So I got my first ever Swiss Army Knife 2 months ago. It’s a Victorinox Huntsman with 14 tools (the one with the saw). I have not used it extensively yet, but I wipe it clean every time I use it.
I’m not aware of when and how often I should oil the moving parts and things like that. I would like to keep this knife in working condition for as long as I can.
Buy a cheap one every few years, treat it like shit, recycle it when it’s dead.
It’s sad that it’s less work and less expense to re-buy an inferior product in many cases. Especially kitchen knives. Razor sharp $1 knives at the dollar store are much less expensive over a lifetime than one nice $100 knife (that can’t go in the dishwasher). Same goes for socket wrenches.
I’d argue that properly maintained tools maintain for life…when you use it constantly the value in proper tools is absolutely worth it… .if you use it a couple times a year, fuck it go with harbor freight.
Once you learn maintenance it’s not bad at all. You can keep that same 1$ going for a decade with a 4$ sharpening stone. The 100$ for decades and have a much better time doing so. Plus learn to hone your knives and you will need to rarely sharpen them. Hone it once for 30 seconds before a meal and that’s it for about 4-6 months if you have a decent knife.
I have tons of stuff that’s old as hell that I keep in excellent shape by doing some very basic maintenance. A 50 year old kitchen mixer needed some new grease and that’s all it will need for 10 or so more years. Almost all the tools I own and use are 40-50 years old, it just takes a little ingenuity and love to keep them going. Though much of it is my pride refusing to let me throw away a gold tool, even if it needs a little work.