There is NO Perfect SAK

[sparkyv]

I'm convinced that I will never be satisfied with my version of the "Perfect" EDC muntitool, SAK, Leatherman, Gerber, or otherwise.  Probably because my requirements are rather simple, and most folks want more features than I...and features sell.  My needs are for around the house and office guy use; splitting my sammitch, opening boxes, popping off a beer cap, cleaning my fingernails, etc.  I won't be felling a tree, rebuilding a motorcycle engine, opening a bottle of wine or carrying a parcel .  I've got plenty of other gear for that.  I need only one medium blade, a combo can/bottle cap opener, and scissors in at most, a two-layer platform.  An Alox Bantam with scissors would be great.  Less is more, thinner is better for me.  Sigh, I can only hope.   

[IMR4198]

Laying aside the perfect tool statement.  What are you carrying today for a multi-tool and pocket knife, Sparky?  I hope you have some fun on the site.  It isn't perfect either, but it is friendly.  Best wishes.  Gary (IMR)

[LoopCutter]

That is how it always starts 

My first of course was a Classic, maybe a couple for a few years.  Then I found  a  “Manager” aka as a Vagabond, a multifaceted 58mm.  Been riding my pocket for 28 years❤️

Then Alox, pretty royal blue, a Farmer…

Then LM, superTool300, REBAR, then older Pocket Survival Tool (PST), PERFECTION, the original 

 

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[Blunt Object]

I like slim, I like Alox. I DON'T like carrying layers that I never use. So I figured I'd take my Farmer X, chop it up and remove the opener layer. I'll be left with knife, awl, scissors, saw. No openers (never use them), no drivers (carry a Bit Pen and bits), but I have four tools that all perform a task other tools don't - no redundancy, less bulk. The saw layer is thinner so I'm looking at a 2¾ layer layout, 14 mm - same as Farmer, thinner than Pioneer X. The project is unfinished, I'm still waiting for those darn screws which I, foolishly, ordered from UK, which I've found out is a bad idea because of customs and Brexit.

Sounds like you could use a custom. Bantam with scissors makes me salivate, but can it be done? How about Pioneer X? A three layer SAK in Alox is not bulky at all.

[Explorer]

famous last words


welcome to MTo 

[Aloha]

And this is how modding happens.   .  I think we've all been there with SAKs and MTs.  The 84mm Golfer is almost there.  I thought it would be perfect but I just prefer the opening layers more than the combo tool. My Salesman is great but when you say "perfect" then theres more to consider. 

I'd strongly suggest you spend some time on our modding boards.  You are warned tho.  Have fun.

[Myron]

An Alox Bantam with scissors is a Voyageur.  You could either build one for your self or buy a real vintage Voyageur.  I've done both because I feel the same way about layers and unnecessary bulk in my pocket.   Good luck and welcome to MTO!

[Blunt Object]

  That is NICE!

[PitCarver]

Oh I really like those Voyagers.

[marlowe221]

Yep, there's no perfect SAK (or any other mulitool, for that matter). That's why I carry them in combinations!

I always have a Rambler in my 5th jeans pocket (some folks put the 58mm on their keys). The Rambler covers a few bases for me that, I feel, gives me a lot of flexibility in what else I carry. Sometimes I don't want the 91mm scissors and carry a Spartan or Tinker - the Rambler scissors are often more than sufficient despite their small size. Or I might carry a Deluxe Tinker or Explorer for their wider tool selection.

Combos are a good option!

[Enginears]

Sometimes even when you get the perfect SAK you had in mind, you realize you were wrong and now a new model or selection of tools meets your eye. True story for me and my constant modding and carrying various  different things.

I made a similar EDC mod to what you mentioned,  where I removed the opener layer from a PioneerX. I actually find the awl to be more useful than the combo tool so it ended up getting a lot of carry. It is also blue alox, so beautiful. 2 layer alox knives are great to carry. Good luck on your quest.

[Jeffjeeptj]

Perfection:  i have found one wife, close enough to perfection to keep for over 50 years, or maybe she kept me.  As for a  SAK, since retirement I have become a SAK-aholic choosing a different one to carry on various different days.  I do not own one of each model and most likely never will.  The day’s “perfect” carry choice has everything to do with the planned days journey, or the likely Plan B journey.  I do seem to get a lot of splinters, so tweezers are a usual must.  Seems most of mine have a saw,  scissors, can opener, and the “large” blade.   All but 3 of mine are 91 or 111 length.  Even though I have equipped many with a Firefly and tinder, I have never used that accessory yet.
Since my wife bought me a Workchamp for my most recent birthday, that is on the table next to my easy chair and gets grabbed very often for the “come help me with something” request.
When I was working a regular job, I had a SAK Alox money clip that I used rather regularly until the spring steel clip broke.  By then, the red finish was severely scratched and worn off as it was in my pocket with the car keys but not attached.  I hated carrying a wallet and that stayed in my bag at my desk, but, I always had some cash, and a way to exit the parking lot. Oh yeah, also had to have a picture ID badge, clipped on the outermost garment, that was used for all the security turnstiles and doors, both in and out.
Thanks for “listening” to an old guy’s rambling.

[sparkyv]

Hey, @IMR4198, today I carried a Super Tinker and a Kershaw Dividend plus an Olight i3T.  Yes, this forum is pretty cool.

Laying aside the perfect tool statement.  What are you carrying today for a multi-tool and pocket knife, Sparky?  I hope you have some fun on the site.  It isn't perfect either, but it is friendly.  Best wishes.  Gary (IMR)

Oh YEAH!  the Voyager is IT!  I will have to keep an eye out for that one.

An Alox Bantam with scissors is a Voyageur.  You could either build one for your self or buy a real vintage Voyageur.  I've done both because I feel the same way about layers and unnecessary bulk in my pocket.   Good luck and welcome to MTO!

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[Brock O Lee]

I agree whole-hartedly!

You start with one to scratch an itch, then another in the quest for 100% feature coverage in one tool. Then another, and another, and before you know it you have most of them and begin to "rotate". In my case sometimes multiple times a day... On some days I carry two (Rambler + Pioneer) 

At the moment I quite enjoy the 74mm Executive, the 84mm Sportsman, 91mm Serrated Spartan and also the 93mm Pioneer (my most carried over 25 years).

[Explorer]

after many years of searching for the perfect SAK i've finally settled down with the Farmer X. for me it's the perfect SAK especially when paired with a good mag glass 



upon joining this forum i was a big time cellidor guy but then the Alox bug bit me and Alox Pox set in something fierce. Now i'm not sure i'll ever be cured 

[Echotech]

The secret for me is having a variety to choose from, depending on that days needs or just what i feel like

Appreciate not everyone can afford to have lots of them but even 2 or 3 gives you good options and they are still pretty reasonably priced for what you get

I always carry a Rambler on my keys and am constantly amazed at how often it can handle the small day to day tasks that come up. On top of that I can then carry anything from a Bantam to a Farmer X

When I travel I take the LM Juice CS4 for pliers, a Compact in my pocket and the Rambler on my keys, so not one perfect SAK but a great combo

[WECSOG]

My Swisschamp must be pretty close to perfect, because I've been carrying it almost every day for the 2-1/2 years I've had it! That's it, on the bottom.

[Huntsman]

...
I need only one medium blade, a combo can/bottle cap opener, and scissors in at most, a two-layer platform. 
....

Sounds like the Compact is your perfect SAK !!         

[nate j]

As a few others have mentioned, don’t overlook combos.  For example:

Alox Bantam (1 oz) + Classic SD Alox (0.6 oz) = 1.6 oz

Meanwhile, a Compact is 2.3 oz and a PX is 3.3 oz.

[temo]

True dat. I can't even say perfect length. Sometimes smallest fine. Sometimes longest. Though I don't have longest ones, try to keep size small. But even swiss champ carried quite lot. Depends and seem to change. Now example outrider seems Ok carry. Mostly just blade longer then alox or 91mm. But when using, it is nicer with many tasks.

Lähetetty minun SM-F721B laitteesta Tapatalkilla

[Jeffjeeptj]

after many years of searching for the perfect SAK i've finally settled down with the Farmer X. for me it's the perfect SAK especially when paired with a good mag glass

upon joining this forum i was a big time cellidor guy but then the Alox bug bit me and Alox Pox set in something fierce. Now i'm not sure i'll ever be cured 

Very pretty.

But, didn’t you recently get that Farmer X?   How long before the “Pox” bug bites again?

[Explorer]

yes got the red one recently but i've had a silver one that i've been carrying for years. was going between the Farmer and Farmer X for a while. but find that i use the scissors so often that the FX just makes the sense for me.

oh the pox bug will probably bite again but since I'm a big fan of the saw it's really only the F and FX that offer it.

Might pick up an OC Farmer tho
but really I'm holding out for Vic to make a 93mm alox swisschamp 

 

[AzteCypher]

I feel that for most, if not all of us, there's a perfect SAK for that moment in time whether it be a brief few months or a brief few decades.  For me personally, in the last 25 yrs, my needs have changed from a SAK, to a Gerber multitool and Kershaw Leek, to the Leek and a small tool pouch, to just the Leek, and now back to a SAK.  I've enjoyed every iteration of my carry.

 

[Sneider]

The one perfect SAK (all in one solution) is an impossibility for me.
Always with me and IMO a really piece of perfection is my 58mm manager with modified scales with toothpicks, tweezers, ballpoint pen and pin.

But I always combine that with a second blade. Depending on my mood and daily schedule mostly one of these:

84mm Pocket Pal
Pioneer Settler
Opinel Carbone No.6
Civivi Foldis

Get out into nature:
93mm Bushcrafter
Pioneer Harvester with modded small blade
A fixed knife

[Blunt Object]

I think pretty much everything has been said, but I'd like to add that the road to happiness is an EDC that consists of a SAK, a LM and a Spydie. So a perfect SAK is the one that best compliments the other two elements   

[LoopCutter]

 

It is an impossible quest!  As it is a moving target.

I worked in the fixe & Repair industry since 1973. My tool kit was always  evolving. It had to fit within a set case,  it had to carried from car to customer office or site, up stairs, down stairs, deal with big parts, deal.with tiny parts and awl in between!  Standard, metric, Phillips, Allen, torx, even Robinson over the ages. Then they added tamperproof😋

Retired today, but must say, there are at minimum, 5 tool grips in my garage and the bed of my pickup truck.  And not one of them is perfect for any one type of tasks.

Now, my tackle box is perfect, fish hooks, leader line, artificial lures, purple worms, remaster, filet knife, and needle nose pliers, plus split shot.

Can be out the door with a 3o second notice. 😎. The is a perfect kit.   And bet many can do with less. 😁

[Black sunshine]

In the moment a SAK is in your hand fixing something or performing some task you could otherwise not do at that place and time…it is the perfect SAK. I understand that’s not really the point of the thread, but this is how I feel more often than not.

[sparkyv]

Yup, I've been researching this more, and came to that conclusion this morning.  It's been difficult finding dimensions and number of layers.  Now if it were only Alox!  The more time I'm spending on this forum, the more I'm thinking I may need to mod my own Alox version.  In the meantime, the Compact is now on the list.

Sounds like the Compact is your perfect SAK !!         

[Explorer]

It's been difficult finding dimensions and number of layers.

for that you may want to check out SAKwiki

 

https://sakwiki.com/

[dmattaponi]

I need only one medium blade, a combo can/bottle cap opener, and scissors in at most, a two-layer platform.

I agree with some of the above…Sounds like a Victorinox Compact to me :-)


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