Saving the SAK!

shopdoc said:
I've discovered a fantastic dirty deeds knife...the Milwauke 6 in 1 folding utility knife. I don't have this clipped on me at all times...only if I know I'll be doing some house work. Easily replaceable utility blade plus it holds one in the handle. A really useable screwdriver with a #2 Phillips and a slotted 1/4' bit. Clip it to your pocket when its a house repair kind of day, otherwise it sits next to my recycle container to tear down those amazon boxes. $20 at Home Depot.
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That's my go to dirty deeds knife as well. Got the two pack during Christmas , the 6 in 1 and the smaller basic, blade only ..... for $20.00. I also got the Wiha Double End Insert Bit Reload 13 Piece Set model/sku #77781. Be advised, there are three different sets which include different bits. The set I got has a mix of Torx, Slot, Robertson (square), Posi drive Phillips, and standard Phillips. Also, if you have the older 6 in 1 with the detention snap ring these may not work. But they do work with the newer 6 in 1 with the ball detente bit retainer.

My current SAK's are the Super Tinker with plus scales for Sunday go to Church knives. And either a Fieldmaster or Hunstman for around the property, both with plus scales. In both cases I do have the Milwaukee 6 in 1 and a Rambler with me .... and a Leatherman Blast.

I didn't realize I needed "help" until I wrote this all out. :D
 
I don't carry a dirty deeds knife - instead I designated a dirty deeds blade (large knife blade). I use it to cut anything except metal and stone. I reserve the small knife blade for surgical procedures only - like a scalpel when needed - and nothing else.

My Hunstman (that I carry every day in my front left pocket) of 15 years, 4 months, 8 days (just checked the receipt) - shows trivial/superficial wear to the primary blade from such use. You really have to hold it in the correct light to see any scratches (done intentionally below) and none of them affect the cutting edge. At other angles/in other light, any scratches are hardly noticeable.

So far, this has worked well for me.











 
This little translucent green classic has lived on our kitchen counter for 5 or so years now. It does all the regular and dirty tasks we ask. Literally anything and everything. Besides my kitchen knives, it might be the most used cutlery tool I own. I have hundreds of knife pics, but only these of this little knife.

Unsung Hero.

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jackknife said:
We love our SA's, thats why we're hear. The little red handled wonder that is not just a knife, but a small bundle of solutions to the little problems that life throws in our path at times. A screw driver, bottle opener, awl, whatever, a simple tool is sometimes enough to get going again. Lord knows I've come back from outings that a small repair was made in the field, or out on the water with a SAK, thus saving the day.

BUT...that little three letter word...what about the times that you may need to cut something, and you just know tis gonna bugger up the blade? Dirty cardboard outer shell, layers of packing tape with all kinds of grit stuck to the adhesive. And your beloved SAK will be butter knife dull when its done and over. The dirty deeds knife comes into play.

For years, I've augmented my SAK of the day at times with a dirty deeds knife. cardboard, fish guts, sand, whatever. I've used a Opinel number 5 as a semi disposable knife. The Christy knife, with its two screw take apart construction, is often used as my dirty deeds knife. Some of the smaller utility knife handles like the ScrewPop that hold a regular utility knife blade work well. Small and light is good. Its the extra little tool to save our SAK's the horror of sawing through something we don't want to use a 'good ' knife on. Who could get attached to a Gerber EAB?

Anyone else carry a dirty deeds knife? Something that if it gets killed in the line of duty, its easy and cheap to replace?
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Gotta say, when I "started out" I was using my Camo Spartan for all the nasties and the dirties, simply because I had nothing else as a young lad without a source of money. But I "saved it" when I was restoring it like 2 years ago to it's full potential, after finding it in a drawer after all those years. It looks all banged and scratched up now, but that's what makes it beautiful to me, seeing all those marks of past day dirty deeds. And it's sharp like a Samuel L. Jackson word.
On the other hand, I do carry a good folding knife, and to save on my "good folder" I also carry a small fixed blade, favorably carbon steel. Because a fixed blade is very easy to clean and carbon steel edges are very easy to fix; at least for me. For the most part I do that in order to save on my good folder life, and for when someone needs/wants a knife for something and I don't want to give them my good folder haha. The "rough-and-tough-dirty-deeds-blade" doesn't necessarily need to be cheap for me, for me it just needs properties that make it better for that, like being a small and robust fixed blade that you don't need to take apart, and a steel that's quite tough and easily fixable, since a carbon edge usually rather deforms than chips.
I do carry my old and restored Camo Spartan in my sometimes carry pouch though, which I sometimes throw into my backpack, when I know I will need, or if I expect to need one or more of the useful things in it.
Hope that still counts! 😱🥺👉👈
 
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Guy McVer said:
Knives get used. That's what they're for. If you're worried about saving a particular knife for food processing, it's probably not a big deal because you're rarely very far from soap and running water. In the case of people who try to use one blade in their SAK while saving the other for food, pay closer attention to your tools. You'll notice that the blades touch when they are closed. You'll find the evidence in the form of scratch marks.
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I do like to mainly use the big blade, so the small one stays razor sharp for the finer tasks. Works well for me. The big blade might lose some sharpness, but it will still have a good working edge, it will just not stay as sharp as the small one that way, so that way I always know I have a razor sharp edge when I need one, and for the tasks you want that very sharp edge for, you usually don't need the blade to be all that long anyways, and a smaller blade is also more easily controllable. At least that's how it is for me.
 
Choctaw Dan said:
No "dirty-deeds knife" here, but I do have a nice bottle of Goo-Gone just itching to make short work of whatever goop/gunk/sh*t may be stubbornly clinging to the blade(s). :)
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I don't know much about others, but I love having a small bottle of Ballistol around. All purpose mineral oil, for cleaning, lubing, treating wood and so on, and it's food save too! 🥰
 
kamakiri.knives said:
Dirty deeds. Done dirt cheap.

I find, with so many SAKs laying around, that I mainly clean them when several are dirty. Or right after I use one for a particularly dirty job, then I might as well clean a few at the same time. Having package opener mods and serrated blades seem to keep me from doing general tape residue as often. I mainly use isopropyl for general cleaning/sterilization. Dish soap prior to food use unless unavailable.
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Ballistol also sells those "wet wipes", great to have one or two in your edc imo; in case no cleaning means are available. And in case people don't know Ballistol, it's a great multi purpose mineral oil that's also food save. Also great for cleaning and lubing, next to treating wood. Thought I mention that, since this comment made me think of that. 🙂
 
Stahl-Enthusiast said:
I do like to mainly use the big blade, so the small one stays razor sharp for the finer tasks. Works well for me. The big blade might lose some sharpness, but it will still have a good working edge, it will just not stay as sharp as the small one that way, so that way I always know I have a razor sharp edge when I need one, and for the tasks you want that very sharp edge for, you usually don't need the blade to be all that long anyways, and a smaller blade is also more easily controllable. At least that's how it is for me.
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The small blade is thinner and less capable for normal tasks. I don't do any carving and I rarely use the small blade for anything. I like to keep it sharp and leave it alone so that I know I'll have a backup in case I can't touch up my main blade, but I have never run into that situation. I often carry a pocket stone which I use to touch up my main blade whenever I use it.

For me, I feel like the secondary blade on most SAKs could easily be replaced with something else and I'd generally prefer that tool instead, such as an inline awl, a nail file, a package opener, a small screwdriver, a scraper or chisel... or anything really. It would get more use from me than the secondary blade.
 
Guy McVer said:
The small blade is thinner and less capable for normal tasks. I don't do any carving and I rarely use the small blade for anything. I like to keep it sharp and leave it alone so that I know I'll have a backup in case I can't touch up my main blade, but I have never run into that situation. I often carry a pocket stone which I use to touch up my main blade whenever I use it.

For me, I feel like the secondary blade on most SAKs could easily be replaced with something else and I'd generally prefer that tool instead, such as an inline awl, a nail file, a package opener, a small screwdriver, a scraper or chisel... or anything really. It would get more use from me than the secondary blade.
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I like to have a CC4 pocket stone near me, and I like the small blade a lot! 🥰
 
Stahl-Enthusiast said:
I do like to mainly use the big blade, so the small one stays razor sharp for the finer tasks. Works well for me. The big blade might lose some sharpness, but it will still have a good working edge, it will just not stay as sharp as the small one that way, so that way I always know I have a razor sharp edge when I need one, and for the tasks you want that very sharp edge for, you usually don't need the blade to be all that long anyways, and a smaller blade is also more easily controllable. At least that's how it is for me.
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And a big old +1. Like you, I keep the small blade razor sharp for those small-but-precise tasks that come along from time to time.

My favorite SAKs are the Tinker, and the Super Tinker (though I have never quite figured out what to do with the hook).
 
Choctaw Dan said:
And a big old +1. Like you, I keep the small blade razor sharp for those small-but-precise tasks that come along from time to time.

My favorite SAKs are the Tinker, and the Super Tinker (though I have never quite figured out what to do with the hook).
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One of us! 😅🤭 I myself like the Spartan and the Ranger the most I think. But I also like the Alox Cadet and the smaller SD versions a lot.
I think you can hold the pen with the parcel hook, but I don't have one of those hehe, but from what I've seen that seemed to have worked to give the pen a bigger handle and such.
 
Guy McVer said:
The small blade is thinner and less capable for normal tasks. I don't do any carving and I rarely use the small blade for anything. I like to keep it sharp and leave it alone so that I know I'll have a backup in case I can't touch up my main blade, but I have never run into that situation. I often carry a pocket stone which I use to touch up my main blade whenever I use it.

For me, I feel like the secondary blade on most SAKs could easily be replaced with something else and I'd generally prefer that tool instead, such as an inline awl, a nail file, a package opener, a small screwdriver, a scraper or chisel... or anything really. It would get more use from me than the secondary blade.
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Shame on me for not thinking about it earlier, but the Cadet is basically the Spartan with the small blade being replaced by a short file, which I also really like. The Cadet Alox is very nice too.

Edit: I meant the Sportsman, not the Cadet, but the Cadet Alox is still also very nice.
 
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Stahl-Enthusiast said:
Shame on me for not thinking about it earlier, but the Cadet is basically the Spartan with the small blade being replaced by a short file, which I also really like. The Cadet Alox is very nice too.
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No corkscrew, no awl, and the alox version has no scale tools and it's too thin for a comfortable grip when using the knife. I'm not a huge fan of the Cadet for those reasons. To me, not having back tools is a waste of space on a SAK. Aside from the 58mm size, I don't much like the alox models in general. I've had a lot of fun making custom 58mm alox models. I also made a nice thick 74mm alox that had some of the 58mm and 91mm tools in it.
 
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Guy McVer said:
No corkscrew, no awl, and the alox version has no scale tools and it's too thin for a comfortable grip when using the knife. I'm not a huge fan of the Cadet for those reasons. To me, not having back tools is a waste of space on a SAK. Aside from the 58mm size, I don't much like the alox models in general. I've had a lot of fun making custom 58mm alox models. I also made a nice thick 74mm alox that had some of the 58mm and 91mm tools in it.
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I accidentally wrote Cadet instead of Sportsman, as I intended to only mention the Cadet Alox at the end of my posting. Whoopsadoodle!
Sooo:

The Sportsman is the Spartan with the small blade replaced by a small nail file.

(I for myself prefer the Ranger in the backpack and a thin Alox in the pocket. Because I rarely ever need the tweezers or the tooth pick and so on. But that's just me and not universal for everyone. I love slim knifes much more than those with the bulky handles. And on a Victorinox I personally really don't need big fat working handles, as it's not a working knife for me and rather a handy things for quick minor tasks knife, and it's great at that for me. But then again, this goes into opinion and preferences and those things differ from person to person.)
 
Stahl-Enthusiast said:
I accidentally wrote Cadet instead of Sportsman, as I intended to only mention the Cadet Alox at the end of my posting. Whoopsadoodle!
Sooo:

The Sportsman is the Spartan with the small blade replaced by a small nail file.
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Yeah I have one of those but I don't carry it because it is missing several tools that I actually use on a daily basis. I prefer the Compact over it. Coincidenteally the Compact is another model with the secondary blade replaced by a different tool.

Stahl-Enthusiast said:
I love slim knifes much more than those with the bulky handles.
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I prefer to have something to grip when using the knife. Slim alox is too thin. Larger models like the Pioneer X, Farmer, and Farmer X are okay, but again... no back tools. Wasted space. And far more expensive.
 
Guy McVer said:
Yeah I have one of those but I don't carry it because it is missing several tools that I actually use on a daily basis. I prefer the Compact over it. Coincidenteally the Compact is another model with the secondary blade replaced by a different tool.



I prefer to have something to grip when using the knife. Slim alox is too thin. Larger models like the Pioneer X, Farmer, and Farmer X are okay, but again... no back tools. Wasted space. And far more expensive.
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Fair enough, good thing people are different, otherwise it would be boring. 😊
 
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