The disposable SAK.

[cbl51]

When I was a kid, there was a keychain tool for everything. Nail clippers, little pocket knives, screw driver tools, tiny flashlights. Every Five and Dime store had the stand up cardboard display up by the cash register. There were little oe and two bladed pocket knives al of the size of a SAK 58mm, with either plastic fake pearl handle scales or white celluloid called cracked ice. The thin blades were real carbon steel that was actually pretty decent and cut pretty well. They all had the little bail for mounting on the keychain. They were on the stand right net to the Trim Nail clippers and stand up display of 10 cent plastic combs. There was also the little knife/multitool made by Trim, with a folded sheet metal handle and three blades. A sheep foot knife blade, a screw river and cap lifter combo tool, and a nail file tool. Maybe the first keychain multitool? In the 1950's, you saw them on a lot of keychains.

They didn't last long, because they were so low cost that they got abused and tossed or lost. You just got another one next time you were in the five and dime. It was an interesting era to come age, with much simpler life styles. Ike was still the president, James Dean was still alive, and TV westerns were on almost every night. Every man who had pants on, had a pocketknife in there, somewhere.

These days, I wonder if the little SAK classic is the semi disposable keychain knife of our time? You see them all over, in sporting goods stores, Walmarts, souvenir shops with the place logo on the scales, business handouts with corporate logo's on them. A few days ago I was in Walmart and noticed that they were still 11.95. Thats almost the price of a chain restaurant lunch at IHOP, Denny's, or Bob Evens. Not too many years ago, they were 8.95, and I've ling lost track of how many I've both given away, and used up by rough semi disposable use. They can be replaced at the next big box store you pass, and most sporting goods stores for the price of a cheap lunch.

My Old man was a die hard minimalist. I watched dad get by with a Case peanut, a Sear's keychain screw driver, and a P-38. For most of my life I emulated him, and then went off on a tangent of being a knife nut. That lasted almost 20 years, but it faded as I recovered my senses, and now I've got rid of all that stuff in my life, and I find myself going back to the minimalist days when I carried a Case peanut and a Sear's keychain screw driver and a P-38. My pockets are sure lighter now, and my pants don't inch down much anymore. But for me, the Case peanut has been replaced by the small 58mm SAK, the humble little classic that since about 1995ish, has been my default on my keyring. With a Fenix E01 for those dark nights trying to find a keyhole, or just not tripping over a rock as a make my way back to the car after fishing on the river bank until after sunset. Like the little keychain knife, the single AAA flashlight has just enough light to see my way and where to step on a dark night for the dogs last walk of the night.

I think what I have always liked about the classic was, its very easy availability and low cost per unit. So when I see someone struggling to open a taped package with a. house elegy, or punching it with a Bic pen to get a tear stared, I can just gift them my classic. The classic is like the Giddeon's bible of pocket knives. The gateway drug to an EDC tool.

I find that 90 something percent of the time I am reaching for my classic, I need to cut something. A package, twine, fishing line, whatever. Then maybe a single digit percent of the time, I have to deal with a Phillips screw. Then maybe another single digit percent of the time, I need the scissors. So mostly the small SAK is still a knife for me. A cutting tool to open something.

I only think of all this  because this morning I was down at the Toyota dealer having my car's oil changed and tires rotated. I was standing in line at the service desk, and the young lady in front of me was dropping her car off, and there on her keyring was a familiar looking little red handled knife. I commented on it and she saw mine and was very enthusiastic, and said she uses it at least once every day for something. She was in all probability not a knife nut, nor a tool nut, and not even a EDC prepper person. But she did find a little multitool a handy thing to have. Like the little 50 cent keychain pocket knives of the 1950's five and dime, the classic appeals to people who would not normally go buy a knife to carry. It doesn't weigh much, or cost much, and is available almost everywhere. Its soooo common that it may be the pen knife of the 21st century.

[Simon_Templar]

Good story (as usual), Carl! Thanks for sharing If you went for a SwissLite, you might even be able to get rid of that small flashlight. The LEDs of the 58mm SAKs are really quite competent.

[Dr. Boombatz]

I bought a Classic in yellow close to 20 years ago. Went on a 250 mile ultralight hike on the Colorado trail with my base pack weight of less than 10 lbs. Still have the knife to this day.

[Aloha]

 .  Hail to the Classic. 

[Farmer X]

These days, I wonder if the little SAK classic is the semi disposable keychain knife of our time?

They are inexpensive enough that it doesn't sting too badly if you lose one or see it confiscated. However, I don't consider them disposable. If I did, I wouldn't have put new scales (about $10) on a Classic that cost me $1.65!

[hsherzfeld]

I certainly consider the Classic to be disposable; in fact, I treat it that way.

The Classic is a great all-in-one tool for building plastic models, with a precise blade, excellent scissors, tweezers, and a file that's not too aggressive. But it's cheap enough that I don't worry about getting superglue or plastic cement all over it or using the blade as a scraper or glue applicator.

When I'm done with the project, I can just toss the Classic and get a new (used) one from Ebay for the next project.

Or, sometimes I'll snap the blade off to make it travel-friendly. If the TSA still confiscates it, well, it's already broken at that point, so it's not a big loss.

[Tasky]

$11.95...?
They're the equivalent of $25.15, in the Vic shop here....!

[Valkie]

Back when I was 17........46 years ago.
China came to Sydney in a display of their engineering and fabrication capabilities.

Being as I was an apprentice tookmaker at the time, we all got free passes to visit the exibition in the old Royal Easter Show pavilion.

One exhibit was pocket knives of various sorts
This was 46 years ago remember.
The quality of these Chinese knock offs was hilarious,  we bought a few for next to nothing just for the fun of it.
They either rusted or broke within a couple of weeks.
We took them to TAFE and all picked the smurfe out of the manufacturing, materials and assembly.
But one was pretty good, had it for several years until it broke one day.
No one really considered them anything but toys.

The rest of the exhibition was interesting and probably the forerunner to the downfall of the Australian manufacturing industry.
They could produce anything, at any price, the more you paid, the better the quality.
I look back 46 years later and now realise, this one exhibition probably was the reason my trade disappeared several years later.

The quality has improved somewhat
But it's still the old rule

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

[Farmer X]

The Classic is a great all-in-one tool for building plastic models.

I'm astounded at how expensive plastic models have become. The cost of cement and paint has gone up by considerable as well. And I never thought of a Classic as a great tool for building them. Then again, it wasn't until I'd been out of that hobby for a few years that I realized how good the Classic can be.

[Barry Rowland]

For real EDC use, the keychain setup is 100 percent of what you need.  It's fun carrying the other tools and there's definitely times that they come in handy, but an Opinel in the pocket and a Classic with a keychain kit and you're pretty much covered. 

It's funny but I remember my Dad thinking that the Huntsman he got me was overkill.  He carried a Scout knife and a PST on his belt.  He rarely used the PST.  My grandfather carried only a Barlow.  My wife is the closest to Carl's story: a Classic, Husky keychain tool and a tiny flashlight.  While she has a PST in her glovebox, it's definitely not overworked! 

[cbl51]

I guess the list of what I was trying to say was, growing up in the 1950's when people really did need a knife more in their day to day life as there was no tear off tops, pull tabs, and was people carried small keychain tools and knives. They did very well with those little keychain size slicers, and for modern urban life, I don't think much as changed. If anything, stuff has got more involved with Phillips screws. Between Phillips screws holding the world together now, and the amount of packages that are encased in rugged plastic blister packages that need a sharp tool to open, a small sharp multitool is needed. Tools like the small SAK classic and Leatherman micra fill a real day to day need.

But being an old crock now, I don't have the need or every really had the need for the big tactical knives or the one trick ponies that was represented by the Buck 110. Looking back on my life, even my years in the army combat engineers, the issue scout knife that was like a SAK pioneer, was plenty of tool for the job at hand. Most of my fellow soldiers carried a little Schrade middleman jack, or a Buck 303 cadet, or the like.

Looking back on it all, I can only wonder in awe that people in the 1950's, recognized and carried a few keychain size tools and got by very well with them. It seems like now, the EDC crowns thinks they will die if they don't carry enough gear to build an A frame chalet in the wilderness.

And in todays world, the little SAK classic comes very very close to the nitch once filled by the little plastic handled keychain pen knives in the cardboard display stand in the five and dime stores. A low cost, innocuous little thing on the keyring that will do a heck of a lot dealing with those little pop up problems life loves to toss at us. For the price of a chain rsturnat such, we get something that can save the day in a small way. Fix a loose door knob, cut a seat belt, adjust a carburetor on a rented motor scooter in Key West. Or, just open our mail in a neat manner.

[Tasky]

I guess the list of what I was trying to say was, growing up in the 1950's when people really did need a knife more in their day to day life as there was no tear off tops, pull tabs, and was people carried small keychain tools and knives... It seems like now, the EDC crowns thinks they will die if they don't carry enough gear to build an A frame chalet in the wilderness.

And yet it was those same 1950s that gave birth to the absolute mega-overkill EDC kitchen sink toolkits known as the Champion and later SwissChamp... if a couple of inch-long pocket lancets were all anyone needed, how would these ever become flagship models?

[Fireman]

My Old man was a die hard minimalist. I watched dad get by with a Case peanut, a Sear's keychain screw driver, and a P-38.

If that's minimalist, what would you call my dad?  He carried a two blade Barlow, no screwdrivers or can openers. 

BTW, the same westerns are still on today. 

[cbl51]

And yet it was those same 1950s that gave birth to the absolute mega-overkill EDC kitchen sink toolkits known as the Champion and later SwissChamp... if a couple of inch-long pocket lancets were all anyone needed, how would these ever become flagship models?

Good question, and I can only think the answer is 'money'. All marketing, the same way the car industry, gun industry, and others sell the overkill merchandise to folks wth more disposable income than common sense. After all, even though most people can get around with a Toyota Corolla, some folks want the Avalon or even the Lexus with all the trimmings. Personal taste I guess. I myself could never see tying up large amounts of money in a perishable item that depreciates at a high rate and once you hit 10 years old and 100,000 miles it ain't worth much.

I can only really wonder how many of these mega SAK's are collectors items vs really being carried everyday? The sales figures would be interesting. I can't recall seeing a Swiss Champ in the wild, but I see classics, recruits, tinkers by the score, with the sighting leader being the classic.

Once you rule out the cult worship item crowd, I'll bet most people are pretty moderate in their choices.

[Tasky]

I can only really wonder how many of these mega SAK's are collectors items vs really being carried everyday? The sales figures would be interesting. I can't recall seeing a Swiss Champ in the wild, but I see classics, recruits, tinkers by the score, with the sighting leader being the classic.
Once you rule out the cult worship item crowd, I'll bet most people are pretty moderate in their choices.

With a 1952 release date, I would presume design on the Champion began in the mid-late 1940s, which is a time when people were still living frugally and, most importantly, according to need...

I saw a fair few Champions and Swiss Champs in the late 80s & early 90s, but budget was probably the defining factor. Most seemed to favour Huntsman and Mountaineers or others of similar layer/toolset/price. Larger SAKs (Ranger or bigger) have become less common, at least round here, as people who need pliers more commonly have Leathermans, now... and even today I can only name three people (of which I am one) who actualy owns a 58mm.

[Barry Rowland]

It might be similar to cars, in that what is considered necessary now wasn't even dreamed of 30 years ago.  When I had my first Beetle, a working defroster and an AM radio was optioned out.  Nowadays, my New Beetle has electric heated seats, Bluetooth, key fobs  . With time, everything seems to get more complicated.  My Dad would have loved a Classic, with the scissors, tweezers and toothpick.  He carried one of those cheap 5&10 store knives or a scout knife.  We drove air cooled VWs because he could use the skills of an airplane mechanic to keep our cars running.  I think that generation would use what they could afford, which was usually pretty minimal.  They'd go for the correct tool for the job otherwise or borrow one.  We're different in that we actually love the neat tools on a SAK.  I'm finding it really fun to take a 58 and see just what it can do, which is an awful lot given it's size.  Just my .02 

[Barry Rowland]

Tasky, do you think that more and more people are shifting away from SAKs to plier based tools?  Are we becoming a minority? I'm 54 and finding fewer people even carrying knives, let alone SAKs (except the 58s). 

[nate j]

Good question, and I can only think the answer is 'money'. All marketing, the same way the car industry, gun industry, and others sell the overkill merchandise to folks wth more disposable income than common sense. After all, even though most people can get around with a Toyota Corolla, some folks want the Avalon or even the Lexus with all the trimmings. Personal taste I guess. I myself could never see tying up large amounts of money in a perishable item that depreciates at a high rate and once you hit 10 years old and 100,000 miles it ain't worth much.

I can only really wonder how many of these mega SAK's are collectors items vs really being carried everyday? The sales figures would be interesting. I can't recall seeing a Swiss Champ in the wild, but I see classics, recruits, tinkers by the score, with the sighting leader being the classic.

Once you rule out the cult worship item crowd, I'll bet most people are pretty moderate in their choices.

Personally, I find the Swisschamp and similar-sized tools to be welcome additions to a glovebox, desk drawer, or other small tool kit, but just a bit more than I want or need to actually carry on my person every day.

[Tasky]

Tasky, do you think that more and more people are shifting away from SAKs to plier based tools?  Are we becoming a minority? I'm 54 and finding fewer people even carrying knives, let alone SAKs (except the 58s). 

Not more and more... just that a section of the market prefers plier-based, which is why Vic started the SwissTool.
You can tell what people want from which products have stayed in production.

It might be similar to cars, in that what is considered necessary now wasn't even dreamed of 30 years ago.

But that's my point - 70+ years ago, when need still took priority over want, is when the Champion secured its position.