How many layers for SAK EDC?

D

deerhunterp

Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
125
I can only really stand two layers, maybe the super tinker will convince me to move to three layers. I would like to also get a huntsman, but I'm worried that its size will wear holes in my pockets, and I'll lose it. Would love to see an alox scaled four layer.
 
Two is pretty much my EDC limit. I carried a Deluxe Tinker daily for a few months but the bulk and heft eventually drove me nuts. I have since switched to the standard Tinker and I don't find it bulky at all. I only wish it had those great little pliers from the Deluxe. I might try the Mechanic some time, but I'm guessing I probably won't like the added layer. Hopefully it will just squeak by.
 
Huntsman has always been fine for me, when I carry a SAK. It is a little thicker, but I've never felt weighed down by it. I'd say get one and carry it for a while, and if it's too much, trade it or sell it and get a three-layer model.

~Chris
 
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I have the Waiter on my keychain. It packs the most punch in one layer (Knife, bottle opener, can opener, screwdriver, wire bender, corkscrew, watchmaker's screwdriver, tweezers and toothpick).
And I have a Compact, which does the same for 2 layers IMO, but I don't carry it around much anymore, since the only tools it has over the Waiter are scissors, a hook with nail file and a pen, all of which I rarely use. So: 1 layer for EDC (along with another knife) and a Leatherman Wave for when I actually need tools.
 
I carry my huntsman with me daily on the belt or in the pocket.

To stop any pocket knife from wearing a hole in your pocket following the following tip.

Fold a handkerchief as one would normally. Now look at the open sides, one of the layers forms a nice pocket where one can put your knife in. This will stop the knife from wearing a hole in your pants pocket.

The amount of layers on a SAK depend a lot on what you use your knife for daily IMO. Buy what you want and works for you or you will always wonder.
 
I don't need the pliers so I carry the Super Tinker which is three layers, and I use it almost every day.
 
Three layers is about my limit. I carried a Super Tinker for years, but got an Alox Farmer last year. The Alox is thinner than the red plastic scales, and I like the beefier blade.
 
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I carry a 4-layer Explorer Plus everyday. Considering that some guys carry a 2 lb. 1911 on their hip everyday or cops carry their Bat Belts and get used to it, a 4-layer SAK in the pocket is nothing. You get used to it. What decides it is whether the utility of 3 or 4 layers is worth that slight extra thickness for you. We each have to find that tipping point (utility vs. size), and for some guys thats a Victorinox Classic and for others its something a lot heftier. But 4 layers is something you can easily get used to, if the perceived payoff makes it worthwhile.

For me, the Classic and the Compact have the most utility for their size, but thats very subjective.

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Three layer Yeoman Plus (not in production).

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Four layer Explorer Plus.
 
Two or three for me!

Oh and the huntsman was my first sak (4yo) there tuff as nails lol I carried that thing for a good two years......so I'd try one!
 
Just one or two layers for me when I carry a SAK. One layer is either a bantam or waiter, (waiter helps me open wine for the better half, I never drink the stuff!) and two layer is either a recruit or spartan. Of course, the clasic that is ALWAYS on my keyring is a one layer SAK. Love the little lobster patterns.

Carl.
 
Three layer for me, a Vic Hiker. It rides vertical along side my wallet in my rear pocket.

Very comfortable for me ,I sometimes need to check to see if it's still there.
 
Three here, namely the Super Tinker. I started out with the Fieldmaster (same as Huntsman but with Phillips head instead of the corkscrew) and was just that bit too bulky. The Super Tinker I carry and use daily and barely notice it is there and have not had any issues with pocket wear.
 
You're a hunter? Huntsman seems obvious. I have a Huntsman, and I bought it because it has everything I use every day. Scissors, saw, rweezers, two useful blades that define themselves for different purposes, leather awl, corkscrew. Believe it or not even the corkscrew has come in handy a lot. I carried it in pocket for a while with no issue, but I bought a nylon belth pouch for it and it basically disappears on my back hip when I carry it now. I also stippled the handles with a wood burner to give it an awesome grip.
 
I can't do more than 2 layers either. I would really like a couple extra tools but the extra girth is just too bothersome with the 3 layers in my opinion.
 
2 layers doesn’t seem like there are enough tools to make it worth carrying, 4 seems like it’s too bulky, so that leaves me with 3 being OK. I thought for a while that 3 was even too much but I got a Climber nice and cheap on clearance a couple months ago and with the addition of the corkscrew eyeglass screwdriver I’ve been carrying that around. I hardly notice it’s there except sometimes around the house with sweats on it’ll end up under my leg when I sit down. If it had a file that’d be all I need. I like carrying a Buck 501 or a Mini Griptilian, but for the same general size and weight the 3-layer SAK has all sorts of other tools and gizmos so in a practical sense it makes more sense to carry (even though I’d much rather pull a Buck, Benchmade, Kershaw, etc. out of my pocket, they’re not as all-around useful).

Of course I’ve had the same Classic on my keychain for 20 years or so and that’s been handy countless times. The Classic will get me through the majority of the uses I’d call on the Climber for.

If I’m going to need a pliers or think I’ll need something heavier I’ll carry a Leatherman (or an actual pliers), but for daily EDC a Leatherman is too heavy.

But ask me again in a couple months . . . reading through this thread again, I might have to check out the Waiter. For one layer it looks like pretty dang complete and compact.

Mike
 
I've carried one layer every day for 7 or 8 years now, a swisscard in my wallet :D I use it every single day. I love it so much I'd probably go for a two layer swisscard :rolleyes:
 
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