Talk me into / out of buying a Victorinox Fieldmaster

Huntsman is a fine knife. I bought this one (my second) at Fort Bragg NC in late 1986 upon redeployment from a NATO exercise in Northern Italy. I had given my first Huntsman to an Italian Warrant. I carried this one in a BuckLite pouch under my BDU’s until going back to a Medium Stockman in 1998. It was my Do-All pocketknife for all those years. I‘ve kept this one. OH
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No mention yet of the Electrician, an efflorescence of tools in a two-row package. What sold me was the stubby little wirescraper/sheepsfoot thing. Sure enough, it turns out to be my most-used blade.
Unfortunately, my Electrician went walkabout last month. Sooner or later I will shake it out of a blanket. Replacing it now should make that happen sooner. The page where I found the Electrician also featured the Swiss Army 7, which I had never seen before.
 
Modoc ED said:
What the heck's the sense of having a thread about a Fieldmaster SAK without having a picture of one in the thread?

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Personally, although I have a Fieldmaster, I wouldn't get another. Instead. I'd get a Huntsman, which I also have a couple of.

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I much prefer the corkscrew of the Huntsman over the Philips Head screwdriver of the Fieldmaster.
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I agree I hated the corkscrew now I love it.
You can store a small screw driver for glasses, loosen knots, make holes.

What people dont realise is the screwdriver on the can opener is not just a flat blade it is a extremely good Philips driver.






Felix is the man,always happy and great ideas.




 
JohnDF said:
I actually don't see the need for a SAK for the outdoors.
Not a lot of screws out there, most cans have pull back lids these days, and the saw is too small to really be useful.
So ya, a traditional pocket knife, a saw, and a hatchet would be far more practical.
But that still doesn't mean you shouldn't buy one... in fact the knife gods demand it. ;)
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You say that but I was delighted to see a marine on one of those out in the wilds youtube videos the other day.

He only had one of those massive bushcraft knifes, he took his tin out and the ring pull snapped. 😆

No back up plan, he struggled to open the tin,worried he would damage his knife.

As said before the walker is small and a great back up,the saw will do smaller jobs,the blade will do food and you can open a can or use it as I have done to remove a lid of a hot pot.

I see it as a back up.

My favourite beans dont have a ring pull, the boy scouts motto "Be Prepared"has stayed with me since a kid. 😇

But dont attempt to fell a 300 year old English oak with one.🤣





 
Plenty of second-hand SAKs to be found on the famous auction site (for instance). Although (in my experience) a used Fieldmaster model tends to be harder to find than its corkscrew-equiped sibling (the Huntsman).
 
Johnnythefox said:
He only had one of those massive bushcraft knifes, he took his tin out and the ring pull snapped. 😆

No back up plan, he struggled to open the tin,worried he would damage his knife.
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Good grief! :rolleyes: At the risk of sounding like a barbarian, I will confess to having opened plenty of cans (tins) with this guy back in the day. It accompanied me outdoors and everywhere else for a number of years and did everything.


Ironically, most of the damage you see was done after that time, when I had just left a job in the trades and no longer had a truck full of company tools to use for stuff around the home.

My last camping trip, I used my Okapi to puncture the top of a can of condensed milk - just out of curiosity and for old time’s sake, and while I didn’t cut all the way around the can like I used to, it didn’t dull or damage the tip any. And that is just plain 1055 or possibly 1070 carbon steel.
 
Over 40 years ago my wife bought me my first SAK. She said that she spent a lot of time looking over all the models and finally decided on the one that she thought would be perfect for me. The model she selected was the Woodsman -- the equivalent of today's Huntsman -- except that it doesn't have the toothpick and tweezers. I agree with her that she picked the "perfect" model and I've made a lot of use of that knife. The one thing about the Woodsman that I never had much use for is the corkscrew, so a couple of years ago when I discovered the Fieldmaster I bought one. I still treasure my Woodsman, but I consider my Fieldmaster to be "perfect plus", and every time I use it (multiple times per day) it reminds me of the love and care that went into selecting my first SAK.

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A car apple peeler knife is always a good idea. Or give it to your partner so you don't have to cut anything for them anymore. I made up thousands of reasons like that.
 
Johnnythefox said:
What people dont realise is the screwdriver on the can opener is not just a flat blade it is a extremely good Philips driver
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Johnny, I carried a Small Tinker almost exclusively for at least 28 years. I used it for things it was never designed for, but never knew you could use the can opener as a Phillips until a couple of years ago. I was in the office doing research on YouTube. (If you buy that, have I got a deal for you) A video popped up showing the task. I immediately grabbed my Recruit from my work backpack and started hitting every Phillips screw in sight to see if it was true. Yup, it works…
 
315 said:
Johnny, I carried a Small Tinker almost exclusively for at least 28 years. I used it for things it was never designed for, but never knew you could use the can opener as a Phillips until a couple of years ago. I was in the office doing research on YouTube. (If you buy that, have I got a deal for you) A video popped up showing the task. I immediately grabbed my Recruit from my work backpack and started hitting every Phillips screw in sight to see if it was true. Yup, it works…
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I have an old plug with a lead,whenever I get a new knife/tool I checked to see if I can change a fuse its a good test.
I often tighten things that dont need tightening around the house just cus I like using the tools 🤣
 
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315 said:
Johnny, I carried a Small Tinker almost exclusively for at least 28 years. I used it for things it was never designed for, but never knew you could use the can opener as a Phillips until a couple of years ago. I was in the office doing research on YouTube. (If you buy that, have I got a deal for you) A video popped up showing the task. I immediately grabbed my Recruit from my work backpack and started hitting every Phillips screw in sight to see if it was true. Yup, it works…
Click to expand...

In the mid 90’s I moved to a job in an office like setting where I was introduced to computers. I dove right in. They’d need the occasional upgrades or repairs so I’d take on the task.

My only pocket knife at the time was an Alox Wenger SI. The can opener phillips tip fit the screws that held the older PC cases together and the card slot screws as if it was made for it.

I still have that Wenger and it bares the proof. The tip of the can opener has a slight twist to it where I leaned into one screw a bit too much. 😬
 
Thanks to everybody who contributed to this thread.

Sorry to disappoint you all, but I wound up spending the money (and more) on some art materials for my daughter, and I will need to rein in the discretionary spending for a few weeks at least before things get out of hand.

If the urge to buy one hasn’t faded by this time next month, I will probably go ahead and get it and post pictures here.

Again, thanks! :thumbsup::)
 
Ace Rimmer said:
Over 40 years ago my wife bought me my first SAK. She said that she spent a lot of time looking over all the models and finally decided on the one that she thought would be perfect for me. The model she selected was the Woodsman -- the equivalent of today's Huntsman -- except that it doesn't have the toothpick and tweezers. I agree with her that she picked the "perfect" model and I've made a lot of use of that knife. The one thing about the Woodsman that I never had much use for is the corkscrew, so a couple of years ago when I discovered the Fieldmaster I bought one. I still treasure my Woodsman, but I consider my Fieldmaster to be "perfect plus", and every time I use it (multiple times per day) it reminds me of the love and care that went into selecting my first SAK.

50115851428_1572cafcf6_b.jpg


26924309608_936c7bec40_b.jpg
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They should all have toothpick and tweezers,I gave away a set of new scales and bits recently on here.
 
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