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I’m a huge fan of the swiss army knife (SAK) and I thought I’d break down what tools are available on common models, and what my opinions of them are. Enjoy!

large and small blade
Both blades are good, they stay sharp and pointy. They’re thick enough to handle misuse, there’s no play at all and they’re easy to open/close.

wood saw
Works perfectly, though it’s a little fiddly to get out/put back in – I think the sawblade needs to be deeper to allow you to hold it without risk of getting your fingers caught between the teeth and the body of the knife. It could do with a nail nick. But I have no complaints regarding how the saw works. It eats through wood.

scissors
Very good, sharp. The spring can get lost, but you can buy replacements

can opener
It works. I really don’t understand why people seem to have such a problem with it; I open every can I use with it.

bottle opener
Same as above

large screwdriver
Part of the bottle opener, it works with most screws.
With particularly tight screws, the torque is sometimes strong enough to partly close the tools, but it’s not a big problem if you’re careful.

small screwdriver
Part of the can opener, it fits phillips heads nicely. The main use I get from it is to open computer cases; it fits case screws perfectly.
I have magnetised mine. It didn’t take very long at all; just rub a powerful magnet in one direction from the base to the tip repeatedly for a while. Mine has retained magnetism for more than a week – I’ll let you know if/when it loses magnetism.

wire stripper/bender
Part of the bottle opener. I’ve never used it, but it bends a paperclip into a nice U shape that would be hard to do manually, though I have to say, there’s little that this could do that the keyring hole couldn’t.

corkscrew
Useful for untieing knots, hooking things, etc.
If you’re having problems using it as a corkscrew, see the comments made here

multi-purpose hook
Can be used as a coathanger, parcel carrier or to pull things that would hurt your hand otherwise (like twine). It is difficult to get out without longish nails. It makes an excellent tent-peg extractor.

spike (‘reamer’/'punch’)
Useful for ‘drilling’ holes in wood/plastic/anything, just rotate the knife and press down. It has a small blade on the side which could be useful for scoring wood/etc. Also useful for putting new holes in your belt.

key ring
Well, what is there to say? It’s a keyring. I always remove mine, though; it gets in the way of the woodsaw/any other tools on that end of the knife

tweezers
I don’t think these work very well. They aren’t very good at pulling hairs out; they’re too bendy and aren’t long enough to get good leverage or grip. They might be useful for getting splinters out, but I wouldn’t want to count on them.

toothpick
Works perfectly, if a little unhygenically (it doesn’t have its own little compartment, rather is just rests between the scale and the body of the knife; that cavity can get a little gunky)
There is a new design for the toothpick; my old spartan’s toothpick has a little nick in the end which was very useful, whereas the new one simply comes to a rounded point. The old design was better as a toothpick, but the new design stays in the knife better as it has a little bump which fits into the scale. I’ve actually carved a hook into the new design so I can have the best of both worlds…

magnifying glass
These changed recently from a gray plastic housing and strong magnification to seethrough plastic housing and slightly weaker magnification. I find the new style useful for looking at hallmarks. I’ve never used the old style ones.

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