Well, my time on the forums has been very limited for the past several months as I have been planning my wedding in Scotland in October, buying a new house for my fiancée and myself, moving her into the house, selling her house, moving me into the house, selling my house, and all the while still working my 50 hours a week. BUT, while away I have had the opportunity to put several SAKs through the paces that go along with home repairs, packing and unpacking, taking apart furniture and putting it back together, constant yard maintenance at three houses, and and and and..... Honestly I have used my SAKs more in the last 4-5 months than I had probably in the last several years put together. So, as my I'm-back-online thread I figured I'd share some of what I learned.
First, here are the knives that saw the most use:
Clockwise from top left: Workchamp, ST, Modeler (mod), and Spirit.The Modeler was generally with me whenever I wasn't in my work clothes. I found out very early on that as useful as a "small" (91mm of any variety) is in day-to-day chores, the lack of proper pliers is a deal breaker when it comes to relying on a MT for real work. Of course, I knew this from past experience, but I was a bit surprised at how little use it actually saw this summer because of that missing implement. I also tried carrying a SwissChamp I picked up from Rainier, but even that was just not cutting it when it came to needing pliers. The pliers on a 91mm SAK are really not suited for heavy duty use for me.
So sad. No pliers on my mod.So, about half way through the summer I picked up a Workchamp (and swapped the scales to black) thinking that might be a bit better. What a great knife! The saw came in handy a couple times out in the garden, and the variety of Phillips sizes came in handy. But... and there's always a but... the pliers just aren't any better than those on the 91mm models (pretty sure they are the exact sale tool, actually).
So sad. Sad pliers on the WorkchampSo, while I did get to use the Modeler and Workchamp for odds and ends here and there this summer, the majority of the real work was left to the big boys -- my ST and Spirit.
First off, I love both of these tools. The Spirit was a gift from a member on the forum I'm an admin for, and the ST I picked up off the bay. When I picked up the ST, I got the CS plus model. I was thinking the little wrench with bits would come in handy, but within a day or two of lugging that monster sheath and tool set around on my belt I decided the package was just too much bulk and weight. So I ditched the extras and got out an old Tactical Assault Gear nylon sheath I had that fit the ST perfectly. Of course, even without the extra tools and the heavier sheath, the ST is still a substantially hefty tool. With all the exercise I was getting I ended up losing about 15 pounds, too, so my belt was having a hard time keeping my shorts up with the ST wanting to pull them down! But, that's more a combination of a number of factors than a condemnation of the ST. The added weight is due entirely to the additional steel used in making this such a brute of a MT.
The ST took everything I threw at it and excelled. From cutting down saplings in the yard to yanking nails out of the walls; driving screws large and small, snipping wire and zip-ties, cutting boxes to break-down for recycling, taking apart furniture, scraping paint and spackle and gunk in general... the list goes on and on. The only implement I probably did not use was the can opener. The beefy plier head was incredible. Even with a lot of torque applied parallel to the pivot, there's not a billimeter (yes, I made up that word) of lateral play between the jaws or in the handles (much more than I can say for my Leatherman Wave -- junk). I even used it to grab hold of thistle stalks that had to get pulled from the garden (couldn't find my gloves, so out came the ST.
But no matter how you slice it the ST is still dang awful heavy, so when I got the Spirit as a gift I immediately put it in rotation. The Leather sheath it came with is really well made and doesn't add much in the way of bulk so I used it. I was happy with the Velcro closure. As much as I would prefer a snap for a sheath when it comes to aesthetics, the Velcro is far more easy to use, especially with gloves on. The Spirit came my way about 2/3 the way through the summer's work so it didn't get to see quite as much of the heavy use as the ST, but it did get a good test. Like the ST it excelled at it all and ended the summer asking for more. The only thing I didn't like about it was the lack of the crate opener. That tool is really handy on the ST.
Crate opener. Handiest tool ever created by Vic. Well, second only to the fish scaler.What I loved about both of these tools were the facts that the implements can be accessed without opening the pliers, all the tools lock (with a very trustworthy and easy-to-use mechanism I might add), the handles and tools have no side-to-side play (a bit up-and-down in the main blade on the ST, but because of the type of lock used this is a non-issue), the plier heads inspire confidence (and live up to it), but what stuck with me the most was how the design of the implements allows for them to be much more closely aligned with the center axis of the tool which makes using the Phillips and flathead screwdriver blades an absolute dream compared to any other MT I have ever used. I cannot praise the designers at Victorinox highly enough for this. It makes using the drivers far easier to do with one hand than the other MTs out there I have tried. Take a LOT of the frustration out of the process.
The devil is in the details. Making the Phillips driver as close to inline as possible saved the tool from getting thrown across the room in frustration as I have been known to do to my Leatherman.So, the winners by far were the SwissTool and SwissTool Spirit. Do I have a preference? If weight is not an issue then I would say the ST. The crate opener tool is far more handy than I ever would have expected. But, weight often is an issue and was for me so I would have to say the Spirit will likely see me reaching for it more in the future except when I know I'm going to be putting in a full day (or more) of hard work (though the ergos of the handles on the Spirit I must admit make it feel a bit better in the hand – plus it looks cool)..
The winners.That's not to say there isn't a place for the Modeler and Workchamp (or any other 91/93 or 108/111 mm model). The modeler is in my pocket as I type this and will likely continue as my EDC for the foreseeable future (most of my day is spent behind a desk so the Modeler can handle the vast majority of the day-to-day stuff). The Workchamp has taken up residence in my work bag, but honestly for me it's a bit overshadowed on the one end by a proper MT like the Spirit and on the other by something more pocketable like the Modeler. If it had a bit beefier pliers I might sing a different tune. Still, the larger blade (locking) and extra Phillips are big pluses when compared to the Modeler, and the fact that it *is* pocketable (albeit barely) does make it one I will probably grab from time to time.
So, if I had to be stranded on a desert island with one it would be the SwissTool CS. Stranded on a desert island with my lady -- the Spirit (I'd rather her pull down my pants than have my MT do it). Day-to-day life? Modeler (hey -- it's why I built the durn thing). Pure cool factor? Workchamp (hey, I had to throw it some kind of a bone -- it is pretty cool even if it isn't the most useful).
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