance.
 
Before I knew any better, my survival knife was a Vic Climber. At work I would add a Buck 110 or 112. In my truck I kept a Case 5" fixed blade. I did a lot with the Climber but never broke it. I did bend the little screwdriver on the can opener; probably on a phillips screw. I've always tried to travel light whether by foot,bike, truck or plane.

K. Williams: you can get them from swiss-knife. http://www.swiss-knife.com/asp/detail.asp?lan=EN&code=0.8241.26&shop=SK
 
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