Hello everyone. The mailman just brought a package, a few Swiss Army Knives that were on closeout sale at a well-known discount outdoor store. Here's a brief review of each, my initial impressions of each knife, done for the purpose of giving other potential buyers an idea of what to expect if contemplating the same products.
1) Victorinox Stylus. PDAs have declined significantly in popularity over the past couple of years, probably why the "Stylus" model is being discontinued. This little knife is nice! Typical Victorinox quality, with well-designed tools, no blade wobble, and an attractive appearance. The tool selection and size make this a great gent's office knife, provided anyone needs a stylus nowadays. The other tools include a knife blade, tweezers, scissors, and nail file. Shopping Caution: if you're expecting a substantial Swiss Army Knife that's bulky, heavy, and awkward, this isn't it. It's only 2-1/4" closed, and the profile is sleek and slender. A poor choice for an outdoors knife, but well suited for office life.
2) Classic SD, silver Alox. This is another office/indoor oriented knife - same size as the Sylus, but more basic. Not much to write yet, since it's still in the clam-pack. :barf:
3) Victorinox Cadet, red alox. This is the first alox handled knife that I've fondled, and I'm impressed. Looks great, a better grip than the standard red plastic handles, and has a smooth area ready for engraving. Again, the quality is typical Victorinox - very good. I really like the size of this one, and the slender profile. But the tool selection doesn't suit me - no tweezers or toothpick, nail file I don't need and wouldn't use, and two screwdriver/can opener tools that are redundant. Still, with the nice handles, build quality, and full-sized knife blade, this tool is easily worth the $13 paid.
4) Vicorinox Farmer, silver alox. This is a hair longer than the Cadet model, giving it room for a slightly larger blade, and a saw of usable length. This model contains more tools/toys, so it's also thicker and heavier than the cadet. Again, no tweezers or toothpick, which I would really like to have in an outdoors-oriented model. And again, it has two separate can/bottle openers and screwdrivers. There is also an awl, which some folks might find useful. And once again the Victorinox quality shines; strong springs with great 'snap' and absolutely no blade play. The one area with room for improvement, the 'ripples' created by the three backsprings, two liners, and handle slabs.
5) Wenger Century. I've never seen one of these before, so it was the "wild card" of the shipment. And I am impressed. This thing is freakin' huge compared to other Swiss Army Knives, 8-3/4" open with a 3-1/2" blade. The quality is on-par with Victorinox - no blade wobble, a nice 'snap', and good workmanship. This knife has only a single blade - it locks open and releases with a lever. A bit about this lever mechanism: the knife opens like a normal pocketknife, locks open with a liner lock, and pulling the lever slides the liner over and unlocks the blade - a liner lock system in which your fingers never have to cross the path of the closing blade. The handle on this knife is a lightweight plastic with a matte texture. Although not as classy as the alox SAKs (not even as classy as the traditional red handles), this material feels durable and the weight savings make the knife more suitable for outdoor travel. My only "druther", I wish the knife was full plain instead of being partially serrated. But closeout shoppers can't be choosy.
Thanks for reading, and happy shopping!
1) Victorinox Stylus. PDAs have declined significantly in popularity over the past couple of years, probably why the "Stylus" model is being discontinued. This little knife is nice! Typical Victorinox quality, with well-designed tools, no blade wobble, and an attractive appearance. The tool selection and size make this a great gent's office knife, provided anyone needs a stylus nowadays. The other tools include a knife blade, tweezers, scissors, and nail file. Shopping Caution: if you're expecting a substantial Swiss Army Knife that's bulky, heavy, and awkward, this isn't it. It's only 2-1/4" closed, and the profile is sleek and slender. A poor choice for an outdoors knife, but well suited for office life.
2) Classic SD, silver Alox. This is another office/indoor oriented knife - same size as the Sylus, but more basic. Not much to write yet, since it's still in the clam-pack. :barf:
3) Victorinox Cadet, red alox. This is the first alox handled knife that I've fondled, and I'm impressed. Looks great, a better grip than the standard red plastic handles, and has a smooth area ready for engraving. Again, the quality is typical Victorinox - very good. I really like the size of this one, and the slender profile. But the tool selection doesn't suit me - no tweezers or toothpick, nail file I don't need and wouldn't use, and two screwdriver/can opener tools that are redundant. Still, with the nice handles, build quality, and full-sized knife blade, this tool is easily worth the $13 paid.
4) Vicorinox Farmer, silver alox. This is a hair longer than the Cadet model, giving it room for a slightly larger blade, and a saw of usable length. This model contains more tools/toys, so it's also thicker and heavier than the cadet. Again, no tweezers or toothpick, which I would really like to have in an outdoors-oriented model. And again, it has two separate can/bottle openers and screwdrivers. There is also an awl, which some folks might find useful. And once again the Victorinox quality shines; strong springs with great 'snap' and absolutely no blade play. The one area with room for improvement, the 'ripples' created by the three backsprings, two liners, and handle slabs.
5) Wenger Century. I've never seen one of these before, so it was the "wild card" of the shipment. And I am impressed. This thing is freakin' huge compared to other Swiss Army Knives, 8-3/4" open with a 3-1/2" blade. The quality is on-par with Victorinox - no blade wobble, a nice 'snap', and good workmanship. This knife has only a single blade - it locks open and releases with a lever. A bit about this lever mechanism: the knife opens like a normal pocketknife, locks open with a liner lock, and pulling the lever slides the liner over and unlocks the blade - a liner lock system in which your fingers never have to cross the path of the closing blade. The handle on this knife is a lightweight plastic with a matte texture. Although not as classy as the alox SAKs (not even as classy as the traditional red handles), this material feels durable and the weight savings make the knife more suitable for outdoor travel. My only "druther", I wish the knife was full plain instead of being partially serrated. But closeout shoppers can't be choosy.
Thanks for reading, and happy shopping!
