Which SAK surprised you most?

[SirVicaLot]

CT-L.

Seemed like a good idea.

Wrong.

It’s a great idea.

Makes me feel pity for those that want to show me their latest two bill flipper with one measly m-390 steak cutter. If I want to kill someone, I’ll pack heat. Go ahead. Make my day. Assemble my wife’s latest Amazon fulfillment with your steak cutter. Saw off a tree blade. File off a stripped screw head. Open a wine bottle. Pop open electronics and replace components with your flipper. Punch and reama new belt hole. Pull out a splinter. Bend a nail straight. Chisel a corner to fit. Pick your teeth with the m-390. Write a list. Check it off. Tighten the temples of your frames with the steak cutter. File your finger nails waiting for you lover with your steak cutter. Pop a cool one with your m-390. 

Then there is the over whelming lack of envy I now feel for guys fumbling for their latest leatherman on their belt pouches.

My rounded CT-L rides at the bottom of my pant pockets right where I want it. No belt pouch. I hate belt pouches.

If it tased, sprayed pepper 🌶, sprouted drone rotors, hid a soldering point and had a removable pliers,  I would trade up.

Otherwise my expectations are EXCEEDED!

 

You seem to have found THE SAK for you 

[Jothra]

Specifically? Vicky.

[VICMAN]

CT-L.

My rounded CT-L rides at the bottom of my pant pockets right where I want it. No belt pouch. I hate belt pouches.

What is a CT-L?

[Jothra]

CyberTool L, probably. It could be the CyberTool Lite, but I'm doubling down on it being the CyberTool L.

[Barry Rowland]

+2 Cody. 

[Jim the Brave]

Honestly, the Spartan has majorly impressed me so far. I've always considered it a bare-bones base model (BBBM) but it has a lot to offer and I use it constantly.

Soon I will have a Ranger, a Hunter, and some other nice ones to play with, but i think I'll practically never be without a Spartan or Tinker along.

[nate j]

CT-L.

Seemed like a good idea.

Wrong.

It’s a great idea.

Makes me feel pity for those that want to show me their latest two bill flipper with one measly m-390 steak cutter. If I want to kill someone, I’ll pack heat. Go ahead. Make my day. Assemble my wife’s latest Amazon fulfillment with your steak cutter. Saw off a tree blade. File off a stripped screw head. Open a wine bottle. Pop open electronics and replace components with your flipper. Punch and reama new belt hole. Pull out a splinter. Bend a nail straight. Chisel a corner to fit. Pick your teeth with the m-390. Write a list. Check it off. Tighten the temples of your frames with the steak cutter. File your finger nails waiting for you lover with your steak cutter. Pop a cool one with your m-390. 

Then there is the over whelming lack of envy I now feel for guys fumbling for their latest leatherman on their belt pouches.

My rounded CT-L rides at the bottom of my pant pockets right where I want it. No belt pouch. I hate belt pouches.

If it tased, sprayed pepper 🌶, sprouted drone rotors, hid a soldering point and had a removable pliers,  I would trade up.

Otherwise my expectations are EXCEEDED!

 

Well written!   

[ulzhan]

CT-L.

Seemed like a good idea.

Wrong.

It’s a great idea.

Makes me feel pity for those that want to show me their latest two bill flipper with one measly m-390 steak cutter. If I want to kill someone, I’ll pack heat. Go ahead. Make my day. Assemble my wife’s latest Amazon fulfillment with your steak cutter. Saw off a tree blade. File off a stripped screw head. Open a wine bottle. Pop open electronics and replace components with your flipper. Punch and reama new belt hole. Pull out a splinter. Bend a nail straight. Chisel a corner to fit. Pick your teeth with the m-390. Write a list. Check it off. Tighten the temples of your frames with the steak cutter. File your finger nails waiting for you lover with your steak cutter. Pop a cool one with your m-390. 

Then there is the over whelming lack of envy I now feel for guys fumbling for their latest leatherman on their belt pouches.

My rounded CT-L rides at the bottom of my pant pockets right where I want it. No belt pouch. I hate belt pouches.

If it tased, sprayed pepper 🌶, sprouted drone rotors, hid a soldering point and had a removable pliers,  I would trade up.

Otherwise my expectations are EXCEEDED!

 

The same can be said about my SC XLT. It simply rocks.

Well written, Sgt!

[GeforcerFX]

I got into the 74mm line this year and they surprised me a lot with the executive getting some decent pocket time.

I have normally always carried a 58mm in my pocket since I was a teenager.  In 2010 I moved to the rambler and in the 2015 I got a manager.  When I moved to the minichamp in 2018 I didn't know what to expect but thought it would have a bunch of tools I wouldn't want/need.  Instead it became my absolute favorite, two knife blades, box opener and get all my tools and pen from the manager.  I would love a vegabond but can't justify buying one at $50-60 used.

I carry the 84mm a lot in combo with my 58mm, the waiter and sportsman, cadet are fantastic.  I think the sportsman/cadet are great urban EDC knives. 

The jetsetter surprised me, small and light and gives me my two favorite tools from the 58mm line.  It can go anywhere since it's not a knife and when paired with a sportsman is truly a great lite urban combo.

Just got a compact will have to see how much I like it.

[VICMAN]

CyberTool L, probably. It could be the CyberTool Lite, but I'm doubling down on it being the CyberTool L.

Thanks Jothra!

[ElevenBlade]

CT-L.

Seemed like a good idea.

Wrong.

It’s a great idea.

Makes me feel pity for those that want to show me their latest two bill flipper with one measly m-390 steak cutter. If I want to kill someone, I’ll pack heat. Go ahead. Make my day. Assemble my wife’s latest Amazon fulfillment with your steak cutter. Saw off a tree blade. File off a stripped screw head. Open a wine bottle. Pop open electronics and replace components with your flipper. Punch and reama new belt hole. Pull out a splinter. Bend a nail straight. Chisel a corner to fit. Pick your teeth with the m-390. Write a list. Check it off. Tighten the temples of your frames with the steak cutter. File your finger nails waiting for you lover with your steak cutter. Pop a cool one with your m-390. 

Then there is the over whelming lack of envy I now feel for guys fumbling for their latest leatherman on their belt pouches.

My rounded CT-L rides at the bottom of my pant pockets right where I want it. No belt pouch. I hate belt pouches.

If it tased, sprayed pepper 🌶, sprouted drone rotors, hid a soldering point and had a removable pliers,  I would trade up.

Otherwise my expectations are EXCEEDED!

 

 

[Echotech]

The model 61 soldier. (All soldiers really)
Just a pioneer I thought, right? Wrong. There’s something truly special about a SAK that has some real history about it.

I already had a pioneer and, ahem, quite a few SAK’s when I got my first soldier, a mod 1908 from 1932, and I knew it’d feel special and it did. But I didn’t expect the mod 61 to give me the same buzz, how wrong I was.

I’ve now become a bit of a nut over soldiers and been collecting the different variants, the mod 61 seemingly having the most (although this is highly subjective I appreciate, depending on how you look at it).

Recently I’ve pretty well completed my Mod 61 collection, again subjective but completed what I set out to do anyway (pictures to follow) and I’m totally stoked

Really just need a keyring model (PM me if you think you can help btw)



ET

[SgtTowser]

Echotech,

A Soldier collection...outstanding!

[Jim the Brave]

Just reflecting a bit, I think the Spartan I started carrying in December really got me going. I had never had an SAK before, and the Spartan was like a "starter kit." Compared to a simple one-blade folder, it brought a lot to the table. And the rest is [ongoing] history.

[Sawl Goodman]

Probably the Recruit. Lighter and more comfortable in the hand than the Tourist. I liked it enough that I bought a couple with serrated large blades.

Just reflecting a bit, I think the Spartan I started carrying in December really got me going. I had never had an SAK before, and the Spartan was like "starter kit." Compared to a simple one-blade folder, it brought a lot to the table. And the rest is [ongoing] history.

I think the Spartan is a fantastic knife for enthusiasts and casual users alike. It has a versatile toolset and is readily available everywhere for a very good price. 

[JK]

Evogrip 14. I thought I'd prefer the Compact, but, alas, not. The Evo has a nicer grip and shorter blade, but three killer features:
- killer at screws thanks to opener layer plus file (the file grips small Philips screws very well)
- file is useful compared to the one on the hook
- the file does file and cleans fingernails from gardening as well...

[ToolJoe]

The Hercules surprised me for how pocketable it is for how many tools it has.

[Echotech]

Evogrip 14. I thought I'd prefer the Compact, but, alas, not. The Evo has a nicer grip and shorter blade, but three killer features:
- killer at screws thanks to opener layer plus file (the file grips small Philips screws very well)
- file is useful compared to the one on the hook
- the file does file and cleans fingernails from gardening as well...

JK, that and the 18 don’t get the attention they deserve. With you on the nail cleaner after gardening, exactly how I use it too

[SgtTowser]

Evogrip 14. I thought I'd prefer the Compact, but, alas, not. The Evo has a nicer grip and shorter blade, but three killer features:
- killer at screws thanks to opener layer plus file (the file grips small Philips screws very well)
- file is useful compared to the one on the hook
- the file does file and cleans fingernails from gardening as well...

I joined the EVO cult hesitatingly via a nearly unused S557 to get the plier/wrench/inline philips suite to complement my Cybertool-L. The Evo works GREAT in this capacity!!! I carry it everyday in the left pocket. Vic Cyber Tool-L rides right pocket. I am a lefty so you can infer how much I like it.

I was doubtful, because I had bought an old non EVO Wenger Cyclist with a wrench (no pliers) and locking blade trying to cut corners and it sucked completely. No matter how much TLC I applied to rehab it, the locking blade never snapped or locked securely. The cork screw linkage was also lame. I figured the Wenger locking blade was one of those French designs that sound good, but don’t work.

Wrong.

But then I got this latest EVO that works properly and I now view carrying one 91 Vic and one 87 (?) Wenger as ideal complements. Used to be a Victorinox only type. But this S557 has made me a believer that that there really are different legitimate approaches to the SAK.

Which brings me to the grips that make it an EVO. I did not buy it for the grips. Frankly did not want them, but they came with the suite of tools I wanted. My grips are for righties and I am a lefty. But you know what? I like them even as a lefty. The shorter length and the grips are what earns it my top spot—my left pocket. I cannot explain the appeal of it. I don’t fidget much with my knives. But I strongly prefer the shaping of the scales over traditional flat ones. And for my complementary usage, it is nice to have one knife with flat scales and the other with the EVO scales so I can easily distinguish them from each other when they wind up in the same pocket during a project, or whatever. Distinguish by feel. All good.

It is the scale and length issue that make me chime in here about my S557 to your comments about your EVO 14. I already own a plain scale left handed Wenger Traveller. I love it for the left hand orientation, but now I want a left handed EVO to get grip experience, too.

I can see why some dislike the lock lever on the Wenger, because it snags on your fifth pocket.going in and coming out. But the solution is simple. Don’t carry it in your fifth pocket. Let it ride in the bottom of your main pocket as the French enlightement intended. I like it so much I am hunting for an old Bargeon, or an ancient Pradel with the anchor on the blade to see if I can enter the French compact knife world, rather than via a sheep stabber Lagiole they want too much for. Don’t get me wrong. Love my Lags. Won’t eat a steak without my Lag steak knives. But...a properly engraved Lag with a properly attached fly and 14c28 blade with some bone handles made by someone who knows how in Thiers is more than a damned Spydiechef.       

Back to the Wenger EVO issue. I think many underrate Wenger EVOs of all kinds. I know I did for along time. Wenger’s are still not better knives in my humble opinion than Vics. But Wengers do somethings better and those things, especially in complement with a Vic, are definitively worth having. Increasingly I find my self using my S557 for mundane, or down and dirty tasks and saving the Cybertool for its diverse driver heads, file, saw and precision plier functions. To distil, I use the Cybertool for cyber stuff where I want a clean tool, and I use the Wenger for the dirty stuff. And then when I need to grip both ends of a fastener instead of drive one end and grip the other I am covered. And When a bolt needs unfreezing and I don’t want to knacker the pliers, the wrench on the S557 is ideal for applying more torque.

Alright, alright, I’ll stop now. 

Take away: Any Evo is better than no Evo.,  

[Simon_Templar]

I joined the EVO cult hesitatingly via a nearly unused S557 to get the plier/wrench/inline philips suite to complement my Cybertool-L. The Evo works GREAT in this capacity!!! I carry it everyday in the left pocket. Vic Cyber Tool-L rides right pocket. I am a lefty so you can infer how much I like it.

I was doubtful, because I had bought an old non EVO Wenger Cyclist with a wrench (no pliers) and locking blade trying to cut corners and it sucked completely. No matter how much TLC I applied to rehab it, the locking blade never snapped or locked securely. The cork screw linkage was also lame. I figured the Wenger locking blade was one of those French designs that sound good, but don’t work.

Wrong.

But then I got this latest EVO that works properly and I now view carrying one 91 Vic and one 87 (?) Wenger as ideal complements. Used to be a Victorinox only type. But this S557 has made me a believer that that there really are different legitimate approaches to the SAK.

Which brings me to the grips that make it an EVO. I did not buy it for the grips. Frankly did not want them, but they came with the suite of tools I wanted. My grips are for righties and I am a lefty. But you know what? I like them even as a lefty. The shorter length and the grips are what earns it my top spot—my left pocket. I cannot explain the appeal of it. I don’t fidget much with my knives. But I strongly prefer the shaping of the scales over traditional flat ones. And for my complementary usage, it is nice to have one knife with flat scales and the other with the EVO scales so I can easily distinguish them from each other when they wind up in the same pocket during a project, or whatever. Distinguish by feel. All good.

It is the scale and length issue that make me chime in here about my S557 to your comments about your EVO 14. I already own a plain scale left handed Wenger Traveller. I love it for the left hand orientation, but now I want a left handed EVO to get grip experience, too.

I can see why some dislike the lock lever on the Wenger, because it snags on your fifth pocket.going in and coming out. But the solution is simple. Don’t carry it in your fifth pocket. Let it ride in the bottom of your main pocket as the French enlightement intended. I like it so much I am hunting for an old Bargeon, or an ancient Pradel with the anchor on the blade to see if I can enter the French compact knife world, rather than via a sheep stabber Lagiole they want too much for. Don’t get me wrong. Love my Lags. Won’t eat a steak without my Lag steak knives. But...a properly engraved Lag with a properly attached fly and 14c28 blade with some bone handles made by someone who knows how in Thiers is more than a damned Spydiechef.       

Back to the Wenger EVO issue. I think many underrate Wenger EVOs of all kinds. I know I did for along time. Wenger’s are still not better knives in my humble opinion than Vics. But Wengers do somethings better and those things, especially in complement with a Vic, are definitively worth having. Increasingly I find my self using my S557 for mundane, or down and dirty tasks and saving the Cybertool for its diverse driver heads, file, saw and precision plier functions. To distil, I use the Cybertool for cyber stuff where I want a clean tool, and I use the Wenger for the dirty stuff. And then when I need to grip both ends of a fastener instead of drive one end and grip the other I am covered. And When a bolt needs unfreezing and I don’t want to knacker the pliers, the wrench on the S557 is ideal for applying more torque.

Alright, alright, I’ll stop now. 

Take away: Any Evo is better than no Evo.,

It's funny, the S557 also surprised me a lot, but negatively.

I love the toolset and the wooden scales and was fully prepared to make this my future EDC. But then I discovered a) the wrench is nearly useless as it is located near the middle of the knife and therefore couldn't grip most of the nuts I tried it on; b) the pliers' tips do not close as precisely as Vic's (I thought it was a production error at first and ordered a second S557 from a different source, which however displayed the same problem) and the pliers shift into the" wide open" position too easily so that closing them is often fiddly, and c) some of the tools have so much resistance they frayed my fingernails (again, something which never happened to me with Vic's SAKs).

Luckily, I later discovered the CT34. Still, I really wish the S557 would have worked for me.