My deep rooted love of the scout knife.

[cbl51]

My favorite SAK is a toss up between my ever present classic and my Wenger SI. The Wenger is the classic scout knife pattern that I've carried on and off since I was 12 years old.

When I joined the Boy Scouts, dad gave me a nice Camillus "Official" boy scout knife. It had the usual layout, and the motto "Be Prepared" on the badge in the handle scale. I used that knife for years, until I was done with high school and enlisted in the army. I figured I wasn't college material and getting drafted was inevitable. So I left my trusty Boy Scout knife home, because I had been told that sometimes things tend to disappear in the barracks. Plus in boot camp recruits were not permitted knives.

Off I went and from Boot camp to my A.I.T. for army Combat Engineers at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. They issued us a nice little tool kit , and of all things, the Camillus 'demo' knife. This was the all stainless steel scout knife. It was something I was already familiar with from years of carry and instruction from our scout master, a retired U.S. Marine named Mr. Van.

So, there I was with a new scout knife and off I went to wherever the army sent me. Of course with Vietnam going on, I found myself in an engineer unit 'in country'. Being engineers, we weren't crawling around the jungle looking for "Charlie" but were building officers clubs, roads, some bridges over creeks and rivers, and some school houses for the hearts and minds campaign. But it wasn't unusual for "Charlie" to shoot at us now and then, or lob a few mortar rounds into our construction site. Sort of a constant harassment. The trusty Camillus scout knife served me well, and I had no complaints other than the military issue knife left something in the fit and finish department. Later in my military career, I was stationed in West Germany, as it was then, and in the town of Rothenburg, I saw it. It was the first time I saw the big moving SAK in the window of a knife shop. I left with a Huntsman, and a Wenger SI. The Wenger was the better made version of my demo knife and civilian scout knife. With the metal handle scales and scout knife layout, it was a very familiar feeling tool in my hands.

By this time I had been carrying a knife with some tools on it for most my life. From age 11 or 12 I can't quite recall, I had a scout knife of some sort in my pocket. I was used to it.  By my mid 20's, a dedicated knife stood no chance.  when I was stationed in Germany, there was some veeerrry nice knives by Puma, Henckles, F. Herder and son, Boker. But they held little interest to me, as they were useless for anything but cutting. No opening those bottles of very nice German beer, cans of food on trips afield, or adjusting the carb on my motorcycle. Or dealing with the screws on a fishing reel.

I got bit my the knife nut bug in almost midlife, but it only lasted about 15 years, and then I sort of woke up and looked at all the 'stuff' I had accumulated and said what the heck. Got rid of it all and just kept the SAK's. Okay, almost all of them. I still kept my old case peanut for some reason I can't name or put a finger on.

I think I was doomed at an early age by the gift of that boy scout knife from dad. I got to used to having a few simple tools on my pocket knife, and the ability to fiddle with and finagle things to get it working again. its sooooo surprising how often you can fix or at least jury rig something to work for a while longer if you can just get 'into' it. A cover taken off, some wires stripped and re-connected, some screws tightened down.  To this day, almost 70 years after dad gifted me that scout knife, I'm still carrying a version of it. The old Wenger Si is a regular companion, and is a companion to the classic on my keyring. Between the two of them, they do a lot of what I need in day to day to day life.

I've always felt that when compared to a SAK, all other pocket knives are a shadow one trick pony.

[Huntsman]

Great story as awlways CBL - Loved hearing a bit of your life history - alongside your knife/tools history and usage.

And that is amazing and wonderful that the Wenger SI (which I knew you carried) has been with you for 40-50 years - I did not realise that before - And just proves the longevity of the SAK.

[cbl51]

Great story as awlways CBL - Loved hearing a bit of your life history - alongside your knife/tools history and usage.

And that is amazing and wonderful that the Wenger SI (which I knew you carried) has been with you for 40-50 years - I did not realise that before - And just proves the longevity of the SAK.

Not the same SAK for all that time. my first SI was maybe 30 years old and getting badly worn, when I retired it and my grandson took it and made a shadow box display with some photo's of us fishing and camping when he was a little pup. I got another Wenger SI to replace it as I like them much more than the Victorinox pioneer. 

I could have just kept on using it, but I didn't want a total used up wreck for my grandson, who is the family historian.

[AzteCypher]

Awesome story CBL.  I really like what your grandson did with your old Wenger SI.

[nate j]

Great write-up, CBL!

Certainly can’t deny that the four-Implement Scout knife, in its various forms, offers far more capability than blade(s) only, and in a package that isn’t much larger (if at all).

[cbl51]

Great write-up, CBL!

Certainly can’t deny that the four-Implement Scout knife, in its various forms, offers far more capability than blade(s) only, and in a package that isn’t much larger (if at all).

Oh, it's not even close. I've tried the single blade knife and its was a total washout. Unless of course you also carried a SAK along. Then you have two objects to handle things where a single SAK or Leatherman will do it all. When I was a young troopie in the army, the rage was a Buck 110 in the belt sheath. The PX had them way cheaper than a civilian store, so I bought one.

The first thing I didn't like was, it was a boat anchor.  All that brass just to hold one single blade was ridiculous. It was as heavy as a small gun like a derringer. or .25 auto. The second thing was, all it could do was cut. Thats it. No ability to deal with a loose screw, or adjust gun sights or open a can, or make a starter hole for a wood screw, or... well lots of stuff my Camillus demo knife handed. I sold it to an incoming  green troopie and went back to the scout knife.

Today, the Spyderco and Bench made and other so called tactical stuff just is no better. It's a knife, that's it. And even as a knife, it's not that great. The blades are too wide, and the edge too thick behind the cutting edge. I'd rather have an old imperial Kamp King than any modern one hand folder. The single blade one hand wonder would not have let me fix that conked out Vespa in the middle of nowhere, or that half running outboard on that rented fishing boat off shore of key West that was slowly drifting south towards Cuba and wouldn't start or stay running. With a SAk, a Leatherman squirt,  and a pipe cleaner from my tobacco pouch, and some Purrell hand sanitizer for a solvent, I managed to take apart and degunk the carb from all that oil fouling 2 stroke fuel mix, and we got back to Key West with no unscheduled stop in Fidel's workers paradise.

The list is too long in my life's experience of times having a screw driver and a few other tools got me home. The older I got, the less time I had to tolerate single purpose pocket knives.

[FolderBeholder]

I enjoyed the read cbl51.

As a knife enthusiast, I like other brands as well as Victorinox.  Spyderco, Mora, Opinel, Chris Reeve to name a few.  They're mainly just a blade which is why my everyday carry is a SAK, currently a Camper, the model I've carried longest in my life.

[VICMAN]

 

I enjoyed the read cbl51.

As a knife enthusiast, I like other brands as well as Victorinox.  Spyderco, Mora, Opinel, Chris Reeve to name a few.  They're mainly just a blade which is why my everyday carry is a SAK, currently a Camper, the model I've carried longest in my life.

 

[DEMartin]

 
Your experiences with scout knives and mine are very similar, and I suspect many others in this group. My EDC is an alox black Farmer and a classic sd on my key ring.
I enjoy all of your posts, keep on keeping on 

[cbl51]

Your experiences with scout knives and mine are very similar, and I suspect many others in this group. My EDC is an alox black Farmer and a classic sd on my key ring.
I enjoy all of your posts, keep on keeping on

Thanks. The 93mm and keyring 58mm seem to make a darn near perfect duo for real world everyday use. overs most 'normal' situations, with some decent capability for those rare emergencies.  I tried t like dedicated knives, and even collected a good number of them in my "knife nut" stage of life, but it didn't hold. I found myself carrying extra knives, like when I'd carry my Spyderco delica, I'd have to make sure I had a SAK in the other pocket to cover the bases. After a while I just felt that it was getting out of hand, carrying too many knives, so I ditched the dedicated knives for multitools like the SAK and small Leatherman's. If I need a knife that I know won't fold up on me, then I use the original one hand knife; the fixed blade like my old Buck 102. Or my little Finnish Puuko.

The 93mm is a great job of engineering, with a few tools covering a great many needs. The can opener SD tip makes a great Philllips driver, and for bigger Phillips screws the inner corner of the bottle opener works very good. The awl is a great hole maker as well as an alternative chisel ground cutting tool. Can opener make a very good staple puller.

A 93 and 58 make a great team.

[Yanossauro]

Great history, CBL.
I started off on folders with a single bladed slipjoint Tramontina folder and did a lot of stuff with it (and later, its sheepsfoot brother) before I  turned myself in for SAKs, and since then (literally, my 18th birthday, in 1991), I've always had a SAK with me.
Even when I sleep, there's always something with two layers in my pocket.

[Storm]

Reckon I'll blame you for the Victorinox Pioneer or  86 Soldier being my most carried knife for the last 7 odd years then Only got another 63 to go to catch up 
Its just so useful around home and the job sites to not have one. And if it gets dirty, you just wash it under water/in a puddle , shake it dry , chuck it in your pocket and go about the rest of your day . Super easy to clean up to.

[cbl51]

Great history, CBL.
I started off on folders with a single bladed slipjoint Tramontina folder and did a lot of stuff with it (and later, its sheepsfoot brother) before I  turned myself in for SAKs, and since then (literally, my 18th birthday, in 1991), I've always had a SAK with me.
Even when I sleep, there's always something with two layers in my pocket.

Once you go SAK, it's hard to ever go back.

When I was in the army, the big thing was the Buck 110. Everyone, or almost every9one had one. The PX on base had them for like 11.95 when the price in civilian stores off base was like almost 20 bucks. (No pun intended)

But when I gave in and carried the Buck, it was to me, a very limited one role tool, that weighed as much as a small pistol. I sold it off to an incoming new troopie and went back to my issue Camillus demo knife. Later in Germany I got into the SAK's.

Aside from a fixed blade like my Buck 102 woodsman or Finiish made Puuko I use for camping and fishing, I just don't have any use for a single blade folding knife.

[cbl51]

Reckon I'll blame you for the Victorinox Pioneer or  86 Soldier being my most carried knife for the last 7 odd years then Only got another 63 to go to catch up 
Its just so useful around home and the job sites to not have one. And if it gets dirty, you just wash it under water/in a puddle , shake it dry , chuck it in your pocket and go about the rest of your day . Super easy to clean up to.

To me, that's the true beauty of the alox SAK's; the rugged build and ability to rinse out in a creek and keep on going. I love the bombproof build of the alox, and once or twice in my life I've had to lean on my knife a bit in an emergency out someplace. The slightly thicker tools and blade will take a bit more punishment. And the alox scales won't dissolve if they get a certain bug repellent or gun solvent on them.

A 58mm and 93mm make a very dynamic duo.