I thought it would be nice to leave this thread for questions with factual answers about the SAK, so I started a new thread in IMHO.
Thanks Shagnasty, I’ll try it! I’m going to feel a bit anxious about sending it away as I’ve had it around for nearly 35 years now, but it sure would be great to have it in somewhat better shape.
Too late to the party, as usual.
I used to work in a knife shop, replaced springs daily in SAKs. I used a needlenose pliers, the secret was not to push it in straight, but to tilt it slightly as you’re applying pressure. Of course, no spring was the same and I would dig around to find one with a perfect coil.
I didn’t know that you could replace the spring - thought once it broke you were screwed. I hated that, so I found a different version that doesn’t use a spring. A bit harder to find, but have never had one break on me. A photo is here:
Yeah, that’s the Wenger style. Though I’m not sure the one pictured is actually a Wenger.
They can’t do anything that some version of a Leatherman can’t except for the corkscrew (that has come in essential more times for me than you might think). However, the Swiss Army knife form factor is much more practical for every day carry. I can take my SAK anywhere, even to formal events, without even thinking about it. Leathermans will eat a hole in your pocket if you don’t wear it in a belt holder and you always know it is there. Swiss Army knives are smooth, stylish, remarkably well thought out for each model’s uses and well engineered (I am talking about the real ones, not the cheap knockoffs).
Other multi-tools like Leathermans are fine if you just want a general purpose tool to put in your car or backpack but they always seemed to me like the people that designed them just shoved a bunch of haphazard tools onto a frame without thinking about it that much or caring about the fit and finish. I am sure some Leathermans are better choices for people in specialized trades that use a model specific to their needs but I think SAKs are unparalleled in design and function for everyday use.
It is almost like an Apple versus Microsoft debate.
There are about 20 different leatherman tools. Some are small enough to go into you pocket like a small packet knife. Some are huge and best carried attached to your belt some how either in a case or with the clip on the tool. Pretty similar statements can be said about Swiss army knives.
The Leatherman Style PS and CS are small and lite have tweezers.
Bumping to address this:
In July I bought a Victorinox with the Wenger-style scissors. Initially I liked it. But the scissors are just loose enough to allow the spring lever to slip to either side of them. So after each cut I need to manually open the scissors (unless I get lucky). They stopped functioning properly in a much shorter time than my traditional Victorinox scissors.
If you have access to a good, old-fashioned hardware store, they may have display case for whichever brand of Swiss Army knives they carry. They were charging a dollar for the toothpick, last time I looked. The display case might have other replacement parts as well, the same as on the web site.
Huh, my scissors eventually got loose enough that that was a problem, but only after decades of use. Or rather, it always happened occasionally, and needed to be tightened up, but it was only after decades that they needed to be tightened often enough to be a bother. Meanwhile my peers with Victornox knives all sprung the springs after a year or three. Maybe they don’t make them like they used to?