Swiss Army Knife Capability

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Carloxicus

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Oct 3, 2011
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Can a normal Cellidor 91mm Victorinox Swiss Army Knife do as my only knife in an outdoor survival situation? Is the metal on these knives strong enough to stay working for good amount of time even if used for whittling wood and other bushcraft jobs?

I was thinking maybe a Huntsman, the one with the wood saw.

Thoughts please. Thanks.
 
Humm. I suppose it depends on what you're really talking about using it for and what you mean by survival situation. I've used a Huntsman as my only knife while on multi day hikes; whittling, food prep, cutting cord, sawing etc. No problems. Would I have batoned with it however? Well in fact you can baton with a folder, but I wouldn't recommend it myself, especially if it is your only knife.

To my way of thinking then I'd be much happier with a lightweight fixed blade as well, the classic Mora for example, but if push came to shove then the Huntsman could see you through.
 
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The Victorinox Alox Farmer is popular with bushcrafters, but I would not use any SAK as a main blade. It's much better then being empty handed, and you can do many jobs like make kindling, whittle traps, gather food, make cordage, etc. However, I feel a lot better bearing down on a fixed blade. Batoning? I like my SAK too much to subject it to that. I think my SAK is a good side kick to a fixed blade for bushcraft.

As for the steel, a carbon steel blade will take and hold a better edge than an SAK. If you are limiting yourself to one knife because of cost or weight, a Mora will appease you nicely on both counts.
 
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I can't vouch for the effectiveness of a stand alone Vic Huntsman in a survival situation, but I do know that Les Stroud used one (Huntsman) in an early Survivorman episode - I believe it was the one entitled "Georgian Swamp". I think it was his only knife.

It seemed to stand up to the tasks he threw at it - he was in the swamp for the obligatory 7 days.

Of course - thats the only episode I remember seeing him use it.

The Huntsman is one of my favorite Vic models, and I think for short term survival it would be better than having nothing. I would not want it to be my only tool/knife in a long term survival situation.
 
How about if I upgrade the SAK from 91mm Huntsman to a 111mm Soldier 08 (liner-lock, wood saw, etc.)? Would it be a bigger jump in bushcraft and/or survival abilities of the knife? Or should I just take the Huntsman and keep it's ability to be an urban EDC at the same time (in my situation, the Soldier is a bit too big and too... well... knife looking... to be Urban EDC).

Thank you. And thank you for the replies.
 
Your huntsman should do well in a survival situation. The saw gives it a very powerful tool. With that saw, you can make a good debris shelter, split firewood, and make those bushcrafty things that the survival crowd is so fond of. I wouldn't feel too bad about being stuck in the boonies with a sak that had a saw blade on it. The steel is just soft enough that sharpening it is a fast easy thing to do. And if you are in a situation where the wood is wet, take that saw blade and saw halfway down through the wood, then turn the wood to where the saw cut is facing down and slam the wood on the ground or against a tree. The wood will split along the grain, and you just pull it apart. There's lots of videos on U tube about splitting wood with a saw. Take a look at them. It's finesse over brawn, and at my senior citizen age I'll take it. Your huntsman will saw down a sappling with ease, sharpen it, and then you fire harden it, and you'll have a spear similar to what Neanderthal man used to kill his food.

Contrary to what the die hard survival crowd thinks, you do not need multible bowie size knives and an ax to survive. Some knowledge and common sense go a very long way. A few tools will help. Like most things, the gear does not make the man, you have to know what you are doing. Most people would be surprised at how little you need.

I've been interested in survival for most of my life, and while in the army took the course where they drop you off for three days with just a few items including the standard issue MLK scout type knife. It did fine. But the thing is, in the past 50 some years I've researched the subject, I've found that time and time again, people survived with some pretty mundane gear. Their mindset made the difference. Software over hardware.

Some geographic areas may require something unique to the area, like a machete in the tropics, but in general a sak huntsman will nicely as a pocket survival tool that is almost always with you. And that's the big thing right there; the stuff you have right there with you, in your pockets, everyday.

Carl.
 
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These days, I EDC a Huntsman and a small 3" fixed blade (Busse GW) here in town - for weekend activities and hikes, I might add a larger Busse fixed blade as needed (SAR-4 or SAR-6), a Koster Bushcrafter, or a Kephart, but nearly always the Huntsman (I've occasionally replaced it with a vintage Vic Safari or a Vic Alox Farmer, both excellent choices). And I keep the new Vic Soldier in the glove box of each vehicle.

That being said, in the distant past I spent many weeks on the trail out West with just a SAK without any problems. Depends on your experience, skill level, and how much you're willing to pack or want to mess around with.
 
Depends on your Skills , If I was only allowed one piece it would be a Vic Farmer . If I could only have two , it would be a Farmer and a Mora of some sort .

In reality , as opposed to Rambo fantasies , SAK's have often come thru .

Fancy /expensive F/B "Survival " knives tend to languish in China Breakfronts , seldom being anywhere in sight when anything is actually happening .

A Huntsman is a fine choice too , got many an outdoorsman outta many a jam .

Chris
 
The humble SAK is a great wood/survival knife! As already mentioned, the saw is a great tool in the woods, and so is the Awl. The tweezers have come in handy many times, especially with tick, thorns, splinters and all that other stuff in the great outdoors that like to get under your skin. Some people view the soft steel as a negative, but is sure is easy to sharpen on just about anything. Plus, you get two blades, so you can make sure that one is "extra sharp."

And remember, MacGyver carried a SAK, not a fixed-blade.
 
I think you'll be fine with a SAK. If you're worried about edge retention then a small pocket stone or piece of sand paper should solve that. I don't believe that you can split much wood with it, but over all you can do a lot worse for a folding knife.
I will almost always carry my vic farmer in the woods, along with a 'tactical' folder and a fixed blade if I'm looking to make a fire.
 
Just made me think that our special forces are issued with SAKs.
Last time I watched an old documentary about the basic training of the commando's.
They did great with a Pioneer.
 
The Farmer and Huntsman are two great SAK's with saws.

Two more to consider are the Fieldmaster (same as Huntsman, but with Phillips instead of corkscrew) and the Pioneer Harvester. I prefer the Harvester over the Farmer because I really like having 2 blades.

On I side note, I carry a Harvester and a Leatherman Style PS in the Field. The PS is very small and light weight and give me scissors, tweezers, and pliers (which unfortunately I occasionally need for cactus spines).
 
Just another thing to add: as far as bushcraft and carving, I whittled this wooden chain with nothing but a Vic Craftsman:

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I actually have a Victorinox SwissChamp right now but I've really been taking care with using it (birthday gift from my gf). Which is why I was thinking of getting the lower-costing (I'm not gonna use the word "cheap" on a Victorinox) Huntsman. The smaller size with the right amount of tools will make it a better urban/outdoor EDC. It'll be the knife that I will "abuse" more.

Although since I do have the SwissChamp already, I'm thinking if I should just go with the Soldier 08 for a bigger model. Hmmm.
 
With the proper knowledge and skills a SAK with a saw should be enough to get by in a forect survival situation in the short term. You can do fire prep, shelter building, trap making,skin small game, clean fish, and make cordage.

I actually let me Wenger get dull and went down next to the creek and started trying rocks to shapren with, eventually I got it sharp enough to shave arm hair.

I would definatly want a version with a saw, I personally carry a Huntsman whenever I know I am going outdoors but the Farmer, Hiker,One Handed Trekker, anyhting with a saw would work as well.
 
For short term survival with a Huntsman,no problem.For long term I'd want a belt knife and a axe/hatchet to go with it.
 
Heck yeah it could. It would be a pain in the behind but it could be done with a wee bit of knowledge.
An uninformed person couldn't do it, but hell, and uninformed person couldn't do it with an axe, a knife, and a lighter.
 
As has already been mentioned here, skill/knowledge > tool set.
However, skills aside, and also SAK pattern aside (there are some better suited for certain tasks), speaking strictly for the SAK's capability, it's steel, it's construction? Yes, a SAK, ANY SAK will do in a pinch in the woods. They are built as well as any other folding knife out there, and often times better. Their steel is totally functional, taking a great edge, holding it decently, and because of it's wide, flat profile, the blade will still cut rather easily even when dull. However, sharpening is a cinch. So yes, a SAK will work in the a survival situation. Would I want to ONLY have a SAK? Of course not, but if I HAD to only have a SAK, I'd be good.
 
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