So November’s challenge has drawn to a close
– And here is me just making my final comments on October’s challenge!!
I think that finger drumming above is aimed at me!!
Two parts to this post:
- Final thoughts and summary of my October Off Brand Challenge
- Some pleasant news and thanks at the end
Well this challenge was great for me as I learnt a lot - and also - my opinion and pre-conclusion was changed throughout the month.
So thanks very much to Kampfer for running this interesting Challenge.
Here is my tool for the month:
A Chinese Vic knock-off Fisherman 
I must admit, until this challenge - I thought that some comments I had read here on the forum regarding knock offs were a little extreme.
Eg ‘They are dangerous’, ‘PoS’ etc etc.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not a fan of SAK knock offs, and I don’t like plagiarism – But these comments seemed a little over the top to me.
I bought my knock off just to see what it was like, compared to my beloved SAKs, and this Challenge gave me a great opportunity to test it out.
I could see that the scissors were pretty rubbish, but the blade and drivers looked pretty decent.
So before the challenge, I thought that, at the end I would be saying:
“Well if you just want a cheap ‘Spartan’/’Commander’/’Tinker’ equivalent – This knife will be good for you”. So let’s see how I got on….
Tools/functions that worked pretty much OK on the CAK- F: The main blade
- F: The bottle openers – two of them!!
- F: The can opener
- F: The descaler – I assume – Although the hook disgorger/fork is not as pronounced as on a SAK
- B: The awl – just
- B: The corkscrew – I assume – I did not pull a cork with this – However I did put it in an old cork and even though it was thin it seemed pretty good and solid - In fact due to its thinness it was easier to screw in than a SAK CS
Tools/functions that did not work at all on the CAK- F: The slot screwdriver – It did not even fit a large screw slot – too wide – This is a big negative.
- F: The ‘saw’ that is really another fish scaler
- F: The scissors: I have to put them here as not working – As they were completely loose and crap! - I may try and repeen to see if that improves it – watch this space
- B: The back tool with the wee hole – I have no idea what this tool even is? I guess it’s meant to be a sacking needle?
- B: The nail file and cleaner – Not even close – In fact not one iota
- B: The Phillips screwdriver – Although it fitted a Posidrive screw much better than a Vic Phillips – But see below for how it worked
So six tools/functions that
do not work at all – And six that do – Not a great result
[That's a typical British understatement BTW
]
So anyone who followed this thread in October will know that when I used the backspring Phillips driver the whole tool fell apart.
The driver completely came off, and the main blade rivet was also forced apart to deliver a wobbly blade.
And this was not even for heavy use.
This was due to the torqueing twist from the base of the driver forcing apart the side liners and poorly peened rivets.
Here you can see the knife with the scales taken off. The bottom peening lip is probably OK (top photo) – But the top peening lip (bottom photo) is pretty much non-existent.
Note: The Phillips is missing in this shot and I have bashed the right hand centre rivet back through the liner.
One small interesting observation – The scales are wraparound à la Wenger as opposed to sit on top – à la Victorinox.
Kinda surprising as you would think that this was harder to manufacture.
I did wonder if using the corkscrew would have the same effect as using the Phillips – But I am going to give the CAK the benefit of the doubt here: i) As the CS is near the good peen ii) As there is no twisting torque when you pull a CS.
So would I recommend this CAK to anyone? – Never in a million years – Not for anything!! One must be able to rely on a tool at all times - You just cannot have a tool falling apart on you, or have to rebuild it to use it.
It might just fall into Lynn’s ‘Any tool is better than no tool category’, but only just!
Will I use it again? – No way – Although I will put it back together and re-peen the frame and scissors
So you guys’ scepticism and criticism of these CAKs is totally justified
As many others here have said – If you want a cheap, but good SAK get a TSA recovered one off ebay
- They go for next to nothing, and thanks to the quality Swiss SAK build they will work perfectly.
Now I also did the September
Squirt Challenge. Throughout the month, I was comparing the two tools and Challenges.
So how did it all pan out for these two tools?
- Of course the LM is a far better quality tool – No question
- Although on pure tool scoring basis the CAK won
- However the CAK fell apart - so you would think that that would completely rule it out?
- Well unfortunately, when I used the Squirt’s flat screwdriver as a pry bar the Squirt’s rivets also came apart a little – although it did not completely fall apart
So which would I choose? – CAK or Squirt - If forced to do so
Well if I need small pliers - of course the Squirt. However I rarely do
- So purely based on my weekday usage of a multitool, which is predominantly food prep and bottle opening - Unfortunately
I have to choose the CAK - For the long blade and because the Squirt’s BO is crap.
Although with my CAK of course, I will not be able to use the drivers or the scissors (both of which are good, but small, on the Squirt!)
Thankfully I will never have to make this choice!! Or use this CAK again
And did I mention that this Challenge was
great for me?
Well there was another big reason ........
I won the GAW Kampfer put up a fabulous prize for the GAW
– A wonderful boxed set containing a Fisher Space Pen and a lovely translucent Victorinox Classic
– All in a very nice (and heavy – postage??!) presentation box.
Thank you very, very much Kampf …… And to Def for drawing me!!
Here it is:
I did not do the writing in the photo underwater, (anyone got any waterproof paper?), in space, or even upside down.
But I will be sure to take it with me when I take my Virgin space flight next year.
One final comment:
I really have had enough of Challenges!!
I want to carry a
SAK every day - and also have my choice of other tools when I feel like it!!
Did anyone read this far?
– If so thanks for sticking with me! Maybe I even earned the GAW!
Although I guess nobody here needed me, or anyone, to tell them CAKs are crap!!
Cheers awl !!
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