Tell me your stories on your Victorinox's knives and tools

I'm 37 and I've had some sort of red plastic in my pocket for 30 years. I've spent several grand on Striders, Busse, Grayman, Al-Mar, Benchmade, Emerson, CRKT, Buck, SOG, Leatherman, etc. And make an honest effort to carry them, yet every day, I wind up with just a SAK in my pocket.

Always Victorinox, too. Can't stand the Wenger for some reason--am I alone in that????
 
My brother-in-law was an assistant manager at a summer camp in northern Michigan. He had a small SAK on his keychain. Apparently it was the only tool in camp, and everybody knew that he had it. People were beating on his door day and night to borrow the "tool". He often had to run down the SAK before he could drive his car.
 
I didn't carry a SAK or Multi-tool, then one day I read an article on www.zdnet.com about the new Victorinox Cybertool. It was designed for computer techs and I was a computer tech - so I though it would be useful to get one. I went to a store that sold Victorinox & Leatherman and Gerber and a few other brands and asked about the Cybertool - they hadn't heard of it, but would ask the rep and get back to me. They rang me and told me a price, I said "yep, get me one" and picked it up a couple of days later. Now I've been EDCing that Victorinox Cybertool for about 10 years and I didn't even know what "EDC" was until a couple of years ago.

Over 10 years I've had no amazing life saving stories, but I have opened plenty of packages and I've dismantled & reassembled plenty of PCs. I've built quite a few PCs with nothing but my Cybertool because I just couldn't be bothered finding a screwdriver. Last year I was going camping and thought I'd take a couple of cans of peaches for a nice desert - it occurred to me that I had never tried to open a can with my SAK so I used it at home a couple of times and tried the can opener on my LM Wave too. The SAK can opener was noticeably better than the LM one so that was what I used when camping.

Both blades on my SAK are better than 'shaving sharp' so if I need to cut something in an emergency I know the Victorinox wont struggle with the task or let me down. I have not yet seen a hint of rust on my SAK - so it seems to be holding up pretty good. Actually the pen still writes and I haven't lost or broken anything at all on it. I still have the pen, toothpick, tweezers, stainless steel pin, 4 screwdriver bits & the tiny screwdriver that lives in the corkscrew.

I EDC both my Victorinox Cybertool and my Leatherman Wave (I got the Wave about 6 months after the SAK) and I always feel well equipped. The Cybertool has the better screwdriver and nut driver and can opener, the Wave has the better scissors as well as the saw & the file. It isn't often that I find myself lacking a tool I need!

I could tell you guys the story about the time that some nervous non-knife person got anxious because I had a SAK - but over 10 years that has never happened. No grief from others about the knife I carry is all fine by me!
 
My little vic classic is almost always with me. Even if I am carrying another knife, it is still in my pocket with my keys. I have used the scissors for cutting fishing line (and stray hairs...), the tweezers for splinters, and the little flat head on the file as a screwdriver. Everyone should have one of these little guys if they are not carrying a larger SAK.
 
Back in '91, I found a red plastic-scaled Huntsman on the street in front of the house I lived in at the time. One scale was missing; I rescaled it with nice wood back in '93.

I've opened countless cans & wine bottles with it; done more work & repairs than I can remember; made slingshots for my son; the awl was the only drill I had for several years; I've used the hook to pull up the bumpers at the bowling alley and as a pot lid lifter while camping; I sharpened the inner edge of the can opener enough to make it work perfectly as a 'pull-cutter' for blister packs; the screwdriver was mod'd to fit most of the screws on my rifle; and in the cabinet shop I worked in, the shop guys always came to me for the tweezers, because the SAK tweezers were better than anything else we had.

The other SAK I always carry is the little Classic on my keychain; I've had one there for the last twenty years, at least. I replace it every four or five years or so; they just eventually wear out. (Scales fall off, tweezers break, lose the toothpick, etc.) I put away a little red one for my son; it's the one I had with me the night he was born.

* * *

Fast forward to 2007: the Huntsman has been carried all that time, and needed to be retired. So, I had just decided to start researching which SAK I wanted to buy next, when lo & behold, in April of '07, I find another Huntsman in the road :eek: here in Concord, CA. A black one, this time. The coincidence still blows my mind.

~Chris
 
Last edited:
I've had one or the other since Viet Nam. Bought one there at the suggestion of my Platoon Sergeant. Had one in my pocket ever since, except since they were outlawed on planes. Damn short-sighted if you ask me. Oh well.

In answer to the question at hand, I was once called upon to open a bottle of wine at the girls dorm. Not serious you say? Three years later I married the woman I did it for and we've been married for 37 years. Great opening!
 
No terribly exciting stories. Just opened a lot of cans, beer bottles, mail, and whatever else has needed opening. Lots of nail filing and absolutely minor repairs, screws that needed a few turns, etc.

There have been 2 emergency wine bottle openings, and many lower priority ones since I can't figure out how the "Ah-So" works.

Also, the eyeglass screwdriver has prevented my father from using the tip of a knife to tighten his glasses.

I like Wenger's can opener better, though.
 
I've carried this Vic Tinker every day for about 20 years. No life saving stories but I don't know what I would do without it.

I actually use it daily for something. I use the phillips screwdriver more than you can imagine. Putting the button light on the keyring has made this perfect setup.

My sister-in-law AMY gave it to me for Christmas, so I call it my Swiss AMY knife :D

I'm so afraid I'll lose it someday that I have a new on in the box that has been in my drawer for years.

All these years of use and it is still as tight as the day I got it, although the cross is wearing to the point that part of it is gone.

DSC00302.jpg
 
used one every day for 18 years at appliance repair shop to cut wood to wire and every thing in between wore that one out got a new one in the box waiting to go just an all around great knife
 
I carry a Vic Tinker,more than any other SAC that I have,just the right size.With it I used the screwdriver to open some air actuated valves so that the mill did'nt run out of water.Also used the screwdriver to repair some hose fittings while at work.I've opened many wine bottles at home,in hotels,camping,and even for a bartender:eek:because she could'nt find one.I've cut countless things with the knife,use the toothpick everyday,and use the tiny screwdriver to tighten screws on glasses.The canopener gets used once in a while,and the awl has made numerous holes in belts.I've been toting a Vic of some sort for 35 years and probably will till I'm dead.The wife said she'd put one in the grave with me,good woman.;)
 
I've tightened/repaired countless people's eyeglasses/sunglasses because I happened to have my Cybertool 29 on hand. The jewlers (corckscrew) screwdriver fixes all the tiny flathead screws and the #0 phillips for those tiny screws. I've jerry-rigged plenty of other broken glasses with a SAK or Leatherman using staples, wires, or paperclips. This includes family, friends, coworkers, and even random people I've met on the street or in stores. I've even helped people inside a Walgreens looking for an eyeglass repair kit who couldn't find the kit that Walgreens sells.

I can't count the other times I've "saved the day" because I've had a screwdriver or sharp blade simply because of the humble SAK. Even saved a few small parties (and teeth, probably) because I had a corkscrew and bottle opener handy when nobody else thought to bring one. 3 times I've been at a Circle K that sells Mexican Coke (made with actual sugar, in glass bottles, with a non-twist cap) and used my SAK to open bottles for other people.

Sometimes I've been asked if I was a Boy Scout, and I say "No, but I believe in their motto."
 
My dad handed me down his-so old the shield wore right off. Twenty years old, and still sharp, smooth and kicking.

I used it loads in the Scouts-prying with the screwdriver, carving, cutting food, punching holes, opening cans.
 
Planterz said:
Sometimes I've been asked if I was a Boy Scout, and I say "No, but I believe in their motto."
Click to expand...

Me too! Leaving the house prepared for whatever the day may throw at you isn't just some catchy motto - it is a thoroughly sensible and practical idea!

There have been plenty of times when I've needed a pair of pliers or scissors or a screwdriver or something to pry with or even a sharp knife - I have all of these things on me every day, so no problem! I believe my Cybertool got renamed to Cybertool 34 later when they brought out the 2 newer models. Mine has the pliers & scissors & carry hook. I kinda like the Cybertool 41 because it has the file & saw - but it is also bigger & heavier. Maybe I'll grab a Ranger at some point for a 'not too big' SAK with what I consider the most useful bushcraft/camping tools (big & small blade, bottle opener, can opener, saw & file).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top