The precise cut.

[cbl51]

For many of use knife nuts, the idea of going out the front door with no knife on us is a minor horror senerio. A pocket knife is a handy tool for all those cutting jobs that come up in the course of the day. But how much knife do we actually need in the 21st century?

Being a life long back packer and motorcycle tourist, packing small became my end goal. How small can we go became my mantra, especially after my late 30's when an old army injury to my right food and ankle made ultra light packing a mediatory thing. Onces about to pounds and so on. I became one of those guys who cut down toothbrush handles, clipped the paper tag of tea bags. How small could I go with a piece of gear and still have it function at it's intended task?

This of course carried over to knives. Being a lifelong knife knut, this had yet another level of one downmanship. The revese snob appeal. Growing up with a father who carried a tiny Case peanut as his one and only pocket knife, did have an effect on me. So many times I watched dad when I was a little kid, look over some job, think about it. , and take out his little peanut and just do a surgical type of cutting. A cut here, a slice there, and it was done. He's wipe off the old gray carbon steel blade, fold it up and drop it back in his pocket with no fan fair. In time, I think I started to emulate him.

Having been in the army engineers, and working in a blue collar job as a machinist, I used a sharp knife a great deal. There was always some filthy plastic tape to cut that was holding some round stock on the rack that I needed to do a lathe job, some bodes to open, cord or twine to cut, and plastic blister packages to cut open. I really can't imagine going through life with no pocket knife on me. In 1969, when I got my first SAK, I loved having a few tools on hand in addition to two blades for cutting. The smaller pen blade on my SAK's were used far more than the main blade, as most things I cut didn't really need much more than an inch of blade.

For many years I also carried a Buck 301 stockman with three blades to chose from. The two blades I used the most was the sheep foot and spey blades. The only time I used the main clip blade that was like almost 3 inches long was on food stuff. But in the end, the Buck got retired in favor of a smaller knife like the Case peanut and the SAK. The SAK gave me options that a dedicated knife didn't, but since I was a knife knut, it was hard to give up the dedicated knife. I still have a very large and very soft spot in my knife loving heart for the peanut, and will carry one now and then just for yuks, in addition to my SAK of the day. That SAK of the day could be either a spartan, a tinker (one of my very favorite SAK's) my old Wenger SI, or a recruit. Of course, no matter what, I had the classic in it's leather keyring sheath. No matter what. That led to what I call the experiment.

Over the course of a few months, I made a real effort to just use the classic. The little 58mm wonder knife of the SAK line. The better half got me into them, sort of by accident, and it go the to thinking. Always a very dangerous thing! When Karen got a calssic, I thought the little 58's were a joke, but I was wrong. Then I read Colin Fleatcher's  3d or 4th edition of his Complete Walker series of books on back packing. Mr. Fletcher was the guru of backpacking back then, and I'd read his earlier editions. But when I read where he downsized to a Vic classic as his backpacking knife, I was a little stunned. Really, could you go through the wilderness with a tiny 58mm SAK and survive? It had never occurred to me to try it. So, being a bit crippled up with a badly damaged right foot, and eager to cut down as light as I could possible go, I tried it on a sort of trial basis. I went on an over night trip on the Apalachian Trail with a classic in my pocket and a soldier in my pack for absolute last resort emergency. I never used the soldier. My dad would have been proud of me.

Now, as a senior citizen I look back on the stuff I use a pocket knife for, and it's all the small stuff. Maybe once or twice in my life I needed a larger knife, but got by with the regular knife in my pocket with a little thought. This included making a stretcher for a young lady with a broken ankle on a hike, and cutting a seat belt in an over turned old Datsun that was starting to burn and the driver was hanging upside down trapped in the jammed seat belt. In both cases a two inch blade did the job. I think most of our cutting use calls for a precise cut. Opening a box, mail, whatever, a small sharp blade an inch and a half to two inches seems enough for life in the 21st century. The simple 'pen knife' size tool that just needs to be long enough to go through packing tape, an envelope, twine, plastic package. More and more my respect for the 58mm SAK's grow by leaps and bounds. Living in a semi urban/suburban life style, with no hostile injuns coming over the hill after my scalp, or buffalo to skin, the little pocket knife seems good enough for what needs to be cut.

The small SAK's 58mm, and to a little lesser extent the 74mm's, are a great tool for the precise cut, with a few tools thrown in that put the small SAK head and shoulders over the rest of the pocket knife world. I continue to be amazed at what the little 58 will handle. Especially for the precise cut.

But I'll still always love the Case peanut!

[DEMartin]

That's a great story cbl51, enjoyed reading it. I have numerous knives, but my pioneer goes with me the most.

[Toolslinger]

Another great read. Thanks for sharing!

I too have found that most of my daily cutting tasks are easily handled by a SAK blade. I now regularly go without a dedicated folder. (I still carry one on occasion because I like them).

[Okie Shyster]

...More and more my respect for the 58mm SAK's grow by leaps and bounds. Living in a semi urban/suburban life style, with no hostile injuns coming over the hill after my scalp, or buffalo to skin, the little pocket knife seems good enough for what needs to be cut.

The small SAK's 58mm, and to a little lesser extent the 74mm's, are a great tool for the precise cut, with a few tools thrown in that put the small SAK head and shoulders over the rest of the pocket knife world. I continue to be amazed at what the little 58 will handle. Especially for the precise cut...

But with the 74mm you can skin a buffalo or deal with hostile indigenous personnel coming over the hill after your  scalp.   

[gregozedobe]

I also follow the "small & light is beautiful" philosophy.  My EDC is a LM Squirt PS4 and I find the small blade and small pliers on that are sufficient for almost all of my everyday needs, and it is so compact and light I hardly notice it in my pocket. 

I will admit to having some larger MTs (Surge & Crunch) stashed in both my car and van, but very rarely need to bring out the "big guns" ( I have used my Crunch a few times to remove tent pegs that other people have hammered into tree roots - the locking pliers make twisting the peg to loosen it up much easier than regular pliers)

[Aloha]

Another great read. Thanks for sharing!

I too have found that most of my daily cutting tasks are easily handled by a SAK blade. I now regularly go without a dedicated folder. (I still carry one on occasion because I like them).

^^^ This

I tend to carry a dedicated knife mostly because I like them as well.   Most of my knife usage comes from my SAK.  Executive for me right now but I do love my 58s and will not be without one.   

[cbl51]

Couple of my favorite urban carry knives. Small enough to forget about in the pocket, but enough to open those accursed plastic blister packages that defy tooth and nail!



The blade of the 58mm SAK cuts as well as the Leatherman micra, but the overall package in more compact and un-noticed on keyring.


Either of these two tools will handle the precise cut.


My 84mm tinker has handled a heck of a lot of work over the years. Both cutting, and some 'screwing' around!

[jerseydevil]

You and your little blades Carl.   Always fun to read your tales, and my Case Peanut is 100% your fault.....

[cbl51]

You and your little blades Carl.   Always fun to read your tales, and my Case Peanut is 100% your fault.....

And you're very welcome!

In your gratitude for showing you the way of the peanut, please feel free to send me a large bottle of Evan Williams Kentucky Bourbon.

Black label, of course!

[pfrsantos]

I was playing with my Colt Stockman last night. Though about taking it for a few days. I've been carrying the Leonidas most of the time, now. Took the Executive a couple of days. I never seem to use more than the blades, so I was going to try something more classic.

When I was playing with the Stockman, I remembered another Colt. Double lockback. Two small blades, perfect for my needs (food + whatever comes along).



It's in my pocket right now. Don't miss any of the other stuff in the SAKs.

 

[cbl51]

I was playing with my Colt Stockman last night. Though about taking it for a few days. I've been carrying the Leonidas most of the time, now. Took the Executive a couple of days. I never seem to use more than the blades, so I was going to try something more classic.

When I was playing with the Stockman, I remembered another Colt. Double lockback. Two small blades, perfect for my needs (food + whatever comes along).

(Image removed from quote.)

It's in my pocket right now. Don't miss any of the other stuff in the SAKs.

 

Nah, can't go there. I tried for many years to use non SAK pocket knives and got by, but there was always a SAK someplace close. Ina pack, glove box, shooting bag. All the years I carried the old traditional pocket knives I kept a P-38 in my wallet along with a Sears 4-way keyring screw driver. Finally I figured out that I was carrying a tool that with the execution of cutting something, was useless for all those loose screws cans to open, bottles to open, small repairs to make on the go.

The Stockman and the Wenger SI weigh in exactly the same. Yet one is not able to be used but for a very narrow window. The SAk on the other hand has many multiple uses that are limited only by the users imagination of the ways the tools can be used other than what they were designed for. So the stockman now sits in my sock drawer unused while the SAK, like my other SAK's get carried and used for a very wide variety of things, other than cutting.


I guess I've reached an age where I don't want to have multiple pocket knives/multitools in my pockets. As a senior citizen I need other things in my pockets and the knife/tool must be small to save room for the RONCO pocket defibrillator in case of the 'big one'. When I didn't carry a SAK, I missed the tools. So, I carry a SAK, and if I need a knife blade, the SAK has one.

I guess maybe I've evolved to where I value a multifunction tool more than a dedicated one trick pony.

[Marcellus]

In your heart you know he's right



But Carl, all the other stuff is just plain fun to have with you

[sir_mike]

Great read!   

I agree that a sak is all one needs for any daily tasks that may come up!  I am sure that there might be some instance where the sak isn't enough to get the job done but I have yet to find it.  I carried the small Tinker for over 25 years and it served me very well.  Now I am trying out others to see what if anything can replace the Explorer sak that I have carried since the Tinker developed too much play to safely use!

Before I went with the Explorer and after the Tinker, I carried a Camillus 712 as it was a small four blade pocket knife that even had a serrated blade so I thought it was cool.  I ended up giving it to my father when he lost his small two blade pocket knife.  Unfortunately he passed and it was never found!  How I wish I could find another one as it was a very cool pocket knife!

[Barry Rowland]

I just sat in on a talk the other night with a man that has many thousands of miles under his pack that related that he only carried a Micra on his hikes, and used the scissors more than anything else.  I can't see why a Classic or a MiniChamp wouldn't fit the bill there as well.

[Poncho65]

I love my old reg pocket knives but a Vic Executive goes pretty much everywhere with me A SAK has so much more to offer than just a knife with couple to a few different style blades.  I am a bricklayer by trade so I do use my pliers on my LM quite a bit and have used the tools on it and my SAK often but in everyday life a small SAK would be enough

Great story you posted above as well

[AndyTiedye]

I often find myself using the awl on the 93mm alox saks as a small blade, especially for cutting straps off packages as it is easy to wedge the awl under the strap to cut it. 

Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

[Shuya]

I think this is the process a lot of knifenuts went through. Including me.
As a kid I was always, really always taking a SAK of some sort with me.
When my nut-ness really broke out (about 10 years ago) I went into all the classic stuff. Spydercos, Benchmades, Microtechs. Bought some fixed knifes that  - to be honest - usually dont see the sunlight. Bought some Multitools, small ones, large ones. And a lot of them (own about 15 LMs, 4 Victorinox, 2 Gerber, 1 SOG) and at least 30 different SAKs that have accumulated during the years. Never really collected them but bought the one or the other over here and then.

These days I usually carried a large folder plus some sort of SAK or a MT.
What started to change my mind was the new german knife-law in 2008 where single handed, locking knifes were almost forbidden to carry (you need a legal reason which was/is handed really strict in most cases).
So I went from large knifes to the classic ones. Mostly classic EKA knifes, SAKs of some sort.
When backpacking I carried SAKs (if possible, a 111mm one for food preparing, otherwise a smaller for legal reasons).

Because I am sort of McGyver-Dude (doing almost everything with a SAK or Multitool) I cant get myself into carrying a Blade-Only folder.

At the moment I am EDCing a LM PST II for 3 Weeks now as my only knife/tool. It works great. It is practically a downgrade for my usual office EDC where I work as a engineer in a steel plant. Have to build some small stuff here and then, repair things, etc.
It feels good and works fine.

[Barry Rowland]

Me too Shuya, although I've honestly tried to carry just the 58 mm, especially as of late.  I just find that I need that screwdriver, etc.  If I'm not carrying one of my SAK's, then either my PST/PST II, or my Supertool is along for the ride.  Great tools, and I love the scissors on the PST II.  More often than not, I wind up using something besides the pliers, but I still love carrying the older tools.  They just fit better, and aren't nearly as bulky as a lot of the newer models imo.  My father in law has graduated to carrying just his Classic, but I'm not quite there yet. 

I think this is the process a lot of knifenuts went through. Including me.
As a kid I was always, really always taking a SAK of some sort with me.
When my nut-ness really broke out (about 10 years ago) I went into all the classic stuff. Spydercos, Benchmades, Microtechs. Bought some fixed knifes that  - to be honest - usually dont see the sunlight. Bought some Multitools, small ones, large ones. And a lot of them (own about 15 LMs, 4 Victorinox, 2 Gerber, 1 SOG) and at least 30 different SAKs that have accumulated during the years. Never really collected them but bought the one or the other over here and then.

These days I usually carried a large folder plus some sort of SAK or a MT.
What started to change my mind was the new german knife-law in 2008 where single handed, locking knifes were almost forbidden to carry (you need a legal reason which was/is handed really strict in most cases).
So I went from large knifes to the classic ones. Mostly classic EKA knifes, SAKs of some sort.
When backpacking I carried SAKs (if possible, a 111mm one for food preparing, otherwise a smaller for legal reasons).

Because I am sort of McGyver-Dude (doing almost everything with a SAK or Multitool) I cant get myself into carrying a Blade-Only folder.

At the moment I am EDCing a LM PST II for 3 Weeks now as my only knife/tool. It works great. It is practically a downgrade for my usual office EDC where I work as a engineer in a steel plant. Have to build some small stuff here and then, repair things, etc.
It feels good and works fine.

[cbl51]

Me too Shuya, although I've honestly tried to carry just the 58 mm, especially as of late.  I just find that I need that screwdriver, etc.  If I'm not carrying one of my SAK's, then either my PST/PST II, or my Supertool is along for the ride.  Great tools, and I love the scissors on the PST II.  More often than not, I wind up using something besides the pliers, but I still love carrying the older tools.  They just fit better, and aren't nearly as bulky as a lot of the newer models imo.  My father in law has graduated to carrying just his Classic, but I'm not quite there yet. 

I think this is the process a lot of knifenuts went through. Including me.
As a kid I was always, really always taking a SAK of some sort with me.
When my nut-ness really broke out (about 10 years ago) I went into all the classic stuff. Spydercos, Benchmades, Microtechs. Bought some fixed knifes that  - to be honest - usually dont see the sunlight. Bought some Multitools, small ones, large ones. And a lot of them (own about 15 LMs, 4 Victorinox, 2 Gerber, 1 SOG) and at least 30 different SAKs that have accumulated during the years. Never really collected them but bought the one or the other over here and then.

These days I usually carried a large folder plus some sort of SAK or a MT.
What started to change my mind was the new german knife-law in 2008 where single handed, locking knifes were almost forbidden to carry (you need a legal reason which was/is handed really strict in most cases).
So I went from large knifes to the classic ones. Mostly classic EKA knifes, SAKs of some sort.
When backpacking I carried SAKs (if possible, a 111mm one for food preparing, otherwise a smaller for legal reasons).

Because I am sort of McGyver-Dude (doing almost everything with a SAK or Multitool) I cant get myself into carrying a Blade-Only folder.

At the moment I am EDCing a LM PST II for 3 Weeks now as my only knife/tool. It works great. It is practically a downgrade for my usual office EDC where I work as a engineer in a steel plant. Have to build some small stuff here and then, repair things, etc.
It feels good and works fine.

I find that when I am aspiring to carry just a 58mm, A few little items tucked in the zipper part of my wallet helps. The trusty old P38 can opener that I've carried since the early 70's does a lot of screws as well as can opening duty. The Sears 4-way keychain screw driver is one solid piece of tool steel and does larger stubborn screws pretty good as well as number 2 Phillips screws and light prying. They take up very little space in a wallet.

[Barry Rowland]

I've carried a P-38 on my keychain for years, and never thought to use it as anything other than a can opener.  Thanks for sharing that...I learn something new on the Forum everyday!!