What's up with the Victorinox awl?

[Rodion]

I'll make it simple: it's too tight. I cannot get it out with my bare hands, no matter how many fingernails are lost in the process. It simply isn't meant to come out. Granted, SAK tweezers make the job doable (if not enjoyable), but I still fail to see why Victorinox chose to make the awl on its knives so frigging unattainable.

Disclaimer: only have experience with an old and dirty Atlas, a brand new Atlas and a thoroughly polluted Camper. Time will tell if the awl loosens up on my new one.

[Neil]

It doesn't help that the corkscrew is in the way, make the angle all wrong to pull it out easily. 

The solution.... buy a Soldier

Neil

[Rodion]

Heheh. I've actually done better and bought a Farmer. 

[Spoonrobot]

Shorter backspring? Higher spring tension?

It beats up my fingernails too, with the exception of my unusually thick left thumbnail. That's the money finger.

[ultimaonliner]

I agree, that bugger is difficult to take out.

[Benner]

I don't find them all difficult to get out.  The one on my Spartan for example is pretty easy.

[Viper]

Most of the tools on the back have a lot more spring pressure. Because of the design of the tools, the implements on the back have the spring pressure of two of the tools on the front. For example: Let's say that the main blade on a Swiss Army Knife has 60 pounds (the book I read this from only has it in pounds) of spring pressure and the small blade has 40. These combine to put 100 pounds of pressure on the corkscrew.  The same is true of the other implements (the reamer usually has the spring pressure from the can and bottle openers.)

[Leatherman123]

Hmm, I never knew that.. Thanks! 

[WhichDawg]

I agree, on most of my SAKs them back tools are a bit...harder to open!
especially the awl.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

There harder yes, but I've never had any difficulty getting them out

[Neil]

There harder yes, but I've never had any difficulty getting them out

You must have nails tough as ...

... I'll be getting my coat.

Neil

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

There harder yes, but I've never had any difficulty getting them out

You must have nails tough as ...

... I'll be getting my coat.

Neil

And yes mine nails can be used to tighted screws

[Rodion]

Okay, all this talk about hardness in a reamer thread is getting out of control. Next thing you know, someone's gonna post a photo of their schrade. 

[jock1]

Never had that much of a problem the vic has always beat the ccmpetition for me
For sheer brute strength I ain't beat my dads SOG TAKES SOME BEATING

[ducktapehero]

There harder yes, but I've never had any difficulty getting them out

Me neither, and I don't particularly have strong nails. If it's that hard I wonder if you could ship it back.

[Rodion]

They'll have to pry it from the cold, dead jaws of my Juice. (which doesn't sound like much, but trust me, the thing has pliers)

[ringzero]

I'll make it simple: it's too tight. I cannot get it out with my bare hands, no matter how many fingernails are lost in the process. It simply isn't meant to come out. Granted, SAK tweezers make the job doable (if not enjoyable), but I still fail to see why Victorinox chose to make the awl on its knives so frigging unattainable.

Disclaimer: only have experience with an old and dirty Atlas, a brand new Atlas and a thoroughly polluted Camper. Time will tell if the awl loosens up on my new one.

I've been EDCing Vics with back-mounted awls for over 20 years.  None of them have been that hard to open, even when brand new.

Your super-stiff awl is most likely due to a rare manufacturing defect by Vic.

You could:
-swap knife for a new one, if possible
-send it back to Vic for repair
-try fixing it yourself

I had a similar issue with the screwdriver/bottleopener implement on a brand new Gerber Clutch.  Just couldn't manage to open it without cracking divots out of the old thumbnail.

Fixed it while watching a 2-hour movie on cable.  Cycled it open and closed constantly while watching the 2-hour flick.

By the end of the movie it was as easy to open as all the other implements of the Clutch.

.

[ultimaonliner]

ringzero,

I think we must just have girly fingers and nails or something, because I have more than just a few Vic SAKs with awls, and they're all consistently requiring a lot of fingernail force.  Not a big deal, but it's just an observation.

[ringzero]

ringzero,

I think we must just have girly fingers and nails or something, because I have more than just a few Vic SAKs with awls, and they're all consistently requiring a lot of fingernail force.  Not a big deal, but it's just an observation.

ultimaonliner, you're correct that awls seem to require more force to open than any other implement on a SAK.  Just tried several different SAKs with awls and that was true for all of them.

None of those SAK awls come anywhere close to actually cracking my thumbnail.  Of course the yield strength of fingernails probably varies a lot from person to person.  Some people likely do have weaker than average nails, in which case opening the Vic awl might be enough to crack them.

That Gerber Clutch bottleopener/screwdriver would crack off bits of my thumbnail every time I managed to pry it open.  Sometimes I could only get it open halfway before my nail would crack and it'd snap back shut.

.

[Leatherman123]

If it's that bad, then just send them in for warranty. I have to say, Victorinox warranty is the best!

[DaveK]

Well I haven't got any fingernails, so the only way I can get the awl on my swisschamp to open is to use a LM - which kind of defeats the object really 

Rather than the spring tension, I think what makes the awl a bit of a bugger is that there isn't much to get hold of. With most of the other tools, you can grab them with your fingertips, but the awl's low profile combined with the spring tension make it trickier.

Having said that, I have just observed that I have one unbitten nail (middle finger, right hand) and have managed to open the awl quite easily, so maybe its not that bad after all

[ultimaonliner]

Okay, I'll ask..

What happened to your fingernails?

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

He's a compulsive finger nail bitter, by the sound of it

All Sak fan's stop bitting there nails at an early age

[DaveK]

It's true - I ate them.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

It's true - I ate them.

Naughty Dave , I guess thats why you like clumpy LM's then

[DaveK]

It's true - I ate them.

Naughty Dave , I guess thats why you like clumpy LM's then

Clumpy? Where've you been? I think the Kick is the only one without 'one at a time' tool selection now. I do quite like that though.... 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

It's true - I ate them.

Naughty Dave , I guess thats why you like clumpy LM's then

Clumpy? Where've you been? I think the Kick is the only one without 'one at a time' tool selection now. I do quite like that though.... 

I know, but it was such an easy dig

[DaveK]

I'll scratch yer eyes out..... or maybe not

[Benner]

I'll scratch yer eyes out..... or maybe not

You can borrowing my duelling glove next week if you want. 

[Hoghead]

I'll scratch yer eyes out..... or maybe not

You can borrowing my duelling glove next week if you want. 

Does your duelling glove have fingernails?