SAK's and Maximum Minimalism.

cbl51 · **on:** December 17, 2018, 09:27:50 PM

My old man was a Great Depression era guy.

Growing up in the 1950's, dad, and most of the dad's in the neighborhood, were survivors of both the Great Depression and WW2. It was a great time in America, the Arsenal of democracy had saved the world from the nazi menace and the Japanese aggression and times were good. Everyone had a car or two in the driveway and a BBQ grill out back. James Dean was alive and well, and when Marlin Brando was asked in The Wild One what he was rebelling about, he asked "Whata ya got?"

My memories of that time was, all men had a pocket knife on them if they had pants on. They also mostly had the keychain Sear's 4-way screw drivers, and all the vets of the war still carried their P-38 that had opened a lot of C rations. It gave them not just can opening, but could let them deal with screws of all types. It was a world a self reliance and if something broke, you fixed it. No matter where you were. Some of the men still carried the pocket knife they had been issued In whatever branch of the armed service they had served. The all steel demo knife that was in effect a SAK pioneer layout, or the Camillus TL-29 with a knife blade and screw driver tool.

It was against this background that dad gave me the scout knife when I was 12 years old, and I joined the boy scouts. It was all about self reliance. Something SAK people should know about. I'd go through childhood watching dad deal with just about anything with his little Case peanut, a keychain screw driver, and a small roll of the black electrical tape that was the duct tape pf the era. Our scout master, Mr. van was a retired Marine that had went though some horrendous combat in the South Pacific with names like Guadalcanal, Saipan, Tarawa. Mr. Van was a no nonsense man who ran the scout troop like a Marine company and we loved him for it. Yes, he cold be a harsh individual if we messed up, but he was fair, and gave praise when it was due.

But his real talent was showings what could done with a standard scout knife that consisted of a blade, bottle opener, screw driver can opener and awl. The basic SAK of today in the forum of the Pioneer/SI. Mr. Van carried a beautiful old Remington scout knife, and he taught us to do a large number of camp projects with it. Our Camillus, Imperial, Ulster, and other brand scout knives showed us how to get maximum use of minimal tool sets. The can opener hook was a good pot hook for getting the pot off the campfire. It made a good scribe for scoring a line on where the piece of wood was going to be cut. The blade was used to carve a v grove into a fairly thick tree limb and make a stress line to wear the wood would break under strain at that point. By notching and controlled breaking of the wood, we scouts learned to make camp furniture with thick enough wood that it would actually support us sitting in the camp chair. I think the Boy Scouts and the Boy Scout knife was the first time I thought about maximum minimalism.

I think about my dad's generation, with their little coin pocket size pen knives and all the keychain screw drivers and stuff, and can appreciate one single pocket size tool that holds everything we need to deal with life's little problems that pop up in our day to day life. I think about the one and two layer SAK's I've had and how well they did their job. The bantam, recruit, pioneer/Wenger SI, the classic, and now for me, the executive. In my senior citizen life of retired gentleman of leisure, they seem to be capable enough. And I've discovered another of the good things about the executive; the main blade is just long enough to spear the run away olive in the martini glass.

Mechanickal · **Reply #1 on:** December 17, 2018, 09:30:49 PM

Nix · **Reply #2 on:** December 17, 2018, 11:48:34 PM

You don't need a SAK to wrangle an olive......

Serena · **Reply #3 on:** December 17, 2018, 11:57:24 PM

Another great story. Please, keep writing about the 'old days'. I love these stories.

It's also a really good way to keep up with my English. Maybe I should read English books…

ulzhan · **Reply #4 on:** December 18, 2018, 12:28:41 AM

Wonderful story. From another era which isn't understandable for most people of past year 2000.

Fuzzbucket · **Reply #5 on:** December 18, 2018, 12:39:25 AM

Excellent essay!

Shuya · **Reply #6 on:** December 18, 2018, 08:16:01 AM

Love to read those stories, too.
Wish I had similar to tell...

Grown up in eastern germany, without grandfathers and a grandmother that lived through the drepession of the 30s, WW2 and the afterwards crisis here in eastern germany and under the soviet occupation. Times were hard, and she valued things a lot.
She never talked about those times, ever. Quite sad.

Somehow we lost the self reliance, the ability to repair in a world of hightech stuff that cant be repaired even with full toolset at most cases, because they are not designed to be repaired at all.

The newest phone is more important than anything else, "men" in their 30s with full beart that cant change a tyre themself (dont want to inult anyone here!)...
Knifes seen as weapons instead of tools because few dumbasses do stupid stuff and our government feels like its better to regulate *weapon carry*

Sad world indeed.

Hope I will teach my daugher right. Shes only 1 1/2 years old know but already knows in which pocked daddy has a knife. She snatches it and wants to do something. Ive opened the bottleopener for fun once to give here a tool, now she handles it to me after taking it out of my pocket and wants me to open the bottleopener every time and then she tries to do something with it. Playing around boxes, trying manipulate screws...
*sigh*

pfrsantos · **Reply #7 on:** December 18, 2018, 01:28:50 PM

Quote from: Shuya on December 18, 2018, 08:16:01 AM

Love to read those stories, too.
Wish I had similar to tell...

Grown up in eastern germany, without grandfathers and a grandmother that lived through the drepession of the 30s, WW2 and the afterwards crisis here in eastern germany and under the soviet occupation. Times were hard, and she valued things a lot.
She never talked about those times, ever. Quite sad.

Somehow we lost the self reliance, the ability to repair in a world of hightech stuff that cant be repaired even with full toolset at most cases, because they are not designed to be repaired at all.
The newest phone is more important than anything else, "men" in their 30s with full beart that cant change a tyre themself (dont want to inult anyone here!)...
Knifes seen as weapons instead of tools because few dumbasses do stupid stuff and our government feels like its better to regulate *weapon carry*
Sad world indeed.

Hope I will teach my daugher right. Shes only 1 1/2 years old know but already knows in which pocked daddy has a knife. She snatches it and wants to do something. Ive opened the bottleopener for fun once to give here a tool, now she handles it to me after taking it out of my pocket and wants me to open the bottleopener every time and then she tries to do something with it. Playing around boxes, trying manipulate screws...
*sigh*

She seems to be on the right path.

ElevenBlade · **Reply #8 on:** November 28, 2019, 01:03:15 AM

Bumping this because its a good read.

When I started to EDC a Soldier, this was a major reason why I chose it. There are these legendary people who can do a thousand things with a four-bladed scout knife.

It would be nice if the Compact had an awl in place of the hook, but alas scissors must have hooks at their backs.