Which Swiss Army Knife has eluded you?

[Huntsman]

I have several that have eluded me, but the one that's been irritating me lately is an early 1900s four pin Spartan. Essentially "the" classic Swiss Army Knife.
Now, any four pin knife is uncommon to be sure, but they are out there. I have 3 four pin Climbers, 2 four pin Hunstmans and one four pin Camper. I even have 2 four pin Tourists. I have seen the Spartans, but every time I do they end up going for hundreds of dollars more than I think they should.

Hey JB - Confused  - I thought all Officer SAKs had four pins/rivets - Three on the bushings (or exposed) and one hidden - Or did the older ones have three?

How about you, Megan? It's not good starting a thread like this without posting your OWN story. 

^^^ Yes come on Megan - This is not fair

For me my collecting/acquiring is kinda finished - As I have nearly  all the tool variations as per the SAAMS blog/website.
http://victorinox.metodi.me/91mmtools.php
All except the first varaiation of the Swisschamp pliers - If anyone has a spare let me know 
So it is a tool that has eluded me - not a specific - SAK - Although I guess these pliers are only on the first SCs.

I also have birth year SAKs for me, my better half, and my son - Yay ....... Note to self - Must go for merit badge

Of course I do still buy/get given SAKs from time to time and would like a few eg:
A Minichamp (red alox I think!!) , a Skipper or Mariner - But I cannot say these have eluded me - As I could just go and buy one!!

I love, love, love all the old Officer knives ... exposed rivets (especially), bails, old awls etc - And would happily have more of these in my collection
However I do not really have the time or money to trawl ebay for these guys - They are so expensive

Now if I lived in Switzerland - I might consider going round a few car boot sales/antique shops to pick up some bargains - But not worth it in Oz!!

I would love to see JB's or Coloswiss's full collection of oldies - or other big time collectors of the older SAKS     ......
Aha - I thought of a couple more ..... Yep - You never finish 
I would love a SAK with the inlaid space shuttle, they are available from Japan now - But still mega expensive (~$100) - Double(ish) the price of a Ranger/Master Craftsman - which is what they are!! - So ~$50 for the inlay ... Hmmm maybe not.
I also saw that faulous motrorcycle inlay that Lowtech had up for grabs here earlier this year - Now that was nice....

[jaydar]

This is the one that gets me up at 4am to go to flea markets half way across the country



one day

Link to my favorite thread

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,51070.0.html

[AlephZero]

I was soooo close getting my birth year SAK couple weeks ago, saw a Wenger SI '79 on the evilBay (only missed by one year)


 

[hiraethus]

I don't think that there are any that I must have but can't get, probably because I don't 'collect' SAKs - I just have a bunch of users and I'm not interested in variations or preserving older models.  There are knives that I want that are hard to get (93mm Technician and 91mm Engineer for example) but I haven't tried hard to find them.  If there's something that doesn't exist or is rare I'd probably try to make it anyway - like my DIY Grand Prix, or Troubleshooter (which is next on the list to do).

[Etherealicer]

Birth year (1976) Soldier. Not sure I could afford it if it did pop up.

That should cost you around 40$ + shipping

Paid 36CHF for mine, invested another 20CHF to have it professionally sharpened and polished and now its brilliant.

Considering how many people are missing their Birthday SAK, maybe we should make a "Search for your Birthday SAK thread".

[jazzbass]

Hey JB - Confused  - I thought all Officer SAKs had four pins/rivets - Three on the bushings (or exposed) and one hidden - Or did the older ones have three?

All Officer's Knives do have four pins. On the earliest knives, all four are exposed and peened through the scales. Later they found that it wasn't necessary to peen all four - the inner pin nearest the Victorinox logo was used more as a fulcrum for the backsprings than to hold the knife together, so by the early 1920s the inner pin isn't exposed anymore. So by "four pin" knife I mean those where all four pins are exposed.

Here's a picture of one of my Hunstmans:

[Huntsman]

Ah - Got it JB - Thanks for the clarification - Another little piece of knowledge acquired !
A small labour saving step I guess!!

Not sure I'll ever own a four pin Officer though - by the sound of it!!!

Re the photo - Nice one - Beautiful - But you are just making me jealous aren't you !!   

[Etherealicer]

Re the photo - Nice one - Beautiful - But you are just making me jealous aren't you !!   

The real question is: IS IT A USER?

[Eyegor]

For me it would be a 80s 3 layer BSA Wenger. I purchased it NIB from the local store around 1984-1985. Don't know the specific model. Of course, as a kid you lose things. Never found another. All I've ever been able to discover is that at that time Wenger cataloged 3 BSA knives. One was a 58mm Esquire-esq. Not my knife. The other two I haven't been able to track down.

[Megan]

How about you, Megan? It's not good starting a thread like this without posting your OWN story. 

1984 birth year soldier.
I'd love one.

[eddie1115]

How about you, Megan? It's not good starting a thread like this without posting your OWN story.  ok:

1984 birth year soldier.
I'd love one.

I believe I brought this up once, but good choice of birth year   And ditto on the '84 Soldier, only time I've seen one at a decent price, I had no money to play with...

[Grass]

I'm half heartedly after a birth year soldier and the damascus models that I am missing. Overall I'm thinking more towards mods for perfection these days, though...

[Huntsman]

1984 birth year soldier.
I'd love one.

Sounds like someone has a mission !!!

[Etherealicer]

How about you, Megan? It's not good starting a thread like this without posting your OWN story. 

1984 birth year soldier.
I'd love one.

You look younger, can I interest you in a 1988 Soldier

[Megan]

How about you, Megan? It's not good starting a thread like this without posting your OWN story. 

1984 birth year soldier.
I'd love one.

You look younger, can I interest you in a 1988 Soldier

Flattery will get you everything but this sale!

[Steinar]

Both the Deluxe Climber and the Passenger are really nice knives.

[magentus]

Both the Deluxe Climber and the Passenger are really nice knives.

I think I would choose a Passenger too Steinar - maybe I'll make one out of an Explorer sometime.

Ideally I'd love a red OC Farmer with bail though. That is my Grail SAK.

My Greenwood covers most of what I want though - I may mod it again to replace the small blade with an in line awl, but that's it.

[smiller43147]

So far those 2015 Classic/Cadet/Pioneer models in the US have eluded me.

[SAK Guy]

So far those 2015 Classic/Cadet/Pioneer models in the US have eluded me.

Yes and the mythical factory Pioneer with scissors.......