The Amazing Waiter

[L. Richard]

After EDCing a Bantam for many years, I've switched to the Waiter. Like the Bantam it's large enough to do some some serious cutting. It has been claimed that the corkscrew makes it uncomfortable for whittling, but it's actually more comfortable in the hand than the skinny Alox Bantam, or even a cattleman or congress, which are very popular for whittling. For a single layer SAK I don't believe it can be beat for versatility. Fully loaded, the tools are:

1. Blade
2. Combo-tool - screwdriver, cap lifter, can opener, wire stripper
3. Tweezers
4. Toothpick
5. Corkscrew (which can also help with untying knots)
6. Mini-screwdriver (which is the right tool for tiny screws, not as subject to damage as the misuse of the tweezers for this purpose)
7. Straight pin (which, among other things, is good for digging out splinters with minimal tissue damage)

 

[Gareth UK]

Waiter was my first ever Vic and I still love it. nothing against the Bantam, but I like the extra functions the corkscrew gives. Another favourite is the 84mm Apprentice which replaces the corkscrew with the Phillips 'driver.

 

[winkydo]

6. Mini-screwdriver (which is the right tool for tiny screws, not as subject to damage as the misuse of the tweezers for this purpose)
7. Straight pin (which, among other things, is good for digging out splinters with minimal tissue damage)

does this mean you have the waiter plus or do all waiters come with the straight pin slot and you just added the mini screw driver?

 

[L. Richard]

does this mean you have the waiter plus or do all waiters come with the straight pin slot and you just added the mini screw driver?

It's a regular Waiter. I added the screwdriver and pin. It already had the hole for a pin. My guess is that all Victorinox Waiters have the hole, but not Wenger.

 

[quattromori]

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the corkscrew on SAK...my first Victorinox had it (it was an old Spartan with no tweezers and no toothpick) but I almost never used it, so I prefer the Bantam after all. I would just have loved to see a smaller version of it (in the 3" / 74 mm size) to make it even better as a keyring.
The great thing about SAK is that there's so much variety of combinations and tools, so anyone can choose and find what fits his needs. Glad your new Waiter works better for you.