The older you'll get... the more minimal the tool

[windson]

[RT1969]

   

I am not old enough for this.  In fact I think about upgrading Climber/Harvester EDC to a Ranger.
That said, I see where you are coming from. I recently gifted an Alox Bantam (Same as your Solo, but with the Combo-Tool added) to my fiancée, and it is a really slim practical knife! 

[kirk13]

I've spent the greater part of this year carrying a Soldier/Pioneer/Harvester as my EDC SAK,paired with either the Kirkyclip or a KST. I'm finding I don't want to carry tools with redundant function.

[Sneider]

Haha, really.

But I can not fix screws on my rollator.
Or replace batteries of the hearing aid.

I am not yet feel old but the 93mm Solo is one of my favorite knives.

[AimlessWanderer]

The Vic Solos and other "blade only" offerings from Vic don't interest me. If I want a SAK, then I want a good assortment of tools/functions. If I just want a knife, I'll either go for a OHO clipped folder (non-locking preferably) or a traditional slipjoint.

The Swiss knives only interest me because of their well designed and well manufactured multifunction nature, in a small and socially acceptable package. When you start reducing function, increasing size, or adding locks, my interest starts waining. A couple of Wenger rangers have been an exception to this rule, but only because the function of the pliers and scissors have increased with the size of the knife.

[twiliter]

I'm moving generally in the direction of a single layer, but there are so many beautiful traditional Stockman/Jack/Trapper/Peanuts out there. I would choose one of those before a blade only SAK, but I would not be happy with the lack of versatility. In my case though I would probably end up with an opener layer only model, as I will be too old and grumpy to be trusted with sharp things. 

[SAK Guy]

I'm moving the opposite direction...the older I get, the more smurf is wrong with me or goes wrong in my day so I need more tools to cover it.  I'm toting the Swiss Champ for the second day in a row...... 

[SAKnight]

I love saks. I don't have too many, as i rarely carry variations. The one getting pocket time lately is my new 108mm solo. I love victorinox blades. They cut so well, are comically easy to sharpen, are people friendly, inexpensive, and food prep friendly.

I started carrying the solo (in its little sleeve, I love the little sleeve!), because I've been carrying my OHT. And while the OHT has many strengths, the knife maybe not so much. But I don't need the opener layer, as it'd just be redundant. Sometimes I use my DAK centurion for this, but I'm loving this solo. Nylon scales are my favorite, too. Great feel, in less afraid to scratch etc., and they're tough as anything.

[Aloha]

I find myself feeling older yet I may have a ways to go before I let go of my swisschamp.  If I were to slim down Deluxe Tinker would be next down the line for me followed by the most minimal SAK for me which would be a Manager.

I'm more with 50ft thinking on this.   

[cbl51]

I'm getting ptreetyold, high up on senior citizen status and collecting social security. To a large part, I'm finding out this is true. Ihae passed a couple pod a downsizing milestones in my life, and now in retirement I'm finding I need less and less in my everyday life. This is in spite of having the time to travel more, go fishing more, and having more time for home projects.

I've never really carried any of the 4 plus layer SAK's, much preferring the two and tree layer like the alox pioneers, cadet, tinker, spartan, and the one layer 58's. I made a discovery many years ago; that if an item is smaller and lighter than another item of the same type, the smaller one will be carried more. Most people don't like to clutter up pocket space with stuff they don't really need on a day to day basis.

I just finished up a three week cross country odyssey with the better half, out to California to visit our daughter and her family. We went fishing and hiking up in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Mammoth Lakes area. Fished for trout at lake Mary, hiked the Rainbow Falls trail in the mountains. My gear was minimal, and my pocket knives for the trip were a Vic classic, and a Camillus peanut. These two little knives cleaned trout, whittle hot dog and marshmallow sticks for the campfire at night for our 6 year old granddaughter. The classic trimmed monofiliment fish line, cut open plastic packages. The little 2 inch blade peanut with the carbon steel blades did all the fish cleaning work.

I really didn't need anymore pocket knife than these two.

[TRUE LIBERTY]

Kind of true. The older I get the more tools I want in a smaller package.

[SAKnight]

Kind of true. The older I get the more tools I want in a smaller package.

This strikes me too, but more, with the refinement of my mt taste. While I can very well get over utility to size ratio (*cough* OHT *cough*), the PST is my favorite for a reason. 

[cbl51]

I think one thing that comes up is with a lot of years, come experience of life that teaches us what we don't really need. I reached a point where I started to examine what I was carrying. A SAK for example. When was the last time I needed a corkscrew? I don't drink wine, so really never. When was the last time I needed a wood chisel, or a parcel hook? Or a fish scaler, and I do a lot of fishing? I just use the knife blade. When was the last time I needed a metal saw or file in my day to day life?

When I started to eliminate what I wasn't using, the SAK shrunk. Four layers to three, then to two. I actually got by with a bantam for a while. But then went back up to a cadet.

Other things got left by the wayside as well. I used to be into the EDC thing, but after a while it was a little ridiculous carrying all this stuff around that I never needed, on the off chance I would need it. I'd rather use what is around at he time and improvise than carry around a edc kit on the off chance a disaster is going to strike.

I worship at the alter of Maximum minimalism.

[N_N_R]

DKS is so old...

[Aloha]

DKS is so old...

How old is he?
 


I get the minimalist mentality however NEED is not the idea for me.  I "like" to have or it's "nice" to have are my feelings when choosing a pocket tool. 

I think it also relates to what one does from day to day.  Some people's days are more or less the same while others are more spontaneous or varied.  I feel its also about pleasure/familiarity/comfort level etc when deciding what one likes about a pocket tool.  Heck I've seen some wallets that rival the XLT     

Many get along with nothing and have got along with nothing and will continue to do so.  Others have only carried a small pocket one blade knife and that was plenty.  Mobility and dexterity will play a role as we age so there's that too.

 

[twiliter]

Or a fish scaler, and I do a lot of fishing?

Now there's something I don't have in my tool bag that I use often when fishing. Not the scaler, but the hook remover. I do some fishing, but I must need more practice because I end up throwing most of them back, and the hook remover works very well. I carry a SAK with that tool in my creel always, whether it be a SwissChamp or an Angler/Fisherman model. I don't need it regularly so I don't have any EDC's with that tool, but my 'retirement SAK' will have to have one (if I live that long) 

Basically if I have a small and large blade with the opener layer in my pocket, I can go fetch whatever else I need (even scissors) unless I'm out fishing. 

[aerojet]

If you have followed any of my posts, I am a "big knife" man. Back in the 70's I started with a Champion, then went to a Swiss Champ, then into a SC XLT. Today it is the Evo grip S54.

I am not a spring chicken and well past the "retirement" age. I will never retire. They will pack me in a box before I quit my trade. I simply love the excitement of getting up every day and seeing what I can do to fix stuff / increase people's security and securing their homes, businesses and families.

Having said that - if you are mechanically inclined then having the biggest SAK in your pocket with the most tools on it and readily at hand will increase your tendency to fix things, simply because you have the tools "at hand" and not in a box someplace where you would have to go and search for them.

Improvising is one way to not do things and in time you have a tendency to just walk away from things you could "do" because you have to go and find the tools to do something with the problem.

Just my opinion and I thought I would drop it in here.

[windson]

Good discussion. Thanks for all the replies so far. 

Of course, the hypothesis about needing less tools with age is exaggerated, as well as it is generalized. That said, over the years, I came to look more for multi-purpose and at least dual-use items to keep excess weight at a minimum and pockets (relatively) free of clutter. Skills and confidence play a role as well; with training and experience, you know that you can make use of what's at hand in the environment you'll be in and ultimately, my goal is to only bring that which I can't emulate or improvise with items picked up as I go along.

Am I carrying the Solo exclusively, yet? No. My current age is Pioneer + Rambler, or Super Tinker maybe.

Keep it coming! 

[raistlin65]

(Image removed from quote.)

Ehhh...aren't you worried, then? You are down to only one tool. Doesn't seem to predict well for life expectancy. Quick! Buy yourself a Pioneer or Farmer and start carrying 

[RiverGhost]

I understand both sides of the coin.  What it ends up being is a matter of opinion, choice and need.  I do believe as a person gets older they get wiser and more knowledgable.  Now that person knows what is really usefull and what isn't for their individual needs.  My perfect SAK started with the Farmer, then graduated to the Hiker......now its been the Trekker for15 years or so.....I think :-) lol.  Been carrying it for so long I can't recall.  My point being is a person learns what is useful for their needs and adjusts accordingly so in the long run it may get slimmer and lighter.  In my case I added 1 tool, a phillips head and decided the larger frame Trekker met my needs better than the Hiker.  Matter of needs and choice.....but I still have exactly what I need, no more and no less.

[tjfarrington2000]

In my eyes, a Swiss Army knife is supposed to be able to do anything, and a tool with only one blade ENTIRELY defeats the purpose of the Swiss Army Knife


Sent from my iPhone using A box of monkeys on a treadmill and a quantum leap

[twiliter]

In my eyes, a Swiss Army knife is supposed to be able to do anything, and a tool with only one blade ENTIRELY defeats the purpose of the Swiss Army Knife

A Solo still does knife type stuff? I dunno, more elegant options are available, even a Buck 110 would be nicer in my pocket than a Solo, but that's just me. I don't carry single blade slippies, but if I did I would have to have a SAK along with for the extra tools, so why bother. 

[strmliner]

Personal tastes rule our choices.

For me,over the years I've tried multiple types of EDC tools...from a Classics/Ramblers, to OH lock blades, to multiple layer SAKs (84's and 91's), and the belt-riding MTs.  I didn't get into Alox models until I started lurking here a year or two ago.

Now, my EDC rotation has a couple of Alox (Cadets and Bantams), a couple of 84's (Apprentice, Golfer, Sportsman, and Tinker), a Gerber Shortcut, and a couple of 91's (Golfer/Compact and Yeoman...with a Scientist mod on the way).  When it's all said and done, the Cadets and Golfers are what I tend to carry the most; smaller, lighter, and more than one function.  I find that I'm actually cubbyholing the  3, 4, and 5 layer SAKs, and will probably downsize by selling them off in the future.

This also goes for the Buck's and MT's I've accumulated. 

As we get older, I think most of us just try to simplify our users.  For collectors, it's a different story altogether; so there's no comparison.  And yes, we all (well, most of us) get seduced by some of the latest, shiniest, and greatest knife/tool gadgets, but when it comes down to it, we just like using what we're comfortable with. 

But for me, the Solo is too minimalist and only serves one purpose.  For that single purpose, I'd rather carry on of my smaller locking OH Bucks.  But along those same lines, the Bantam or Cadet is it's equal in size/weight and covers more ground.

[N_N_R]

DKS is so old...

How old is he?
 

According to his profile, centuries

[RiverGhost]

I understand both sides of the coin.  What it ends up being is a matter of opinion, choice and need.  I do believe as a person gets older they get wiser and more knowledgable.  Now that person knows what is really usefull and what isn't for their individual needs.  My perfect SAK started with the Farmer, then graduated to the Hiker......now its been the Trekker for15 years or so.....I think :-) lol.  Been carrying it for so long I can't recall.  My point being is a person learns what is useful for their needs and adjusts accordingly so in the long run it may get slimmer and lighter.  In my case I added 1 tool, a phillips head and decided the larger frame Trekker met my needs better than the Hiker.  Matter of needs and choice.....but I still have exactly what I need, no more and no less.

Thinking back on it I miss spoke, the hiker had the small screwdriver and small knife blade in addition to the phillips screwdriver.  The Trekker dropped the small knife blade...sorry for my confusion

[cbl51]

This is my usual minimal full size SAK. The Wenger SI and the Vic pioneer are the perfect balance of just enough tools to get by in everyday life, but not excessive in the pocket. A nice two layer package that works for me 99.9% of the time. The fact that SAK tools have other uses than their most obvious helps.

[TRUE LIBERTY]

With my personal business I get jobs from real estate companies to do basic repairs to get houses, condos, town homes and apartments that were turned into condos ready for rent so I enjoy the seclusion of not seeing a person all day. But that also means I am by myself with no help, so I wanted the largest package of tools in the most compact form I can get. Because more then likely I left one of these tools like this........

in another room or downstairs when I need a specific tool. And by the end of the day on my last job I just don't want to go down another set of stairs one more time.

[ColoSwiss]

I'm another 'oldster' here. A single blade pocket knife has never interested me. Over the years my EDC has varied between boy scout knives, Stockmen, and an assortment of 3- or 4-layer SAKs. If you are going to carry a pocket knife, adding a couple more blades has little effect on its size, and greatly increases its utility.

[detron]

In my eyes, a Swiss Army knife is supposed to be able to do anything, and a tool with only one blade ENTIRELY defeats the purpose of the Swiss Army Knife

I feel this way,  it would be like a Bugatti weed eater.   

[Smaug]

I really didn't need anymore pocket knife than these two.

I have to ask, couldn't you have cleaned trout with the Classic? You only really needed one. ;-)

Great story, thanks for taking us along.