Jdee
01-05-2007, 05:46
Forrie asked me to submit some of my reviews.
Just a note about my Reviews - I prepare them for our "Knife Knews" and various forums. Please note that all my Reviews involve Knives I have bought myself - I do not accept "freebies' for Review purposes. Further I am not into destructive Reviews as I see no purpose in them except maybe to boost the reviewers ego. I Review a Knife Product for the intended purposes it was manufactured - I don't see the sense in "killing" a block of concrete with a Hunting Knife I would rather use it to field dress and skin a carcass.
In a recent article on survival knives I wrote that a good folder to carry esp., if you don’t carry a MultiTool was a Locking SAK. So I thought I better put my money where my mouth is and buy one. Currently I have 3 SAK’s, all Vic’nox, the Angler; the Classic; and the Swisscard so I decided to stick with the brand and get a Rucksack. There are about 26 of the large locking knives in my catalogue I quickly ruled out the “specialist” knives like the Parachutist; Fireman; Hunter; Helmsman; Skipper; Jumpmaster; and Equestrian and then the ones I considered too large (too many tools – I’m a minimalist) like the Outrider; Tradesman; Atlas; and Workchamp. Then the “onehand” openers and narrowed my choice down to the Rucksack; Locksmith (I considered the metal file); Nomad; Centurion; Forester; & Boy Scout and then decided I wanted 3 tools in particular they being:
• The Wood Saw (I do carry an Opinel Pruning Saw in my CSK);
• The Reamer with Sewing Eye; and
• The Cork Screw (we live in some very nice Red Wine country).
And, the Rucksack pipped the Forester on the post due to the “sewing eye”. Besides the main locking blade the Rucksack has:
• Wood Saw;
• Can Opener/Small Screwdriver*;
• Bottle Opener/Large Screwdriver/Wire Stripper*;
• Reamer with Sewing Eye;
• Cork Screw;
• Tweezers*;
• Toothpick*; and
• Keyring*.
Those marked * are on my Angler and I have used them extensively and could never find fault with them. The Angler does have a Reamer but no Sewing Eye and it has put a lot of holes in leather and canvas over they years and I find the Sewing Eye a good addition.
The Rucksack comes with the typical “red” handles and the stainless steel blade is 3-7/6” long with a 3-3/16” cutting edge with Vic’nox typical flat grind. The blade is 3/32” thick to begin with a distal taper finishing at 1/32” 1/8” from the tip and is 19/32” at its widest. The OAL is 7-3/4” and closed at 4-7/16” with a 11/16” thick handle and 1-1/4” at its widest with the blade closed and 1-1/16” wide with the blade open. As with all the Vic’noxs I’ve seen over the years the fit and finish left nothing to be desired.
Out of the box the blade would not go further than half way on 3/8” manila rope but was at home on the leather strips. After 20 strokes each side on the Spyderco Sharpmakers Coase Rods at 30 degrees it sliced straight through the rope and kept on slicing. As far as food goes it went well on salami, both thick and thin slices, and passed the all important carrot test. I rate the blade on par or better then the Opinel Stainless but not as good as the Opinel Carbon. I tried the saw out on green and dry eucyalyptus branches up to ¾” inch with no problems and no hot spots in the hand. One word of warning after using the saw give the knife a good clean as the sawdust will easily penetrate. This goes for all SAKs I have found they last longer and perform better with regular maintenance.
Being a committed Multi Tool carrier I gave serious though to whether or not I was doing the right thing in doubling up tools on the Rucksack but the other day I was down checking out the water pump which needed a bit of maintenance and I didn’t have my tool box with me. I found I needed a pair of pliers to hold the nut and a screwdriver to turn the screw and it is a bit hard to use the pliers and screwdriver when they are on the one tool so I solved the problem with the back of my Opinel #8 Carbon Drop Point but if I would have had an SAK on me it would have been easier. This experience told me that a SAK is not superfluous to a MT.
I have had my Angler for 25 years now and with the exception of smaller blades then when I started off there is nothing wrong with it. That SAK has cleaned and filleted trout, repaired reels, cut bait, cut line, trimmed finger and toenails, been used on numerous engines over the years amongst many uses I have found for it until it was semi-retired to the fishing box when I got my first Leatherman. I expect that the Rucksack will do the same and I am glad to have a SAK back in my daily armoury.
Just a note about my Reviews - I prepare them for our "Knife Knews" and various forums. Please note that all my Reviews involve Knives I have bought myself - I do not accept "freebies' for Review purposes. Further I am not into destructive Reviews as I see no purpose in them except maybe to boost the reviewers ego. I Review a Knife Product for the intended purposes it was manufactured - I don't see the sense in "killing" a block of concrete with a Hunting Knife I would rather use it to field dress and skin a carcass.
In a recent article on survival knives I wrote that a good folder to carry esp., if you don’t carry a MultiTool was a Locking SAK. So I thought I better put my money where my mouth is and buy one. Currently I have 3 SAK’s, all Vic’nox, the Angler; the Classic; and the Swisscard so I decided to stick with the brand and get a Rucksack. There are about 26 of the large locking knives in my catalogue I quickly ruled out the “specialist” knives like the Parachutist; Fireman; Hunter; Helmsman; Skipper; Jumpmaster; and Equestrian and then the ones I considered too large (too many tools – I’m a minimalist) like the Outrider; Tradesman; Atlas; and Workchamp. Then the “onehand” openers and narrowed my choice down to the Rucksack; Locksmith (I considered the metal file); Nomad; Centurion; Forester; & Boy Scout and then decided I wanted 3 tools in particular they being:
• The Wood Saw (I do carry an Opinel Pruning Saw in my CSK);
• The Reamer with Sewing Eye; and
• The Cork Screw (we live in some very nice Red Wine country).
And, the Rucksack pipped the Forester on the post due to the “sewing eye”. Besides the main locking blade the Rucksack has:
• Wood Saw;
• Can Opener/Small Screwdriver*;
• Bottle Opener/Large Screwdriver/Wire Stripper*;
• Reamer with Sewing Eye;
• Cork Screw;
• Tweezers*;
• Toothpick*; and
• Keyring*.
Those marked * are on my Angler and I have used them extensively and could never find fault with them. The Angler does have a Reamer but no Sewing Eye and it has put a lot of holes in leather and canvas over they years and I find the Sewing Eye a good addition.
The Rucksack comes with the typical “red” handles and the stainless steel blade is 3-7/6” long with a 3-3/16” cutting edge with Vic’nox typical flat grind. The blade is 3/32” thick to begin with a distal taper finishing at 1/32” 1/8” from the tip and is 19/32” at its widest. The OAL is 7-3/4” and closed at 4-7/16” with a 11/16” thick handle and 1-1/4” at its widest with the blade closed and 1-1/16” wide with the blade open. As with all the Vic’noxs I’ve seen over the years the fit and finish left nothing to be desired.
Out of the box the blade would not go further than half way on 3/8” manila rope but was at home on the leather strips. After 20 strokes each side on the Spyderco Sharpmakers Coase Rods at 30 degrees it sliced straight through the rope and kept on slicing. As far as food goes it went well on salami, both thick and thin slices, and passed the all important carrot test. I rate the blade on par or better then the Opinel Stainless but not as good as the Opinel Carbon. I tried the saw out on green and dry eucyalyptus branches up to ¾” inch with no problems and no hot spots in the hand. One word of warning after using the saw give the knife a good clean as the sawdust will easily penetrate. This goes for all SAKs I have found they last longer and perform better with regular maintenance.
Being a committed Multi Tool carrier I gave serious though to whether or not I was doing the right thing in doubling up tools on the Rucksack but the other day I was down checking out the water pump which needed a bit of maintenance and I didn’t have my tool box with me. I found I needed a pair of pliers to hold the nut and a screwdriver to turn the screw and it is a bit hard to use the pliers and screwdriver when they are on the one tool so I solved the problem with the back of my Opinel #8 Carbon Drop Point but if I would have had an SAK on me it would have been easier. This experience told me that a SAK is not superfluous to a MT.
I have had my Angler for 25 years now and with the exception of smaller blades then when I started off there is nothing wrong with it. That SAK has cleaned and filleted trout, repaired reels, cut bait, cut line, trimmed finger and toenails, been used on numerous engines over the years amongst many uses I have found for it until it was semi-retired to the fishing box when I got my first Leatherman. I expect that the Rucksack will do the same and I am glad to have a SAK back in my daily armoury.