Why!!!

[wvstockman]

The other day I found my old Victorinox soldier (red handles) that I had lost some time ago. Well, I sharpened it up (boy it was dull!) and have been sticking it in my left (usually reserved for keys) pocket.

At work a guy asked me for a knife and I handed him the SAK. I know, big deal! But it got me to thinking. I usually carry a buck stockman and a buck 110/112. I'd only lend the 110 out to maybe two people that I work with (big, sharp blade, little common sense). I was always concerned (?) when I would lend out my stockman to someone, worried that they would break, bend, or somehow hurt it .

But that old SAK. I had (almost) no fear that someone would break it. And I find myself reaching to it to do rough work , such as scrapping some gunk off a machine at work, prying the top off my clutch fluid cap on my truck etc. I don't worry about hurting it and don't know why? It's that same price range as the stockman (buck 371, china cheapy) but I can't figure out why this is? Both are sturdy, good quality knives and have very good warrentees. And, to top it off, I bought the stockman to be a work knife.

Why is it that I feel the SAK is so unbreakable compared to the stockman. Is anyone else like this? Or am I just plain crazy

Sam

 

[ElCuchillo]

Because SAKs, SPECIALLY Alox ones, are hard work knives, and feel that way. The Red cellidor handled oned can be bought just about anywhere for not alot of money, so folks beat on them with no fear. The Alox ones just FEEL like little tanks. Their owners know they are nigh intestructible, and so they get beat on as well. My guess is that's what they were made for, why they were designed that way. A working knife for the working man. A comparison was made one time that the SAK is the Honda or Toyota to the traditional pattern being a Chevy SS or Corvette. Even though it's a china model, your stockman is that Classic Chevy. Ya aren't as likely to pound on that as you would to red line your toyota.

 

[jackknife]

No Sam, you're not crazy.

You feel that way because the Victorinox soldier is most likely one of the most rugged pocket knives on the face of the earth, because it was actually designed to be that. Now I carried a Buck stockman for a very long time, and I can give honest testimony to how it was a very good quality rugged pocket knife under hard conditions. But... it was not in a class with the Victorinox. It held a cutting edge a bit better, and had three different blade shaped to choose from. But the all buisness metal construction of the soldier, plus the tools, give it a more all around versitility. Plus with the screw driver blade being shaped the way it is to handle lateral stress a bit better than the shape of the screw driver on the army scout or "demo" knife, it can be used for light prying better than one of the knife blades on the stockman. The soldier also uses spun rivits instead of peened, if that makes a difference, and according to the Swiss it does.

Also the soldier is built to actual Swiss Army specs, that call for the blade to be rockwelled at 56. Not 57 or 55, but right at 56. Swiss presision I suppose. This may seem a little soft by our standards of the latest and greatest knife that can skin 15 elk and still dry shave a three day old beard like a new Bic razor, but think about it. At 56 it will hold a good edge for a decent amount of time. It will stand up to an idiot abusing his blade for things like prying, even though he has a screwdriver blade for that. The U.S. army did a survey while I was in on how a soldier uses a knife. It was started by the engineers at Camillus when they were making the MK2, also called mistakingly the K-bar. It was found that soldiers used the knife for prying off the steel bands on the ammo boxes and large bulk boxes of C-rations.

The swiss aparently did a similar survey and found out the most common cause of blade breakage among troops was prying something. So they make the soldier blade a tad softer to flex and bend more than it would if it were a bit higher on the Rc scale. If you look down at the spine of the soldier you will see a distal taper drop forged into the blade. This also aids in flex toward the tip to discourage breaking. Also they found a big complaint was that soldiers did not want to spend alot of time sharpening a knife. The wanted to be able to touch up a blade in a few minutes and go. Thus you get a sak that cuts well, holds a decent working edge for a reasonable time, and re-sharpens easy, and is built to take abuse from the troops who are NOT knife knuts thus don't care abot thier knives like we do.

Now spoiled American knife knuts will cry that 56 is too soft. Think about this- an averidge machette will be high 40's range, a power mower blade will be in the 40's, the old carbon steel butcher knife blades by Old Hickory will be in the low to mid 50's. Look at how much cutting is done by those Tramontia machette's with just a touch up with a mill smooth file now and then. So in the real world where you are not trying for a record number of deer dressed out between sharpenings, or bragging rights for advertising hype, 56RC makes a very nice usable blade for pocket carry.

Your soldier will stand up for hard use and some abuse that will have your Buck on the way back to Buck for repair.

I like to think that a soldier is the 1960's VW beatle of knives. Run the dog p--s out of it, abuse it, punish it, and it still keeps on keeping on. I had a couple of those old bugs, and they were like a cockroach, very hard to kill, like an old Smith and Wesson model 10 and a sak soldier.

If you're crazy Sam, its crazy like a fox!

 

[mnblade]

For cutting, I don't see a huge difference in toughness between the SAK Soldier and any other well-built quality pocketknife about about the same size. Perceived toughness, sure, but not actual toughness. IMHO, the reason SAKs last like they do is because, with those other tools right there at hand, Joe "Average Knife Toting Guy" Doe is not going to use the blade for things like turning screws and prying stuff.

 

[Jenner 515]

I like mine so much, that for my godson's tenth birthday I got him a SAK Soldier...as his first knife.

Mine has travelled with me just about everywhere from Kuwait to Fulda, Germany and all over the United States...And I'll I've ever had to do is clean it off and sharpen it.

 

[kjbenner]

I do the same thing with Vics. Around camp I carry a Vic Solo for lending out. There's maybe two people I'll lend my main knife to, but anyone can have a go with the solo. It's cheap, so I don't really care if they bust it up, and It's super easy to sharpen, so if they try to do something stupid, I can get it back in working order easily enough. It's just the perfect combination of cheap, rugged, and easy to fix that makes it great for a loaner.

 

[Foilist]

I think maybe it's an aesthetic thing. A tradtional stockman is attractive and beautiful and a SAK is utilitarian - more like an appliance for getting a job done. You could argue that a car is just an appliance but people spend a lot of time spiffing up their cars; when was the last time you lavished that kind of attention on your vacuum or washing machine?

 

[siguy]

i carry my opinel as my main blade, and i use it for all sorts of work, and after i knocked a ding in it the other day i sure appreciated the softer steel blade.

but i carried an SAK for a long time as my EDC and it performed great. i would still be carrying it, but i realized that i really rarely need those drivers or the awl, and when i am usually a foot or two away from my workbench with all of my real tools.

my SAK still remains a steadfast backup if i need it, and it is a great first knife, so a kid will learn to use the knife for cutting and drivers and awls for prying, turning screws and stabbing things

i would like to check out an alox one of these days though, just because of my experience with the plastic handled versions and the way they are talked up around here.

 

[lotoblades]

Alox saks are very rugged for pocket knives, One of the reasons there some of my favorites. I like case,buck queen etc, but none of them shrug of hard use as well as a vic imo.

 

[wvstockman]

Yep, I think yall are right. A knife that was "born" to work. Made for the army, used by everybody. Kinda like tactical to practical!

I think I'll order me a alox electrition deluxe or a farmer with my income tax money. Just gotta decide wether to give up the sheepsfoot blade or the awl.


Sam

 

[navihawk]

I can take a soldier and open an electrical cabinet at work, but I wouldn't dare do that with a traditional scout.Works great with the driver half open.Just as tough as my Wave.

 

[James Y]

I really love the Soldier's design. It's very pocket-friendly, yet extremely tough. I use the awl a lot for scraping; the main blade is a great slicer, particularly for food; I have used the can opener and its small screwdriver on Phillips head screws; and the large screwdriver I often use for light prying duties. (I have rarely used the bottle opener feature for many years, except as another way of prying besides the screwdriver blade. I would not do that with my Case knife, which I use strictly as a cutting implement.
Jim

 

[mnblade]

I can take a soldier and open an electrical cabinet at work, but I wouldn't dare do that with a traditional scout.

Why not? I can't see why the screwdriver on a traditional scout knife would have any problem doing that.

 

[kvaughn]

:thumbup:--My vote for the Farmer. I carry it in a pouch I made from nylon strap on my belt. Very tuff knife!

 

[navihawk]

Why not? I can't see why the screwdriver on a traditional scout knife would have any problem doing that.

Some of the Hoffman cabinets have a large gasket and the latches are tough to open. I would be afraid to loosen the blades.
A good scout might handle it, but i would be afraid to take the chance.