Small Tinker?

O

OzarkCreekWalker

Joined
Jul 25, 2011
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521
Does anyone have the Vic small tinker (the 84 mm one)?
I'm considering trying one out but i rarely see anything on it. It seems like a great minimalist SAK. Any thoughts?
 
I have one and I really like it. It is just as useful as the 91mm tinker in smaller easier to carry package. I say get one. You will be glad you did. My 2 cents.
Jim
 
Oh man... you wont regret it!! its the one that i pocket all the time.. got several as back-up since its my most favorit saks...

it got all the exact features as the tinker but in a more compact package... i personally highly recomend it!
 
I've carried one for 19 years now. Love it. It's one of my favorite SAKs for sure. I love nearly all of the 84mm Vics, actually.
 
Go for it - I got and still have my first 84mm tinker about 1975 or so - it's "retired" and I've "acquired" several more - handy and just as useful as the big brother... enjoy.
Peace
Revvie
 
I had one. Gave it to my daughter when I decided I needed a corkscrew. It's a great little knife.
 
totally agree with mud shrimp moe...yes the 84mm indeed fascinating... i previously EDC a sportsman for almost 20years... the 84mm family aint that large and i personally love and collect them...

bantam, waiter,cadets, sportsman, tourist, small tinker are compact.light and very2 usefull, come in multi color cellidors,nylons and some in alox (no alox version with the backtool models 84mm).. and not to pricy to aquire them all..
 
I once bought a lot of 6 of those small Tinkers. Gave 4 away, 1 is in the box with all the other SAKs and 1 is in my desk at the office as a backup tool. I've got some of the other models too, the 84mm SAKs are great.
 
L. Richard said:
I had one. Gave it to my daughter when I decided I needed a corkscrew. It's a great little knife.
Click to expand...

You should check out the Tourist. It's an 84mm version of the Spartan. I'd give you mine, but it was in my pocket when I got married, and during the births of all three of my kids. Highly recommended*!


* Both getting yourself a Tourist, and marrying a great lady like my wife. ;)
 
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I'm a big fan of 84mm 2 layer SAK's in general, be it Tourist, Sportsman or Tinker. As others have said; they are every bit as capable as their bigger brothers.
 
I would love an 84mm Super Tinker (with scissors). I think they used to make something like this called the Salesman, but was quite a while back.
 
I wish I knew about this gem when I was in college back in 1991. I settled on a regular-sized Tinker and I've had that for almost 15 yrs before I lost it.

I had other models, but recently have gone the minimalist approach. I actually heard about the Small Tinker in these forums and upon trying one out, I've never looked back.

Aside from the Farmer and Compact, the Small Tinker is the other SAK I edc nowadays, that and an MT on the belt (either a Spirit S or LM Charge TTi).
 
I was given a small Tinker as a groomsman gift in 1992. I know this because the date was engraved. I carried it for most of that time until the present without even knowing that it was an 84mm model instead of a 91mm, since I had no 91mm SAKs. I think the 84mm platform is great. I have the Sportsman (like a small Spartan but with a nail tool instead of small blade), Recruit, Waiter and Bantam. I'm trying to find a Salesman (like an 84mm Super Tinker) or Small Climber.

Also, this very knife is the reason I trust in Victorinox quality. I have used that Small Tinker as a hard working knife, doing all sorts of things that might approach abuse with it, including using the cap lifter/screwdriver to pry off paint can lids and like uses. It still works great and in spite of pinned construction there's no blade play. So I'm a real Victorinox fans who now owns about twenty Vic models, not counting owning about twenty additional Classics.
 
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I carried my Sportsman today and it was a pleasure. I was outdoors with the kids all day, whittling and cleaning my nails. No particularly hard use. But this knife is so lightweight, yet so handy. It's definitely a favorite.
 
Now you got me thinking about the sportsman... Is there a sportsman (that is 84mm right?) with a phillips head? That little file might be more useful than a secondary blade, I'd take either though. I know I don't want a corkscrew though. It sure is a darn shame that the Salesmen was discontinued.

Since I know someone out there is thinking it - I know they are $17 dollar knives but I want the right $17 knife :D
 
OzarkCreekWalker said:
Now you got me thinking about the sportsman... Is there a sportsman (that is 84mm right?) with a phillips head? That little file might be more useful than a secondary blade, I'd take either though. I know I don't want a corkscrew though.
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There's not a Sportsman equivalent that simply swaps a phillips for the corkscrew. The closest thing is the 84mm Tinker, but it has a small blade instead of the nail file.
 
I realize this is a really old thread, but I wanna poke at it.

I just love the two-layer 84 mm SAKs. They really hit a sweet spot. Lately I've been collecting them.

I think the Small Tinker is the pick of the litter. There's just something magic about how it balances minimalism and functionality, pocket-ability and substantial-ness.

~

Actually, I have a special relationship with the Small Tinker. It was my first knife. Got it in 1967.

Back then, it had the wharncliff pen blade, but also two other neat features. The Phillips had a file on the inner side, and the inner curved edge of the cap-lifter was sharpened, for things like scraping insulation off cables.

Having said that, I like the current model fine. Just fine.
 
BradGad said:
...I just love the two-layer 84 mm SAKs. They really hit a sweet spot...
I think the Small Tinker is the pick of the litter...
Actually, I have a special relationship with the Small Tinker. It was my first knife. Got it in 1967.
Back then, it had the wharncliff pen blade, but also two other neat features. The Phillips had a file on the inner side, and the inner curved edge of the cap-lifter was sharpened, for things like scraping insulation off cables.
Click to expand...
Your first knife sounds like a winner. All three of the variations from today's small tinkers would be a huge improvement and make it a much more versatile tool. Wish Victorinox would reissue that model again!

About five or six years ago my two oldest granddaughters were begging grandpa, "Get us a knife like you have, you know a red one."
After researching which SAK model might be best for them and checking with their mom, I settled on the small Tinker and bought three. One for each of them and one for me.
Today, I showed one of them my Vic Ambassador and she pulled out her gifted small Tinker.
I love 84mm Vics too and will certainly never regret that purchase. For us it's like belonging to an exclusive club. A club that a grandson has since joined. Guess we're all just a bunch of small tinkerers at heart. ;)
 
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