Victorinox should make a Survival SAK

[StuToffee]

I had a day off today & was sorting thru various odds & sods of outdoor gear. I added a photon light torch & a small spy capsule of matches & flint to my SAK Explorer , my daily carry blade, and it occured to me that they should do a survival knife version of this red-handled favourite!
I would "lurve" to see the toothpick (disgusting habit!!!) replaced with a flint of the type found in some hollow handle blades, and Im sure with a little Swiss ingenuity they could find a way of creating a small storage compartment in the handle scales to hold needles, fish-hooks, line etc.
Whatdya think, folks?

 

[longbow50]

I like the idea of a ferro rod incorporated into the knife somehow. I carry an older Vic SAK that's similar to the Hunter, with dual cutting blades and a saw, but without the tweezer and pick. I carry it in a small belt sheath with a BSA Hotspark ferro rod and a compass match safe full of tinder. Makes for a good, lite weight and compact every day kit.

 

[pict]

I would love to see a multi blade pocket-knife designed for wilderness survival. I’ve been thinking about this and looking for one but haven’t found it yet.

Some idea’s

Robust locking knife and saw blades
Awl/Reamer for boring holes
Heavy gauge fold-out slotted “needle” w/ small hole near end that can be used for sewing equipment
Can opener that doubles as a sharp hooked claw for ripping or tearing
Tweezers to remove stingers/splinters
Scissors for cutting bandages
Rotating spark wheel like a bic or sparklite mounted in handle scale or small ferrocium rod that can be removed from the handle scale like the tweezers.
LED light mounted in handle scale

Mac

 

[numberthree]

minus the hotspark, you just described a Victorinox Outrider with a photon 2 hanging off the key ring, like mine! I added a pocket clip too, which helps a bit.....

 

[Jeff Clark]

The Victorinox Swiss Flame and Camp Flame models come with built in micro butane torches. Their are two problems: they don't sell these models in the USA (you can probably order online from someone like swiss-knife) and the ligther may not work correctly at over 4500 feet altitude (my home is around 7,000 feet here in Colorado).

 

[Robert H]

I carry the SAK explorer with a photon III attached as a primary pocket knife. The magnifying glass works as a firestarter on sunny days. I carry small firesteels on all my zippers as zipper pulls. The WSI keyring firestarter does that nicely. Either way you have to have tinder.

 

[StuToffee]

The split ring has a photon light & a spy capsule containing matches , stiker & flint. Im still looking for a larger flint to carry, maybe I can cut-down the fairly big red handle of a Swedish firesteel?
IF Victorinox made a Survival Model, perhaps they could also make one of the handle scales from Magnesium or some other material that could be scraped to make a tinder pile?
From a business point of view, theyd get great add-on sales as they could sell extra packs of replacement handle scales too.

 

[x39]

you just described a Victorinox Outrider

Did a web search on this knife, and now I gotta have one! Kind of like an overgrown Victorinox Huntsman. Thanks for the reference!

 

[thatmguy]

Ditto on the Outrider. Sweetest SAK IMHO.

Mine too is paired up with Photon 2 (green/night vision), and the BSA Hotspark.

I'd rather have the non-knife stuff separate. Again, YMMV

 

[Merek]

My edc SAK Champ goes with me on all hikes. It IS a survival knife. Though it may not be thought of as a survival knife, per se, but it can prevent the necessity. I have used mine to fix lanterns, flashlights, campstoves using 'non survival' tools such as the screwdrivers/pliers/file. The saw is awesome and gets a lot of use. The magnifier is a good firestarter.
I do like the idea of a magnesium rod inserted in the handle.

 

[StuToffee]

Ive actually managed to come up with a flint rod about 2" long which should be slim enough to fit inside the scales of the SAK. So, Im gonna cut off the "head" of the toothpick, (the part that protrudes out of the handle-scales), carefully drill a small hole in it & then super-glue the rod into it. All being well, it SHOULD fit inside & will hopefully stay there until I need it!
Ive also just taken delivery of a couple of US Issue sharpening stones in olive green plastic cases, One of the stones was loose, so i removed it & noticed the plastic case would make a perfect container for some survival essentials such as matches, tinder, needle & thread, puritabs & maybe a scalpel blade. The plastic case could be wrapped with some thin but stong cord & afew turns of duct tape to keep it securely closed.

 

[RokJok]

I'd rather have the non-knife stuff separate.

I agree totally with that sentiment. I find having other pieces of kit permanently attached to the knife can make it awkward or dangerous to use the knife. Those other items tend to flop around my hand or get in the way of the workpiece I'm working on while I'm trying to use the blade/tool on a SAK. I utilize a 2-part keyring connector to detach my Outrider SAK from other items (pic below).

I got the idea from Ron Wu's MOK kit at the link below. Credit where credit is due.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203860
--- or ---
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=201064

 

[cardimon]

I find having other pieces of kit permanently attached to the knife can make it awkward or dangerous to use the knife. Those other items tend to flop around my hand...

Been there, done that. Not doing it anymore.

You know, I don't like the style of striker pictured below.

They simply don't work as well for me as the older style.

 

[shaldag]

Hmm, just got an idea from the earlier posts in the thread.

I modified my work SAK, cutting the end off the pen, and crimping/supergluing a little phillips screwdriver into it.

There should be a way to do that with one of the little internal devices (pen or toothpick) and replace it with a flint rod, or (in my opinion, better yet) a magnesium rod for a firestarter.


sounds like a new evening project.

 

[RokJok]

I don't like the style of striker pictured below.

Yeah, it's kinda funky. But it's somewhat of a backup redundant striker if need be. The SAK has an excellent Firesteel striker on it (sharp edge on back of saw). If I happen to have my Victorinox Ranger SAK with me as well, the metal file on that model will strike tons of sparks, but will wear quickly at the Firesteel.

My ideal BASSAK (Big-A** Survival SAK) would be just a bit larger than the Outrider, which has 3-3/8" long large blade. But with the "dream list" features below I'm afraid it would be a bit heavy for pocket carry. So a belt sheath might be in order. IMHO the BASSAK would have on it:
- locking 4-inch blade (no supplementary smaller blade)
- 4-inch wood saw
- 4-inch metal file
- bottle opener/large flat screwdriver
- can opener/small flat screwdriver
- scissors
- small phillips screwdriver fitted under the scissors (like on Outrider model)
- #2 phillips screwdriver (on back in place of corkscrew)
- awl with sewing hole (on back with #2 phillips)
- Maya wood scale on one side that pops on/off so you can scrape tinder dust from it
The other scale would carry in it:
- as large a ferrocium rod as possible
- tweezer
- sharp pointed metal toothpick/pin
- pressurized pen refill (Space Pen type refill)
- LED light with gasketed waterproof battery compartment & swich

It might even be possible to have the non-Mayawood scale pop on/off also and be made of ferrocium to maximize its firestarting capacity.

 

[StuToffee]

I take your point about the "stuff" flapping about when using the knife, but the photon light & spy capsule are on a very small split ring & held pretty close to the knife itself. I DO like those "seperatable" (is that a word! Gawd, my English is awful!!) keyrings though. I'll have to try & find one!