For the love of a SAK.....

[Joe58]

Ok, corny thread title I know.....sorry. Best I could think of.

Sometimes I tend to over think things and this is a topic I've thought about now and then.

I've been collecting knives of all types and have built up a modest collection over the years. I've knives from low end productions, up to custom pieces I've ordered. Pocket knives, fixed blade, folders, pocket clipped models. Even bayonets. Lol. Can't stop the insanity.

Now, please don't think I'm trying to brag, I'm just trying to establish context. Some of my custom traditional pocket knives are right around the $500 mark. Pocket knives are my favorite. And yes I know I'm crazy for spending that on a pocket knife. But I'm weak with no self control. And I'm sure there are those of you with ones that were more. Lol.

My usual routine is to keep a few knives on my dresser that I rotate through to carry on a given day. I have very few safe queens, so I have no problems carrying and using an expensive knife. Some will go back into storage, others come out, but there is always alox there.

But it just seems, a large percentage of the time, I will drop an alox Vic Electrician, or variant thereof, into my pocket, bypassing the high dollar custom. Even though the custom piece is an outstanding knife. And I really like it. There just seems to be intangibles to SAK's that are hard to define if you get what I mean. I do on occasion augment the days carry with a pocket clipped knife just cause.

I'm just curious if you other forum members, with a knife collection featuring more than just SAK's, have also noticed this. Or do you have a more balanced daily carry routine. I find it difficult to commit to the same knife everyday. I just like too many of them. Although usually it will still be an alox knife with just a variation on the same theme. Such as color, etc.

Dunno. Maybe I'm just weird or something. Having a guilty feeling for not carrying the more expensive knife in favor of a knife made of "inferior" materials. But it just works for me. And I'm certainly too old to change now. Ha.

Thanks for allowing me to ramble about nothing essentially.......

[kirk13]

No mate,your not the only one. While I've not done the custom thing,I've tried all sorts of different pocket knives,and the SAK,for many reasons,is always the go to option.

The fun thing to do is look through the threads of non SAK folks arrive here,and watch as they discover the true faith

[Aloha]

Knives are to cut and SAKs do this very well.  They are also very pocket friendly and pretty fun to fiddle with.  Depending on the model SAK there is quite a lot of utility packed in. 

I see so many obtain their "grail" knife(s) yet fall back to the simplicity of the SAK.  I used to think once a "grail" was obtained the search was over the "trying" out of knives was over.  We see time and time again the SAK finding its way into the pockets of those who have knives well into the 3/4 digits. 

Hail to the SAK 

[tosh]

I've often pondered this too.
Whilst I have a strong dislike to knives in general (yeah, I'm weird) I love the simplicity and skill that many knife builders achieve.

I have a few Stan Shaw (Master Cutler) models that cost me an outrageous sum of money, yet they will never be carried. To me they are more a work of art than mere cutting utensils. The humble SAK is incredible value for money when compared to custom stuff.

[zimchaz]

I have come full circle in many respects, I always had a small swiss army knife as a kid, don't remember the model but it was beat to crap and it did almost everything I needed it for.I remember being shocked and devastated when the small pen blade broke after I stabbed it in a tree ( I was about eight).funnily enough I always used the small blade to 'save' the large one. I was shocked that wood could break metal. I thought that thing was indestructible.
That was lost and I was given a huntsman on my 16th birthday.
I still have that one and it lives in a drawer.
Then u went through a stage of OHO tactical stuff and novelty knives like push daggers etc.
Then it was multitools and since I moved to the UK, and what I can carry is limited, I have come back to the humble SAK for most environments. It won't make my leathermans redundant, but a SAK with scissors is my go to knife.

[3F]

Good topic!

I don't have much of a "collection" . Those that I consider collectable, don't get carried.
My selection for EDC is based primarily on surviving an abnormal (starting to become more of a normality)
situation.
but........but.......
I never leave home without my Classic. 

 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

It's a similar story with me really. I did the whole tactical thing, then the laws changed and people really started frowning upon knives, so I didn't even edc my Mauser due to the looks it got at work!

So I bought myself a little black Camper and was amazed my how much utility was packed into such a tiny package! After that I never looked back

I might carry the odd Opinel, RR, UKPK or other cheapish slippie, but there will always be either a Farmer, Swisschamp  and mini champ on me too

[Steinar]

Not exactly the same back story, but yeah, I have knife collection including one of a kind customs, but in my pocket, there is a SAK most of the time. (A Camper today, btw.  ) A SAK is an excellent compromise for a very long list of requirements. They are quite simply good knives.

[twiliter]

My collection is now whittled down to mostly 91mm Vics, that's what started me collecting in the first place. I still have some others, some alox 93's, a few 58's, a few 111's, and a few SwissTools. The only others that remain in the collection without the threat of sale are a sentimental Schrade jack knife from the 80's and a GEC 68 stockman that I could not resist and cannot part with. I also have a single 1891 model Soldier and 2 84's that I am partial to. My affection for Wengers has left me, with the exception of a '63 SI and a Clipper, which I still find exceptionally functional and appealing.

For me it's about utility and memory. If I have a Climber in my pocket, I know without looking what tools are where, and the capabilities of each tool. I can carry 4 or 5 layer Vics the same way, and even pocketed a SwissChamp for quite a while. It seems as I get older it's more about a minimal carry package, and the knowledge of what I can produce from my pocket and for what purpose. I am at most times near enough to my tools, so a pocket multitool does not have to be anything but convenient and useful, which a SAK most definitely is.

There have also been more than a handful of times when I could uncork a bottle when there were no other options nearby, or tighten a loose door latch on the spot, or trim an annoying tag from the back of a shirt. The stockman pattern does not allow for this, not to mention many other lesser pocket knives. Not to say that the fancy single blade folders with exotic scales, latest steel technology, and finest workmanship are not beautiful and useful in their own right, but for my money, I'll stick with my Climber.

I'm in the process of narrowing down my collection even more, and it's still under 100 pieces, but the thought of expanding into other makers and models after collecting Vic 91's makes my head spin.

Thanks Joe, good thread.

[Caranthanus]

To make a long story short ... SAK rules!

 

[Huntsman]

Never really owned a dedicated or fancy folder or a fixed tang blade - Apart from a boy scouts knife back in the days they allowed this.

However I have thought about this quite a bit and my thoughts are:

• Why carry a dedicated blade?  When you can have a SAK with all those additional tools that you may need during your day
• Many of the fancy folders etc are soooo expensive - The humble SAK gives you so much more for so much less

I do agree some of the folders, fixed blades are works of art - And of course there is the hardness of the steel etc etc. However the SAK has served me well for decades for everything that I need to do - and will do for decades to come 

Although I will put in a little plug for the pliers based multi tools here too - If you need big pliers, then they are a great tool to have/carry.
Just not dedicated blades for me - Thank you !!

[cbl51]

Joe, my story is much the same as yours.

I used to collect Randall and some other customs. ONce upon a time, I was a knife snob. I liked the customs and had my nose a bit up in the air. Then in 1969m while stained in Germany, I got a SAK. I was attracted by the big moving SAK in the window, and I was hooked. Needed a knife? Ihad one. Needed a screw driver? Ihad one. Other tools? Right there in my pocket.

It took me a while, but I got hooked good. I got used to having some basic tools on hand. When I would carry a 'regular' pocket knife, I'd miss the SAK and it's tools. Even my little Case peanut couldn't replace the SAK in the end. I've carried all kinds of knives, but a SAK is much more than a knife. It's a pocket sized solution for the curve balls life throws at you now and then.  I've been sad ed by the SAK so many times. A broken down Vespa motor scooter in the middle of nowhere, a control arm on a trolling motor out on a large lake, A gummed up fishing reel on a river bank far from home and a 'real' tool kit. The few tools on a SAK gives me options.

I ended up selling off all my customs, and giving away more of my high end folders. Most days now, I just drop a SAK of some kind in my pocket, most times an alox. The SAK does everything a knife will, but soooo much more!

A SAK is all you really really need. All other knives are wants, needed or not.