The Gun Counter

I can't believe I just bought 8 Swiss Army Knives on eBay. ~$40 including shipping.

OK so I broke the Classic I have on my keychain. Or at least I broke one of the scales, and the tweezers fell out. I suppose I can buy and attach a new scale, and buy replacement tweezers.... but buying a new knife is much more fun.

Found a reputable vendor on the 'bay (yeah they're TSA seizures but the vendor isn't to blame for what the TSA does) but they sell them in batches of 2 or more, mixed in different ways. First I tried for a Huntsman & Classic combo, but someone snagged that from me, went over my preset max with like 2 seconds left.

So I said "screw that", and put out some more bids. Wound up with 2 Tinkers, 2 Spartans and 4 Classics. I now have SAKs for the car kits, for my range bag, a replacement for my keychain... plus more. They're like stainless steel popcorn.

Lucky you!

Does anybody have a good link to a SAK modding site or how-to? Neither Wenger nor Victorinox makes exactly the knife I want (this one is pretty close, though who needs a corkscrew but no bottle opener. I carry this one regularly), so I'm feeling inclined to butcher a few of my spares and make my own. Perhaps I should buy a few TSA rescue packages to practice on....

Don't feel bad, Greg. I did the same thing a couple of years ago. Had SAKs everywhere, for very little cash.

Greg wrote:Wound up with 2 Tinkers, 2 Spartans and 4 Classics. I now have SAKs for the car kits, for my range bag, a replacement for my keychain... plus more. They're like stainless steel popcorn.

When I have one of something I always know where it is. When I have multiples, I can never find one. I wish you better luck than I have.

Actually, though, now you mention it... I recently did that with fountain pens. I think I have about 12 now. I think at least 9 of them even work.

Termite wrote:Had SAKs everywhere, for very little cash.

I notice the "had" (past tense)! In my experience, Swiss Army Knives are consummate escapologists and camouflage artists. They also love to be borrowed, never to be returned...

Denis wrote:Lucky you!

Does anybody have a good link to a SAK modding site or how-to? Neither Wenger nor Victorinox makes exactly the knife I want (this one is pretty close, though who needs a corkscrew but no bottle opener. I carry this one regularly), so I'm feeling inclined to butcher a few of my spares and make my own. Perhaps I should buy a few TSA rescue packages to practice on....

Had a bit of deja-vu there. Pretty sure I answered that question for someone (no idea who) once before. There was this site that hosted a SAK enthusiast community, and some members of the community did SAK modding.... I'd forgotten about it, but I just looked it up again.

They moved, they're now at http://www.swissarmyknights.com/ Looks like a great resource, also they have a SAK wiki.

If not for their wiki, I would have recommended http://www.smartknives.com, they are a TSA-seizure SAK (and other multitool) vendor. Looks like their retail setup is down temporarily, but what they do have, in the guise of product pages, is an online SAK info database. One thing that's really awesome is that on the page for each knife, it has a section with info about similar knives, showing how they differ (adds X, or takes away Y, or replaces Z with N) with links to the other knives.

Termite wrote:Don't feel bad, Greg. I did the same thing a couple of years ago. Had SAKs everywhere, for very little cash.

The really hard part will be making this bulk buy a one-time thing.

Weetabix wrote:Actually, though, now you mention it... I recently did that with fountain pens. I think I have about 12 now. I think at least 9 of them even work.

When you find something you like, it's pretty hard not to go crazy and buy a bunch so you have one (or more) everywhere. Never know when you might need one and not have one with you.....

Greg wrote:

Weetabix wrote:Actually, though, now you mention it... I recently did that with fountain pens. I think I have about 12 now. I think at least 9 of them even work.

When you find something you like, it's pretty hard not to go crazy and buy a bunch so you have one (or more) everywhere. Never know when you might need one and not have one with you.....

I feel your pain. With me, it's EDC small folders. They seem to disappear as fast as I acquire them. Whenever I see Kershaw OSO Sweets (my fav small pocket carry blade) on sale, I buy several. I know several of my ex-employees are enjoying their utility...