Victorinox SAK mod talk: Best tool? The Can Opener!

[@pmantos1]

Thank you!!!!!!!!! Yes the can opener is great!!!! I used to only want to carry the models with the Phillips head but recently I've discovered a few things, 1.) how useful the Corkscrew is, it can do quite a bit more than just open wine. 2.) Most of the time I run into a situation where I need to deal with a Phillips head I've gone right to the can opener one, the most I might use the back tool one, (when I'm carrying that type of model) is to either crack the screw loose then take it out with the can opener's Phillips or tighten the screw down after turning it in with the can opener Phillips. 3.) When I watch a lot of these Victorinox videos, (and I watch a lot) I hear people saying how all the cans are pull tops now, I don't know where this magical pull top can world is but that has not been my experience, so yeah I actually use the can opener as a, (believe it or not) can opener! I work in IT and recently I had to replace a power supply in a HP desktop, (yes people still use desktops) I had the old one out and the new one back in under two minutes and I did it with a Victorinox Spartan, ( two D Phillips on the can opener) and it's up and running like a champ. I'm with you mate, I love it, people need to quit dissing this tool, it's as Tony the Tiger would say, Grrrrrreatttt!!!!!!! Love your videos keep it up!

[@juhantyop169]

I must say that I prefer the Can+Cap combotool. Sure, you lose some of the functionality compared to the separate Can & Cap openers, but the combotool takes less than half of the space. So you do not need a whole new layer on the knife just to have those.

[@thisguy2659]

Felix Immler had a mad we’re he an oval edge on the flat portion turning it into a nicer cutter. Makes it even better

[@hitchpost5822]

The best tool is ether the blade or the scissors, but the can opener is very useful for unintented purposes like peeling oranges, carving wood & opening boxes.

[@stevesinclair4159]

100% Correct - blade & scissors are the best tools and as an actual Can Opener it is IMO inferior to the Combo tool and the Wenger "Claw " can opener & is more useful for the tasks of peeling oranges, carving wood & opening boxes to which I will add - prying open split rings, cutting open the plastic blister shells that items are packaged in as unlike a large blade that risks going in too far and damaging the item, the relatively small cutting edge is much less likely to do that and it can be used like the parcel hook to lift hot metal handles on campfire cooking pots & lift other items such as electrical wire or coils of wire fencing / barbed wire coils if you don't have any work gloves with you

[@edwardfletcher7790]

It's 7 tools for me: 1. Flat driver 2. 2D Philips 3. Can opener 4. Scraper 5. Box tape opener 6. Electronics plastic case clip popper 7. Fingernail cleaner

[@frankysour]

...and if you dare to sharpen it on the inside, possibly at an angle or even better in a hook shape, it becomes even better! A little hook blade it's the missing piece of almost any SAK. Felix immler has a tutorial on KZbin on this, check it out (it may weeken the tool a bit, though ..)

[@HootOwl513]

I found I can score the peel of an Orange with the sharp end of the Victorinox Can Opener, turning the Orange as I go, keeping about 3/4'' parallel to the last cut, until I get to the bottom. On a Champion or Swiss Champ, the blade and the knife end are at a good 45* to the orange surface. Then the peel comes off in one continuous coil. The blunt screwdriver part does not cut into the orange flesh, but stays in the white pith. I Don't have any knives with the Combo blade. As a Can Opener, I find its better to cut forward, pushing the blade in a clockwise direction, but taking care to stop before the squared screwdriver tip hits the steel lid. Just start a fresh short stroke. This is counter-intuitive to those of us who grew up with the Camillus Boy Scout Knife, or the military P-38 [USMC =John Wayne] where the blade cuts a longer stroke and the can rotates counterclockwise. But once you get the hang of it, it runs smooth.

[@miklospinter]

I managed to bend/twist the screw driver tip of my Farmer's can opener with a tight screw... But in its defense: I had to try my Farmer because that screw actually broke a proper screw driver before :D But the Farmer did the job and saved the day, just took some damage.

[@zacharyellison4189]

Man I just got a farmer and am in love. The thicker liners and backsprings plus alox

[@alejandrosanchez7673]

SAK's Soft steel gets more damage.

[@RiderOftheNorth1968]

Best SAK in my opinion: Farmer X!

[@zacharyellison4189]

@Rider of the North I kinda wish I'd got the X. But my leatherman and roxon both have scissors. How are they on yours?

[@RiderOftheNorth1968]

@@zacharyellison4189 The scissors? Well the scissors on Victorinox is about the best there is, seriously. The only slight downside with the Farmer X, for some people, is that it is a thick and heavy boy.

[@cheeng1]

I too have used the can opener quite alot, exactly as you described. Good to see I'm not the only one. I've gone back to carrying my Spartan with a swiss card scissors in my wallet.

[@Littrell1966]

It also works for #20 torx bits as well. Light duty of course! I did auto glass for 35 years and my Cadet was my most important tool I carried.

[@decoyboat]

That's a great tip!

[@LittleJoePeep]

Totally agree. The can opener is the most used tool after the knife for me. Has a million uses and honestly I think the Tinker is better than the compact because of it.

[@BleakVision]

On the dozen used SAKs I have aquired the can opener has always been untouched. I really hope that Victorinox will phase it out in favor of the box opener tool. Victorinox has phased out the can key as soon as it became obsolete and I think they should stay on top of trends more.

[@WW1Hun]

The can opener on the 91mm Tinker I had in my pocket saved the day on Thanksgiving when the kitchen can opener broke at the hinge and we still had to open the cranberry sauce, pumpkin for the pie, and many other things that didn’t have pull tabs. Might have been a total disaster without my SAK 😂

[@tYt-f8d]

sak saved the day

[@sergemaster]

Bravo! Is that the tinker? I thought that model came with scissors? Also, when it comes to models with the "devils tool" on the backside, the Craftsman, albeit discontinued, was the best 91mm for edc.

[@miklospinter]

The Tinker is just a Spartan with Phillips instead of a cork screw. (And there is a 84 mm version called Tinker Small.) It's the Super Tinker that has scissors.

[@RippinBlastinSlashin]

I agree! Even moreso the alox version! So good! What have you had luck with pairing on the same layer as the can opener? I always miss the inline awl as well if I don't have it. Then of course the scissors which is the reason I fell in love with SAKs. I always have a dedicated knife so I like making my builds bladeless, which I am finding is tough since the knife layer is where the corkscrew is and if I want to keep the corkscrew, I gotta get creative! That and I love 2 layers. Scissors/inline awl and can opener with corkscrew would be my goat setup! I would love to see your jig for holding your brass rods and the strategies you use for getting the tools pulled into place! I have a hard time with the scissor/hook layer especially if it's the first layer! I've been using a scale I screwed into a 2x4 to hold my rods while try and get stuff into place. It's okay, my fingers beg me to find a better way!

[@decoyboat]

The can opener is tough on the 91s. Doesn't play well with other tools IMO aside from the cap lifter. You just got me thinking though... about doing an electrician blade from a 93 and the can opener on a 91. It would work....I think. I don't think the inline awl and can opener would work easily because the angle is wrong. You could run the file on the knife spring if you had a way to secure the other end of it, and then you'd get your corkscrew! As for a jig, I don't use one. I start with the blade layer, click it together using....the can opener off another knife :) ....and then just push and squeeze until it all clicks in place- then move to the next layer. The longer the pins, the easier it is to do. It gets frustrating sometimes. Scissors just takes some practice, pushing the spring down and you push the scissors from the other angle.

[@RippinBlastinSlashin]

@@decoyboat That layer you mentioned sounds cool, let us know how it goes! I only have the old style file right now off an old ranger (I followed your eBay a ranger advise hah!) which I think I heard you mention is actually thinner, right? I gave it a shot with the pen blade and it kept rubbing the pen blade and I didn't like where it laid if I closed the file before the pen blade. I had it setup like in one of your videos... I'm sure I could put a slight bend in it to make it lie down right... I did pick up some pins from Alibaba that are nice and long, which definitely makes it easier and more enjoyable... only takes a month to get here though! I've made a few 2-3 layer setups that work okay only to rip them back apart so I don't use up my only set of long pins. Got more coming. I have a Pioneer and Pioneer X that I will probably chop open, but man it's hard to rip apart such pretty knives! I bought them new, so I might need to ebay one! Need that awl to play with! Awl/file/scissors(hook)/corkscrew/backside flathead would probably get finished. Just missing the can opener! Oh! I use my hook when building to pull the rods into the liner holes when under spring tension! I laughed out loud the first time I did it! I think starting with the blade layer adds rigidity to the pins for the next layers and is an easier one to start with. Scissors/hook sucks to start with!!

[@decoyboat]

@@RippinBlastinSlashin Yeah, that file pen blade layer is tricky. I had the thicker file and pen blade and it worked, but it needed time to “settle” in place before it worked freely without rubbing. Good luck with the alox knives. It’s not easy the first few times. I welt through a phase and then just went back to the 91s. Sooooo much easier, but I may go back. Like that hook idea for the pins. Will need to try that one!

[@eileensalimbene4264]

You may be able to strike a fero rod with sharpness of the can opener/driver...

[@edwardfletcher7790]

The curved blade makes it very very annoying. The back of the saw or the awl/reamer are much better.

[@frankysour]

Completely agree, best tool ever, and my long desired Victorinox compact rests in a drawer after a week or so carrying it... I was disappointed by the combo tool, way too flimsy

[@decoyboat]

I want to love the compact but I just can't. Seems perfect on paper.

[@frankysour]

@@decoyboat i was thinking... The best way to save a layer could be using the can opener in the blade layer instead of the combo tool, though I dont think it would fit... Possibly without the spacer, but it would still be wonting to go to the wrong side and interfere with the blade... Sad.

[@serphvarna4154]

​@@frankysourimpossible with the big blade because even with spacers, the layer would be thicker than the spring, but it could work with the small blade

[@bdraidian6280]

What is the name of the other knife?

[@decoyboat]

That's the elusive Scientist

[@bdraidian6280]

@@decoyboat nice!

[@strongandco]

The combo tool is a turd of a tool but the can opener does make a surprisingly good emergency Philips and general poker and scraper.

[@hetrogamr84]

You're talking about the Wenger combo tool not the Victorinox one, right?

[@ongernie7216]

It is going to be obsolete soon. The present cans of the comes with cover lifter.

[@manwiththeredface7821]

Ever tried opening a can and the only thing you could remove was the cover lifter? I have. Good thing I had a can opener on my SAK.

[@gabithemagyar]

In Canada there are still many cans with no lifters (beans, soups, vegetables etc. ).

[@jooky5]

False. The magnifying glass is the best tool.

[@decoyboat]

I do love the mag glass too