Are SAKs and multitools designed mainly for drinkers?

dks · **Reply #30 on:** April 12, 2016, 10:51:49 AM

It is from before bottles were invented

firiki · **Reply #31 on:** April 12, 2016, 11:28:10 AM

Quote from: Gryffin on April 09, 2016, 10:53:53 PM

...
There were originally *two* “Swiss Army” knives, one for officers, one for enlisted.

Apologies for correcting you, the Officier Suisse line of knives were never issued to the Swiss Army.

Quote from SAKwiki

Quote

The original Victorinox "Officer's Knife", may be the most important knife in the company's long history. This knife was originally registered with the patent office in 1897 as The Officer's and Sports Knife. It was only preceded by the Original Soldier's Knife, but unlike the Soldier it was never part of a military contract. Officer's and gentlemen purchased the knife at cutlery stores. The knife's popularity was critical at the time as the company was close to bankruptcy, and the knife's popularity is credited with saving the company. In a sense it also bridged a society gap and entrenched the multi-tool knives in all levels of the society. This would help to ensure the longevity of the company and establish in the society the Swiss tradition of quality. The Small-Blade and famous Corkscrew made their debut on the Officer's Knife.

As for the OP's question, I voted no.

The bottle opener, can opener and corkscrew on the SAK all come from an era where such things weren't as widely available as they are today.

As previously stated, SAKs and multis are meant for general use (

) by everyone that can use them. Being able to open a can of food and a few bottles of whatever makes eating and drinking while away from civilisation a lot easier nowadays just as it did 100 years ago. IMO, this doesn't mean these pocket tools are necessarily aimed at drinkers but rather at everyone who thinks they might come in handy at some point.

Gerhard Gerber · **Reply #32 on:** April 12, 2016, 12:51:05 PM

Interesting question, I would say no........

But thinking about modern tendencies, cap lifters and corkscrews are really no longer needed........

Most beer bottle caps are the twist-off variety these days.

99% of everything else is in plastic bottles.

90% of wine comes with screw caps, can't remember where the cork shortage stems from, also can't remember the last time I needed a corkscrew.......

Two completely redundant tools..........now I think about it.

Marcellus · **Reply #33 on:** April 12, 2016, 01:21:57 PM

Voted NO myself

The discussion has really detoured into the relevance of the cap lifter, bottle opener and corkscrew, it seems

The first two have additional functions of course

The corkscrew has some added uses, but for me it holds the great little screwdriver mainly

Steinar · **Reply #34 on:** April 12, 2016, 03:21:15 PM

As much as we like digging up dead horses for the sole purpose of beating them some more, I think we should remember the occurrence of bottles needing a cap lifter and/or (no, “and” is not a mistake) corkscrew, as well as cans needing a can opener, varies quite a lot globally, and SAKs are sold the same in Norway as in Taipei as in San Francisco. (In addition to Vic being extremely conservative and all that jazz.)

I think the Vic can opener is a scraper and small screwdriver, which just happens to be a good can opener. Even though I enjoy beer, and pretty much all the beer I drink needs a bottle opener, I still think the cap lifter is mainly a prying thing which just happens to work fine as a large screwdriver which just happens to have a small addition which makes it a fine cap lifter. Especially the cap lifter is something there is really no reason not to include, since it is just a tiny amount of extra steel on the light pry bar, which the manual insists on calling a screwdriver.

Multis within multis.

twiliter · **Reply #35 on:** April 12, 2016, 04:42:46 PM

Quote from: Steinar on April 12, 2016, 03:21:15 PM

As much as we like digging up dead horses for the sole purpose of beating them some more, I think we should remember the occurrence of bottles needing a cap lifter and/or (no, “and” is not a mistake) corkscrew, as well as cans needing a can opener, varies quite a lot globally, and SAKs are sold the same in Norway as in Taipei as in San Francisco. (In addition to Vic being extremely conservative and all that jazz.)

I think the Vic can opener is a scraper and small screwdriver, which just happens to be a good can opener. Even though I enjoy beer, and pretty much all the beer I drink needs a bottle opener, I still think the cap lifter is mainly a prying thing which just happens to work fine as a large screwdriver which just happens to have a small addition which makes it a fine cap lifter. Especially the cap lifter is something there is really no reason not to include, since it is just a tiny amount of extra steel on the light pry bar, which the manual insists on calling a screwdriver.

Multis within multis.

I like this perspective, given the non-standard ways I have used MT/SAKs. Having versa-utility always makes sense to me.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #36 on:** April 12, 2016, 05:01:57 PM

By suggesting that they are designed for drinkers since they have bottle openers, does that mean that since they have numerous screwdrivers, they are for people who screw around a lot?

I think the reality is that they are designer largely for day to day tasks that people encounter and are unprepared for. How often has someone posted a story here about being at a party and no one (except them) had a corkscrew?

No one is expecting someone to build a house from the ground up with a Leatherman or Gerber, but it does help with the day to day tasks that often leave less prepared people scratching their heads.

Def

dks · **Reply #37 on:** April 12, 2016, 05:15:12 PM

I will reply to Grant as soon as I finish building my house with my Gerber Dime, which also has a great bottle opener.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #38 on:** April 12, 2016, 05:22:35 PM

via Imgflip Meme Maker

Def

Fortytwo · **Reply #39 on:** April 12, 2016, 05:53:04 PM

I agree with Steinar, around here twist-offs are really rare (can't remember seeing them at all). As for the disappearance of cork I've heard it was that people got tired with between five and ten percent of wines going bad from the cork.

Aloha · **Reply #40 on:** April 12, 2016, 06:17:37 PM

Don't have a clue what was once standard as to the bottle opener and corkscrew. I do know that my corkscrew did come in handy on a trip when my friend wanted a glass of wine. I am not a drinker of alcohol so my bottle opener is multi-function tool. My corkscrew while being a terrific opener is the perfect place to stow my mini driver. I've use the corkscrew to undo a knot or 10 and consider it over the backside phillips when choosing my SAK.

tjfarrington2000 · **Reply #41 on:** April 12, 2016, 06:28:55 PM

Well, that was one of the main reasons behind the cork screw on officers knives, and none on the soldiers knives

Sent from my outdated communication device using an obsolete application

Gryffin · **Reply #42 on:** April 12, 2016, 10:28:23 PM

Quote from: firiki on April 12, 2016, 11:28:10 AM

Quote from SAKwiki

Quote
The original Victorinox "Officer's Knife", may be the most important knife in the company's long history. This knife was originally registered with the patent office in 1897 as The Officer's and Sports Knife. It was only preceded by the Original Soldier's Knife, but unlike the Soldier it was never part of a military contract. Officer's and gentlemen purchased the knife at cutlery stores. The knife's popularity was critical at the time as the company was close to bankruptcy, and the knife's popularity is credited with saving the company. In a sense it also bridged a society gap and entrenched the multi-tool knives in all levels of the society. This would help to ensure the longevity of the company and establish in the society the Swiss tradition of quality. The Small-Blade and famous Corkscrew made their debut on the Officer's Knife.

I stand corrected, I know they were commonly *carried* by officers, I guess I just assumed they were issued. But if they purchased them themselves, I can see the corkscrew being a nice selling point.

SAK Guy · **Reply #43 on:** April 13, 2016, 01:30:53 AM

I haven't seen a screw top wine bottle since my last bottle of Riunite Lambrusco about 5 years ago...everything I like has synthetic corks.

twiliter · **Reply #44 on:** April 13, 2016, 01:45:44 AM

Quote from: SAK Guy on April 13, 2016, 01:30:53 AM

I haven't seen a screw top wine bottle since my last bottle of Riunite Lambrusco about 5 years ago...everything I like has synthetic corks.

Around here wine with screw caps is usually 'fortified'...

Gryffin · **Reply #45 on:** April 13, 2016, 01:52:44 AM

Quote from: Grant Lamontagne on April 12, 2016, 05:01:57 PM

By suggesting that they are designed for drinkers since they have bottle openers, does that mean that since they have numerous screwdrivers, they are for people who screw around a lot?