Once you go SAK, do you ever go back?

Squid61 said:
I think the concept of a SAK is spot on, the execution based on the "toy" Recruit I recently bought is out in left field. When I handle one of my traditional knives (I'm one of those "grandapappies") I feel the solid heft and quality of a well designed and manufactured knife. The Recruit on the other hand feels like a toy, it has no heft, the scales are so cheap they flex with a little finger pressure, the fit and finish are lacking due to the thin liners and I don't get the key chain doodad hanging off the end. I've put the Recruit in my travel bag since the most likely place I'll need it is in a Hotel room. I have a couple of modern folders and they're OK, they feel like real knives but are a bit too bulky or just too odd shaped to feel comfortable in my pocket and I'm not fond of the idea of a clip, doesn't feel right in my hand.
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I hear what you are saying about the Recruit vs your Buck knife. I would recommend you try a Tinker. You can get one at Target with a sharpener for like $20. It has more functionality and heft then the Recruit. I do get the appeal of the Traditional knives and if that works for you, stick with it.
 
Squid61 said:
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.
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For years I felt Vic and Wenger SAKs were "toys". I learned that they can be quite useful and discovered that when out of the country. Spent an entire day looking for a replacement SAK that was stolen/removed from my hotel room.

Squid61 said:
That's true but I paid $18 for my recruit, replacement scales appear to be around $14 which would make a $10 knife that I paid $18 for now cost $32 and with no real improvement of the weak scales. The better solution in my mind would be to spend more on a replacement knife and get a large improvement in reliability if not quality. Just some talking points since it's not clear to me with the information here that this is a product failure or just highly coincidental bad luck, seems that if this was wide spread it would be all over YouTube and the knife Forums.
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I have never had the need to replace the plastic scales. The alox SAKs certainly feel a bit more solid. Give one a try but they are generally more expensive. But I like having the tooth pick and tweezers available. I would not send an $18 knife back to a manufacturer regardless of warranties and even if they paid for the shipping. Just seems like a big waste of resources.

My only real complaint with Vic is the little nub with the ring to attach to keys. I can see it on the small classic sized ones, but on the larger models I find they simply wear holes in your pockets. Hence the usefulness of carrying a SAK in your watch pocket.
 
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I agree the Alox would probably be the better option and that is likely what I will get if I buy another. At the moment I'm not considering a new SAK or any new knife for that matter.
 
22-rimfire said:
My question is HOW? SAK scales press on. How do you remove the old ones and press on another scale? Or do you use glue? The cost issue applies to my thinking as well. I see little point in replacing scales on a $20 knife in the first place rather than just buying another knife.

I also like to have a saw blade with me in the woods and especially if I am hiking any distance beyond casual woods wandering. My choice is the One-Handed Trekker. I like the Pioneer and really like the alox Electrician. Prefer a longer saw blade if I am going to carry a knife with one.

To each his own.... I have never opened a can with a P-38 or a knife in my life and doubt that will change unless I'm in some kind of survival situation. Carrying a P-38 is just another piece of junk to misplace. Two layer SAKs are quite comfortable to carry overall.
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Pomsbz said:
You remove by prising the old ones off and the new ones just snap on. I add a drop of superglue, especially if reapplying old ones but with new scales it's not really necessary.
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I have replaced a few sets of scales which broke. You can remove the toothpick/tweezers, and slide a pointy awl in the slots to pry the old scales off.

DO NOT HOLD THE SAK IN YOUR HAND WHEN PRYING WITH THE AWL!!! :eek:

Almost learned the hard way when the one scale gave way more easily than the other side and the awl just missed my palm. A long, thin, screwdriver may work, but not those eyeglass screwdrivers, because they are easy to snap off.

The new scales have a slightly smaller hole which is a compression fit when you press them on. Line them up and use hand pressure on a hard, flat, surface to start them. If there is still a gap, put the knife on the floor and use gentle heel pressure to fully seat the new scales.

The ring for key-chains has been removed from most of my SAKs which have an awl/leather needle. The ring can flip over, which blocks the path when closing the awl and will put a nice nick in that blade. The ring tucks into the corkscrew with no damage though.
 
I file off the key chain ring on all my 91mm sak's. It's too annoying.

I prise the scales off using the blade from my Rambler. It's about the only thing I find that blade useful for, it's too flimsy for most everything else.
 
In my case my first knife (6 years old) was a SAK, a Tomato red one from before the tooth pick/tweezer days. Then at 13 years old I got a Champion. By the time I was 16 I had outgrown them. Moved on to a Buck 110 and never looked back. The only thing is I missed the scissors.

In my mind SAK’s are a compromise in every way. They don’t do anything well. The little Classic has their most useful tools IMHO.

I like Leatherman’s more, they are more robust, but are awkward to use and have hot spots. So still a no go in my book.

For me a Buck 110, or a fixed blade on my belt. A SAK classic in my watch pocket. A small pry bar on my keys. I’m never far from a 6 way screw driver and channelock pliers.
 
I only have an SAK-EVO....works fine...however"IF"I had the problems JK had....I would probably think of changing my EDC! His P38...& Leatherman covers all his needs!I'm 76 & find I can make do & don't put up with things that break when they shouldn't!
 
Sayoc01 said:
I only have an SAK-EVO....works fine...however"IF"I had the problems JK had....I would probably think of changing my EDC! His P38...& Leatherman covers all his needs!I'm 76 & find I can make do & don't put up with things that break when they shouldn't!
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We're pretty close in age, and I found that as I got older, I had less and less patience for stuff that breaks, jams, or just doesn't work 100%. Maybe its that we realize that the end is much much closer to us and theres no time for fooling around with stuff that has an Achilles heel.
 
Squid61 said:
That's true but I paid $18 for my recruit, replacement scales appear to be around $14 which would make a $10 knife that I paid $18 for now cost $32 and with no real improvement of the weak scales. The better solution in my mind would be to spend more on a replacement knife and get a large improvement in reliability if not quality. Just some talking points since it's not clear to me with the information here that this is a product failure or just highly coincidental bad luck, seems that if this was wide spread it would be all over YouTube and the knife Forums.
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If you have access to a 3d printer, you'll never need to buy SAK scales again. I can print new plus scales for any of my SAKs in about an hour.
 
Started carrying a SAK around five years ago. Fell in love with the Alox knives!

Yes, they would occasionally get kicked out of my pocket, but only for a Leatherman.

With that said, nothing gives me that warm fuzzy feeling like a classy Pioneer. I have the 2020 Blue limited Pioneer now, and it only stays out of my pocket when I'm at work, when the Leatherman takes its place. But the first thing I do when I get home is swap it for my beautiful Alox!!
 
JK,
I understand what you are saying...but...with me it's not THE age factor! I have" never "put up with crap!If I had a firearm for EDC that failed to fire I stripped it cked.it out made sure it wasn't me....then tested it !Usually got rid of it.I don't
believe in luck or coincidence...there is a reason something fails.IF my SAK causes me a problem due to cheap materials...I would do like you & change my EDC!
 
My Fieldmaster I carry most often. Everything on it is useful. The saw especially, is useful to cut up small sticks for my fire-box... and the hook is great for hooking the Dutch oven to pull out of the fire. Scissors are always useful, they broke on my Leatherman buy not my Sak. The awl is good for starting a hole for screws. Tweezers, one time I got a splinter in the woods and didn't have tweezers, now I do. Tooth pick I use all the time. Main blade does everything, small blade sharpens my pencil. Screw drivers, totally useful. Since I got this knife, it's difficult to carry any other.. though I switch up with a Tinker. Many people don't seem to like the steel, I love it. I've dropped it a few times on hard ceramic floors, and it never cracked. I find my Saks cut better than any of my Cold Steel, Spydercos, Benchmades, Chris Reeve. In fact, I'll never spend 200 dollars or more on a knife where my Saks work better. I try to carry my GEC's and Case knives, only to quickly replace my carry with the Tinker or Fieldmaster. I can't even carry my alox Farmer because I love the Tinker and Fieldmaster so much. Most useful, robust knives I own.
 
ericnpeterson said:
My Fieldmaster I carry most often. Everything on it is useful. The saw especially, is useful to cut up small sticks for my fire-box... and the hook is great for hooking the Dutch oven to pull out of the fire. Scissors are always useful, they broke on my Leatherman buy not my Sak. The awl is good for starting a hole for screws. Tweezers, one time I got a splinter in the woods and didn't have tweezers, now I do. Tooth pick I use all the time. Main blade does everything, small blade sharpens my pencil. Screw drivers, totally useful. Since I got this knife, it's difficult to carry any other.. though I switch up with a Tinker. Many people don't seem to like the steel, I love it. I've dropped it a few times on hard ceramic floors, and it never cracked. I find my Saks cut better than any of my Cold Steel, Spydercos, Benchmades, Chris Reeve. In fact, I'll never spend 200 dollars or more on a knife where my Saks work better. I try to carry my GEC's and Case knives, only to quickly replace my carry with the Tinker or Fieldmaster. I can't even carry my alox Farmer because I love the Tinker and Fieldmaster so much. Most useful, robust knives I own.
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That's a mouthful of experience. I have about 20 GEC slip joints and like each of them and I have a similar number of Case slip joints. I like the more expensive knives but find that I always go back to just a SAK. (Often two of them in the woods along with a fixed blade.) At some point, I will simply quit buying GEC knives (no collector here) as it's pure want and not need any more. I have slowed it down significantly this year which has been a slow trend over the last 2-3 years. The tweezers have come in handy more than a few times easily removing a splinter, thorn or whatever that would have become an irritating nuisance. Don't use the toothpicks often. You ought to give the alox Electrician a look. It's a great knife, but I still find that I carry my Small Tinker (or in the past the regular Tinker or the side locking 111mm Adventurer).

If I broke a SAK, I would simply replace it with another SAK. (Probably the same model.) I've never broke one and hence breaking one would be a rare event for me. Loosing or misplacing is the more likely event. I'm getting older also, and I see my needs changing quite a bit. J jackknife has definitely made me think about my needs and re-evaluate them a time or two. It is one thing to see the changes and it's another to react to them from your comfortable routines that have developed over many years. I open cans of something so rarely outside the kitchen that a P-38 is just pocket or wallet junk.
 
an old Native American tradition says you have to carry with you something that brings you joy - regardless of how redundant or apparently little practical value it may add- your journey will not go well without "it" - the trick is you must discover for yourself whatever "it" is!
 
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