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Why bother with the big blade?

us Offline clickstop

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Why bother with the big blade?
on: August 18, 2012, 05:16:12 AM
I know a lot of you probably went nuts when you saw the topic  :P but I honestly can't find a single use for the big blade of my SAK in an urban environment. I tinker with things a lot at my house, and the small blade always seems to the job nicely. Even when I go around town, the most use big blade sees is opening packages and envelopes...

So just a question, do you guys find a lot of uses for the big blade in an urban environment? I just find it ironic that when a Swiss Army Knife, the tool I use the least is the knife  :think:


us Offline Heinz Doofenshmirtz

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #1 on: August 18, 2012, 05:53:10 AM
Funny, for me it's exactly the opposite; I never use the small blade.  I use the large blade for everything, including eating; just a couple of days ago, I made pork chops for dinner and being the uncivilized heathen we are, we don't have steak knives.  (We actually just don't eat that much red meat.)  The large blade on my SAK worked just fine for it.  I probably could have used the small blade, but they were thick cuts, and it would have been a pain.  I also used it last weekend when taking my son to a birthday party one of his good friends was having.  They were cooking sausages on their BBQ, and the main blade of my SAK was a lot better for cutting them up than that of a plastic knife.  The large blade also works better for me for opening letters because the longer cutting edge gives more cut per stroke than the small blade.  And so on...
The first Noble Truth: life is suffering.  Only by accepting that fact can we transcend it.


us Offline clickstop

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #2 on: August 18, 2012, 06:49:10 AM
I'll agree with its use as a letter opener, it's awesome! But I definitely never use my SAK on food. Anytime I do my family just looks at like I'm some sort of caveman lol. Just yesterday I cut an apple up for my sister and she refused to take it because I used my "dirty" SAK on it  ::)


us Offline ColoSwiss

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #3 on: August 18, 2012, 08:23:22 AM
My Wenger Traveler has a nail file rather than a small blade, so it's the big blade or nothing. Don't use it very often on food, but when cheap plastic knives can't handle the job, the Wenger works fine.


us Offline Heinz Doofenshmirtz

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #4 on: August 18, 2012, 09:43:39 AM
I'll agree with its use as a letter opener, it's awesome! But I definitely never use my SAK on food. Anytime I do my family just looks at like I'm some sort of caveman lol. Just yesterday I cut an apple up for my sister and she refused to take it because I used my "dirty" SAK on it  ::)
That's gratitude for ya!!!   :rofl:

Well, as is obvious by now, I use my SAKs for just about everything!  While I do keep mine pretty clean (enough for me to not mind eating with them), all I really have to ever deal with is my wife giving me those implied  :facepalm: looks when I use it to eat.  But generally though, she doesn't give me any grief about it, and I personally couldn't care less what other people think if I use it for eating; I know I keep it clean enough for that.

In general, I'd take a combo tool in place of the small blade and lose the openers layer on just about any SAK, except possibly my Swiss Champ, or my Work Champ.
The first Noble Truth: life is suffering.  Only by accepting that fact can we transcend it.


no Offline Steinar

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #5 on: August 18, 2012, 01:38:22 PM
Opening a bag of coffee is a job for the big blade. When I have both a big and small blade, I hardly ever use the big one, but for the coffe bags we used to get in our office, the small blade wasn't practical.


au Offline T.J. Hooker

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #6 on: August 18, 2012, 03:52:28 PM
Just yesterday I cut an apple up for my sister and she refused to take it because I used my "dirty" SAK on it  ::)

I wouldn't want to eat the apple either if it was cut by your 'dirty sak' :rofl:


gr Offline Aleister

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #7 on: August 18, 2012, 05:14:55 PM
I love the big blade on SAKs but I usually use the small one when it's adequate for the job. The thought is that I keep the big blade in clean / better condition for cutting food or things that require a bigger blade. But if I had to choose, I'd go with the big blade.


gb Offline AimlessWanderer

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #8 on: August 18, 2012, 06:25:06 PM
My most frequent carried SAKs only have one blade to choose from :whistle:

Yeoman - main blade and combo opener
84mm Golfer - main blade and combo opener
Traveller - main blade and nail file
Pocket Tool Chest - one blade only
Pioneer - main blade and awl

Only exception is a 1970's Outdoorsman ... serrated main paired with pruner blade.


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mx Offline Sidhartha

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #9 on: August 18, 2012, 06:31:27 PM
i edc a minichamp so no big blade for me  :D, but i must say that the blade is the most used tool on a sak for me, it doesn´t mather de size  :tu:
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us Offline Marius

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #10 on: August 18, 2012, 07:50:17 PM
The main blade is the primary reason that I like the 93 mm line. And also the primary reason that I much prefer the 91 mm and 84 mm SAKs before the 2005 (or so) cost cut reduction (that included thinning the main blade at tang, no longer straight cutting on the spine, etc). And on 111 mm line that I like the OHO models. I like the 93 mm and 108 mm Solos and the 111 mm OHO Sentinels, same as much as I like other SAKs in their series (not the most, of course).

I am also a huge fan on the small blade on SAKs, complementing the main blade. On the 85 mm Wengers I very much prefer the Classics that come with the smaller blade in lieu of the nailfile (there are no EvoWoods with small blade unfortunately).

If I have a choice I tend to always prefer SAKs with multiple blades.

Having said this I agree that on the most my (just speaking for myself here) urbane daily tasks the large blade can be successfully replaced by the small blade. A reason why I can do just fine EDC-ing a MiniChamp, that has an even smaller blade (but a second one as well).

 :tu: to the secondary small blade on SAKs, clip or spear point alike.
 :tu: to the large blade on SAKs, even if stays unused.

 :D




us Offline clickstop

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #11 on: August 18, 2012, 10:39:24 PM
I'd totally forgotten that some SAK's don't come with the small blade (they should really put that combo tool in more SAK's!) I guess in that case the big blade would be used more often  :D  And I guess I just convinced myself to put the Pioneer and Cadet back on my wish list  :P Now if they would just make those two with scissors... Until then I'll be fine with my Recruit and it's awesome small blade!


Offline Styerman

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #12 on: August 21, 2012, 11:32:26 PM
I prefer the small blade , but I'm glad the big blade is there , as a reserve . I keep my little blade almost scalpel like , and have a more corse edge on the master blade . I know some SAK users who go the other way . I usually rock a Handyman , on the model the little blade just feels "right " .

Chris


us Offline Heinz Doofenshmirtz

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Re: Why bother with the big blade?
Reply #13 on: August 22, 2012, 01:05:15 AM
I prefer the small blade , but I'm glad the big blade is there , as a reserve . I keep my little blade almost scalpel like , and have a more corse edge on the master blade . I know some SAK users who go the other way . I usually rock a Handyman , on the model the little blade just feels "right " .

Chris
This is exactly my POU on the smaller blade on my SAKs... for the ones that have it, I like to keep it in reserve for times when I need a really clean and sharp blade for precision cutting tasks.  I'd use it as a scalpel for a field wound if needed, etc.  I just find the large blade works better for me for most EDC tasks.

In fact, my wife was drooling over my Dragonfly 2 because of it's small size and very light weight for her backpacking gear.  I used to carry it a lot, but I found I never used it for anything I couldn't get done with the large blade on a SAK, so I gave it to her.  I miss that little DF2 a lot though, and would like to have another one, but I honestly don't have any real need for it, because a SAK does 95% of the things I need to do with/ for a small tool on a day to day basis.
The first Noble Truth: life is suffering.  Only by accepting that fact can we transcend it.


 

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