Yesterday’s post about surviving on a deserted island with only one thing created quite a stir in Comments.
I’m going to take issue with something GT3Ted said:
“If you’ve ever tried to actually use one of those multi-function pocket knives, you would that although it promises to be able to do all sorts of things, it does none of them well, and most of them are completely useless,” and “A proper size survival knife with some weight and strength with a sheath and an included flint and sharpener.”
Well, I have actually used a Swiss Army knife, several times, both on Boy Scout trips with the Son&Heir, and on a couple of Army situations. Both involved being in the middle of nowhere, with limited resources.
The point of survival revolves around two activities (other than feeding yourself and making or finding shelter): husbanding your energy and being able to take care of small tasks and emergencies.
Here’s what I know about the Swiss Army Champ:
- The steel used in all real Swiss Army knives is superb. It holds an edge very well, and is remarkably strong and reluctant to break, provided that you’re reasonably careful. I typically use the smaller blade for all small cutting and whittling tasks, saving the bigger blade for tasks that require a bigger blade — and there aren’t that many, by the way.
- That little saw blade makes mincemeat of any branch or young tree trunk. Try cutting any wood thicker than your wrist with a knife, any knife, and you’ll find it takes a long time (and energy). You’ll also need that (included?) sharpener (if you’re allowed to take one, that is), because nothing dulls a blade like chopping wood; ask me how I know this. That saw on the Champ? Cuts through anything, pretty much, with very little effort.
- The magnifying glass starts a fire in about 30 seconds, and requires no skill — very much unlike trying to start a fire with a flint. Just try using a flint — or watch any of the “Survival” TV shows — to see how time-consuming and frustrating fire-starting with that method is. And yes, the glass only works in daytime: try using a flint to start a fire in pitch darkness, I dare you.
- Ever got a splinter in your hand or finger, and left it alone for a while? Yep, it starts to fester, and quickly. So you’ve got to get it out ASAP, and all you have is a bush knife? Good luck with that. The Swiss Army Champ has not only tweezers, but pliers as well.
- Speaking of the pliers: good luck getting that rotting tooth out of your mouth with a bush knife. (Once again, see how Tom Hanks had to do it on his deserted island.) Now add a few more tasks that are made easier with pliers and are almost impossible with a large knife, and you’ll get my drift.
- To avoid rotting teeth, by the way, you’ll need to clean them after every meal. Well, you can use your finger, of course, but the problem lies with those little bits of food stuck between your teeth. Oh wait, what’s that? The Champ has a toothpick tucked away in the handle? Yeah, picking your teeth with a machete or bush knife is not a pleasant prospect, even assuming you can get the blade into your mouth without turning your face into the Joker’s.
- Assume you have coconut trees on your island. With that big survival knife, you’re as likely to cut the shell open and lose half the coconut milk in the process. Sure, the islanders make it look simple and easy; but that’s all they do, day after day. Someone who doesn’t is going to make a big mess and waste a lot of time and energy. Now that little spike (awl) on the Champ? It makes two small, neat holes (once again without too much effort), so that you can pour the milk through one into your mouth without losing any (the air flows in through the other so that it pours smoothly). I’ve done it myself, several times, and it works.
- And if you need to sew anything (using stripped bark or lianas or whatever), that same spike has a little hole that you can use for thread. Granted, it’s not perfect; but your One Thing probably wouldn’t be a Bernina anyway.
Which, I think, is the whole point about a general-purpose tool like the Champ. Granted, it doesn’t do anything very well; but it does a whole lot of things reasonably well — and those things might make a huge difference to your chances of survival.
I cannot tell you how many times people asked me to borrow my Champ during the two activities I described above, to take care of one thing or another. In every case, I refused to lend it to them, but did the tasks myself (I was not going to risk having the Champ broken by some heavy-handed Boy Scout or troopie.) (Aside: Swiss Army knives are streng verboten in Boy Scouts because they don’t have locking blades. Yeah, you have to be a little careful when using them. Welcome to Grown-Up World.)
So I’m not saying that a large bush knife is a Bad Thing — anything but — but I prefer versatility in a situation that is likely to throw multiple problems at you.
By the way: I found yet another Champ — in my gun bag — yesterday, so that brings the total I own to five. Too many? I don’ theenk so, Pedro.
Just about all of the stuff you mentioned is “possible” but unlikely.
A coconut has a powerful husk that requires real power to get to the shell below. Then, it has 3 holes on the top that can be drilled out with any pointed knife or object.
Toothpick? Cut/break off a 3″ twig then pound the end on against a rock with the pommel to make a “brush”, sharpen the other end of the stick to make a “pick”.
I’ve dug splinters out of my hands and fingers and sand spurs out of my feet with a pointed knife many times.
Fire from a 1″ magnifying glass? Please. While possible I suppose, unlikely for all the usual reasons. With a little experience a person with a flint and steel can get a fire going in a very short time.
I carry at least 1 knife everyday and own probably more than 300 of them. I have done things with knives most people can’t imagine. The knife Ted posted has so much more capability in a true “survival” situation than any Swiss Army could ever muster.
The SAK is more adept in an office or residential environment where things are lighter, softer, less demanding. I may have one in my collection but I didn’t buy it, was probably given to me. When I need a knife I need a real one and it might need to go the distance. To each his own….
I did not read the comments in the first thread, but I dont’ have to after your description. This was excellent! Victorinox should hire you for marketing!
I carry a small Buck Prince 503 lock back every day and have since I was a teenager. I had one taken by TSA, so I’ve managed to hang on to two for 50 years. But I need to add a Champ to my range bag after reading this. And keep one in the kitchen utility drawer, perhaps.
I’ve carried the 3″ Buck “Gent” off and on for the past fifty years.
I am a big fan of the Swiss Army Knife, as you say it’s not the best tool in the world, that would involve carrying a full toolkit around at all times, but it’s the best tool in the world that you actually have on you. I’ve got them everywhere I go. The Champ is very versatile but a bit heavy in the pocket 24/7, so I tend to carry a Handyman which is quite a bit lighter. By the way, here in the UK we are forbidden from carrying the larger Swiss Army Knives as they have a locking blades! Obviously we are not to be trusted but then they took all our guns. Ignoring the fact that London’s street stabbing plague is, apparently, carried out with kitchen knives, which are untraceable.
I have had some sort of Swiss Army knife in m pocket since I was 16. that’s, let’s see, carry the one, a long time. I’ve had some sort of Huntsman model. I prefer the saw and the file on board. It is a handy tool. I’ve tried to replace it with a Leatherman original and a Leatherman Wave. While both of the Leatherman products are fine tools, neither were able to unseat the Swiss Army Knife. I’ve added a Benchmade mini griptillian for opening bills.
I usually carry the Explorer model but I have a Champ with a bit of a story.
Like a lot of Engineers, I had to travel via airplane to various customer sites. These were short duration trips so I just packed everything I needed in a carry on bag and, sometimes, a vest. However, even before TSA I could not take any kind of knife on most flights. Heck, I even got questioned once or twice about a small flashlight. My solution was to buy a Champ and mail it to the hotel I was staying at. When checking out I asked for a mailing envelope and sent it back to myself at home. The tool never saved my butt but it was always there for those inevitable little tasks.
Between the Leather Super Tool on one side of the belt and a Swiss (Sportsman(?) on the other there are very few times during the day that I have to pull out the tool bag. True story – The Leatherman got a 727 cargo plane off the ground in Canada on time when I used the tool to tighten the bolts holding a passenger seat in the track after the seat(with people in it) fell out backwards during take off.
Carried a Boy Scout pocket knife since I was 11 (it’s sitting on the shelf above my desk right now) until I went to daily carry of a SAK (Huntsman) when I went through USAF SERE training. During that course I also had the issue AF Survival Knife, and the only time it came out of it’s sheath was when I used the pommel to hammer something. All other times I needed a knife were covered by the SAK.
I find the scissors on it one of the most used and useful tools day to day.
The Scout locked blade thing must be relatively recent. (since the 1980s, that’s recent, right?) When I got mine (1971) we were trained how to used it properly.
I’ve carried a knife since I was twelve. A Spartan. I carried it for decades, and then I carried a Tinker with a Screwdriver instead of a corkscrew, thinking, how often will I need a corkscrew here in America. Surprisingly often, as it turns out. I carried a newer model Spartan, and then my brother gave me a huntsman which is much heavier in the pocket. As RandyGC said, the scissors are really useful, so when I saw a tourist, I bought that, but one time I lost the spring, so when I found a slightly bigger knife with a lever that used the integral spring instead of the little V one, I bought that, and have carried it over the last five years. Once I went with a friend to see the Carl Vinson at fleet week. After waiting through a slow line for four hours, they made us all go through a metal detector. If I knew they would do this I would have left it in the car. Claiming “Regulations”, they unceremoniously tossed it into a cardboard trash can. After touring the ship, I came out and saw that the metal detector, gate and trash can were still where they were when I went through it. There was a guard at that gate, so I began to walk toward him. He gestured with his fingers that I should go through the exit, and I did the same but in the opposite direction with my fingers. When I got close enough for us to talk, I explained that my knife had been thrown away when I passed through the metal detector. He was unimpressed until I said that I felt dishonored, since I had carried a Swiss Army knife since I was 12. He then helped my look in the trash and found it. I thanked him profusely and have it to this day.
Parabarbarian’s tip about mailing it to yourself is a good one. My nephew lost his available-in-Europe-only Swiss Army Knife when TSA found it in his carry-on. I’ll tell my brother about that.
Once. I used it to help a young woman in the post office cut the tape on her parcel, and was surprised that it was “a small knife.” Clearly she expected something larger . . .
I certainly agree that the multitool is a good choice as an everyday carry item or at least readily available in an EDC kit in the car is a great choice. But the Task as I saw it was survival on a Pacific Island so which I interpreted as Bamboo for shelter construction, coconuts and possibly small game as food, creating a means to capture and store the abundant volumes but infrequent fresh rain water so I selected the Bush Knife / Michetti as my choice since I feel the large heavy blade is more practical and durable. But I still think the Cargo Plane full of random stuff was a valid choice. You didn’t really qualify what the restrictions were on your ” one Thing”. As I recall Robinson Caruso the prototype for the Survivor had a whole shipwreck to pull Supplies from. Also Earnest Shackleton in harsher conditions.
….. and I count at least 10 useless tools out of the 33 ( wire strippers – bottle openers – screw drivers – etc ) ……..well maybe they can be used for things they were not designed or intended to do.
…….and the Survivor TV Show starts it’s 50th season on Wednesday and those ” Survivors” have camera crews, sound techs, producers, Medical staff with available helicopter evacs, a fixed time span, ocassonial supply dumps and who knows what else they don’t the audience.
I generally carry a Fieldmaster in my pocket. It handles most of my needs without destroying my pants. The Champion just felt uncomfortable, so back to Dad it went.
However, I also have a Leatherman Signal on my belt. If I had to go with one, I would choose the Leatherman. Not without a pang of regret, because the Victorinox steel is superior to the Leatherman’s. Still, the Leatherman can do a wider range of tasks, and the included sharpening stone makes the softer steel less of an issue. The ferro rod is superior for starting a fire, and the pliers are much better.
When I was in Boy Scouts, I used my father’s BSA penknife. It didn’t lock, but the fact that it was an official Boy Scout knife kept the scoutmaster from confiscating it like he did others.
went to Sig Academy’s Handgun 102 class last year. This is the class where you start learning to draw from a holster. My wife’s new holster was very tight. The instructor was helping her with it so I handed him my Swiss Army knife with the screw driver out. A couple of twists and the holster was loose enough for a good draw stroke and tight enough for retention. After that my wife was up with the rest of the class and she had a great experience.
Sure a SAK might not do every task extremely well but it doesn’t have to. It just has to do an adequate job when you’re in a jam. They’re generally lightweight, compact and convenient. those three features over ride a toolbox full of tools in many instances
> Swiss Army knives are streng verboten in Boy Scouts because they don’t have locking blades
When did that happen? Nobody ever gave me any grief about mine in the time I was in (1983 to 1989).
My 1950s Boy Scout knife did not have locking blades. Must be a product of the wear a helmet for everything don’t drink out of the garden hose boys in a bubble generation.