I'm with CM on this. The saw and pliers are very handy. Especially in cactus country, pliers or something similar (heavy duty tweezers) are just the thing.

You can always open a bottle of wine with just a shoe in a pinch (even if you are already drunk).

Here a Frenchman shows how: Open wine with shoe

I'd recommend the Explorer except it doesn't have a saw blade.

So select the Safari Hunter. It has a reputation for having one of the best wood saws in the SAK business and the main blade's spring is heavy duty (double the usual tension). But its the serrated gutter blade with a rounded unsharpened safety tip that makes this SAK exceptionally well suited as a rescue belt cutter for the glove box.

However, be advised that the Safari Hunter has by design an unusual operational characteristic in that all the tools open in the same direction.

I've edc'd the SAK Farmer (or whatever they called it waaaaaay back then) my Dad gave me since high school. Use it almost every day. I'm a big fan of my Leatherman Wave too but I imagine a LM might take up more space in that pouch than you want to devote?

I am going to start out with the farmer. What sharpener do I need? One that is very small and will fit in my Maxpedition E.D.C. Pocket Organizer? Small.

DMT Mini-Sharp or the larger Diafold is my favorite for field sharpening.

If you can only carry one in the woods which one? Offered in extra-coarse, coarse, fine and extra-fine diamond grits?

ty

Either Coarse or Fine.

Coarse will sharpen a blade to a nice working edge relatively fast, but it's difficult to get a nice shaving sharp edge. Fine is slower, but allows for a razor blade like edge.

I like Coarse for modern hard blades steels (like S30V or D2) that are notoriously difficult to sharpen. If you're only using it to sharpen your Farmer, the Fine version would likely be better. As Victorinox steel is pretty easy to sharpen and does well with a nice fine edge.

I almost never carry sharpening gear with me into the wild. For the most part all of my knives are sharp and will retain their edges plenty long. And I generally have more than one knife. For me sharpening is a job best done in my shop at home. While you can spin a scenario where having the ability to sharpen might help you in the field I don't think it's mission-critical for most of us.

Really? I touch up edges all the time in the field. Knives, axes, hatchets, ect. Even if they don't get completely dull, I find it's best to maintain the edge as best as I can while in use. A sharp knife cuts with less effort (and less energy expenditure) and is safer than one that isn't as sharp.

Even in daily use I find myself touching up blades often. Cut up some cardboard boxes and an edge can go from hair splitting sharp to butter knife dull real fast. Even a quick stropping can restore a lot of that lost edge.