I have had my SAK Camper for 35 years, got it when I was under 10. Never cut myself with it (although I have with others). I have used every tool on it with some frequency, except the blades really. Used them a bit when I first got them but very quickly realised that the steel would not take or hold an edge and I much preferred a lock, so wound up carrying my SAK and something else for actual cutting. Nothing much changed today, except that the away from home cutting EDC is a high end sub-3 slip.
The only SAK tool I regret that I do not have in that knife is the scissors. I do keep thinking I should buy a new SAK, a Huntsman. I would gladly have a SAK without the blades, to keep bulk down.
Never broken any of the tools. I have met a few people who have broken folding knives who have made much of how they were gentle and hardly put any force on the knife, I believed them until I saw how they used other tools. Some people just have less mechanical sympathy than others.
I find the corkscrew most use for helping unpick really tight knots. The eyeglass screwdriver that fits in the corkscrew is invaluable for glasses wearers and has helped more than one stranger. Can opener, bottle opener and screw drivers get used at social gatherings and BBQs. Most memorable was a school trip to North Wales when staff planned a BBQ dinner and after all shops were closed found the kit they brought required assembly with tools. No teachers complained that this 16 year old had a SAK with him!
My mum doesn't have a SAK, but she does have a Spyderco UKPK which goes to town with her in her handbag. She said she got a big kick taking it out in the post office to help an even older gentleman trim the excess string from a parcel he was posting. That and using it in a tea tent at Chelsea Flower Show to open food packaging. People without knives generally manage to make do. They simply do not notice the stuff that passes them by that they cannot do or need to get help doing, or have to take more time finding other tools to do.
The only SAK tool I regret that I do not have in that knife is the scissors. I do keep thinking I should buy a new SAK, a Huntsman. I would gladly have a SAK without the blades, to keep bulk down.
Never broken any of the tools. I have met a few people who have broken folding knives who have made much of how they were gentle and hardly put any force on the knife, I believed them until I saw how they used other tools. Some people just have less mechanical sympathy than others.
I find the corkscrew most use for helping unpick really tight knots. The eyeglass screwdriver that fits in the corkscrew is invaluable for glasses wearers and has helped more than one stranger. Can opener, bottle opener and screw drivers get used at social gatherings and BBQs. Most memorable was a school trip to North Wales when staff planned a BBQ dinner and after all shops were closed found the kit they brought required assembly with tools. No teachers complained that this 16 year old had a SAK with him!
My mum doesn't have a SAK, but she does have a Spyderco UKPK which goes to town with her in her handbag. She said she got a big kick taking it out in the post office to help an even older gentleman trim the excess string from a parcel he was posting. That and using it in a tea tent at Chelsea Flower Show to open food packaging. People without knives generally manage to make do. They simply do not notice the stuff that passes them by that they cannot do or need to get help doing, or have to take more time finding other tools to do.
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