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So where does this leave the ubiquitous traditional Swiss Army Knife (SAK)? Well,
despite their quality and proven success in survival situations and as emergency tools, in my opinion,
without a locking blade, they are not the best choice, though you could do lots worse. However, Wenger makes a line of traditional size (3.5 inches) SAKs with a locking main blade and screwdrivers that
lock when pressure is applied. These "Packlock" knives are available in an array of
styles with most of the traditional tools you expect in a SAK, the Survivor being a recent example that also incliudes a whistle. These would make a
satisfactory survival knife, though the thin spear point main blade isn't as robust or long as might be preferred. The Swiss Army Knives such as this attract little adverse comment or attention, which can be a valuable attribute in many urban situations.
Both Wenger and
Victorinox also make larger lockback and side lock (respectively) knives with a 4 inch locking main
blade. The Wenger lockbacks, unfortunately, come with a clip point blade. The Victorinox Rucksack, illustrated here, is a good general purpose survival knife with a nearly perfect selection of useful implements, lacking only a Phillips, which can be found in the Trailmaster model, and a file, which can be found in the Locksmith model. The latter uses a linerlock for the main balde as do some others in the expanded Victorinox Lockblade line. The first, and only to date, one-hand opening SAK is the One-Handed Trailmaster.
Some choices for a reasonably priced, quality folding knife include:
Proceeds support Equipped To Survive Foundation and this Web site.
Beyond this you can find excellent bench made and custom utility folding knives from many accomplished makers. This is by no means an exhaustive list, just a few examples that conform to the guidelines presented here.
Publisher and Editor: Doug Ritter
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