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Sunday, March 18, 2012

Tips and Tricks: Use the corkscrew on your Swiss Army Knife to undo stubborn knots

The Swiss Army knife corkscrew has long been maligned as a useless wilderness tool (unless you're a wine drinker of course), but it's actually great for undoing stubborn knots. It easily weaves into a tight knot after which it can be used to gently pull it apart as shown:

(click to enlarge)


Ok, so you're convinced the corkscrew has worth, but you'd still like to have a phillips head screwdriver on your Swiss Army knife (which the corkscrew replaces). No problem, just use the Swiss Army can opener for phillips screws:

(click to enlarge)

You'll now have the best of both worlds, and can even enjoy an occasional bottle of wine during your wilderness excursions!

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About the author
Jason Schwartz is the founder and senior editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and has taught bushcraft and wilderness survival techniques to the Boy Scouts of America, interned with the US Forest Service, and studied wilderness survival, forestry and wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado. Jason has also written for magazines such as The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

7 comments:

  1. Swiss army knives have a multitude of good tools to use and i sure plan on picking one up. I actually surprised that I don't already have one.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment Rick. I own lots of knives and multi-tools but I think a Swiss Army knife is still one of the most useful wilderness tools out there. Cheers, Jason

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  2. not even in the same league as newer Leathermans

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  3. Not even in the same league as full size Leathermans

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  4. Depends on what you're using them for. I own both and will sometimes carry a Victorinox instead of my Leatherman into the backcountry, depending on what my needs are. 

    -Jason

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  5. Thanks for the comment Rick. I own lots of knives and multi-tools but I think a Swiss Army knife is still one of the most useful wilderness tools out there.

    -Jason

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  6. Have you seen the new low cost leatherman wings from home depot they are crap compare to a Swiss army tinker which cost less. For the price SAK are a great value and last forever.

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