Your favorite five Swiss Army knives

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Texas Star

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List the five you think you need most. Avoid duplicates, although I see the need. I have about 20 and all see some use, depending on the day's likely needs.

Let's see if any model gets the most votes.

Spartan

Executive

Hunter

SwissChamp

Older German Army or red Safari, same basic knife
 
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Older Explorers with the grey plastic magnifying REAL GLASS 8x lens.
Climber, which is essentially an Explorer minus the magnifying glass

Both have those scissors. As a photographer, those 8x magnifyers mimic the magnification of a 35mm negative blown up to 8x12". And I could cut the film after processing with the scissors. In a pinch, a mustache trim too.

My first Explorer, which I still have, was given to me by a neighbor on my paper route, when they came back from Switzerland visiting relatives.
 
The usual arrangement over the years has been a Classic SD in an inside coat pocket, a Spartan in right trouser pocket, and SwissChamp in a briefcase.

Unless a gun is on the belt, a lockblade folder goes there in a black pouch.

A little Classic or Exec provides scissors and nail file without getting out the thick Champ in its SOS kit. Spartan does most basic SAK tasks.

Others offer saws and better awls and corkscrews.

I once tried seeing if a Spartan could be replaced with a thicker model. Absolute limit was the Camper, which added a saw. If I may need a saw, I usually carry a larger knife.
 
I have owned a bunch of them since my Dad brought one back from a business trip for me in the late 1950's. I have lost many but still have several, from the huge Champion, with black bolsters, down to a very small one with a cutting blade and a nail file bade with thin red aluminum bolsters. Great knives, I have lost many but never broken one.
 
I think I have a couple in the console of the car. I don’t know what models.
 
Unfortunately, I only have one, an Explorer I got for my birthday over 30 years ago from my parents. I had the scales replaced with some rosewood scales several years ago. Mine has the gray plastic magnifying glass. I found it pretty useful, but I've stopped carrying it because of its sentimental value. I now rely on Leathermans for my multitool needs.
 
Screw the favorites, I want to see the craziest! A friend's dad in the late 90s had a truly massive SAK with all the tools on it, at the time it was badass, now I realize it lacks any utility, but a few beers deep I'm sure it'll be rad again and I'll get an amazon notification.

SAKs in general rock.

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Red one in this I got as my first ever knife sometime when I was in cubscouts. Blue one was one of the best birthday gifts I've ever received from a broke college girlfriend to a broke college me, I wasn't into SAKs at the time but man what a correct choice.

MIUJJaJ.jpg


Had no other pics of this one, but it's an Alox cadet and finds its way into my pocket on the reg. I wish some of the more feature dense models would use the Alox scales, much nice knife to hold.
 
I have but one, the "Camping" model. A fine unit.
 
1. Automotive. I brought one back from Switzerland in 1972. It was the only SAK that was my primay carry for any length of time. I especially liked its Philips head screw driver and metal file/saw. I think it was the width of a Camper. Unfortunately it was stolen before 1980 and a replacement is not easy to find.

2. I'll have to hunt for the model name of this big boy. It's 5" closed. It has a one hand opening blade, a wood saw, Philips head screw driver and Victoronix's obligatory can and bottle openers. The bottle opener is basically a flat head screw driver most of the year but is handy during the summer. While Texas Star substitutes his can opener for a Philips head screw driver when the knife has a real Philips head screw driver it's worthless. When I look over my fruit trees and decide a small branch is best pruned off I use its saw. Length makes saws more effective, hence its big size.

3. Picnicker. My car came with one in its door pocket. It's 4 3/8" closed and has a sliding button on the side for unlocking its spear blade. I've used this one more than expected. It's good for preparing road side grocery store meals. Some days restaurants and fast food have no appeal. It's no concern locally but after reading Washington's murky knife laws I thought it prudent to quit leaving it in the car all the time.

4. Locksmith. I want one. For me it would be an enlarged Automotive. One of these days I'll find one that is convenient to buy.

5. Sorry Texas Star but my favorite gadget knife is a Camillus made Remington R4243 Camp Knife. They're 4 3/4" closed, have a clip master, an awl, a flat head screw driver tool with bottle opener tool for the summer and the blade I use most often, a sheep's foot. Neither a clip master nor the more important sheep's foot are available in Victorinox's product line. This big scout/utility/camp knife fits nicely in a standard Folding Hunter pouch. :)
 
Tinker Small - the finest combination of function and form.

Tinker Deluxe - a little too large for already crowded pockets, but it has scissors! Also, there's got to be something more useful than the hook.

Cadet Alox - nice, but I wish they'd swap out the nail file for a small knife blade

I love the SAKs because they're completely socially acceptable. In all cases, I wish they'd use better steel for the knife blades. The other tools are fine as-is.
 
Only one I’ve ever purchased is the German Army Trekker. Everything you need, nothing you don’t need. I’ve given several away over the years.
 
I've had two SAKs that looked like a Fieldmaster, except instead of having a saw, they had a fish scaler. There was also a silver fish inlay in the handle. I bought two SAKs from the Austrian Army base in the Prizren province in Kosovo. One is the one-hand Trekker multi tool with the front edge of the knife blade serrated. The second has a plain knife blade with a sliding lock on the side. This one has a corkscrew, which made me very popular at our picnics. :D
 
I had customized credit card SAK's made for our 35 Anniversary. Like a dummy, I thought I could carry it in my wallet. I put the final remains back in the original box! I carry a Tinker everyday. I have a Camper I bought in Mexico 1/78, that I only carry when camping. I have about a dozen Executives in first aid and emergency kits scattered around my existence.

A 8 to 10 function SAK and a roll of electrical tape are the basics to modern survival.

BTW: I bought a bag of 10 eyeglass auxiliary screwdrivers and screwed one into every SAK cork screw the wife and I own. The kids had some Chinese knock offs, the cork screw is a different twist rate and the little screwdriver won't fit!

I have friends from Australia and South Afrika that do ministry and missionary work, based on their reports I send a SAK with every long and short term missionary our church sends out. My request to them is the ask God to show them who to bless with it as a gift. When my Mother-in-Law was in Belize, a local young woman (17y.o. mother of 2)had been a guide and interpreter in some villages, had been a great help to a 70 y.o. American woman. So on the last night in country, Mom gave her SAK to the young woman. The girl let out a squawk and ran away. She ran to the next village and back to retrieve a picture she had drawn with crayons of a SAK she was believing God for. All 14 features on the knife and drawing matched! She had drawn the picture a week before Mom had left OHIO! But the strange thing/small miracle is, that knife is not a catalog item! It was a small batch knife that was a test sample, and came from my collection, because my supplier was one knife short on my order for the mission team, So I let mom have my favorite knife knowing she would give away! (The tools and SAKs I send with the mission teams is how I send my presence all over the world!)

Ivan
 
Saved my money and bought my first sak when I was 14, from the Kittery Trading Post, the victorinox Hiker. Just something about that shiny red really drew me to those knives. I sat at KTP for quite some time agonizing over which one I should buy, I could only afford one (but not the Swiss champ). It came down to the camper or the hiker, the hiker won out because I thought the philips screwdriver would be more usefful than the corkscrew. Still have it today.

I later acquired an LL Bean branded Wenger, Sportsman? From a friend for $10. I like the locking blades on the Wengers.

About 10 years ago I finally bought myself the coveted Swiss Champ, I love that knife and find it to be quite useful. I’ve since bought the champ for all 3 kids. I keep it in the camper now. Funny that Ivan mentioned the replacement eyeglass screwdriver, I lost mine on our last camping trip and need to replace it!

Christmas mornings I alway be sure to have a sak in my pocket to help the kids with opening packages and putting together toys, etc.

I also have a blue Swiss Card. It sits down in a drawer in my basement workshop/reloading room. I never use it, but it sure is a cute little thing. There is an SD in the console of my truck. Also have a money clip version somewhere.

I always look forward to receiving my Smokey Mountain Knife Works Christmas catalog, I page through it cover to cover, but spend most of my time drooling over the sak’s.

Here’s my 5:
Hiker (sentimental reasons)
Swiss champ
Wenger sportsman
Classic SD
SwissLite, which is an SD but includes a light, used to keep it on my key chain but I lost it. Christmas is coming...
 
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