The Swiss Army Knife - Owner's Manual

[Sazabi]

Mine arrived yesterday.   I got back home at eleven last night, though, so I've not had a chance to look at it yet. 

[Singh]

Self publishing is really the way if the future. Lots of good authors have great  ideas but don't have the connections to get them published by the big houses.

Example: a book titled "Shooting the stickbow"  (http://www.shootingthestickbow.com/) is one of the most definitive books ever written on shooting techniques for all types of archery, and it's self published. 

Another, "Perfumes the Guide" by Luca Turin WAS published by the big publishing houses but only after they saw that the author's self-published pamphlet on perfume sold out and used copies were in insane demand.

I'm not turned off by a book that's self published. If the people who are "in the know"  are excited about it, then I take note. It's why I ordered a copy of this book sight unseen.

[felinevet]

As with everything I sell - I will refund your money no questions asked if you are not satisfied. Just return the book in original condition. I know with things like books, they may or may not meet expectations so no hassle.

[richs2891]

I ordered a copy on wed - just waiting now for it to wing it way across the ocean to the UK !
Looking forward to reading it.  Hopefully wont make me spend more money on saks but I doubt that.
Richard

[Sazabi]

I think the book needs a proper editor. :/  In the introductory pages alone, there are a couple sentences referring to mountains (I think?) that made me scratch my head in confusion.  I've not made much headway in the book due to riding in the car today, but punctuation is lacking, in my opinion.  Not as bad as Cormac McCarthy, but it could use a liberal application of commas.

As with any book, though, the second edition will hopefully correct the most glaring of nitpicks.

[J Mackrel Jones]

The author, did indeed, publish the book, himself.  You can buy it from him, at the website, swissarmyknifeownersmanual.com     

[Grant Lamontagne]

The author, did indeed, publish the book, himself.  You can buy it from him, at the website, swissarmyknifeownersmanual.com     

Good to see you made it!

Def

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

[Chako]

Just received the book and quickly browed it. Looks good. I am happy I bought it.

[Singh]

I've been reading the book, and here is my take on it. First and foremost, writing a book by yourself is a monumental task, and let's be fair about how we view this book. I'm appreciative that the author took on this task.

The book  did what it intended to do (see the table of contents). Lots of history and information, explanations for misc uses for each tool, etc.

Mild criticisms:

• The author swerves into bias and hyperbole. Sometimes the book reads like a love letter to SAKS.
• Sometimes the author goes into off-tangent musings that are really a bit... strange.
• A good editor good tighten things up; eliminate the off-tangent  and odd musings the author sometimes delves into, clean up sentence fragments, and focus the information presented into a cleaner format.

Overall, the book is worth the purchase. I'm not interested in a sterile field guide to SAKS. If you want that kind of book, you'll be disappointed. I'm more interested on a book that expands my knowledge and appreciation of SAKS, and this book does a decent job at that. 

[J Mackrel Jones]

Headed over to the Wenger store in Boulder today (the only Wenger outlet in the US), then stopped in a Tibet shop next door where they had jewelry, prayer flags..., Asked about the inscription on a bracelet and the guy brought out a card ($10.95) translating it:  The Green Tara?  That story is mentioned in the Swiss Army Knife Owner's Manual they sell next door!  He didn't quite believe this so I pulled out my copy:  "Born from the tears of a bhoddhisatva."  The guy smiled.
So you may be right.

[ICanFixThat]

I just want my copy to arrive, it must be on a train that needs some fixing.

[felinevet]

I just want my copy to arrive, it must be on a train that needs some fixing.

Weird, shipped on the 2nd. Just checked and it arrived in Rowley at 1208 today. Should have it tomorrow.

[richs2891]

Thats odd as I got mine in the UK on the 11th.  First non ebook I've read in ages.
Interesting read, a few uses I would have never thought of

Richard

[J Mackrel Jones]

Ran across this from the author:  "For a while it was my intent to make a book as spare, efficient, and elegant as a Swiss Army Knife.  Couldn't do it.  Too much the artist and too little an engineer I guess.  It became more an Oriental carpet than an African antelope."
I don't know what the hell he means by this, but I would say there is unnecessary stuff in there.  Like who needs references to Ulysses, The Hobbit, and the Beatles in a book about knives?
I did like the drawing of the horses in front of the old Elsener factory tho.  And the photo of the Vic/Wenger hybrid.

[dks]

I have communicated with the writter a few times a couple of weeks ago through email, about  buying his book and he was quite helpfull, arranging with paypal so that the international shipping cost would appear automatically at his site. I was surpised by the fact that he seemed to answer my emails quickly, even at weird hours, for his timezone. He seems quite helpfull and keen to sell his book (understandably).
I told him about this thread too, so hopefully he may at some point join the discussion here (I do not think he is a member here).

[dks]

Mine arrived today!!  Time to get reading.

[kmanct3]

just got mine today also,,,,this book looks fantastic!

[J Mackrel Jones]

   The Swiss Army Knife Owner’s Manual was published in September of 2011.  It is a 224-page paperback, printed in the USA, a printing of 3,000 copies.  The book was generally well-received by Swiss Forum members and it might be appropriate to give a more complete description of it.
   Firstly, as stated on the copyright page, it is “not an owner’s manual originating with the manufacturer.”  Author Michael Young visited the factories in Ibach and Delemont in 2007, getting the rare factory tours (briefly covered in the book), and has kept in touch with Director of Public Relations Urs Wyss and CEO Carl Elsener of Victorinox and CEO Peter Hug of Wenger.  Elsener purchased 1000 copies for Victorinox as the book went to print.  Hug took Young to lunch.  Wenger later bought 125 copies as did Victorinox USA.
   Chapters:  The knife (Stone Age to now); Switzerland (a brief history, including the story of William Tell - the skill and defiant independence of the man, the courage of his little son); The Soldier and the Officer (pocketknives, that is); The knives (as made today); Use and care; Comparing manufacturers (including a seven-page time-line and a variety of test results); Improvised and unexpected uses; Repairs and modifications; Accessories (sheaths/pouches, lanyards, spare parts, etc.); True stories (the human element of knife use); Bibliography and sources.     
   The merger of Victorinox and Wenger in 2005 was one reason for the publication of this book, which deals as equally as possible with the products of both companies.  Another reason is that no single book had previously described the histories of the two companies and their knives.  This one gives a good summary of the very different early days of the Elsener and Boechat cutleries.  The 100th anniversary books The Knife by Victorinox (1984) and A Fervour Over Knives by Wenger (1993) were essential sources for this research.   
   The 96 color photographs distributed throughout the text really look better in the PDF file than in print.  And they are pretty good in print.  When will we be able to download this book as an e-file?  The drawing of The Parts of a Swiss Army Knife was, with the author’s permission, printed in the booklet accompanying the Victorinox 115th anniversary Spartan (today‘s version of the original Officer’s Knife of 1897).  Photos show the development of the knives from the Modell 1890 made by the Karl Elsener Messerfabrik to Victorinox’s RescueTool, IWA 2007 Knife of the Year, to the Soldier of 2008, and changes to the tools from the first Soldier’s hook-and-arm can opener to the electronics of Traveller and SwissMemory, and the Evo and EvoGrip scales of Wenger.  Also some unusual knives like Wenger’s grilon Soldier circa 1960 and Victorinox’s Astronaut commemorating the 1969 moon landing.  Copies and imitators are mentioned, and shown, with the brevity they deserve.  A lot of cool scale materials in the photographs:  horn, several kinds of wood, mother-of-pearl, faux tortoiseshell, sterling silver engraved and smooth, alox, ruthenium.  Bakelite?  A photo of the scale of a 1960s Victoria blazing “like a small torch” dramatically illustrates the changes to plastic (nitro-cellulose to cellidor) over the years.  A pair of charts shows the tools available on most of the Officer-type SAKs by both companies available as of 2011.   
   The book is not perfect.  SAKWiki’s criticism of a degree of disorganization is justified.  One or two “facts” are debatable:  Was it 1921 or 1923 that Victorinox first used stainless steel?  (I found the one-page history of stainless steel and aluminum worthwhile.)  The dates of changes to the thickness of the main blade need revising.  Tim Leatherman’s name (Victorinox brought him to Switzerland as consultant in the development of the SwissTool) is not Ted.  The absence of an index is lamentable:  it can be difficult to find again something one remembers reading in there.
   There are some ingenious improvised uses given, like using the fishscaler as a rangefinder and the phillips screwdriver as a soldering iron.  But some are just silly:  the corkscrew as a “mnenomic device” or the SwissChamp as a crossbow.  The repairs described are realistic enough, and most of the modifications.  I would not trust the mini-driver as a blade-lock.
   In a feature article in November, 2011, William Porter of the Denver Post called The Swiss Army Knife Owner’s Manual “witty and practical,” “equal parts field guide and love letter.”  Carl Elsener in a communication to the author says “It is a fantastic book!”
   An interesting aspect of this book is that Michael Young (a pseudonymous member of this Forum) did all the work himself:  writing, photographs, drawings and charts, proofreading and editing, publishing, sales and distribution…  Tattered Cover in Denver carries the book, as do several other bookstores and outdoors shops in Colorado.  It is available on Amazon and eBay.  Tim bought 22 copies for resale in his FelineVet web shop.  EDC Source carries it.  You can buy the book from the author directly on the website SwissArmyKnifeOwnersManual.com.  In the year and a half that the book has been in print Young says he has sent copies to buyers in 36 states and 17 countries.
   The centenary books are invaluable, Jackson’s 1999 “Collector’s Companion” has nice photos but really no info for collectors and only a paragraph or two about Wenger, Kane’s Handbook of 1988 is short and sweet but no longer available.  There has not been a book like The Swiss Army Knife Owner’s Manual.  “Somebody had to do it”, and making a book become real is not easy to do.  Quotes from and references to Hemingway, Tolkien, Star Trek, the Beatles, Tennyson, the Rubaiyat, and others add a little spice to a full meal.     

[kkokkolis]

Thank you very much! I just ordered one. I might have it in a couple of weeks.
Is a pdf also available?

[J Mackrel Jones]

No internet pdf version yet.
The best tool is where, kkokkolis ? (My latin is a little rusty)

[kkokkolis]

Between the ears.…

[WoodMan]

Just ordered off Amazon.

[Wootz]

The author, did indeed, publish the book, himself.  You can buy it from him, at the website, swissarmyknifeownersmanual.com     

Thanks for the review of the book. I always wanted one and ordered it yesterday directly on the website. Got an instant reply from Mike Young saying he will mail the book as soon as the post office opens on Monday. Great service! 

[kkokkolis]

I had no reply! I want my reply too!

[Wootz]

QUAMVIS PATIENS ACRIS 

[kkokkolis]

I had my reply. There are copies available, enough for everybody here. Go on and order if you like.

[dks]

I feel like saying it again : Great book and the writer is very friendly to talk to !

[kkokkolis]

I got my copy today and I'm thrilled! It is filled with color pictures and lots of information. On the last page there is a stamp that reads: "This book is available at SwissArmyKnifeOwnersManual.com (and Learherman's first name is Tim)!!!

Everybody here should own one copy. This man, Michael Young, loves SAKs for sure.

[Grathr]

Got my copy yesterday. 

[turnsouth]

I enjoyed this book, just a couple of caveats:

• The SAK history is quite comprehensive, and as with most detailed history accounts it can get dry at times.
• The section on how to use your SAK in unusual, or unthought of ways is good, but some of the tips are a bit like: "If you tape your SAK to your steering wheel, it makes an excellent improvised car..."