We constantly hear Vic blade steel is super soft...

Macchina said:
Agreed. It's funny to think of all the super steels bunched at the top competing for the highest 10% of performance but just below that is steels like Vic's 1.1441, Buck 420HC, 1095, etc.
My realization is that in a week of normal use, they all stay sharp and therefore perform the same (a sharp edge is a sharp edge). I would not bring a Vic to break down 1000 boxes at an Amazon warehouse, but I've broken down many boxes with them and super steels and find other factors (like handle comfort) are far more important than steel type!
Click to expand...

Speaking to handle comfort, I really wish Vic didn't put that damn lanyard loop on their beefier "non keychain" models.
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
Speaking to handle comfort, I really wish Vic didn't put that damn lanyard loop on their beefier "non keychain" models.
Click to expand...
It's too useful not to have. I agree that it could be better located or better oriented to avoid discomfort. A lot of people complain about it causing pain on the 93mm alox models.

You could always grind it off, but I'm pretty sure that it would void the warranty. Still probably not an issue for most people because they'll never send it off for warranty service anyway.
 
Guy McVer said:
It's too useful not to have. I agree that it could be better located or better oriented to avoid discomfort. A lot of people complain about it causing pain on the 93mm alox models.

You could always grind it off, but I'm pretty sure that it would void the warranty. Still probably not an issue for most people because they'll never send it off for warranty service anyway.
Click to expand...

The lanyard loop on my alox farmer really digs into my hand, me no likey but I'm also not fond of the idea of grinding it off.
 
Vic's 1.4110 and Buck's 420HC are looked down on, but they're literally putting millions of knives out each year that are doing yeoman's work. Not to mention the millions of knives that Schrade and Camillus made with lowly 440A.

I also find the keyring/lanyard ring on Swiss Army knives annoying, but am loathe to grind it off. I like the bail on my Wenger Standard Issue better.
20230810_234942~2.jpg
I think the key/lanyard ring is sized and positioned mainly to clear the punch/awl.
20230810_235026~2.jpg
 
marantz said:
Vic's 1.4110 and Buck's 420HC are looked down on, but they're literally putting millions of knives out each year that are doing yeoman's work. Not to mention the millions of knives that Schrade and Camillus made with lowly 440A.

I also find the keyring/lanyard ring on Swiss Army knives annoying, but am loathe to grind it off. I like the bail on my Wenger Standard Issue better.
View attachment 2282773
I think the key/lanyard ring is sized and positioned mainly to clear the punch/awl.
View attachment 2282775
Click to expand...

I love, love the bail on my Wenger. Victorinox needs to bring back the hollow rivet so the owner can decide of they want a lanyard attachment point or not.

BRING BACK THE HOLLOW RIVET!!!!!
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
The lanyard loop on my alox farmer really digs into my hand, me no likey but I'm also not fond of the idea of grinding it off.
Click to expand...
That's the same issue I had with the Pioneer X. It would have been perfect if not for the keyring attachment.

Of course, if they made an 85mm version, it wouldn't be an issue, because that size just carries so well in the pocket.
 
I am not a steel expert but I find my SAK holds a decent edge. One thing about SAKs is because of the high polish the blades have I find they go through material easier and with less resistance which I feel allows the edge to last a tad longer then knives with the same hardness.
 
Yes, if we compare SAK steel to pure iron, of course it is good. Thankfully, our bar isn't that low, these days.

I find a good combo is some kind of SAK or MT + a tactical folder. If outdoors, maybe a fixed blade instead of tactical folder.

Anyway, I hope your road trip is going swimmingly!
 
jackknife said:
No, its not up there with the wonder steel of the month that the blade snobs love to worship. BUT...its right up there with any of the pocket knives that real working people used in years past, like the 1095 in old Barlow knives and sodbusters, or the 420HC used by Buck with the Paul Bos heat treat. I think a lot of the knife nut world turn their nose up at 420HC, but many working folks use their Buck knives every day on real world jobs and have no complaints. Buck didn't get to be where they are by using poor steel.

Nuthin at all wrong with SAK steel, and a hell of a lot right with it. I got my first SAK in 1969, and its been a stable with me ever since. Theres aways a small SAK on board, not matter what else I may be carrying. It does the the bulk of work. With a SAK and an Opinel, do you really need anything else? Leave the steel snobbery in the waste bin where it belongs.
Click to expand...

Think I may print this post and put it on my bulletin board so I can re-read it when I'm feeling extra curmudgeonly 😡 about steel snobs' nonsense. #harumph
 
dogstar said:
'Tis the law of the internet age.

I'll keep using and enjoying my SAK.
Click to expand...

Think of all those non knife nut people, the whole world over that make up the great unwashed masses that buy and use SAK's. They may not know what the new steels are, but then they don't really care. They don't care how many cuts of hemp rope the blade can do before it won't shave hair off their arm or cleanly slice newsprint. But they know they need a knife for their camping trips, canoe trips, picnic trips, sailing trips, explorations or mountain climbing. They pick a SAK because of the reputation the humble moderately priced SAK has among people who do those things world wide. There is a reason that Victorinox is the largest knife factory in the world, with annual sales that would dwarf any of the top three tacticool brands combined. Its that reputation among internationally known hunters like Peter Capstick, or mountaineer Sir Edmond Hillery, or General Chuck Yeager who was a legendary hunter and fisherman and carried his trusty SAK Executive on two week backpacking trips into the Sierra Nevada's. Or aviation pioneer like Charles Lindbergh.

Theres a reason that SAk's have been on so many explorations by so many, including in the repair kit of the space shuttle crews. They get the job done. They all enjoy their SAK, because they don't know what the self inflated "experts" know. Thank God.
 
Last edited:
Storm 8593 said:
In case anyone else like me hadnt heard of this law, allow me to google for you(also, I never knew the name, but have seen it in action MANY
Click to expand...
If the last few years have taught me anything, it's trust but verify. BS reigns supreme and there is a big tribe that thrives on it . You can introduce filet mignon to a dung beetle, that's not what it lives on.
 
mnblade said:
And don't forget, Victorinox's steel really responds well to a touch-up done on the top of your car window.

Click to expand...
I have used this technique with the car window, but I have the window, much lower, maybe only 1/4 inch of the window out of the door. On an exercise in Italy we got to go to a store that had knives and my medic beat me to a Jaguar knife, they only had one. Later we did a survival exercise on the beach, of the Italian President's "Camp David". My medic and I opened little clams, about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch across, for about an hour. Hardly worth the effort for all the meat we got. His "Jaguar" blade now looked like a poorly made serrated knife. My SAK was dull but a few swipes on a small EZE Lap Diamond Hone and it was once again sharp. John
 
John A. Larsen said:
I have used this technique with the car window, but I have the window, much lower, maybe only 1/4 inch of the window out of the door. On an exercise in Italy we got to go to a store that had knives and my medic beat me to a Jaguar knife, they only had one. Later we did a survival exercise on the beach, of the Italian President's "Camp David". My medic and I opened little clams, about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch across, for about an hour. Hardly worth the effort for all the meat we got. His "Jaguar" blade now looked like a poorly made serrated knife. My SAK was dull but a few swipes on a small EZE Lap Diamond Hone and it was once again sharp. John
Click to expand...
Re-sharpening an SAK is part of the pleasure of owning one; it's so easy.

 
John A. Larsen said:
I have used this technique with the car window, but I have the window, much lower, maybe only 1/4 inch of the window out of the door. On an exercise in Italy we got to go to a store that had knives and my medic beat me to a Jaguar knife, they only had one. Later we did a survival exercise on the beach, of the Italian President's "Camp David". My medic and I opened little clams, about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch across, for about an hour. Hardly worth the effort for all the meat we got. His "Jaguar" blade now looked like a poorly made serrated knife. My SAK was dull but a few swipes on a small EZE Lap Diamond Hone and it was once again sharp. John
Click to expand...

Think of it you had used the can opener screw driver tip on the clams, the blade would never have been needed. :thumbsup:

I've been in that situation on the Chesapeake Bay, and I found out that the can opener makes a decent clam/oyster tool. Thats the true beauty of the SAK; those odd shaped bits of metal that they call tools, can be used for a great deal other than driving screws and opening bottles and cans. You're friends "Jaguar" knife was just a one trick pony and got damaged by the prying.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top