Once you go SAK, do you ever go back?

S

SteeleJ1976

Joined
Jan 24, 2020
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204
I have been looking at the Traditional forum and there are some beautiful knives that tempt me to dive in, the only thing that holds me back is I don't think I would ever carry a traditional over my SAK Tinker.

I know a lot of guys carry their modern folders with a SAK which I can understand, I can also understand carrying a traditional knife and a multitool like a Leatherman Wave, but carrying a traditional and a SAK seems overly redundant to me and I would never not have the Tinker on me.

I guess I am curious for those that carry a Swiss Army Knife and a traditional what is your reason for doing so?
 
SteeleJ1976 said:
I have been looking at the Traditional forum and there are some beautiful knives that tempt me to dive in, the only thing that holds me back is I don't think I would ever carry a traditional over my SAK Tinker.

I know a lot of guys carry their modern folders with a SAK which I can understand, I can also understand carrying a traditional knife and a multitool like a Leatherman Wave, but carrying a traditional and a SAK seems overly redundant to me and I would never not have the Tinker on me.

I guess I am curious for those that carry a Swiss Army Knife and a traditional what is your reason for doing so?
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What's the difference between carrying a modern folder and a SAK, and a traditional folder and a SAK?

I can get by just fine with just a SAK, or just a folder. I usually carry both. I sometimes add a fixed-blade.

Why Traditional and SAK? For me, it's no longer just about function. It's also about what I enjoy. And I enjoy a quality traditional/ modern traditional knife.
 
As I've mentioned in other posts, I always carry a 58mm SAK with the keys (a manager) and that covers my basics. Most of my knife uses are for food prep, however, and I find the blade of 58mm SAK inadequate, so I carry a second knife for that. Most of the time that's a larger SAK (84mm or 91mm), but I also carry traditional folders (such as Opinel and MAM). Since my non-blade basics are covered by the Manager, I can carry whatever I feel like that day as the main knife.

If your main blade is a large SAK, I understand your situation. As other have said it, maybe also carry a traditional just because you can. Or maybe carry a traditional + smaller SAK combo just to add some variety....
 
Good points above.

SAK + ANYTHING makes a good combo. (which means that a SAK alone is also good!)

I chose SAK + locking folder, but if I'm honest, a lock is not really required for anything I do. If that's the case, why not go with something you find beautiful?

Next week, maybe I'll get my carbon steel US-made Old Timer along with the Classic?

Another thing about traditional slip joints is that they're usually pocket-friendly.
 
Once you go Ask, do you ever go back?

Sometimes.

Over the course of my life I've stepped back and forth over the line a lot. Sometimes I feel so sakkist that I feel I'll never go back. But then I dp love a dedicated traditional pocket knife and the European friction folders albs had an allure to me. I've had an on again-off again love affair with Opinel's for about 40 years now, and I love the way they cut and the old time funckyness of them. They do cut like the dickens.

For the past two years I've been in love with my executive, but for the past five years a Leatherman squirt has been sneaking into the inner chambers of my heart. Of late i'be been teaming the squirt up with either my Victorinox florist knife or the number 6 Opinel. Both cut like the dickens.

I don't need most of the tools the SAK offers like chisels, saws, hooks, corkscrews and such. But I do find use for the squirts small pliers, screw drivers, and scissors. I am finding the squirt takes the place of the small SAK's with more sturdy build construction, the pliers that can double as forceps, and the tools that will take more stress.

I feel like I've been slowly backing away from SAK's and going with a dedicated traditional pocket knife and Leatherman squirt.

Victorinox has highly irritated me in recent years with changes for the cheaper. Like the thinner hollowed our cellidor scales that break all to easy if dropped from 2 or 3 feet onto a tile bathroom or kitchen floor. The old solid cellidor was way more durable. With all the other synthetic material on the market theres no real good reason to keep on using cellidor. Especially thinned out stuff with big hollows that break off.

So in a nut shell, I'm carrying a small Leatherman now instead of a SAK and getting by nicely. For cutting, the Opinel handles things.
 
SteeleJ1976 said:
I have been looking at the Traditional forum and there are some beautiful knives that tempt me to dive in, the only thing that holds me back is I don't think I would ever carry a traditional over my SAK Tinker.

I know a lot of guys carry their modern folders with a SAK which I can understand, I can also understand carrying a traditional knife and a multitool like a Leatherman Wave, but carrying a traditional and a SAK seems overly redundant to me and I would never not have the Tinker on me.

I guess I am curious for those that carry a Swiss Army Knife and a traditional what is your reason for doing so?
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Unless you have the use for a pair of pliers which I don't, a multi tool is a waste of weight and space. A Spartan (If you're a wine drinker) or a Tinker is all I usually need, but I do always have a lock back with me too. Why, because I feel naked without it.
 
I used to carry a SAK as my edc, but now I just carry a folder with a Confederate flag and Trump on the blade in line with what pipedreams308 said, what I need and what makes me happy. Despite it being of cheap construction, it carries an edge, and I like the look of it haha. It might not have all the tools that a SAK has, but thats where I improvise with what I have.
 
jackknife said:
Once you go Ask, do you ever go back?

...
Victorinox has highly irritated me in recent years with changes for the cheaper. Like the thinner hollowed our cellidor scales that break all to easy if dropped from 2 or 3 feet onto a tile bathroom or kitchen floor. The old solid cellidor was way more durable. With all the other synthetic material on the market theres no real good reason to keep on using cellidor. Especially thinned out stuff with big hollows that break off.
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I didn't know they used to be more solid. I have an economy Spartan my grandpa got in the 60s or 70s in Switzerland. He broke the tip off the large blade and bent the hell out of the edge on the small blade, but managed not to break the scales. They're tomato red instead of blood red and they do seem more resilient.

There is no good reason to be using Cellidor these days, but there is a reason: It's what their tooling is set up for.

[rant]What miffs me about them is that they're diversifying their product line, but neglecting their bread & butter. Now they sell cologne, luggage, watches and every possible color of Classic and Alox, but they cannot be bothered to provide blade steel options. Or a custom shop, in which a customer could order the combination of tools he wants, for a small extra charge. (Crosman airguns does this now, and they're a MUCH smaller operation than Victorinox...) [/rant]
 
Smaug said:
I didn't know they used to be more solid. I have an economy Spartan my grandpa got in the 60s or 70s in Switzerland. He broke the tip off the large blade and bent the hell out of the edge on the small blade, but managed not to break the scales. They're tomato red instead of blood red and they do seem more resilient.

There is no good reason to be using Cellidor these days, but there is a reason: It's what their tooling is set up for.

[rant]What miffs me about them is that they're diversifying their product line, but neglecting their bread & butter. Now they sell cologne, luggage, watches and every possible color of Classic and Alox, but they cannot be bothered to provide blade steel options. Or a custom shop, in which a customer could order the combination of tools he wants, for a small extra charge. (Crosman airguns does this now, and they're a MUCH smaller operation than Victorinox...) [/rant]
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Yes, the scales used to be a solid slab of the stuff with channels cut for toothpick and tweezers. Now its a hollow shell of what they used to be, literally. I've had two break off on me and my son in law had his hiker break the scale in the exact same spot my SAK scales. On the backside about 1/3 down the scale. In my book, when you have three different SAK's all break in the exact same spot, thats what I call a factory defect of design. And since Victorinox has not changed the design of the "new" hollow scales back to the more solid design, that hints strongly to me that they don't care.

Okay, if they don't care, I won't either. I can replace the small SAK with a Leatherman squirt or even a micra if I tell myself that inside opening tools are not that bad. For dedicated cutting, I can carry a dedicated cutting tool like a light weight Opinel or Victorinox florist knife. But I don't buy any of the "new" SAK's with he cellidor scales. Theres just too many better scale material on the market.

As for the tooling being set up for it, it will be a small fraction of operating cost to retool, and form what I've seen of injection molding FRN, the change over will pay for itself in a very short while. Or even the nylon that they use on the economy models is way better. And Victorinox labels that as their "cheap" handle material! Yet I notice that all the bigger military models have the nylon. So why does Victorinox keep shoveling an inferior scale material off on the paying customers?????
 
A “modern traditional” (like my Shuffler) is a nice compliment to a SAK because it gives me the option of a M390 blade if I need something that’s gonna stay sharp.
 
jackknife said:
YOr even the nylon that they use on the economy models is way better. And Victorinox labels that as their "cheap" handle material! Yet I notice that all the bigger military models have the nylon. So why does Victorinox keep shoveling an inferior scale material off on the paying customers?????
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The nylon scales are functionally much better than cellidor in both ergonomics and robustness. However, you must see the allure in shining new cellidor scales. For people that know nothing about knives they'll want something that "looks good". I'm not defending Victorinox, but I suspect that the attractiveness of the looks to their non-knife costumers is the main reason.

All of that said, I agree that there are probably better materials that can look as good. Heck, I suspect even nylon could be made better looking if they wanted. They are probably chasing the money. Nothing wrong with that per se, but companies have damaged themselves again and again simply because of only chasing the money. Often times the best long-term money decisions are made simply because they are the right thing to do regardless of near-term return. The problem is that they are usually hard to see, especially for impatient people too focused on/eager for returns.
 
I've been carrying a Recruit for about 3 weeks as an EDC but today I decided to put it alongside a Buck Canoe. The Recruit looks and feels like a toy by comparison, embarrassing really for a 76 year old to even admit to buying it, so it goes into my travel bag for that once in lifetime chance I might need a can opener on the road. Shame really, I wanted a Kamp King style EDC that was not from China and not overpriced but sadly this isn't it. I do still have a Mauser/Victorinox that I belt carry when I think it could come in handy, nothing cheap about it.
 
We should all write letters to Carl Elsener (CEO of Victorinox) and ask him his thoughts on those issues:
  • Why not offer a more rugged handle material WITHOUT having to give up the scale tools? (Surely that's within modern technology to accomplish...)
  • Why not offer harder blade steels and simply not warranty blades that are broken due to prying? I think their current policy would cover them. (they'll fix it at cost, if it's you're fault and not a defect)
  • Why not offer a Custom Shop, in which enthusiasts could order certain combinations of tools to order? (that would immediately tank the aftermarket guys who are doing this)
 
I've been carrying a small Victorinox of one type or another for almost 50 years. I've never had a scale break either then or now. I've bent a couple tips and they never had a great rep for holding an edge but are easy to bring back quickly. I carry an Executive these days, an Ambassador before that, and Classics before that. I also have an assortment of other larger Victorinoxes in different packs and bags in my vehicles. Still, I've carried a single blade, larger folder along with the Victorinox knife I'm carrying for about as long as I've carried them. To me, they are a secondary knife but the one I use the most on a day to day basis.
 
jackknife said:
In my book, when you have three different SAK's all break in the exact same spot, thats what I call a factory defect of design.
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Do you seriously believe that a 0.00000003% failure rate of an easily replaced, non-critical, $0.50 part calls for a redesign and replacement of tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of molds and possibly other equipment as well? Amazing.
 
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