The SAK as the sole EDC.

[cbl51]

I was a knife nut.

There, I wanted to get that out of the way first off. Ever since I was a kid, I was ga-ga over knives. Big knives, little knives, it didn't matter. I was dog nuts. It may have been partly my fathers fault, as he gave me a nice boy scout knife when I joined the Scouts. The basic pattern of scout knife that's like the Pioneer/Wenger SI. The very knife that ended up being my favorite knife over a span of some 50 years.

But there were other factors at work, because all the men and most women carried a pocket knife back them. If a man had pants on, he had a knife in one of those pockets. But they weren't knife nuts. They had a knife and that was that. But there I was, haunting the sports stores and hardware stores, standing in front of the glass enclose knife displays from Case, or Schrade, or Camillus. Then Buck made a big splash in 1964 with the 110 folding hunter and knives were never the same.

Over the course of my teens and twenties, I think I tried just about every knife type there was on the market. Big locking blade folding hunters for a while, then for a longer while the three blade stockman style, then sodbusters. Finally even the Case peanut got carried for a while.

But...since 1969, the SAK has ben a stable, a constant like the pole star, that I kept coming back to. Without fail, when I was carrying a sodbuster or a stockman, I'd need a screw driver of some kind. Or a can opener. So I kept a SAK "around" so I'd have a few tools. But as I got older, and by some miracle a little wiser, I started to question why I was carrying two pocket knives on me. Sometimes even three. They only make pants pockets so large.

By  my 40's I was in a downsizing mood. First sold off was my customs. I had accumulated a few Randall's, a couple Jay Henrickson's from the American Bladesmith organization, a Don Hastings. They were all good knives, but not the Excallibers I thought they were. In fact, the Randall's were actually a little disappointing. All I can say is I got my money back out of them and went down the road happier without them. I ended up doing the same downsize of my gun collection, but thats another story.

Going through middle age, I found the more I downsized, the better I felt. Stuff that I had coveted in my younger days no longer held any draw to me. I guess taste changes as we age. And the past sometimes comes back to haunt you. I had got so used to the Boy Scout knife pattern. From age 12 to when I left home and joined the army, I had used that scout knife dad gave me. When I was in the army engineers, they issued out those all steel Camilus scout pattern knives from the supply room and they were my carry knife until I got transferred to Germany. There I had 'the enlightenment". It was a big SAK display in a little knife shop in Rothenburg Germany. I found a SAK that was much like my old scout knife as well as other more elaborate SAK's. Between my childhood scout knife and the army issue scout knife and the SAK's, all those stockmen and sodbusters and barrows never really had a chance. I was spoiled by having a pocket knife that was not just a knife. Not just a one trick pony.

I've lost count how many times over the years that a SAK saved me from a very inconvenient event. Like having my Vespa motor scooter conk out on me in the middle of nowhere on a isolated dirt road, and having a SAK let me fix what was wrong and go on my way. Or, being at the far end of a very long winding lake several miles from the put in point and having electric trolling motor start to come apart. The little SAK with Phillips screw capability saved me from a very long row back.

By the time I reached social security old fart stage, I realized that all those 'other' knives has no real use compared to a SAK. I had already sold off the higher end stuff, but I went on and just gave away the rest of my non SAK knives. Looking back, I have to admit I don't miss them at all. It was like unloading a burden. I felt lighter. No more choosing the knife of the day, it's a SAK of course. Mostly my Wenger SI or if dress pants are worn, the very slim cadet. The little classic on my keyring is a constant, no matter what else I may have, but that may change. As much as I love the little classic, I'm experiencing quite a revelation with the executive that Nix sent me. It's like a classic that's been given a large dose of steroids to correct the problem of the classic being just a teeny tiny too small for some things like cutting a large sandwich in half.

Looking back on it all, it seems like I was in grip of some sort of temporary insanity with the collection of all those knives. Lots of money in something that was only a cutting tool. A knife is just a cutting tool. A SAK is a pocket size bundle of solutions to everyday problems. All those 'other' knives? I don't need them.

[Myron]

Very nice reflection.  Do you still have the Boy Scout knife?  A picture or two of some of your worn-in favorites would be great. 

Myron

[Frailer]

Thanks for sharing your tale, and for what it’s worth I agree *wholeheartedly*.

I love knives, and I admire the multi-hundred dollar handmade beauties that some collect and carry.

But the day my Huntsman effected a repair to my broken HMMWV in the middle of a godforsaken desert it earned a space in my pocket for the humble SAK for the rest of my days.

“A SAK is a pocket size bundle of solutions to everyday problems.”.

^^^ Somebody needs to make a T-shirt. ^^^

[cbl51]

Very nice reflection.  Do you still have the Boy Scout knife?  A picture or two of some of your worn-in favorites would be great. 

Myron

I left the old Boy Scout knife home when I left for the service as I was afraid it would 'disappear' in a barracks situation. It was in a drawer then a cigar box of keepsakes. Now my youngest son has it in his possession back in Maryland. I gave it to him when he joined the Boy Scouts when he was 12, so it became his form then on. I'll have to get a pic next time we visit.

[Nix]

Great stories, guys!

And I agree: always a smart idea to have a SAK in your pocket. 

[gustophersmob]

Though I've not quite reached 40 yet, I feel very much the same sentiment. I've been drawn to SAKs since I was a boy, that draw being firmly cemented in the scouts.

Then, I went through a phase where I didn't even carry a knife  and them somehow got into locking knives. I'm not sure why, but I had it in my head I needed a single lock blade knife that was as sturdy as a fixed blade when opened and that would never let me down. A few spydercos and benchmades later and I realized I didn't really use the knives much. They cost enough that I didn't want to use them for mundane things like opening packages, but that's most of my knife tasks: mundane.

Then I remembered the SAK. And kind of fell back into the habit of always having one on me. I then gravitated towards alox and the pioneer and that's where I've been the last few years.

At this point, I can't really see going back. Though I can appreciate all knives, for an edc pocket knife, the SAK is basically perfect for me.

[cbl51]

Though I've not quite reached 40 yet, I feel very much the same sentiment. I've been drawn to SAKs since I was a boy, that draw being firmly cemented in the scouts.

Then, I went through a phase where I didn't even carry a knife  and them somehow got into locking knives. I'm not sure why, but I had it in my head I needed a single lock blade knife that was as sturdy as a fixed blade when opened and that would never let me down. A few spydercos and benchmades later and I realized I didn't really use the knives much. They cost enough that I didn't want to use them for mundane things like opening packages, but that's most of my knife tasks: mundane.

Then I remembered the SAK. And kind of fell back into the habit of always having one on me. I then gravitated towards alox and the pioneer and that's where I've been the last few years.

At this point, I can't really see going back. Though I can appreciate all knives, for an edc pocket knife, the SAK is basically perfect for me.

Yeah, I went through the lock blade stage. For a brief time I carried a Buck 110, but then I had to ask myself why was I carrying a single blade knife that weighed as much as a small handgun, and was only a one trick pony?

I think people get hooked into the mentality of the lock blade thing as the knife that you can lean on and won't let you down. I guess I was very lucky to see what happened when the lock failed on someone else than me. There was a young guy working in the machine shop where I was working many years ago, and he was using his Buck knife for some heavy prying cuts. The older guys told him to knock that off and go get a right tool. His famous reply was "It's a Buck knife, it'll take it."

About a half hour back from lunch, theres this scream from that end of the shop. The kids Buck knife that would take it, didn't. The lock gave away, and his right index finger was neatly cut off at the big joint. The Forman grabbed a cup of ice from the cafeteria and put the severed finger in it and they transported the finger and the kid to the Johns Hopkins hand clinic in Baltimore. They got it reattached, but fired the kid for disobeying safety protocols and not following the supervisors orders to cease and desist from the behavior.

If I want a knife that won't fold  on me, that's what sheath knives are for. To this day, I won't own a lock blade. I don't want to be even tempted to something dumb. With my SAK, I know it will fold on me if I act like a fool, so I don't.

[Barry Rowland]

Words to live by.  Don't ever bet the bank on life or limb for anything mechanical.

[Greg Jones]

Thanks for sharing this, it comes at a time for me that I'm reviewing a lot of what I have, for years my sole carry was a Recruit.

See you in the Chuck Yeager challenge 

[Myron]

I left the old Boy Scout knife home when I left for the service as I was afraid it would 'disappear' in a barracks situation. It was in a drawer then a cigar box of keepsakes. Now my youngest son has it in his possession back in Maryland. I gave it to him when he joined the Boy Scouts when he was 12, so it became his form then on. I'll have to get a pic next time we visit.

Glad to hear that it's still around and serving your Boy Scout well!  That's even cooler. 

I've handed down a couple of mine to my own Boy Scout.  Fun to see traditions continue.

[Old man Chris]

Your story resanates with me too . I started with a SAK in 1963 , went to Case trappers , and Stockmen , then to Buck 110’s. Not to mention all kinds of fixies , both factory , and custom . I always have a SAK of some description on me . I had a bad accident back in the late eighties , a medium duty ladder collapsed under me , and I got my finger caught in an overhead door track , Long story short , I had to extricate myself with the aid of a folder , I was able to open one handed . The finger looks Gnarly , but a good plastic surgeon was able to save it .

Fast forward to the early 2000’s , I got my work glove caught in an Electric Eel , power drain snake . I took my foot of the switch , but it still made 2 turns , I was alone , in a concrete room , shouting didn’t help much . I had recently purchased a Victorinox Rescue Tool , now known as Orange Faithfull . I was able to cut the glove apart and free my hand , left handed , and restore circulation .

So to make a long story short , I nowadays , I’m never without an OHO folder of some type . I like to have pliers on me , as I regularly find a need for them both at work , and at play . I’m 67 now , and either work 16 hour days , or have long hiatus’s between gigs , I’m always fixing something .

This is why , I always carry an OHO folder , a Multi , and a SAK , or at the very least a Leatherman Wave/Charge and a SAK , or Orange Faithfull , and a SAK .

BTW , I used to schlep an 8” Randal #2 , back i. the day , wish I had held on to it .

Best Regards,

Chris

[AndyTiedye]

My current EDC is a Wenger S557. I can OHO it if I have to (due to weaker backspring on Wengers), locking blade, pliers, scissors, lots of other tools.
Out camping, I want a bigger knife, but I also want a big saw. Something like the 78 from the Wenger Ranger series

Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

[El Corkscrew]

Excellent read! 

[ThundahBeagle]

Just a SAK for EDC? Why not? The only thing I carried for almost 30 years was a Victorinox Super Tinker, with a Leatherman knockoff in my tackle box.