Found a SAK

A

Aamp

Joined
Jun 24, 2014
Messages
3
Hey, I joined so I can search and see pics! Thought why not share a pic too:

N0Mzo8xu


I believe it's a Recruit I found while out for a walk. Looked like it sat outside all winter, if not longer on a small patch of undeveloped land so who knows. I think I thought I once had a SAK when I was a kid, but the more I compare memory to this, it was very likely one of those 13 tool knockoffs. I seem to remember that one having fallen apart.

Been carrying it for a while now and the small size seems alright for EDC without it feeling like it's around. I decided to care for and cleaned it with some Ballistol. At first I noticed the worn down triangular shield with cross on the scale was different. Didn't think much of it, initially that it might be another knockoff. From what I gather, it could be an economy series with the heat stamped embossed emblem. It has no toothpick or tweezers, a small v on Victorinox, and Officier Suisse on the back. I don't know exactly when it was made but it may have a bit of age too.

I've used the bottle opener most heheh and the blades could do with a good sharpening. It has some character,, maybe missed. Let me know if you have anything to say. I think it's trying to recruit me to a collection :wink:
 
Nice find, Mr. Aamp. Its fun to clean up an old SAK, and it should serve you well. Welcome to Bladeforums.
 
Awesome to find this and make it part of your EDC. It is a older model as you can tell from the style of the shield as well as the tang stamp. Very cool! :thumbup:
 
That's a great find. The Recruit is one of those models from the very pocket friendly 84mm series.
 
Thanks for the welcomes! I barely notice it in my pocket and the smooth back is nice to handle. I would have probably chosen one with backside tools for a philips screwdriver, but was pleased that I could still remove a philips head screw on a piece of electronics with the small flat screwdriver. It's a nice quality piece with just the right tools to get by and I like that it's a bit old and used already :wink:.
 
It looks like a Driver, the nylon handled economy version of the Recruit. My son's first knife was one of these, purchased around 1993, give or take. It had no tweezers or toothpick. When my daughter got hers, two or three years later, it had the tweezers and toothpick, so I would guess yours is older than the mid-1990's. Good knives, and as you say, a little more comfortable in the hand than many SAKs because of the lack of tools on the back.
 
According to SmartKnives it's a Recruit Economy, which is a Recruit without toothpick and tweezers. There's also a Recruit with nylon scales, called the Recruit Matte. The Recruit Matte is sometimes called Driver.

http://www.smartknives.com/Victorinox-Knives/Victorinox-Recruit.htm
http://www.smartknives.com/Victorinox-Knives/Victorinox-Recruit-Economy.htm
http://www.smartknives.com/Victorinox-Knives/Victorinox-Recruit-Matte.htm

It seems that Victorinox SAKs sometimes have different names in different countries and that the name Driver was mainly used in Canada and maybe the USA, I'm not sure about that. I believe in most countries the Recruit with nylon scales is called Recruit Ecoline.

It can be a bit confusing sometimes.
 
It's tempting to get a Driver on sale too, or a couple just to have around. In all actuality, the Recruit Economy, even if already carried for 20 or so years should probably last me a lifetime :smile: As long as I don't lose it. Thanks for all the great info!
 
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