I'm gonna get flamed for the community tag. Please take it lightly :D
I really want to own a SAK. I just think it's something a man should have, like proper tailoring on his suits and basic handyman skills. I spend a lot of time outdoors especially in the summer in Armenia and I could be using it actively, and I like the thought of having one at home because we don't even really have a well-fitted toolbox to rely on in case something needs fixing.
Ok look I don't need to justify this anyway, I'm gonna ask my dad to get one for me cause I think it'd be a good father-to-son thing so if you own a swiss army knife tell me which ones you have, how long you've had it and how it's working for you. Is it Victorinox or Wenger? etc.
Much appreciated, I'm on my way to my local flannel shirt dispensary, my unruly beard should be here in no time.
EDIT: I just learned the concept of an EDC tool. That is what i am looking for.
Leathermans are great for multifunctionality, but if you just want a quality pocket knife go with one of these: It's an Opinel no.8, and with it's carbon steel blade it is a great cutter, while its beechwood handle can handle lots and lots of bullshit ( i know this because mine has spent several weeks being fucked up in a recliner mechanism while i thought it was lost) . It has a blade lock, it's got two moving parts and is basically unkillable. It's been made by the same company for over 120 years in France with only minor changes (save the blade lock, which is pretty major). The cost of this little gem? $15 bucks CAD. I've had mine for somewhere approaching 4 years and aside from very occasional sharpening i've had no maintenance problems or anything at all.
$15 CAD? That's like 14 freedom bucks, wow. Definitely worth it, though I do like the Gerber ones as they seem really sturdy, then again this is far classier ;) thanks!
I carry a no. 6 myself, with olive wood, slightly smaller but the profile is identical. I also have the stainless steel as opposed to the carbon steel, but they're both very serviceable (the carbon patinas which is something I like, but now always). Super simple, super light knives with more than adequate steel (I think the stainless versions use a modified 12C27, literal scalpel steel) with a full flat grind and very thin stock, they cut better than just about anything else. They work great as little paring knives in the kitchen, too! I also carry mine without the lock ring, it's mostly superfluous for most light EDC tasks.
That's a really good deal for a super classy knife. I might just pick one up... I got an Ontario RAT from Amazon for like $26. It's been in my pocket for months now, and I love it. It's nice and slim so it doesn't bulge in my pocket, and the blade holds a good edge. I have owned nicer (and significantly more expensive) pocket knives, but for the price, I'm really pleased. It's $29 right now but it usually hovers around $25 or $26: www.amazon.com/Ontario-8848-Folding-Knife-Black/dp/B0013ASG3E/
I really like the Gerber, prices are great too. I'll have to give their products a good look-over cause I didn't know about the brand. This might be it, thanks! edit: Kaius used the term EDC tool and I didn't know what it was. Upon looking it up I think "every day carry" is the exactly the concept I'm looking for. That's why I shy from Leatherman's cause they're huge and heavy as hell.
I've owned both (and a SOG multitool). Anecdotally, I thought the Gerber blade was sharper, but I liked the overall function of the Leatherman more. The SOG was a little more complicated than necessary and, in my opinion, didn't really have any advantages over the Leatherman.
I've broken the tips off the Gerber blades before, but usually as a result of doing stuff with it that I really should've been doing with a different tool. I haven't noticed a very distinct difference in my experience, and in the cases where I did break the Gerber blades it probably would've broken the Leatherman ones too. I have noticed that Leatherman blades usually seem less sharp. But I usually carry a SOG knife in cases when I'm carrying my Gerber, so I use that for knifing stuff instead of the gerber.
So I'm going to shit all over everyone's advice (shocker!). You have three problems here: 1) You want an "everyday carry tool." 2) You want your father to get you a father-son thing. 3) You want to wed (1) to (2). My father got me a swiss army knife when I was six. It was awesome. I whittled with it. I ended up with a scar or two. It was not sharp. My father gave me his cast-off Leatherman when I was nine. I used it to pull the engine out of a VW Beetle. But then, you can pull a Beetle engine with a philips screwdriver and a pipe wrench so no big. Ever since he has given me odd little "tools" that usually end up under the motorcycle seat or in the glove box or whatever. He has long since moved on from Leathermen through Gerber and SOG and on beyond Zebra to god only knows what. I carry keys. Here's the thing: any multitool does everything badly and nothing well. If I'm out in the woods I'd rather have a Leatherman than nothing but if I'm out in the woods I'd rather have a space blanket, a dozen Powerbars, a pullsaw, some fish hooks and a magnesium firestarter (been there, done that). If I'm somewhere with cell service, I'd rather have a AAA card. It's not your dad that wants some ridonkulous knifey-thing. It's you. And, by the way: That's right. A useless nail file, a useless blade, a useless pair of scissors and USB flash storage. Bear Grylls will be psyched. This bond-thing you're going for? I wholeheartedly endorse it. But take it up with your dad, not the Internet. He's a smart guy. He's got lots of experience. You respect him, otherwise you wouldn't be looking for this. Take what he wants to give you and be glad. It'll count a lot more than whatever red ryder 40-shot with folding-stock and 4x20 scope fantasy you're cooking up here. And sure. buy a goofy knife. My wife wanted something better than her swiss army knife to help her study (there was lots of sketching and cutting and gluing). She had a Leatherman Micra. No longer need a Micra? Now it's in with the pullsaw and the magnesium and the powerbars. Which knife? Go to a sporting goods store. Ask to see a few. Buy the one you like. There are no secrets here. A knife is almost the most basic tool you can buy. Flip stuff out and imagine what it would be like to use (or start taking apart the counter - that's fun, too). There is no aspect of a pocket tool as simple as a Leatherman or a SOG or a Gerber or WTFEver that you can't immediately discern if the ergonomics suck ass or not. Most every one of them has a lifetime warranty; my family was so abusive to Leathermans that we had three in constant rotation (PROTIP: you can use them to break the bead on a car tire if you're violent enough). One in my pocket, one in my dad's boot, and one coming or going from Oregon for replacement. If it's something you really want, you won't be satisfied with the first one anyway. And if it isn't, at least you aren't hanging some intergenerational bullshit on it. Good luck.
For the record, Swiss Army Knives are far from goofy knives with useless blades. Their blades work perfectly fine, the nail file works perfectly fine, and the scissors work perfectly fine. All of their tools work perfectly fine and the fit and finish is more consistently good than basically any other knife manufacturer. The smaller models have tiny blades and tiny tools, so I suggest getting something bigger than the SAK classic. I carried a Victorinox cadet and got plenty of good use out of it, and I had a Victorinox Champion + that was a bit too big to carry often that I also got plenty of good use out of. The version that actually gets sent off with Swiss soldiers has a one-handed main blade that locks open, too: http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-Trekker-Pocket-Knife/dp/B001DZT0M0 However, given the thin blade stock and lack of lock (for the most part), I don't suggest them as a great outdoors knife for anything other than cutting up food, whittling, cutting rope/twine/whatever. For heavier use (batoning, chopping, etc.) I'd only ever suggest a solid fixed blade.
This is more or less the one I have that I carry with me always. You can get a manbag to put it in along with your other dainties. I use the knife all the time. Occasionally the corkscrew or bottle opener or tweezers or toothpicks. The other items are hard to open out. I really miss it when I travel and don't take it in my carry on -- although quite a few times I forget that I have it and it seems to go through the scanners anyway - but there's always the danger of having it confiscated. If you have something like this, the uses are obvious and frequent.
Pretty much your standard sak, and I'm glad to hear you do feel its usefullness. I guess I was asking for specific models peoppe have tried out and how they feel about it so I could compare, but this thread turned into an advertusement for Leatherman:D Thanks for your review! perhaps the slightly bigger models will be easier to get a grip on the tools to slip open. I also haven't even gone to a store to try 'em yet, which I probably should.
Gotta agree with the others--go with a Leatherman. This is what I've got: http://www.amazon.com/Leatherman-831102-Tool-300-Multitool-Sheath/dp/B002KKB0AW/ Love it.
That is one meaaan lookin' multi-tool. How do you like its functionality?
I've got the wingman and it's always done right by me, plus I am never without a wingman if necessary. Leathermans are the way to go in my opinion, of course I'm biased as my dad always had one and it imprinted. Speaking of sexist, etc, I had to ask for this sucker for three birthdays in a row before I got it. I don't know, I just feel like a dude would've gotten it before then. (I could've purchased it myself, yes, but I wanted it - as a gift - from my father.) I did get nerdy and buy a belt-holder as the one problem with it I have is that the belt clip seems to get loose with use.
I've asked my mother (whom I live with) since 7 or 8th grade, I really just don't think she understands the value of a gift like that. That's why I'm gonna cozy up to my dad this summer and try to wiggle it out of him :D we'll see what happens.
It's great. I use it all the time. I've also owned a Gerber multitool and a SOG multitool, and I prefer the Leatherman. The SOG feels clunky in my pocket and pulling out the attachments is too complex, and the Gerber didn't feel as solid as the Leatherman. The knife on the Gerber was sharper out of the box, but I used the Leatherman more because it felt more solid as I used it.
That seems to be the review I'm getting. Thanks for the input I appreciate it!The knife on the Gerber was sharper out of the box, but I used the Leatherman more because it felt more solid as I used it.
Not a SAK but I picked up a Leatherman Surge for my Dad on his birthday a few years ago and he loved it. He is a manly truck driving, crane swinging, building building manly manly man though so it may not suit everyone. I bought myself the Leatherman Wave instead as I drive a keyboard rather than a truck and my manly manliness has yet to reach its peak.
This had me laughing, thank you. I know the Leatherman brand and it's obviously far more functional than a SAK but not nearly as portable or practical in that sense. I need the kind of thing you could throw in a small backpack if not the pocket of your jeans. I feel like your dad should've started the #manski tag, not me.
What's practical is to have tools that work. A Leatherman plus a dedicated camp knife and a hatchet are a good set for a dedicated camper. For day hikes and stuff, a Swiss knife is ok, but not so practical. To begin with, it takes two hands to open it, most have no locking mechanism and the blades are too small for any serious work.
Agree, multi-tools are generalized items that try to work in lots of different scenarios but are not really ideal in any. For one thing most of them are too heavy to be comfortably carried and used deftly. For example the leathermans are well made and I like how they open and lock but their usage is hindered because the handle has to be wide enough to hold all the other tools, you get this weird offset knife that has a great blade but doesn't feel as comfortable as a normal knife. I don't normally carry mine everyday as I don't have a need for all the different tool types it has. Instead i carry a really small 2 blade pen knife i picked up for 2 dollars a few years ago. They work in a pinch when the proper tool is not around. Like so many things in life if you want to fix a problem then you need to specialize.
Well except for the pliers every tool on a Leatherman needs two hands to open too. I also won't be going too heavy duty, I may be getting a decent hunting knife (from Gerber) to go along with it when camping/hiking, but you're right about practicality. most sak's aren't gonna get any big jobs done in one piece. It does have a toothpick though!
Nah, you can totally swing the blade open on a leatherman one-handed (use your thumb on the blade). There are some tools accessible from the outside of the leatherman that you don't need two hands to open but most of them are contained inside. It depends on which kind you get. My leatherman isn't going to help me hunt though I'll very much give you that. In fact on the page for the wingman it says everything can be opened and operated one-handed. I don't know it gets a little tough to get the interior tools out especially the correct interior tool (sometimes you end up pulling both out and then lowering the tool you don't need, this is really hard to explain without demonstrating) and some of the tools are stuff like "bottle opener" where yeah sure you can use it one-handed but your other hand's going to be busy) but anyway something to consider, i know for sure you don't need to use both hands to access all leatherman tools, given the right leatherman.
Ah okay. My claim was based on using my friend's Leatherman, and when you mention swinging it open I'm assuming my friend's was rusted or poorly maintained otherwise, because there was no swinging to be swung on that thing, more like wrenching to be wrenched.
Fun story the one time I thought I had killed myself on WD-40 it was trying to fix a friend's offbeat Leatherman that he had let rust into a very sorry state. For everyone who tells me not to use WD-40 on rust, yeah, okay, I know now guys. But did YOU know they have a national hotlife for WD-40 safety?
If my mom ever asks if I've ever gained anything from wasting time online, I'm finally prepared. That said, I respect your bravery in using WD-40 in the first place. I still struggle putting a sandwich together, I'm afraid the industrial-grade construction equipment will have to wait.
Camping, I meant camping. See why I needed to make this post? :D
Yep. I see. Look. When it comes to buying knives there's a lot of hype around certain companies and even around certain steels. Basically, 440A or 440C are pretty crappy stainless steels which take an edge ok, hold and edge ok and stay shiny. However, it is not super durable. If you're interested in buying a tool that will last you a good long time, I suggest you do some research or at least read some reviews of products you are interested in. In general, these reviews will tell you that Gerber kind of sucks and from what I've seen of their products, I am inclined to agree. If you are looking for a bare bones camp knife, I would recommend the Cold Steel Bushman (the standard style, not the bowie). Also, ignore the videos on that site because they are nuts. Anyway, this is an affordable camp knife, made of a single piece of good steel that has a nice coating on it so you only have to worry about taking care of the edge. Plus, the new version comes with a fire steel and a sheath. I had one of these guys for years and years and I could do everything with it: chop wood, chop veggies, cut cloth, cut rope, cut anything really. Plus, it has a hollow handle so you can turn it into a spear (as if that's something that happens to most campers). Anyway, when I bought it, it cost $37 bucks. Now it costs $42 and I still think it's worth it.
Woah that looks pretty cool! seems about good size too. I'll check it out, thanks!
When we turned 13, my grandfather gave each of us a Swiss Army knife. He used it all the time and it would come in handy often. He even used the toothpick/tweezers. They're pretty awesome tools to have. The other thing he always carries -A pen and until smartphones, a calculator.
That image is exactly what I'm thinking of. Screw the Leathermans, I want a Swiss Army Knife with a toothpick and all that I can keep in my bag or pocket and always rely on. Then, give one to my kids or pass it on. That's valuable.