China SAk copy

[zigliss]

I have no idea how I came to be in possession of this insult but I really do not know why they bothered!

It is no use whatsoever....with the award for uselessness going to the corkscrew!

[Lynn LeFey]

While they can be frustratingly bad in some respects, Chinese SAK knock-offs aren't completely terrible.

The sort of 'main thread' on SAK-alikes...
http://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=42423.0

In that thread, Jothra did a '30 day challenge' with one, and showed the good and the bad of them, I think.

I got a Coghlans version, without the saw, fish scaler, and reamer (which is to say, without the most offensively useless tools), and it's not terrible. It's sure not a real Swiss Army Knife, but better by far than nothing.

[Syph007]

The SAK knockoff to me isnt an attempt to make a tool that works, for cheap. Its intent is to deceive people into thinking they are swiss army knives to get your money.

If swiss army knives were super expensive I can see a knockoff industry having relevance, like those expenseive purses my wives friends have.  I cant tell the difference and they are a fraction of the price.  But a real genuine SAK is pretty cheap as it is.  A used SAK could be had for the price of a new knockoff and blow it away in every category.

I see cheap tools that arent knockoffs less deceptive as they arent trying to trick you.  But whatever.

[mikekoz]

The SAK knockoff to me isnt an attempt to make a tool that works, for cheap. Its intent is to deceive people into thinking they are swiss army knives to get your money.

If swiss army knives were super expensive I can see a knockoff industry having relevance, like those expenseive purses my wives friends have.  I cant tell the difference and they are a fraction of the price.  But a real genuine SAK is pretty cheap as it is.  A used SAK could be had for the price of a new knockoff and blow it away in every category.

I see cheap tools that arent knockoffs less deceptive as they arent trying to trick you.  But whatever.

    I was going to say the same thing. Why by junk like these when the real thing can be bought at a more than fair price?

[zigliss]

The SAK knockoff to me isnt an attempt to make a tool that works, for cheap. Its intent is to deceive people into thinking they are swiss army knives to get your money.

If swiss army knives were super expensive I can see a knockoff industry having relevance, like those expenseive purses my wives friends have.  I cant tell the difference and they are a fraction of the price.  But a real genuine SAK is pretty cheap as it is.  A used SAK could be had for the price of a new knockoff and blow it away in every category.

I see cheap tools that arent knockoffs less deceptive as they arent trying to trick you.  But whatever.

    I was going to say the same thing. Why by junk like these when the real thing can be bought at a more than fair price?

I agree completely - this is so poorly made I just don't see the point.

It occured to me that this may have come with an Earthquake emergency pack I purchased some years ago when I was living overseas. The pack was not expensive but was really well thought out and put together with high quality materials (except this Chinese shocker) with items you may need if electricity, sanitation etc were not operating. I have a vague recollection of checking the contents, finding this knife and replacing it with a genuine SAK (an Explorer iirc), and then dropping the knife in a drawer (found it mildly amusing which is probably why I didn't throw it away). I wonder if the manufacturers of the kit just assumed that a real SAK would be too expensive and thus went down the lowest bidder route..... 

[kkokkolis]

I had (still have it somewhere) the same "tool" in red. Bought 20 years ago by my wife when I was in the army. I had 2 kids and I wouldn't work for a year, so she thought I shouldn't get my Swisschamp that might be stolen and the ~100$+ cost was a lot for us then. Nothing worked so after basic training I carried my Swisschamp. I was a physician by specialty and  treated like an officer, so no fear of stealing any more.
Swiss knives might have a fair price for us but we are exceptions. Most people in Africa, Asia and Central/ South America are very- very poor, and even in Europe and North America there are millions of jobless/ homeless/ poor people. They might use those things and the newer ones are way better than those of 20-30 years ago. In other hobbies Chinese made equipment isn't knock offs any more. The Chinese optics for example are excellent. Only those from Japan, US, Russia and Germany are better (a bit better) but they cost 2x- 10x the price.
They might make excellent CAKs and MTs one day, maybe 10 years from now.

[zigliss]

Swiss knives might have a fair price for us but we are exceptions. Most people in Africa, Asia and Central/ South America are very- very poor, and even in Europe and North America there are millions of jobless/ homeless/ poor people.

Your comments are a good reminder that there is a vastly different world beyond our priviledged first world lives. I think my point was that this is so poorly made it has limited use in any scenario for anyone, and some of the tools are actually so bad they are unsafe. You will often see very poor folks fashion their own tools, which, in my humble opinion would be a better solution to buying (no matter how cheap) this Chinese knock-off.

The day has come where Chinese manufacturing standards are at, or in some cases better than, comparable Western efforts per unit cost. Hence the move of many Western companies to Chinese manufacture. The implement discussed in this thread, however, harks back to a time when this was certainly not the case.

[kkokkolis]

Agreed. This is an awful CAK. Mine has the same logo I haven't seen ever since.

[Cupboard]

awful CAK

 

[Sr.Multiherramienta]

A friend gave me one of this "CAK". Not a real present, it was an advertising knife and she just thought that I may like it. It broke in pieces when I tried to open the tool. No exaggeration.

Evil, made for selfdestruction once they have your money in their pockets.