btb01
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2008
- Messages
- 7,695
So here's the deal: earlier this week, I was looking at SAK's online and thinking that I wanted to get what you might consider the quintessential or "standard" SAK. Your basic red Victorinox, probably the 91mm size, not too many blades/tools (no Swiss-Champ), not too few (models like the Bantam and Waiter were out). I wanted a cap lifter for sure, and probably a corkscrew (just seems like it belongs on an SAK); I like the scissors but didn't consider them a requirement for what I was looking for here. I wanted to keep the bulk down, because I think it should be something you could actually carry in your pocket. I have a Huntsman that I've had for years, and find the four-spring width a bit too bulky, so I wanted something that was three or (ideally) two springs wide.
After browsing for a while, I had it narrowed down to a few. I considered the Climber, Camper and Super Tinker, but ended up crossing them off the list because I thought that a two-spring model would be more pocketable. The Tinker would have made the cut for its slimness, but ended up getting ruled out because I would rather have the corkscrew than the Philips screwdriver. I thought about the Compact, but ruled it out because of the smaller 84 mm size and because I felt like it didn't quite have enough blades/tools. So, after all that consideration, what I ended up with was the Victorinox Spartan. Two blades (large and small), cap lifter and can opener, corkscrew and awl on the back, tweezers and a toothpick. Seems to be the definition of a "standard" Swiss Army Knife to me.
So I ordered one off that large website (we won't mention it's name) and waited for it to show up. It came in the mail today, and I excitedly opened it up... only to find that I had made a mistake. The knife I had ordered was definitely a Victorinox Spartan, but something wasn't quite right. Apparently what I had ordered was the Spartan "II", which has matte finished red scales instead of the standard "shiny" red scales. Now don't get me wrong, it's a good looking knife, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. But I was looking for a "quintessential" SAK, and these scales aren't that.
So I went back to "the site" and ordered the right thing. It should be here in two days. I considered returning this one, but it seems like a lot of hassle for something that ultimately wasn't all that expensive, and it was my mistake after all. So I'm bringing it here to the Porch, and offering it to one of you in a quick giveaway.
The Rules:
1) You must be a contributing member with at least 25 posts here in Traditionals (not just in GAW forums).
2) Give your thoughts on what you think is the quintessential example of a certain type of traditional knife and why. You can post about SAK's (I would welcome feedback/opinions on what you think is the quintessential SAK), or Barlows, or Trappers, or whatever traditional pattern interests you. If you post a photo of that quintessential version of whatever pattern you post about, you'll get two entries.
3) You are welcome to comment on each others posts, but you'll only get an entry for your first post (two entries with a photo).
I'm going to let this run until the new one shows up. Good luck to everyone who enters! Here is the Spartan II being given away:
After browsing for a while, I had it narrowed down to a few. I considered the Climber, Camper and Super Tinker, but ended up crossing them off the list because I thought that a two-spring model would be more pocketable. The Tinker would have made the cut for its slimness, but ended up getting ruled out because I would rather have the corkscrew than the Philips screwdriver. I thought about the Compact, but ruled it out because of the smaller 84 mm size and because I felt like it didn't quite have enough blades/tools. So, after all that consideration, what I ended up with was the Victorinox Spartan. Two blades (large and small), cap lifter and can opener, corkscrew and awl on the back, tweezers and a toothpick. Seems to be the definition of a "standard" Swiss Army Knife to me.
So I ordered one off that large website (we won't mention it's name) and waited for it to show up. It came in the mail today, and I excitedly opened it up... only to find that I had made a mistake. The knife I had ordered was definitely a Victorinox Spartan, but something wasn't quite right. Apparently what I had ordered was the Spartan "II", which has matte finished red scales instead of the standard "shiny" red scales. Now don't get me wrong, it's a good looking knife, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. But I was looking for a "quintessential" SAK, and these scales aren't that.
So I went back to "the site" and ordered the right thing. It should be here in two days. I considered returning this one, but it seems like a lot of hassle for something that ultimately wasn't all that expensive, and it was my mistake after all. So I'm bringing it here to the Porch, and offering it to one of you in a quick giveaway.
The Rules:
1) You must be a contributing member with at least 25 posts here in Traditionals (not just in GAW forums).
2) Give your thoughts on what you think is the quintessential example of a certain type of traditional knife and why. You can post about SAK's (I would welcome feedback/opinions on what you think is the quintessential SAK), or Barlows, or Trappers, or whatever traditional pattern interests you. If you post a photo of that quintessential version of whatever pattern you post about, you'll get two entries.
3) You are welcome to comment on each others posts, but you'll only get an entry for your first post (two entries with a photo).
I'm going to let this run until the new one shows up. Good luck to everyone who enters! Here is the Spartan II being given away:
Last edited:
- since '99), this is a very generous GAW as you could simply have changed the scales for the shiny ones :thumbup:
