Some ask tools becoming obsolete?

J

jackknife

Joined
Oct 2, 2004
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Giving the nature of things getting more user friendly, I wonder if some tools on sak's are going to be obsolete in the near future?

I notice more and more cans coming through with pull tab tops. All the Campbell soups now have them, and other caned goods seem to be going that way. Or like the tuna fish coming in foil packets that tear open? I can only wonder if there is going to be day, when some grandson will look at his grandpa's sak, and ask "What's that tool for grandpa?" while pointing at he can opener. Maybe in his young life, he'll never see a can that one needed a tool to open.

More and more bottles have twist off caps. I remember as a kid, the Coke machines all had a bottle opener on them because you couldn't open your nickel Coke without one. Yeah, I know I'm dating myself here, but we never thought we'd see Coke in a can back in those days. So much has changed in my life, I can only wonder what will continue to change. Now it seems like all the college kids are experts at getting the non twist off caps from the imported beer bottles. I was somewhat taken aback, when my son came home from his first semester away at school, and he showed me with the air of an old veteran teaching a newbi, how to open a cold Corona with a Bic lighter or house key. It made me really do some soul searching to continue underwriting his higher education.

I read not too long ago, that wine makers were seriously looking at twist off caps. It seems like the supply of good cork is diminishing, and their experiments she the plastic twist off caps actually seal better for longer than the natural cork material. If that's the case, I guess wine snobs can't poke fun at the wines with twist off caps. Makes no difference to me, I never drink the stuff, being a Bourbon or beer man. But if corks go the way of the passenger pigeon, there's another tool on a sak that will not be needed.

So if we don't need can openers in near future, nor bottle openers, cork screws, that kind of eliminates a whole layer of a ask like a tinker or spartan. And how often do we need hacksaws or metal files?

Living now as a retired gentleman of leisure, the ask I find most useful for suburban day to day use, is the keychain size 58mm sak's. I never thought I'd become a fan of the small scissors on a classic, but then I always thought the classic a bit of a joke. Until that is, my better half tortured one for a year, and the little thing greatly impressed me with it's ability to stand up under an abusive relationship. Now I carry a little classic and it's one of my most used edc tools.

I can only wonder how sak's, will have to change as the 21st century goes on.

Carl.
 
I think can and bottle openers may become obsolete. I hope that most everyday wines will start using screwcaps, so that the ugly corkscrew tool can be eliminated.

There is no known substitute for cork stoppers on really fine wines, those which improve with age. Screw caps and artificial corks seal too well. For proper aging, there needs to be some interchange (not too much or too little) between the contents of the bottle and the outside air. However, anyone who can afford a really fine wine will likely use a dedicated corkscrew anyway.
 
I just used the can opener on my sak to dislodge a piece of plastic out of the rollers of a friends printer. There wasn't anything else around that was thin enough and shaped like a hook. In the future, the tools might not get used for what they were intended for but I think people will find ways to use them. The hook on the saks are still going strong despite the numerous threads on the forum saying its useless.
 
I don't know for sure if bottle openers and can openers will become obsolete, but I still use a can opener for certain canned foods every now and then. The bottle opener comes in handy for opening certain brands of sauces and condiments with a metal cap.
 
I use the can openers on my SAKs to remove staples. I sharpen the curves on my cap lifters to strip wire insulation. Both tools have screw drivers on the end. The instant I quit carrying a cork screw, someone will produce a corked bottle. Obsolescence seems to be a long way off.
 
By can-opener and bottle-opener, do you mean the large screwdriver and the small screwdriver? ;)

Seriously, though, you have to remember that -- while the U.S. is a huge market -- Victorinox sells their knives all over the world. And I can tell you that here in Europe, good old-fashioned cans and non-twist beer bottles are still very much the norm.
 
mnblade said:
Seriously, though, you have to remember that -- while the U.S. is a huge market -- Victorinox sells their knives all over the world. And I can tell you that here in Europe, good old-fashioned cans and non-twist beer bottles are still very much the norm.
Click to expand...

This... and as long as man continues to create things that require more than his teeth and nails to manipulate, a SAK will be a useful tool.
 
The SAK corkscrew is an excellent knot untying tool. I use it for that purpose a few times per year. I also come up with improvised uses for the can opener frequently, including cleaning my fingernails.
 
mnblade said:
By can-opener and bottle-opener, do you mean the large screwdriver and the small screwdriver? ;)

Seriously, though, you have to remember that -- while the U.S. is a huge market -- Victorinox sells their knives all over the world. And I can tell you that here in Europe, good old-fashioned cans and non-twist beer bottles are still very much the norm.
Click to expand...

I suspect it's just American marketing that creates these things, to make some new commercials and sales.

All these easy to open packages exist, yet so does the clamshell. Sure it's for security, but they're kinda dangerous to kids, and adults. So difficult to get into, I've been cut by the plastic, many others cut themselves with the knife or scissors. What a trade off. Maybe SAK's should come with a clamshell opener?
 
+1 for the clamshell opener!

Carl - I felt like you regarding the Classic. Check out an Ambassador, basically a slightly upsized Classic. Just enough difference to make it useable to me.
 
Even so called "twist offs" get the bottle opener treatment from me. I honestly have mo idea which bottles are twist off and which aren't. Rather than stand there and mess around trying to open it, I just pop it quickly with the opener. Not to mention even the tist offs seem to tear up my delicate hands :D
 
I was just asking myself the same thing the other day.

However, the can opener and bottle opener on SAK's have been there for more than a hundred years, so Victorinox really should have a reason for keeping them.

Anyway, as many others who carry multitools, I do think Victorinox has lagged behind in comparison to other companies when it comes to design and functions, however they continue to be the standard in quality and their prices continue to be the most competitive.

Victorinox are sold all over the world and to all kinds of consumers (not only to knife users) maybe that's the reason why they don't seem to care a lot to what we think, we are just a little percentage of their sales. I really wish this would change in the future.

Although they do offer a larger selection of SAK's for the American market than they do for others.
 
Django.cj said:
Even so called "twist offs" get the bottle opener treatment from me. I honestly have mo idea which bottles are twist off and which aren't. Rather than stand there and mess around trying to open it, I just pop it quickly with the opener. Not to mention even the tist offs seem to tear up my delicate hands :D
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That's what I do, use an opener. I need at least a handkerchief or a piece of paper between my skin and a twist-off.
 
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interesting point,
well, let's see..a bottle opener, that is also a small pry tool, and a screwdriver, and if we take out the bottle opener, we still have a screwdriver, that can be used for many jobs ; unless they take it out permanently, i don't see why they would eliminate just the bottle opener, and leave just a flat screwdriver.
for the small can opener, that is also a screwdriver, that small tough edge is very useful for different things, as removing thumbtacks, or just prying.
so, what's good about those little tools is that they can be used for so many things, not just for their intended purpose.
even if only for that, they should remain in production, because its good to have options.
nevertheless, we'll see what time has to tell about this :D
 
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Yeah I don't know how I forgot its function as a prybar.

Here's a unique one, pistachios. For those that aren't fully open, slip that edge in the crack and twist. The shell pops right off.
 
If the tools lose their primary function, they can still be used for other purposes. Then again, if they're going to be used for something else, then redesign them for those other functions, and they will still remain multi-purpose. A regular screwdriver will turn screws, scrape, pry, and puncture as is. Vic added usb drives, flashlights, bit drivers, etc. Refreshing the old tools is certainly not outside their capabilities or taboo.
 
I was just in a food shop yesterday that had an upstairs seating area. Bought a bottle of beer to go with my lunch and what do you know, not a bottle opener in sight. SAK to the rescue! As user-friendly as all the products sold in the USA are becoming, there's an entire world left outside of our borders that, as was mentioned above, isn't ruled entirely by convenience yet.

Plus that bottle opener is mighty handy pulling out staples and book bindings...
 
Drink better beer is my advice. A lot of the micro brews around here use the old caps. Something about the threads letting in air or out carbonation. One of the two. I use the bottle opener on all of them though. It's just easier like was said earlier. And you should add "SAK" to your dictionary so it doesn't get auto corrected. ;)
 
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