I'm not 100% sure if Victorinox put the saw cover on all production models of the GAK and later Safari lines of knives. Trust me when I tell you, the design is far from awkward. I used it in the army for almost 3 years and it was really an excellent knife. And yeah, I've cut down many a 4 inch saplings with that saw. Takes all of five minutes or so. I know both the Victorinox and Aitor versions have the cover. for the GAK and I have seen the cover on Trooper models. Victorinox and Aitor also put a stippled file on one side of the saw beginning in 1985, about 10 years after the first GAKs were issued. Safari Troopers were one of the few knives in Safari lines that came in both Green and Red Nylon scales. The Safari Trooper (olive Nylon covers) also became the NATO Trooper. Strange that Switzerland never adopted the knife for its own army. Thanks for the show Pete! Still looking for a Red Trooper at the right price.
I had never seen this "civilian" version before, and I think it's pretty cool! I think I like those red scales even better than the standard GAK version. Cheers, buddy!
The Vic wood saw is so good that I can easily cut through a fallen tree branch the size of my arm, which is WAY thicker than I can break by hand or cut with the knife blade on a 91mm Camper. The saw also works great on PVC! It really came in handy under a sink where I had trouble fitting a "real saw" under a small bathroom vanity.
They have to relaunch the 108mm series, it's a great tool. I would love to see an "Officer's Knife" in the 108mm frame. I wonder if the GAK was based on the Kaufmann k55k .
I worked in a camping shop with a pretty decent knife department on weekends in the mid 80's. The owner always recommended the green German army knife. I think it was called the Mauser right? (also, no BAAAM!! ? 😞😄) Also, we used to do something called coppicing in the UK which was to cut back hard certain types of tree so it would shoot out long wooden poles used for various tasks including making wooden fence hurdles.If you ever come across these coppiced trees, the Swiss Army saw is great for cutting off one of these shoots (without splitting the end by trying to snap it off) and make things like walking sticks etc. I always carry a Farmer when I go hiking in the New Forest for just this reason. (those splits always run much further than expected so the saw is essential if you don't want that split to show up several months later after you've cone to the effort of carving your walking stick)
The Mauser was a special version of the old German Army Knife, it had an extra blade, whereas the standard German Army Knife just had one blade. The Mauser versions are worth a fair bit now.
