Victorinox SAK Saw Firecraft Showdown. Plus extra firecraft.

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
5,433
Location
New England woods.
I did a video a few months ago comparing two SAKs, the Hiker vs Farmer. Which is better for survival? I liked um both but decided on the Farmer. Firecraft was in the video and some viewers mentioned the SAK saw spine made for a good ferro rod striker. This wasn't part of my skill set so decided to give it a GO! I have to test stuff out before adding anything to the skills tool box.


We are going to compare the saw blades from 3 knives. A Trekker, Farmer and Wenger Blaze 55.


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I wanted to compare these 3 because their saw blades are different. Also let's be honest, everyone likes a showdown. I sure do. Plus it's an opportunity to burn 3 times more stuff.


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Just for fun I will use the knives for extra firecraft. Burning wood and practicing skills are fun.


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Before starting with the testing here is something I haven't done in over a year. Starting a fire using just a ferro rod. I mean just the ferro rod, no packed striker or tinder. It's nothing special but was foraging stuff for the SAK saw testing so why not?


I am going to need some quartz.


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Using my finest knapping skills I got sharp edges. Some might claim I just dropped a larger rock on a smaller one. Technically that could be argued but knapping via gravity sounds better.


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Foraged some Yellow birch bark.


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All done. This is one of those large inexpensive Ebay ferro rods with DIY Kydex handle. Nothing special.


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I found a few types of quartz just in case one doesn't work right.


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Let's GO! Action shots taken from the video.


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It was easy just like I remembered. The same type of rocks which work for traditional flint and steel also work on a ferro rod.


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Ok lets test out those saw blades. I used the saw blade's spine. They all basically worked the same. The sharp teeth which were pointed at my fingers weren't a problem however with notable exception of eye gnats the environment was forgiving. The Farmer's saw seemed slightly easier to handle and did result in a one strike ignition using natural materials in this case Birch Bark. However all were very successful.


Real time action. Ok it's not real time now but was at the time....GO!!!!!


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Wenger Blaze.


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Farmer.


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Trekker.


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Hope I got the order right. Watch the video for a chance to make fun of my memory. LOL! Well in any case the end results of all were fire.


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For fun I wanted to test out a modification to the natural bearing block I found in these very woods. Yes it's an old beer can however I did find it in these woods. Used the knives to work the set.


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Friction fire real time action shots. The modification was duct tape for insulation. So am adding insulation of a bearing block to protect my hand as yet another use for duct tape. Last time I used a sock to insulate my skin from the heat but this worked and allowed for a better grasp. The fun never ends.


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Working the fire board with multiple SAKs.


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I had made one hole too near the edge so made another. If too near the spindle will fly out more easily.


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Go!


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Oh no. The paracord slipped. You can see it flying away off to the upper left. Thought I had failed.


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But no. I have a coal.


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Action flames.


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Success. Sustaining flames.


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Conclusion:


The rumors are true. A Swiss Army Knife saw blade spine makes for a great striker. However a rock also works. Here is a video. Thanks for looking.


 
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