I recently cam across a couple of cool Swiss Army Knife related websites. The first is MacGyverOnline.com where they have listed every identifiable Swiss Army Knife used in an episode of MacGyver. I used to love that show as a kid and it is probably at least partially responsible for my love of Swiss Army Knives (SAK). The second site is SAKSelector.info which you can use to find the perfect SAK for you based on various criteria like size and types of tools (or you can use it to identify that SAK in the bottom of your glove compartment).
The first knife that I bought with my own money was a Victorinox Nomad (the one shown in the above picture with the fancy hand cut checkering) and it is still rare to find me without a SAK. I have some that I use for every day carry and some that I prefer when I am outdoors but I almost always have one with me. I prefer a compact model with scissors like the long discontinued Executive or the Mini Champ for every day carry. I like to have a model with a saw blade and an awl when I am in the woods so I often reach for my Farmer or Rucksack.
I think that, while the MacGyver cool factor drew me in as a kid, I still carry SAKs because they are actually really usable tools at a very reasonable price. The blades has tall flat grinds that let them cut like lasers and they are easy to maintain. The saw blades offer incredible performance which is very helpful when processing wood for a campfire. The screw driver tips aren’t great but they have worked for me in a pinch. The cap lifter and can opener both work well if you know what you are doing. Even the corkscrew is useful (I often use it more like a marlin spike than a corkscrew). You get a ton of functionality in an easy to carry package that can cost less than $10 for common models on the secondary market.
Which is your favorite SAK? Do you have different SAKs that you carry for different tasks?
I use a SAK as my EDC knife. Just can’t beat the utility. I use it all the time to work on stuff.
As much as I like the SAK, I don’t carry mine anymore. I found that a pocket knife, Benchmade Mini Grip usually, plus my multitool serves me better. I sure like the SAK’s though, they were the first multitool. Also, I loved MacGyver as well and think that was what led me to my first SAK.