What started your addiction?

[tattoosteve99]

Well mine was a thread I was reading over the SOSAK entitled "the official alox thread". Here's the photo that stared it all. So really my ultimate goal is to acquire one of these SAK.



Sorry if I stole your pic but then again you started it

[tattoosteve99]

Please change thread name to addiction not addition. Lol

[@beergrylls]

KOTY 2011

[Sazabi]

Please change thread name to addiction not addition. Lol

Well, technically if you have an addiction to SAKs, you add to your collection.

[gustophersmob]

My 1st SAK, and the one that started it all, was a BSA Hunstman that my uncle got me one Christmas back in the early 90's when I was about 10-11.  It has the slotted Philips, keyring nub on the liner instead of the backspring, screwed scissor joint, and the thicker main blade tang.  I still have it BNIB.  I was so enamored with it, because I wanted one badly but couldn't get my own (hey, $20 is a lot when you're 10!).  Now I wish I had used it so it would have some memories with it, but either way I probably will never part with it.

Now I am more of a user than a collector, with a few of each of my favorite (and most used knives): Cadets, Alox Soldiers, Farmers and OHTs.

[captain spaulding]

My first encounter I can remember with a multitool was when my grandma bought me one while I was visiting her. I must of been around 7 years old. I still remember cutting myself with it.  I picked up the addiction again a few years ago when I was at Big-5 sporting goods and saw a LM Wave for sale. I figured I needed it and once I got my hands on it all is history. MT.org definitely made things worse. I feel like a drug addict for MT'S and SAK'S. 

[jerseydevil]

I carried a Tinker for years. It was, and still is, a super pocket knife. Then I found my first alox, an '01 SI, and carried that off and on for years until it was misplaced. While unpacking after a move last year, I found the SI, and on a whim started to do some internet research on it. That's how I found SOSAK, which led to here, which led to a Farmer, and a Pioneer, and an Executive, and a Super Tinker, and a.......

[ColoSwiss]

I grew up carrying pocket knives back in the 50s and 60s; a couple of Imperial Cub Scout and Boy Scout knifes which I still have, and a variety of Schrades and Ka-bars, mainly Stockmen. In the early 70s SAKs started to show up in places other than high-end specialty mountaineering shops, and I picked up several for gifts. Eventually bought one for myself and was immediately sold. It really held an edge and IT DIDN'T RUST. Over the years I acquired a fair number and about 2000 figured I'd complete the collection. A decade later and the collection has grown exponentially, but is nowhere near complete.

Why I like collecting SAKs:

1: They are an outstanding example of industrial design.
2: They are well made.
3: They are reasonably priced. (normally)
4: There are a tremendous variety of them.
5. They don't take up a lot of space.
6. They are are not fragile.
7. Regardless of collectibility, they will always have utility value as a tool.

And the big one - They're just plain neat.

Karl

[Accujohn]

It was a Benchmade 310 Benchmite

[Sean]

What started your addiction?

In a few words...

this damn forum.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

What started your addiction?

In a few words...

this damn forum.

[stressmaster5000]

Always been a knife nut so in 2003 when the TSA knives started to show up on eBay I began buying and selling. A couple of guys I sold to collected advertising Classics almost solely and after a few months I decided to stop selling them. I know I made a couple of guys  at me. Oh well.  Now I probably have more than 1500 advertising classics alone.   I'm mad I tell you, crazy MAD! 

Forum participation did not start until around 2007-2008 but I was a lurker for awhile like so any others.

OK all you looky-loos need to just jump right in and get started. 

[kronk]

Growin up watching a little bit too much of MacGuyver along with the getting a high speed internet connection.  If I still had dial-up I wouldn't spend so much time online. It seems to me that these addictions start leading into other areas too, ie flashlights, guns, etc.

[bren10man]

At age 8, thumbing through the pages of the 1980 JC Penny Christmas catalog, I sumbled upon the sporting goods section.  There, they had: Champion, Huntsman, Spartan, Classic for sale.  I wanted the biggest of course, the Champion.  "This is what I want for christmas" I told my parents (I was also a just-starting out Cub Scout).  They got me a Japanese copy instead.  It was useful, but not the real thing.

1984: went to a sleep-over at a friend's house.  He showed me his Grand Prix (squared Phillips, no key ring).  Lust began.

1986: a neighbor up the road I used to hang out with sold me for $5 a Spartan with broken scales.  I sent it off, got it fixed.  Then, a dude I knew at school got a Smokey Mountain Knife Works catalog.  I ordered a Champion.  He kept pestering me to pay; I used my Christmas money to pay for it, and he delivered it to me 2-3 days after Christmas.  FINALLY!!! I got what I wanted!!!

To my horror, about a month later, late January 1987, the Swiss Champ came out.  I no longer had the biggest one.  My mom rectified that probelm, and got me a black-scaled one for Christmas 1988.  A year later, she got me the SOS kit for Christmas 1989.

I would go to the War Surplus Store in town...they carried them all, had a revoling display, etc.  I knew what each one was.  By 1992, I got a US Army classic, then a Tinker small that I eventually lost.

Alaska 1995: some fool stole my Champion.  Drat!!  Got a used replacement one later that year at a gunshow.  Prior to that, had a Huntsman I got at the PX, and lost that in the snow about 1 month later...ERRR!!  Then, spotted a NIB Craftsman 1986 (fish scaler, no pliers, newer fine screwdriver, hole in bunch).  I was BAFFLED.  No pliers??  Box was marked Craftsman.  Remained a mystery for years until I saw the 1985 catalog on this site.

Went to Korea in 2007.  In 2008,  found the Victorinox store in Namdaemun Market.  I looted it.  Discovered this site, SOSAK, Felinevet, then E-bay.  Rest is history...!!

But, it all started as an 8 year old thumbing through the pages of the 1980 JC Penny Christmas catalog.

[Reinier]

I think it started with a Vic catalog that I picked up in a hardware store when I was... 11 or something? It was in German and I didn't even speak German at that time

But the real addiction started +/- 5 years ago when I realized that it was possible to own more than 1 SAK This forum helped a lot as well

[dks]

I have had a Victorinox, amongst other knives, since Primary School... the good old days when a knife was deemed ok for an 8year (or is it 6..?..) old.  .. I think I still have it, in nearly mint codition. I actually bought a complete Swisschamp kit about 25 years ago but I have not seen it in 20 years....
I have kept buying Swiss army knives every so often since then, but I have been buying them a loooot more frequently since I started frequenting this forum.
Indeed, the Frequency of Buying is directly proportional to the frequency of visiting this forum.

[enki_ck]

I got my first knife from my grandfather when I was seven. It was a small secretary type two bladed slipjoint. I lost it while climbing a tree in the woods near my house about a year later. It fell out of my pocket. I searche for it for hours, couldn't find it. I still know the exact place where it fell. I had a few cheap slipies and buck 110 knock offs after that but craved a real SAK. I saved my money and with the birthday money from my 12th birthday I bought myself a Wenger Commander Snife Waves (the Swatches were very popular back then) I carried that one for 3 years. At about 15 I bought a used zippo, fixed it and traded it wiht my friend for a Wenger Forester. That was the one that got me hooked. I love that model. I now have two plain Foresters, a wenger Handyman, a Forester with a locking blade, an Evo S17,... I carried that first Forester for the next 12 years. The first multitools were a Surge and a Skele CX in 2008. I bought them about two weeks apart but can't remember which one came first. I was happy with but a few multitools and SAKs until I found this place. I had about 5 SAKs and 3 multitools. Now it's about 50. I should have known it's going to and badly when it took me 2 days since becoming active here to buy 2 SAKs from a fellow member. 

[macabee]

I suppose I first became addicted, when visiting Switzerland for the first time about 40 years ago, I saw and subsequently bought the Champion SOS set, which I still have, this went with us on all our trips abroad, food prep, repairs, about the only tool not used was the fish scaler!

I have to agree with DKS "The Frequency of Buying is directly proportional to the frequency of visiting this forum" I now have a modest collection, I only buy what interests me not everything that comes out from the Victorinox and Wenger factories

[AimlessWanderer]

I have to agree with DKS "The Frequency of Buying is directly proportional to the frequency of visiting this forum" I now have a modest collection, I only buy what interests me not everything that comes out from the Victorinox and Wenger factories

Me too. I think I've got between 10 and 15 which is more than plenty for me, and other than maybe trying a 111mm or 120mm SAK ... just for the sake of trying them, I think I'm set. There's even a couple which dont seem to get much airing, so they might be gifted away in time  All started with a Vic Tourist then a Deluxe Tinker, both of which I rarely carry now but I wouldn't part with. Off the top I've currently got ...

Swissgrip - in Boat Kit
No 111 or 108mm models
Black Pioneer
Pioneer Harvester - in Micro Tool Tin
Yeoman - Most frequently pocket carried SAK
D of E (Mossy Oak Scales)
Mountaineer - in EDC Bag
Timekeeper
Champion - in Maxped EDC Organiser
Deluxe Tinker
Motorist - in Car Kit
Traveller (Serrated)
Tourist
Secretary
Climber Small
MFV
Pocket Tool Chest - on Gadget Ring
Manager - on Car Keys
Alox Rambler
Classic (x2) - On house keys and boat keys

That's twenty ... TWENTY!!    and only two of them I'd consider losing 
How did that happen? Time for a rethink 

*chants*
"I'm not a collector, I'm not a collector, I'm not a collector"


 

[Reinier]

Me too. I think I've got between 10 and 15 which is more than plenty for me, and other than maybe trying a 111mm or 120mm SAK ... just for the sake of trying them, I think I'm set.

Don't forget that 73 Soldier, you need that one!

[AimlessWanderer]

Me too. I think I've got between 10 and 15 which is more than plenty for me, and other than maybe trying a 111mm or 120mm SAK ... just for the sake of trying them, I think I'm set.

Don't forget that 73 Soldier, you need that one!

Don't worry mate - I'll find room for that one   

[Reinier]

[Chako]

I found this web site while having what I thought was a huge MT collection. Then I noticed this Swiss section, and found out that a lot of people talked passionately about them in this forum. I figured that it would make an interesting little side shoot to the main collection, as they were both multi-tools. I quickly found out that you can't just stop at one.

[LooseNut]

For me it was sort of a family tradition. At 11 my father gave me a cheap SAK clone. if i minded it and used it properly then for the next birthday i could have a Vic of my choice.

The choice? A Vic Camper thats nearly 10 years old now.

Never left my pocket until i discovered an alox pioneer 2 years ago.
My poor old camper has had its scales glued back on a few times, has had both drivers bent and straightened in a vice and both blades sharpened a more times than i can remember.
I will never ever part with it.

This forum has fuelled my appreciation of these little beauties even further, thanks folks 

[MirrorEdge]

For me it was sort of a family tradition. At 11 my father gave me a cheap SAK clone. if i minded it and used it properly then for the next birthday i could have a Vic of my choice.

The choice? A Vic Camper thats nearly 10 years old now.

Never left my pocket until i discovered an alox pioneer 2 years ago.
My poor old camper has had its scales glued back on a few times, has had both drivers bent and straightened in a vice and both blades sharpened a more times than i can remember.
I will never ever part with it.

This forum has fuelled my appreciation of these little beauties even further, thanks folks 

Then you should get a farmer
It have all the tools that a pioneer have .. But it have a saw too
 

[MadPlumbarian]

My grandfather, I walked in his room while he was sharpening his champ+ and was amazed. So he asked if I like the knife , duh of course. Well for your 12th b-day ill get you your own. I so couldn't wait, I think I was ten at the time, 2 years of down time,, well when I did get it I couldn't. Go anywhere with it, so I twittled around the hous with it, sharpened my pencils, then we moved to a more remote area. There was a forest right behind the house, boy oh boy that knife didn't leave my side, that is till I lost it.. some where on that Mt it laid. When I told my father we ended going up with metal detectors, but still nothing. Then one day a whole year later my sister cried out that she hurt her ankle, so I ran over to help, I fell flat on my face half way there, shook my head and as my eye sight came to focus something was right in front of me under a leaf, I was shocked, so shocked I forgot about my sister, that is untill she yeld again. I took it home cleaned it up, it wasn't. That bad since it was in a sheath, the button on the sheath was green, but cleaned up, after that. Learned to be more careful and be more prepaired..  JR oh yeah as for the sister, she just sliped on a rock and bumped her ankle and wanted sympethy for it, the SAK was more importaint! Lol

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Hey Steve, great thread!  And that black Alox is sweeeeet!!!  Did you ever get one?  Any idea on where to find one?  If it had scissors and Philips driver, it'd be darn near perfect...

For me, my very first tool of any kind was from my grandfather, when I was about 7.  He gave me one of those little two blade Schrade Old-timer slip-its.  The large blade was probably about 2".  I did end up cutting myself with it, more than once...

I don't remember whatever happened to that little knife, but my next exposure came when I was a sophomore in high school.  A friend of my mom's a wonderful old lady who had been a missionary in Africa for 30 years, gave me another small slip-it knife for Christmas one year.  After that I ended getting myself a Tinker, and a Buck 110.

Fast forward to college, and I took up cycling (primarily because I had gotten too many tickets and had lost my license).  I started carrying a small tool kit with me for roadside repairs on my bike.  Eventually I got a few more small cheap tools but didn't really get bitten really badly by the bug until about 10 years ago, when my wife gave me my Swiss Champ as an anniversary present.

Up until about 3 years ago, I never really thought too much about my EDC tools; if I lost one I'd get something to replace it, but I never really started getting things just because I wanted them or thought they were cool...  Until I found CPF and this bloody place!!!    I still am selective about what I buy because I don't have a ton of money, and I try to find a good semi-dedicated purpose for most of the stuff I have, but now I've got the bug worse than ever before, and it's also a lot of fun.

[nuphoria]

I was a really small child when I started to want tools, knives and lights etc.... probably about 5 or 6 at a guess. Didn't want dolls or pointless stuff that didn't "do" anything. My main toys were lego and meccano - couldn't get enough of either

I think I had a couple of smallish penknives not long after that and was constantly sneaking down to the cellar to borrow my dad's pliers and screwdrivers for projects, one of which was to completely take apart a lovely old solid state radio he owned. I put it back "together" again after a fashion, but needless to say it no longer worked

I had a Victorinox or two around the age of 10 and I remember getting a Swiss Champ for my 18th too, which I still have. This is a life long passion for me I suppose as it making and doing stuff for which you need tools. I trained as a carpenter/joiner at 18 and got my own set of decent tools which are mostly still in use over 20 years later... I tend to look after stuff.
New things have come along for me like Alox, bright LEDs and interesting materials like G10, so there's always something new to get in to along the way.... gadgets rule!

It's an addiction of sorts I suppose, by more likely just a big part of who I am and always will be

[stressmaster5000]

No, I take it all back. It was seeing and wanting 84mm Alox with Scissors...

[AimlessWanderer]

It's an addiction of sorts I suppose, by more likely just a big part of who I am and always will be

That's a bloody good statement actually! I think I'm more addicted to being able to fix a problem or just do something if things go awry than I am in the tools themselves. Tools are fun, but having them on you and having a bit of knowledge, imagination and confidence to put them to good use is what makes life (yours and others) so much better.

Before I got heavily into multitools I got into psychological tools and the "addiction" was much the same. I must say that sharp and shiny things are more fun though and even the most ecclectic array of hypno-psychotherapeutic, neurolinguistic or cognitive behavioural techniques will never sharpen a pencil, open a beer or tighten a phillips head screw as good as a 91mm Victorinox