SAK tweezers fail.

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Oct 2, 2004
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Being a dog owner in Texas can be tough. It seems like every bit of green stuff has thorns, spikes, stickers, or burrs. I've taken out burrs from our dogs paws before using the little classic tweezers with no problem. Today I had a problem.

Our dog, Abby, a 5 year old Australian Shepherd, feels the need to investigate scents, and is duty bound to chase squirrels back up the trees where they belong. Who knows what evil can happen if too many squirrels can get on the ground at one time. Today, Abby ran over to chase an offending evil squirrel back up a tree and got a burr up between her paw pads. Not in the bottom of the paw pad, but up between the pads. Nothing is ever easy with Abby, but it is what it is.

I could reach the offending burr with the tweezers, but they didn't have the strength to grab the burr with enough grasp to pull out from between the pads. It would flex and slip off, breaking off a bit of the cluster each time. Pondering it for a bit, I took out the Leatherman squirt I've been carrying for 7 years now or so, and using the little spring loaded pliers, got a good hold on the burr, and got it out. Abby was grateful and ran off in search of more squirrels. Not learning from experience, I fear that Abby is not as smart as Australian shepherds are supposed to be, or maybe she's just not the brightest bulb in the chandelier as far as the breed standard goes.

I've always been in conflict over the Leatheman, as I love the SAK's so much, and the squirt has very often replaced the 58mm SAk in my daily use. In spirit of StuntDouble's self imposed challenge, I had replaced my dedicated knife, an Opinel, with a Victorinox waiter. A minimum SAK, I think after today, the waiter will be replaced with the alox bantam. I've been carrying the 84mm waiter for the longer blade, to give me a blade capable of slicing a sandwich in half, or when a bit more blade is needed. The alox bantam is about the size of a sick of gum, and drops in a pocket and disappears until needed. I had always liked having the toothpick and tweezers at hand, but after today, I found that the small pliers of the squirt can be used as fine forceps.

I thought I'd miss the nail file of the 58mm, but I've found by experience that the smooth side of the squirt file makes a decent nail file. The cut file leaves a smoother nail than the rough file of the classic.

So far, I have not missed having a dedicated knife on me, but the tools of a multitool have been indispensable in living in the real world. A knife is nice, but most often I have to cut something, a 1 1/2 inch blade opens my packages, mail, cuts twine, and with a 84mm SAK, I do have a longer blade on hand if need be. With only a few dedicated pocket knives left in my possession, I'm now wondering if I need even them. As a reformed knife nut, are they just an old habit at this point?
 
I suppose if there was ever the perfect system we wouldn’t have anything to talk about on the forum anymore. I love the little Squirt, without the scissors, but I rarely carry one in my pocket. I keep one in each of my vehicles, but also have a larger multitool. There have been times where the Squirt has been easier to maneuver than a full sized tool so I’m not sure I’d completely replace it. Ironically I’ve tried to grab a sliver before with the Squirt pliers but had to use a set of tweezers fro a SAK to get it. Now the tweezers on the Micra I really like, but don’t really use the scissors. If they could put the pliers in a small package from the squirt with the tools of the Micra, and replace the blade with a file, I could see that complimenting a daily carry knife.
 
I have the Goody brand tweezers that you find in the cosmetic section of the drug store all over. One in the first aid kit in the car. One in my everyday bag with items I use for work. One in the end table drawer. The tool box in the garage.

My EDC since ~December has been a Victorinox Climber. It's been my favorite pattern and like you and StuntDouble, I'm changing things up this year. I've put away the pocket clip knives that I carried in my left pocket and have gone to only the SAK in the right pant pocket and a MiniChamp on my keys.

I'll still carry a fixed blade on occasion just because I enjoy using my knives but the SAK is taking care of the majority of my needs.

As for the SAK tweezers, I prefer a real set so I typically have a pair close enough. The tweezers in the SAK's rarely get used.

I suppose if there was ever the perfect system we wouldn’t have anything to talk about on the forum anymore. I love the little Squirt, without the scissors, but I rarely carry one in my pocket. I keep one in each of my vehicles, but also have a larger multitool. There have been times where the Squirt has been easier to maneuver than a full sized tool so I’m not sure I’d completely replace it. Ironically I’ve tried to grab a sliver before with the Squirt pliers but had to use a set of tweezers fro a SAK to get it. Now the tweezers on the Micra I really like, but don’t really use the scissors. If they could put the pliers in a small package from the squirt with the tools of the Micra, and replace the blade with a file, I could see that complimenting a daily carry knife.

I carried a Squirt P4 for a long time. It was the first version with pliers, a nice file and no scissors. Loved that little thing.

Unfortunately I messed up and forgot it was in my computer bag and the TSA relieved me of it at the airport security screening.
 
I say that since you are a knife nut ( it may bury itself but never goes away ) you will eventually miss having a knife that has the familiarity of a pocket knife.

If all you had was the squirt you'd eventually miss an actual pocket knife at some point, if not only because that little multitool just isn't the same as something thats a knife first.
 
Our dog, Abby ... got a burr up between her paw pads. Not in the bottom of the paw pad, but up between the pads.

Oof. Sorry to hear that. Glad she's okay, though!

I had replaced my dedicated knife, an Opinel, with a Victorinox waiter. A minimum SAK, I think after today, the waiter will be replaced with the alox bantam. ... I had always liked having the toothpick and tweezers at hand, but ...

Love my Waiter. Don't forget: With the alox, you can't slot one of those mini-screwdrivers into the corkscrew. Those are darn handy if you wear glasses.


A knife is nice, but most often I have to cut something, a 1 1/2 inch blade opens my packages, mail, cuts twine, and with a 84mm SAK, I do have a longer blade on hand if need be. With only a few dedicated pocket knives left in my possession, I'm now wondering if I need even them. As a reformed knife nut, are they just an old habit at this point?

A mini like a Classic or Squirt plus an 84mm SAK should definitely cover all bases. It's what I'd call "reality-based EDC."
 
The SAK tweezers - although sharp - are quite flimsy indeed.

I had some weird metal shaving stick to my finger few days ago and the sliver grippers removed it beautifully. I love the grip and heft they got.
 
I've started, and been very happy, carrying a SAK tourist plus a rambler. Covers all bases for my day to day life. I agree those tweezers are flimsy for intended purpose. I've used once in years and it was to pull a splinter out of my sons foot in Mexico. Worked well but it was a big splinter and easy to grab hold of. Thinking back...maybe I didn't use them and just grabbed with my finger. I do know that the small pin tucked in the scale came in handy for that splinter.

What I've used the tweezers for primarily is to scrape down in thin slots. Such as cleaning in between the scales of a SAK. In my truck and always in my hiking pack I carry Uncle Bill's tweezers (as mentioned above). They are fantastic and purchased originally for ticks.

I've considered ditching the Rambler for a Squirt PS4 in my watch pocket to pair with the Tourist. Might make more sense to avoid duplication (my tourist already has a toothpick and tweezers that the Rambler has) but I just love those small SAK scissors and I notice the PS4 in the pocket more than the rambler or classic. Guess I'll keep thinking on that.

Dean
 
I find the SAK tweezers to be acceptable for their size, but I don't like their squared-off ends. I prefer the tweezers on the Leatherman Style CS/PS with their angled tips. I've tried grinding angled tips onto SAK tweezers, but they still don't work as well as the Leatherman tweezers.

I got a big splinter and several small splinters in my hand while climbing on a flatbed trailer at work a few months ago. I certainly found the tweezers to be a bit lacking in gripping power and pinpoint accuracy. I had to use the pin's point for that (ha ha! Get it?). I wound (sorry, another pun) up using the whole Explorer first aid combination: tweezers, straight pin, small blade, and magnifying glass. The mag glass is super useful for finding splinters.
 
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