?Who hates SAK'S?

Joined
Oct 4, 2002
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Ok, I admit, the lack of interesting topics on the board at the moment has made me want to create some action. :p :rolleyes:

Personally, SAK's are my favorite knife type. I love them and although I haven't EDC'd them all the time, I have always had a love for them. I realize though that there must be SOMEBODY who doesn't like them.

Victorinox is a great company, that offers a great product at the price point. The same can be said for Spyderco, Benchmade, CRK, CRKT, and Kershaw...but they certainly have there share of bashers as well as lovers.

SAK's seem to be avoiding bashing for the most part. They seem to have gained the respect of many on this forum at some point in their lives. If there are those who dislike SAK'S they seem to be keeping it to themselves.

Well now is your time to come out! Who really doesn't like SAK'S? What are your reasons? Any bad experiences? Change of tastes? or Do you just think they are cheap crap? :D
-Kevin
 
I've begun to hate them because to almost every thread unknown VT posts a bunch a pics of SAKs. :p
 
DaveH said:
I've begun to hate them because to almost every thread unknown VT posts a bunch a pics of SAKs. :p

:D LMAO!! Yeah, but you gotta love his posts! The man is a SAK encyclopedia!!!! ;)
-Kevin
 
They have no PANACHE! Knives need PANACHE!

Just boring old multi tool cutting instruments. WHO WANTS THAT?

And they're just stainless steel. No way to brag about how much better your NEW one is than the one you bought 12 years ago.

Their edges will DULL. Cut yourself out of a bathysphere and it will be nearly useless.

And telling anyone what you paid will make you an object of derision when you leave the lunchroom.

No damascus either.

They're just no good.

:eek:
 
LoL, we are 0 for 2 on serious SAK haters. Come on now! They MUST exist!! :p
-Kevin
Edited to add: I like the one about how they DULL, haha. ;)
Edited to ALSO add: And so true the steel...what IS there to brag about for the latest and greatest crowd!?
 
I hate one particular SAK, but then it's partly my fault. And it's a WENGER, not a Vic. Anyway, it HAD a locking blade -- but the lock simply stopped working. :mad: Hence I hated it. Then the scales cracked and fell off. More hatred.

Also, to prove just how much I hated it, when serrations first began showing up on production knives, I decided to make some of my own on this SAK with a small round file. :barf: Then I hated it even more! But I still carried it. :rolleyes:

I still have the knife and it sits in my unlocked car waiting to be stolen. No luck so far. :grumpy: It's held up to horrible abuse, (lot's of prying with the screwdriver) and I should admire it for that, but I don't.

I also have a Vic Huntsman, a Climber, a Tinker and a Recruit, and I don't hate them at all. :)
 
Keith Mayton said:
I hate one particular SAK, but then it's partly my fault. And it's a WENGER, not a Vic.
Wenger hating is justified. ;)

Truthfully I have owned a Wenger and it held up fine, but it is not a Victorinox. Lacks the quality by a long shot IMHO.
-Kevin
 
SAK's are an enigma. They are not made very sturdily, yet nobody breaks them ....You can tell just buy feel that they won't take abuse, so they don't get abused. The steel is soft, and needs to be resharpened fairly often, but it sharpens to a really keen edge with no effort at all. The spear-point shape means that they will work well for most tasks to which they are suited, and the thin blade, with full flat grind means that they cut very well...which is what you want a knife to do.
O.K. the screwdrivers are over-polished, and the rounded edges slip off of screws, but after you square them up, and rough up the sides, they work fine...as long as you don't turn them hard (the only SAK I have had to replace is one that I twisted apart trying to loosen a large screw, most of mt remaining SAKs have a slight twist in the large screwdriver), but the can openers are great (Victorinox), the saws work well, and the awl is the best of any knife, and truly one of the most useful tools around.
They are made to a price-point, this much is obvious, but you get excellent value for your money. They are the right tool for many light tasks, and the best choice for food prep at camp (for my tastes). Even steel snobs carry them, despite the very low end steel...that speaks volumes.
 
mooseman said:
The steel is soft, and needs to be resharpened fairly often, but it sharpens to a really keen edge with no effort at all.
..........
Even steel snobs carry them, despite the very low end steel...that speaks volumes.

First off you are not doing a good job of hating SAK'S! :p We are 0 for 3!

The above statement does speak volumes. SAK steel is great stuff.
-Kevin
 
brewthunda said:
The scissors on all of my SAKs have always been really crappy. There, I said it.

Ok even that was a pitiful attempt at hating SAK'S although you are doing better then the rest!! :)

Hmm, scissors crappy in what way? They certainly don't stand up to heavy abuse and don't work on hard materials that well...If that is what you mean I can understand that.

But I beleive there intended purpose is to just trim nails, cut threads, open blister packs, etc. Light kind of use. For bigger stuff you should probably be using the knife blade instead of the scissors anyway. :p
-Kevin
Edited to add: 0 for 4!! Come on SAK haters! Must still be at work...
 
OK, I confess: I've never understood why everybody - except me - seems to love SAKs. Ditto multi-tools.

In my defense ... when I was a boy, it seemed like all pocket knives were thick and heavy. And by the time I was a young man and started wearing suits to work, it still seemed that way. Even small folders felt too thick and too heavy to carry in my pocket, especially when wearing lighter-weight slacks in the spring and summer.

So I simply have this thing about keeping the bulk and weight in my pockets to a minimum. I don't even carry a wallet, and hate key rings for the same reason.

Dave
 
Morgoth412 said:
Hmm, scissors crappy in what way? They certainly don't stand up to heavy abuse and don't work on hard materials that well...If that is what you mean I can understand that.
...

They're crappy in that the spring doesn't automatically open them again after each cut. Either they bind up or the spring slips to the side of the scissor handle. Everything else is great - I've carried my Explorer (at least it looks like an Explorer - it has everything on the current Explorer except that hook thing) across 16 countries and love it. But I wind up using the knife blade for everything that should really be done with scissors.

Ok, I just double checked - the scissors on my EDC SAK, a sterling silver Classic SD from Tiffany's, work just fine. So mayby it's just the Explorer.

Hmm - I just realized I'm carrying 3 blades and didn't really realize it :) . All under 2" - Al Mar SLB, Al Mar Osprey, Tiffany's SAK Classic SD. I must be sicker than I thought.
 
brewthunda said:
They're crappy in that the spring doesn't automatically open them again after each cut. Either they bind up or the spring slips to the side of the scissor handle. Everything else is great - I've carried my Explorer (at least it looks like an Explorer - it has everything on the current Explorer except that hook thing) across 16 countries and love it. But I wind up using the knife blade for everything that should really be done with scissors.

Ok, I just double checked - the scissors on my EDC SAK, a sterling silver Classic SD from Tiffany's, work just fine. So mayby it's just the Explorer.

Hmm - I just realized I'm carrying 3 blades and didn't really realize it :) . All under 2" - Al Mar SLB, Al Mar Osprey, Tiffany's SAK Classic SD. I must be sicker than I thought.

LoL, The explorer is a good Urban type set up. :) I have never had the problem you have experienced with the scissors, but maybe someone else will chime in. Maybe you got a bad spring?

It is of note though: I only have one scissors model and that is the classic that you have! :p So maybe the ones on classics work fine and the bigger ones not so much.
-Kevin
Edited to add: (Can you tell I am bored??) Be proud of all the knives you have on you! :) I'm a "one knife" kinda guy myself, but you should see the amount of knives some people here EDC. 3 knives is probably the norm for this place. ;)
 
ColoradoDave said:
OK, I confess: I've never understood why everybody - except me - seems to love SAKs. Ditto multi-tools.

In my defense ... when I was a boy, it seemed like all pocket knives were thick and heavy. And by the time I was a young man and started wearing suits to work, it still seemed that way. Even small folders felt too thick and too heavy to carry in my pocket, especially when wearing lighter-weight slacks in the spring and summer.

So I simply have this thing about keeping the bulk and weight in my pockets to a minimum. I don't even carry a wallet, and hate key rings for the same reason.

Dave

Well I'm going to stretch this and say we are 0 for 5. I wouldn't call you a SAK hater, more of a weight watcher type. Thats a legitimate excuse in my book.

Truth be told I think my EDC SAK is pretty light. It's a Victorinox Camper and carried in my watch pocket of my jeans I don't even feel any weight.

Any other SAK gripes??
-Kevin
Still waiting for the first real SAK hater...
 
I honestly do not like them and never have & I even tried to. Further more I do not even consider them a knife. The leatherman tools should have put the Swiss Army knives completely under, even though I only occasionally use them as well. When I want a small carry it's vintage Case XX 6333 Stockman for me...

There now you have an honest SAK hater :D
 
Durwood said:
I honestly do not like them and never have & I even tried to. Further more I do not even consider them a knife. The leatherman tools should have put the Swiss Army knives completely under, even though I only occasionally use them as well. When I want a small carry it's vintage Case XX 6333 Stockman for me...

There now you have an honest SAK hater :D

YAY! We have found the first! ;)

I will respond to that on two levels.

The first is that I will contradict the Victorinox's not being a knife. They are a knife in every way... I'm actually at a loss as to how you arrived at that conclusion. :confused: They make one of the best CUTTING knives on the market. The blades are of a good stainless steel which sharpens easily and holds an edge decent enough to last about a month cutting for me. They are thin, and fully flat ground, making them great slicers as well. The handle has all rounded edges and fits and fills my hand comfortably. (The same can't be said of the BIG SAK's. I'm talking about the less then 4 layer ones mostly.)

The seconed is that Victorinox is an entirely different market then Leatherman. Victorinox makes a quality knife that in most instances has some tools on it. Leatherman makes pliers which most of the time have a below average knife on them. ;)
-Kevin
Edited to add: Thank you for being honest! :)
 
Victorinox, 501's,13mwz's,Mustangs.... Classy without the hype.JMHO.
 
Well like it has been said above they don't change much if any through time, this years model is the same as last years and the year before etc.

I appreciate them for what they are but have never carried one because I don't like the weight in my pockets, Although come to think of it I did carry one on a key ring a long time ago.

I think instead of having a who hates them thread and having boring looking same Ole knives we should start a customizing contest and see who comes up with the best looking customized SAK, new handles etc. !
 
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