I've said it before, but I'll post it again here...I don't like the SAK because they do not have a locking mechanism for the components...I do not want to use a knife that could accidentally close while in use... No need to make an emergency/survival situation if you don't need to...

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If it's in your pack, but you don't know how to use it...it's useless. So, always test your skills as a form of preparation...Don't wait until your life depends on it. That's a lesson you don't want to learn the hard way.

I hate folders for that same reason, things break- I really don't want a blade shoved into my hand!

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I'm a freelance Linux Consultant: http://linuxconsultant.info

Most quality folders have a reliable locking mechanism.

From Wikipedia:

The 1900s brought a new system to the knife world with the popularization of locking pocketknives. Companies such as Buck Knives, Benchmade, Boker, Camillus, Case, Gerber, Kershaw, Leatherman, Mercator, Spyderco, and Opinel, to name a few, have created a wide range of products with locks of all types. The most popular form, the lockback knife (or buck knife) is a refinement of the slipjoint, where the spring along the back of the knife has a hook on it and the blade has a notch. When the blade is fully open the hook and notch align, locking the blade in place. Closing the blade requires the user releasing the blade to apply pressure to the back of the blade and in addition press on a lever located on the back of the knife handle to disengage the hook from the notch and thus release the blade. This locking mechanism adds a level of safety while cutting by preventing accidental closure. There are other types of locks; some of the more popular ones are the Walker Linerlock, the frame lock, where the bolster inside the knife is spring loaded to enagage the blade when open and thus hold it in place, and the Axis lock (a Benchmade patent). Even the Swiss Army knife product range has adopted the locks on their 111mm models. Leatherman and SOG tools are now available with locking blades.

Most slipjoint locking knives have only one blade that is as large as can be fit in the handle, because the locking mechanism relies on the spring along the back of the blade to lock it and it is difficult to have multiple levers for each blade. An electrician's knife typically has a locking screwdriver blade but a non-locking knife blade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_knife#Locking_knives

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If it's in your pack, but you don't know how to use it...it's useless. So, always test your skills as a form of preparation...Don't wait until your life depends on it. That's a lesson you don't want to learn the hard way.

That being said, stuff breaks. Fixed knives, while murky waters for legal carry (depending on your area), offer the best stability and security in a knife platform.

However, the swiss army knife is an excellent system for what it was designed for- to combine a multitude of tools into one small package.

what ever the pros and cons of swiss knife,it is well known all over the world and still widely used

Yeah its pretty old but still has the best use. Its one of the best multi tool i ever used. The knife screwdriver, all in one tool.

I agree, a non-locking knife is not a good idea. But SAK do make knives with locking mechanisms, which you yourself included in your Wikipedia quote.



You can view all the SAK knives with locking mechanisms at this URL. I count no less than 29 knives there.

http://www.swissarmy.com/multitools/Pages/Category.aspx?category=lockblades&

Chameleon...You're right that there are a number of SAK models that do have a locking mechanism. However, they are the ones that have the new handle style. The classic SAK models don't usually have such a locking feature, especially the older models. I have two SAK and neither of them lock in any way. I think the company added this feature to a specific line of products but as far as I know the majority of the SAK line does not lock. It's just a safety issue that I think people should be aware of.

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If it's in your pack, but you don't know how to use it...it's useless. So, always test your skills as a form of preparation...Don't wait until your life depends on it. That's a lesson you don't want to learn the hard way.

I'm in agreement with you Chaz that any knife that does have a locking mechanism is not a good knife to get. But that doesn't change the fact that there are several SAK knives with locking mechanisms that would make excellent candidates for a survival kit. John McCann, one of the leading experts in the USA on survival kits, also endorses them and sells them from his Survival website.

http://bepreparedtosurvive.com/KnivesProducts.htm