Which SAK...is BEST?

T

timbit

Joined
Jul 21, 2011
Messages
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Not wanting to hijack a recent thread about why 'knife nuts' like Swiss Army Knives...

I don't have a SAK, but want to purchase one. I EDC a small fixed blade, it has a thickish spine and scandi grind. It isn't a great slicer, but it cuts well, is easy to maintain, and stands up to some heavy use without batting an eye lash. I've carried leathermen before, but have been underwhelmed by their utility. Also, I don't want a swiss army knife with a thousand tools. 3 layers or less. Lighter is better. I don't want to know its in my pocket.


Here are my questions:

Which SAK model do you think is best?
Why do you think it is the best one?
Which one do you carry?
What do you use a swiss army knife for that your EDC can't do?

Thank you for your input.
timbit
Edit:
If anyone suggests one of these...
image32.png


I will know you are trolling.
 
I think there is no "best" SAK, rather a variety of models to meet different needs. I carry a Classic on my key ring every day. I use it for the toothpick, tweezers, and scissors that my MooreMaker Trapper doesn't have. I have an SAK with corkscrew in my truck, just in case. On the weekends, I often carry a Vic Farmer for the saw, can opener, and bottle opener when I'm working around the place or out on the tractor. Also tools not found on the trapper or Spyderco Endura clipped to waistband. I do prefer the Victorinox to the Wengers, based on the ones I've owned.
 
The best for me is the manager. Perfect size for keychain. It has a blade, scissors, and a bottle opener. Same as the rambler, but has a pen instead of a toothpick. Most of these SAK's are great value
 
I prefer my Victorinox Officer Suisse. On the top side it has a knife, bottle opener, can opener, and file. On the back side it has an awl and a corkscrew. It is very thin, and I carry it most every day. I prefer it over others because it's simplistic and has tools I need everyday. It's also below 25$ so I'm not afraid to use the blade for things I wouldn't want a higher end knife doing.

~Zim
 
I have a couple tourist type models minus the toothpick and tweezers (older i suspect). I don't edc them although one stays in my backpack. I'm a sneeze away from ordering a cybertool 41. It doesn't meet your 3 layer requirement as it has 6-7. And although its probably to wide and heavy to edc in a pocket and i probably wouldn't carry it on a belt holster unless i anticipated a need, it covers all the bases i can think of and leaves out the tools i don't need.

I dont need a pharmacy spatula or a fish scaler (like the swisschamp), and imo having duplicate/redundant tools is a waste of space and weight. The cybertool 41 in addition to basic sak tools also has the bit driver for light mechanical jobs, the scissors, pliers, and the 41 adds the file/metal saw and wood saw for camping duty. It covers all the basics i can think of! Ill forego a led flashlight/magnifying glass as i have very nice pocket edc lights that would do that. The other one i looked at closely was the Hercules.

Go to the site or on amazon. Add a bunch to the cart, then open them up in separate windows and decide what you would like bundled, what you don't want/need. Then try one! They're inexpensive enough that you could get another one if your needs in actual useage change.
 
ChrisB507 said:
Check out the Victorinox Tool Finder: http://www.swissarmy.com/us/content/toolfinder/category/Category/100. You can select what's most important to you.
Click to expand...

Cool! I've dug through the site but hadn't seen that. I've heard that at one time you could actually order custom knives, or people could cannibalize and frankenstein them.

How cool would it be to build a tool minus blades and carry it on a plane? Framelock in checked. Just checked tsa, i guess you'd have to leave out the wood and metal saw too. Other things such as pliers and scissors should be fine on a sak based on their size.
 
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For personal grooming, clipping threads, etc:
this little SAK is useful. Or a Leatherman Micra
LittlegreenSAK.jpg


For a larger SAK, I like something like a pioneer or Electrician (I like having a wharncliffe blade):

SAKElectrician.jpg
 
Three layer models are about as big as I'll go. My favorite model is the Climber for edc and it makes an ideal vacation knife.
 
The tools I've used the most on mine apart from the blade(s) are the corkscrew, can opener, bottle opener and tweezer. The tool I miss on my model is scissors. Mine also lacks a lanyard-thingy, which could be nice to have.
 
For me, the Spartan. However, the Alox Farmer is hard to beat.

Whatever you choose, it is hard to find much fault with a SAK.

Bet you end up with several :)
 
I carry a Huntsman because I have need of a saw and scissors as well as everything lower on the totem pole.
 
I like the 4.4" Advernturer the best. It is thin, but one of the larger ones (length wise), so you can put some muscle onto cutting something if you need to. It does not disappear in your pocket however. The Farmer, Soldier, Tinker are very popular ones. I started out with a Tinker for years; then a Alox Soldier, now the Adventurer or One Handed Trekker.
 
It really depends on your personal needs and what you do everyday, the models I use the most are 3-4 layers. I like the Farmer (especially for woodworking, the awl and saw are great), Climber (scissors come in handy in the city), Hiker, Hunstman, etc. from Victorinox; I also carry similar Wenger models (I like that they are a tad shorter).

Basically, in an urban environment I like to have scissors and a couple of drivers and when I'm outdoors I tend to use the saws more. The blades are a nice back-up to my main knife (and great for environments that aren't knife friendly).
 
sqchram said:
How cool would it be to build a tool minus blades and carry it on a plane? Framelock in checked. Just checked tsa, i guess you'd have to leave out the wood and metal saw too. Other things such as pliers and scissors should be fine on a sak based on their size.
Click to expand...

Check out the Leatherman PS and the Wenger Swiss Clipper AT....both TSA-legal.
 
I'd say Huntsman for great tool selection and Farmer for versatility in a slim package. If only they made the Farmer with scissors . . .
 
The Porter sounds like it would be perfect for you, this is from one of my recent posts~

I'm always changing my pocket kits around and adding this or robbing that from each one. I have a couple of trips coming up and decided to make up a new very minimal kit. I wanted one just with a few essentials that I could toss in my pocket to give me some security wherever I am.

For this kit I decided I wanted a new knife, my criteria was that I wanted a corkscrew ( one of my trips is urban and might require some wine opening plus I like these for undoing knots when making traps etc ). I also wanted the largest blade I could fit in the kit and it needed to be thin . After some searching I settled on the Victorinox Porter as perfect for my requirements.

Also in the kit I wanted the largest ferro-rod I could fit. The one I got is a fair bit larger than an LMF, I removed the head and it fit perfectly.Added a small LMF striker as well.

Other contents :

A few Bandaids.
A few Steri strips.
P38 can opener.
Safety pin.
Fish hook.
Trolling line.
2 cotton pads.
3 storm proof matches.
Old credit card with Duct tape wrapped around.
Ranger bands.
Small Fox whistle.
Birthday candle.

I think that's the lot although I may well remember something else later, LOL !

001-001-1.jpg



My favourite SAK though is my Army model, I carry this nearly all the time !

012-4.jpg
 
I'm gonna say the Soldier. It's THE swiss army knife, or was, from 1961-2009. Very well made, heavier/thicker blades and tools than the other SAKs. The pioneer is the same knife, but with a lanyard ring, and it has the civilian cross instead of the military cross. My EDC. Soldier, and the rambler on the keychain.
SDC11583.jpg

Another recommendation is the Compact. Lots of tools that apply to daily life. Ball point pen, excellent scissors, can opener, bottle opener, screwdriver, tiny screwdriver (for glasses etc), blade, nail file, hook (i made mine into a phillips driver), corkscrew (great for untying tight knots), straight pin (very useful) toothpick and tweezers in a 2 layer SAK.
navaja-compact.jpg
 
I actually have three favorites:

Farmer
Soldier
Executive.

The Executive is always with me, regardless of what else I'm carrying. I regularly use all of the features on it, except the key ring. I also use every tool on the Soldier. The Farmer is basically the Soldier with an added wood saw and key ring. The Executive pairs off well with either the Soldier or Farmer; you'll have most EDC needs pretty much covered.
Jim
 
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