r/multitools • u/SkinHaunting3874 • 19d ago
Got a strange question... Question/Advice
So while I was pouring through different multi tools up until today I noticed that they all have bottle openers on them? Is this just to throw in an extra feature? I'm a girl and I don't need a bottle opener for my beer and i'd probably laugh to see a guy whip out a multi tool just to open one.
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u/scoutermike 19d ago
Some of us like the full-sugar Coke bottles. They are not twist-off tops and require an opener. My bottle opener gets some use.
However I don’t think I’ve ever used the corkscrew on my SAK.
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u/nakmuay18 19d ago edited 19d ago
Most countries have pop top beer bottles, not screw top.
And yes you can pry the top off with xxx, but it's a tool made for a purpose.
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u/ynotg818 19d ago
Better to have and not need, than to need and not have. (It eventually comes in handy)
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u/mjnz9 19d ago
At least I've used a multitool bottle opener maybe twice in my 55 year lifetime, which is 200% more than I used a can opener on a multitool. Has anyone in the history of bottles ever really "needed" a dedicated bottle opener? No. Never. Not once. When used, they are a small convenience but never a necessity
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u/shickashaw 19d ago
I literally used the carabiner bottle opener on my Skeletool last night. I rarely need a bottle opener, but I can see the appeal of knowing your daily carry has one. That said, if you have to start flipping things open to get to it, it might get you teased in some circles. Bottle openers life the ones on the Gerber dime, Skeletool, or Signal are probably a lot more acceptable to most people.
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u/Various-University73 19d ago
A friend of mine use to have flip flops with a bottle opener in the sole. I thought that was pretty dumb. Like your going to wave the bottom of something that has been on your foot over the top of this bottle the hand it to me to put my mouth on. No thanks.
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u/VERGExILL 19d ago
I agree! Occasionally I’ll use it as a box opener or something, but that’s more trying to find a use for it so it doesn’t feel useless to have .
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u/Winter-Swing-7662 18d ago
I can open a bottle with just about anything but my Signal is in my pocket all the time so why wouldn’t I use it? Don’t even have to fold it out or anything so it gets some use.
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u/Crell 18d ago
I use the bottle opener on my VIctorinox Manager maybe once every six months. :-) And in almost all cases I don't have to, as the store I'm at or whatever will open a soda bottle for me unless I tell them not to, so I can actually use my bottle opener. :-)
At this point, it's there for two reasons: Tradition, and to check a box. A bottle opener is a very simple tool that can be built into almost anything, so companies will throw it onto every tool they can to say they have an extra feature. Sometimes they're actually good at what they do, but not always. But they're so simple and take up little room, so why not?
In the case of Victorinox, their SAKs are mostly machine automated, and so they have to stick to certain patterns in order to keep costs and complexity down. That's why almost all (but not quite) 91mm SAKs have the same 2 blade layer and bottle/can opener layer. The exceptions tend to cost more, because they require more work to build. I'd love it if they had more designs based off of the Compact as a base instead, but so far they don't.
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u/Zach-at-MultiParts 18d ago
Welcome to the resistance. We should make jackets.
If you're into EDC you'll inevitably look down one day to realize you are carrying a half-dozen bottle (and can) openers for absolutely no reason. It's impossible to escape.
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u/MrDeacle 19d ago edited 19d ago
Generally the bottle opener is either integrated into a flathead screwdriver, or is actually a combo tool that can also open cans.
The original Swiss army knife contract required a flathead screwdriver, as one of several implements put there to keep soldiers from misusing their blade and breaking it or injuring themselves. Later a cap lifter was integrated into that flathead screwdriver as a bonus feature, and other manufacturers followed suit. Kind of a "why not?" situation.
Can openers are still useful to me. Household can openers break or just sometimes suck, so I often will reach for the can+bottle combo tool on my Leatherman Surge to open cans when I'm in other people's homes. Unfortunately that specific combo tool does suck at opening bottles but it's great for cans.
I find the macho attitude about only opening bottles with found objects to be silly. If you happen to have the appropriate tool on you, use the appropriate tool instead of making a poor attempt to show off your "skills" that often lead to a slight mess on the floor.
A bonus feature of using a bottle opener is it causes an involuntary laugh reflex in people not worth my time, makes them easy to identify.