?Who hates SAK'S?

Does hating the serrations count?
This is my Vic One Hand Trailmaster (think it's now the "Trekker") after I removed the serrations.

sak.JPG


It is now my ROMLC (rest of my life carry) knife. Yeah the tools aren't Snap-On's, and the blade will NOT pry open a Russian tank, but it will dern well get me to my toolbox or gun safe or axe or crowbar.

I ....had.....an affair with my Spydie Native III but we had a tooth to pick and Spydie told me she would make me a harelip if I tried it. That was enough. We broke up on the spot.

The screwdrivers have all been squared and the thing is invaluable for sight or scope adjustments.

And woe to the salami that dares to block my path.

:D
 
I hate them because people expect me to know everything about them.

I pop in to relax and read some interesting posts -
and there'd be a question on SAKs -
even if I keep quiet, to read other people's answers - which are more often than not quite correct ......
BUT someone will still post
"ask UnknownVT".......... :mad:

I am way overrated -
but I am flattered. :)

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
 
Hmm Vincent, sorry.
 
I hate SAK'S because everyone else has one...and they are available everywhere!
Where is the joy in owning something everyone and his dog also owns! :eek:
I hate the fact that I am not the first one to discover how great they are........
Thats why I hate SAKS :rolleyes:
 
The only thing I hate is that I can't get one with exactly the tools I want. :p
I EDC the Settler model...Large blade, small blade, and nothing else. It's the perfect pocket knife for me. :D

...And Vincent is da man for SAK information. ;)

...And Buzzbait nailed it on the head from the outdoors side of things.

Paul
 
Lavan, thanks for the pic of your modified Trailmaster. I recall your mentioning it in another thread. Seriously nice job of deserration you did there. It's like if you didn't know, you wouldn't know ...
 
Thanks for starting this thread, Kevin. I thought I might be committing some kind of knife-knut sacrilege, feeling the way I do about SAKs.

Dave
 
One major advantage of the SAK is the ability to not freak out sheeple. A SAK turns heads much less than whipping out my balisong or shooting open my auto.

I've owned knives in 440A, 440C, ATS-34, 154CM, and S30V...but none of them get as sharp as a good ol' Swiss Army. True, the edge doesn't last remotely as long, but that, IMO, isn't a disadvantage. I feel it's somewhat like scalpels and Xacto knives. They need to be sharp. When they're not, you simply put a new blade on. My point is, in addition to a heavy-duty user knife...the kind of knife you keep on you just in case you're trapped in a 55 gallon oil drum and have to carve your way out, everybody needs a small, absurdly sharp, thin bladed knife too. If I've got a sliver/splinter and need to carve it out, or trim loose flesh on a wound, or shave a patch of skin on my leg so a bandaid stays on, or trim a witness mark from something plastic, the last thing I'll grab is a large Sebenza, or an Emmerson CQC7.

A SAK would never see the same duty I use my "real" knife for, but the same goes for the reverse.

I would also like to point out that the reamer on the Soldier model is absoutely evil. That little sumbich will put a hole in just about anything.
 
ColoradoDave said:
I don't even carry a wallet, and hate key rings for the same reason.

Dave

Neither does my brother-in-law. He is the ultimate minimalist. I am an up-and-coming maximalist. :)

I gotta ask, though, then how do you carry your cash, change, credit cards, ATM cards, driver's license, and your car and house keys?
 
cardimon said:
I gotta ask, though, then how do you carry your cash, change, credit cards, ATM cards, driver's license, and your car and house keys?

Guess I'm kind of a minimalist eccentric, aren't I? :)

I use a money clip to carry my cash (usually about $150-$200, mostly $20's) with driver's license, one bank/credit card, and a library card tucked between the folded bills. Only about 1/4" thick, and goes in my right front pocket, along with a thin, flat leather sheath I made to hold whatever FRN folder I'm carrying that day. My keys and car remote are tied together with a loop of tough-but-supple cord so that they lay as flat as possible in my left front pocket; have to replace the cord maybe once a year when it gets a little worn.

And the only reason I can comfortably carry all that in my pockets is because I only wear jeans anymore! Heaven forbid I should ever have to wear slacks again.

But I've also been thinking ... would a middle-aged guy look silly carrying a Fatboy? Man, those look like the greatest thing since they added carbon to iron to make steel.

Dave
 
Dr. Thor said:
I hate SAK's. They are ugly. They have no-name steel. they are just plain boring. My Griptilian is way more cool. My Leatherman Wave is better is I need tools. It even opens with one hand. But the biggest thing is their ugliness. I like nice looking knives. I dare anyone to say that thir SAK is nicer than something like a William Henry, or even a Spyderco.

Thor

They are like a Spyderco. Ugly, but fuctional in every way.

The Griptillians 440C steel isn't THAT much of an improvement on SAK steel. The 440C will out last it, but the SAK'S gets sharper, is easier to sharpen, more corrosive resistant, and perhaps most shocking too you: 440C doesn't hold an edge that much longer then SAK stainless. Try it if you don't beleive me. ;)

Yes, I agree a Leatherman's tools are better, but the tools on a SAK work fine and are more for emergency's then daily use. A SAK is a jack of all trades as others have said. A Griptillian is a better knife, a Leatherman has better tools... But the SAK has features a Griptillian owner won't have, and a knife the Leatherman dreams it did have.

It's a question of would you rather carry a SAK and a heavier knife, or a Multi-tool and a heavier knife. Most of us would rather carry a heavier knife and the SAK becuase it is lighter and makes the greatest back up knife ever. Some of us, like me, love to use SAK's as our primary EDC.

And by the way, I do think my SAK looks better then alot of knives becuase I appreciate it's practicallity as beauty. :p (Probably not the answer you were looking for.) :)
-Kevin
 
jokrswylde said:
Last year I spent three weeks on the appalacian trail in northern ga, sc. I decided to take a victorinox instead of a leatherman because of the weight. In the beginning I was patting myself on the back because the weight difference was indeed noticeable after 10 miles on the trail. The Sak did fine cutting open ramen noodles and the toothpick came in very handy. Then one day a screw on my stove got stuck (maybe a little corrosion, nothing major) As I was trying to back out the screw with the sak, the whole left side of the handle pulled away from the right side! Not the scales, the entire handle. This made every tool in the blasted thing loose. Later that night my girlfriend was whittling a digging stick (for the toilet) and the blade came down and gave her a nasty cut( Since the blame knife was broken, the blade had virtually no tension when open. To make matters worse, when I returned the knife to the dealer, he called his distributor and was told that the warranty would not cover the knife. Needless to say, they may be neat in a Mcguyverish type of way around the office or the house, but I will NEVER trust one out on the trail, and many people I have met hiking have similar horror stories. They should specifically state that their knives are not for rugged outdoor use. Because believe me, they are not. (No wonder the swiss are neutral...what army would want to go into battle with that knife)

You got a lemon I'm sure. I've never heard of anything like this! Victorinox would have covered the waranty if it had broken from using the screwdriver too. If you read the waranty, it says manufacturers defects are covered. Better luck next time.
-Kevin
 
Buzz,
Couldn't agree more. Always have held up great for me and thin blades are the best for actual cutting use. (Kind of the point of a knife)

Deadmanwalking,
I agree that sometimes a leatherman is better and sometimes a SAK. Relying exclusively on a SAK is possible for EDC though, as many here do it, including me. I've never had a task my SAK couldn't handle.

Golok,
I salute them! :)

Richard,
Nice job with altering the pic. ;)

Lavan,
Looks to be a much better knife without the serrations! Did you use sandpaper to take them off?

UknownVT,
Get a grip, YOU DO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM!! :D And see you can't even control it, already you are trying to convert Dave! ;)

Kapt,
:)

Pwork,
Found mine in the Camper! :D Maybe a new model will come by for you sometime soon.

Coloradodave,
You are welcome. It really does seem like no one ever shows the other side of the SAK story, but people have no problem bashing any other company or loving them. Thanks you for giving us all your opinion.
Check out some of the minimalist SAK's UnknownVT and others mention in that thread. You might find something you like. I kind of consider my Camper to be a minimalist SAK as it's only 3 layers. My Camper Pic A SAK works as a great back up knife too Buck Cadet's as well. ;)

Planterz,
Very true about how sharp they get. I've only found VG10 to get sharper, but then again VG10 was designed with that purpose of getting a super thing edge.

I think I got everyone!
-Kevin
 
I like my SAKs, but I think that they could use some improving at this point. The blade steel stinks-1095 would be better. And the flathead screwdriver stinks-too much chrome. And I'm spoiled by one hand openers. And I still have to carry another knife for any heavy cutting chores. They get filthy in your pocket. The scales could be replaced with plastic and bolsters, and not break. And the tool combos need work. The key ring is always in the way of the awl closing. But I carry a tinker everyday, because the Gunting is a stinky screwdriver.
--Joe
 
Morgoth.....No sandpaper. Dragged the blade carefully down a file. Stopped short of removing the ENTIRE serration. Moved to coarse whetstone, sharpened coarsely like freehand sharpening and keeping a line on the blade to not destroy the line of the edge. Then finish on Sharpmaker with both grits.

Key is NOT removing ENTIRE serration. Stop when you have some half moon vestiges so the removal of the rest will not take out the base line of the edge.
 
Dijos: if you're spoiled by one-handers, try a OH Trailmaster/Trekker. The only thing it's missing is a pocket clip, and several folks here seem to have already added one to theirs. I'm still debating doing that to mine.

The scales on ANY knife will get scratched if you use it long enough. I've scatched the nylon scales on my Adventurer and OH Trailmaster, and dented the Alox on my Soldier after dropping it on concrete (accidentally of course! I wouldn't do this sh... stuff intentionally!). I've also slightly bent the big screwdriver on my Adventurer prying open a pickup's sliding back window, and had a Craftsman 'driver snap in two doing the same thing (and finished the job with my Adventurer).
So the steels not ATS-34 or D2 or titanium! So what!?! I read that its 440A, and I'm not super-abusing my knives! If you wanted a sharpened prybar, then get a sharpened prybar! (I admit I have something in this category: a CS "spetsnaz" shovel! I have used it for prying, and frequently as a hatchet, and I carry it while walking my dogs as a "protective deterent". It's a run-down residential neighborhood, I'm walking my dogs, so I might need to "deal with someone's crap"! And there's no law against carrying a shovel!) Speaking of walking dogs, mine are getting insistant about going NOW!

Matt in Texas
 
Vincent, Kevin -- well, I suppose it can't hurt to look at some of these minimalist SAKs, next time I'm browsing at Sportsman's Warehouse. Perhaps my brother-in-law, who gave me the Leatherman PST II I've never used, would like one for a gift.

Guess I like my knives like my women: lean and trim, no excess weight, but hand-filling nonetheless, and with a minimum of cosmetics and useless accessories (naked is good!)

Dave
 
Back
Top