Why does Victorinox continue to put that damn parcel hook on so many knives?

[Rat Finkenstein]

Useless is the corkscrew. Whiskey does not have corks in the bottle, so I have no use for that particular tool. I'm glad the Swiss military has leisure time enough to warrant opening bottles of wine and champaigne, but in the states, we require stronger stuff, the likes of which should take no more than the twist of a cap.

if your whiskey doesn't have a cork, it is a good sign you need better whiskey. but the corks used in whiskey don't require a screw, they're just stoppers.

 

[stabman]

I just figured out that you are supposed to open up the hook before you use it. That makes all the difference in the world. I think maybe you are supposed to pull the toothpick out of the scale before using it too. No wonder it wouldn't fit between my teeth.

A powernoodle post that makes sense!

 

[comis]

Parcel Hook:
1) Tighten thin ropes when tying, especially when hands are wet
2) I saw it on Moonrise Kingdom(a dark humor art film, about a young couple decided to run away and get married at 12), Edward Norton as a Scout master, use this hook to open a tent zip from the outside. If the zip tab can only be pulled from inside and up(he open the zip by putting his hand in tent, hooking onto the zip tab and lift up), then it is actually a good use.
3) Lifting hot pot off the fire
4) Maybe pulling rusty or sharp wires out of the way? But never have that opportunity...:indecisiveness:

Corkscrew
1) Besides what obvious, you could untie very very tight knot with this...only tried this a few times in many years, but it did work. :encouragement:

 

[coop1957]

Parcel Hook:
1) Tighten thin ropes when tying, especially when hands are wet
2) I saw it on Moonrise Kingdom(a dark humor art film, about a young couple decided to run away and get married at 12), Edward Norton as a Scout master, use this hook to open a tent zip from the outside. If the zip tab can only be pulled from inside and up(he open the zip by putting his hand in tent, hooking onto the zip tab and lift up), then it is actually a good use.
3) Lifting hot pot off the fire
4) Maybe pulling rusty or sharp wires out of the way? But never have that opportunity...:indecisiveness:

Corkscrew
1) Besides what obvious, you could untie very very tight knot with this...only tried this a few times in many years, but it did work. :encouragement:

Comis,
Very good points but without video you may leave some people confused.

 

[comis]

Comis,
Very good points but without video you may leave some people confused.

Ture, I found the exact clip for Pcarcel Hook point #2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFwX78_Er7c

 

[BradGad]

SAKs would be soooo much less entertaining to own if we didn't have these two topics -- value of corkscrew, value of hook -- for perennial discussion/argument.

Parcel Hook:

• Very handy when moving paint cans, hay bales, chicken watering cans, etc. String-tied parcels too.
• Hook's slot makes a socket for the ballpoint pen.
• Works on boot laces, esp. on cold mornings when fingers hurt.
• Only one alternate ever produced (long nail file); you're not giving up anything to have it.

Corkscrew:

• Opens wine bottles.
• Unties knots.
• Holds mini-screwdriver.
• Manipulates other porous, hard-to-grab stuff (ceiling tiles, air conditioner filters, rubber stoppers).
• Alternate place to put the the pen if you don't have a scissors/hook layer.
• Can opener works better on Phillips head screws than the T-mount driver this replaces, so no functionality lost by including it.
• Acts as a "third hand" to hold work piece in things like paracord projects (close corkscrew over cord; use knife's weight to stabilize work piece).

 

[JNieporte]

The Leatherman bits can be inserted in the hook and turned. One way only, then you have to reposition it, but it works.

 

[dmattaponi]

It's not bad for lifting lids off campfire pots.

I've used it for this. It is especially useful if you use any camp cookware with wire bales. I've also used it to get knots out.

I like the toothpick.

Agree, not much use for the corkscrew, but I do like that it holds a mini-screwdriver which I find useful for eyeglasses, and popping the back off of my watches and photons to replace the batteries.

 

[jazzz]

Is is a Swiss thing? A holdover from times past? It's such a wasted tool on so many of their knives; knives that could be more useful with something else in its place. What do you think?

It's very useful if you're into hemp work or knotting stuff. I use it like a crochet hook to grab and pull cordage through. I'd be willing to bet that's what it was made for. Who knows?

- best wishes, Jazz.

 

[graham_s]

I suspect its original use was tightening the laces on ski boots.

 

[northwalesBill]

For giggles I tried it when my wife and I went grocery shopping and was glad to see it can carry about 1 plastic bag really awkwardly. It does, however, make for a great bike chain hook if you pop your chain.

 

[znapschatz]

[*]Can opener works better on Phillips head screws than the T-mount driver this replaces, so no functionality lost by including it.
[/LIST]

Can't agree. Although I often use the can opener tip on ph heads, I have several times been unable to reach countersunk screws because of the can opener blade, and have encountered screws tight enough to either bend the tip or break the SAK before breaking them loose. Switching to the stronger T-mounted driver usually does the job. Tinker for me.

 

[NirreBosse]

My only use for the hook has been when doing fishline knots. Helps me pull the line though less then perfekt loops in for ex an surgeons knot or a turned bateknot. With kold hands and mabye bad light this is a narrow and blunt hook god for the purpose. Nothing sharp around the fishline. I Also want scissors on the same knife. A flyfisher do a lot of knots during a fishinseason.

Bosse

 

[Charlie_K]

SAKs would be soooo much less entertaining to own if we didn't have these two topics -- value of corkscrew, value of hook -- for perennial discussion/argument.

Parcel Hook:

• Very handy when moving paint cans, hay bales, chicken watering cans, etc. String-tied parcels too.
• Hook's slot makes a socket for the ballpoint pen.
• Works on boot laces, esp. on cold mornings when fingers hurt.
• Only one alternate ever produced (long nail file); you're not giving up anything to have it.

Corkscrew:

• Opens wine bottles.
• Unties knots.
• Holds mini-screwdriver.
• Manipulates other porous, hard-to-grab stuff (ceiling tiles, air conditioner filters, rubber stoppers).
• Alternate place to put the the pen if you don't have a scissors/hook layer.
• Can opener works better on Phillips head screws than the T-mount driver this replaces, so no functionality lost by including it.
• Acts as a "third hand" to hold work piece in things like paracord projects (close corkscrew over cord; use knife's weight to stabilize work piece).

Alright. Maybe I need to start carrying a Huntsman instead of a Fieldmaster.

 

[Tired_Yeti]

If you want to talk about worthless, why the hell does the minichamp have a cuticle pusher?! I had never heard of a cuticle pusher before getting mine, and the thought of it makes me queasy.

So that's a cuticle pusher?!
Oh!...uh...yeah...I knew that!

(I was wondering why Victorinox would put a coke spoon in a SAK)

LOL! Kidding!!

 

[znapschatz]

So that's a cuticle pusher?!
Oh!...uh...yeah...I knew that!

(I was wondering why Victorinox would put a coke spoon in a SAK)

LOL! Kidding!!

Okay, that's two uses for the thing, so far. I have also used it as a screwdriver, pill pusher, bug remover and (strangely believe it!) cuticle pusher. Try doing those things with a corkscrew.

 

[Tired_Yeti]

Let me go on record saying that the corkscrew even when used as a corkscrew is pretty lame. I've used it as a corkscrew for wine bottles about 1/2 dozen times around Xmas. There's no leverage! After you screw it into the cork, you have to use brute strength to yank the cork out. Sometimes the cork would break forcing me to just push it down into the bottle. So I end up drinking it redneck style.

Some of the mentioned uses of the corkscrew are just uses of a sharp, metal hook. I think Victorinox would make a lot of Americans happy if they retired the corkscrew and added just a hook. Maybe with a 90° angle on it.

 

[underdog406]

Let me go on record saying that the corkscrew even when used as a corkscrew is pretty lame. I've used it as a corkscrew for wine bottles about 1/2 dozen times around Xmas. There's no leverage! After you screw it into the cork, you have to use brute strength to yank the cork out. Sometimes the cork would break forcing me to just push it down into the bottle.

Some of the mentioned uses of the corkscrew are just uses of a sharp, metal hook. I think Victorinox would make a lot of Americans happy of they retired the corkscrew and added just a hook. Maybe with a 90° angle on it.

Try screwing it all the way down, and use the force of leverage by slightly closing the screw, once it's slightly been pulled out a good yank would pull the cork out.
There's tutorials in youtube.

 

[Tired_Yeti]

Try screwing it all the way down, and use the force of leverage by slightly closing the screw, once it's slightly been pulled out a good yank would pull the cork out.
There's tutorials in youtube.

Well, I've never just randomly encountered a bottle of wine during the course of a normal day and I've never had a wine emergency while being out somewhere. So I just bought an actual corkscrew at the store since I never encounter a bottle that needs to be opened unexpectedly. I usually have advanced warning of when I can expect a bottle of wine that needs my touch to open it. We don't drink that much wine. MAYBE some at Xmas but we don't even do that every year anyway. Needing a corkscrew included in my survival tool is obviously a European thought. Only the Europeans would consider a corkscrew part of an EDC/emergency preparedness tool. LOL!

 

[znapschatz]

Try screwing it all the way down, and use the force of leverage by slightly closing the screw, once it's slightly been pulled out a good yank would pull the cork out.
There's tutorials in youtube.

What I do is screw it almost all the way down, then use the SAK as a lever against the bottle lip to break adhesion. Rest it against the back spring mounted awl instead of the back spring itself. Once the cork lifts a bit, it draws out much more easily.