Dumb questions, which Victorinox has better durability the classic, (red, or alox), & recruit, or cadet? Also when were the non military model(s?) developed? I would like to get myself 1, but can't decide between these 4 models. If I got the recruit, or cadet it would go in my purse, BUT I see you carry the classic, which is just too cute, on your keychain which would be nice.
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alox vs red plastic(?)
- Thread starter HMC
- Start date
The alox knives are ahead in the durability area in my own experiance. The knives are all of equal construction, but over the course of thirty years I've had an issue or two with the red plastic handles either comming off, or cracking up. They are also not too good around solvents of some types. Working in a machine shop, I had some solvent get on a red plastic handle tinker, and I had to send it back to victorinox to have the badly melted handle replaced. To Victorinox's credit, they always live up to their over the top unconditional warrentee and replaced the handles free of charge. but I never had a problem with my twenty plus year old pioneer with the alox handles, or the Wenger SI I've had quite a while. These days I carry a Victorinox cadet alot, and its a rugged little pocket knife.
The only red plastic handle one I carry these days is the classic on my key ring. I find a classic on the keychain and a cadet in a pocket is one heck of a versitile edc combo.
The only red plastic handle one I carry these days is the classic on my key ring. I find a classic on the keychain and a cadet in a pocket is one heck of a versitile edc combo.
I love the Alox models too but the celidor models (and their panels) are nowhere near as fragile as some believe.
My 21 year old Vic Recruit is still going strong.
Of all my pockets knives it has been carried and used the most.
Its done everything from whittling to filleting a fish to prying all kinds of things including prying the pins out of door hinges to facilitate door removal.
The swiss cross on it has worn smooth. Actually the first year i had it i used a magnifying lens and sunshine to melt my initials into one of the panels (hey i was a teenager! lol).That also has been smoothed out by years worth of pocket carry.
My 21 year old Vic Recruit is still going strong.
Of all my pockets knives it has been carried and used the most.
Its done everything from whittling to filleting a fish to prying all kinds of things including prying the pins out of door hinges to facilitate door removal.
The swiss cross on it has worn smooth. Actually the first year i had it i used a magnifying lens and sunshine to melt my initials into one of the panels (hey i was a teenager! lol).That also has been smoothed out by years worth of pocket carry.
- Joined
- May 2, 2006
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I'd be fine with plastic, if it was more chemical-resistant. The stuff they use on SAKs reacts badly to many, many chemicals. If it wasn't for that, I'd carry non-alox SAKs more.
The only chemicals my celidor SAKs have been subjected to are paint/stain/wd40/3-in1 oil/lighter fluid and bbq sauce .lol.
Just curious what chemicals in particular? A list would help the rest of us avoid subjecting our celidor SAKs to them.
Thanks!
I am partial to the alox models myself. IMO, they are thinner, stronger, and better looking then the cellidor and they seem to have the tool combinations I favor.
But there is little bad about the cellidor models. I have exposed cellidor handles to insect repellent, fuel, etc. and have not had problems. The added strength of the alox handles is not particularly important, the cellidor handles are more than strong enough for anything I have done (like cutting slots in a mud flap in cold weather).
Once I managed to warp a set of the cellidor scales on a Recruit. (I suspect that heat was responsible?) I took them off and used the knife for a while with only the thin aluminum (alox) liners that the cellidor scales are attached to. It was a little too thin to be comfortable in use and the exposed pins snagged on my pockets, but it worked fine.
Also, if you want toothpick, tweezers, corkscrew, large scissors, pliers, etc., you can't get it in alox. I don't miss them at all (well, maybe the corkscrew a little), but alot of people really enjoy them.
But there is little bad about the cellidor models. I have exposed cellidor handles to insect repellent, fuel, etc. and have not had problems. The added strength of the alox handles is not particularly important, the cellidor handles are more than strong enough for anything I have done (like cutting slots in a mud flap in cold weather).
Once I managed to warp a set of the cellidor scales on a Recruit. (I suspect that heat was responsible?) I took them off and used the knife for a while with only the thin aluminum (alox) liners that the cellidor scales are attached to. It was a little too thin to be comfortable in use and the exposed pins snagged on my pockets, but it worked fine.
Also, if you want toothpick, tweezers, corkscrew, large scissors, pliers, etc., you can't get it in alox. I don't miss them at all (well, maybe the corkscrew a little), but alot of people really enjoy them.
Mineral spirits, coolant for cutting various metals, industrial solvents....
There are more but I can't think of them offhand.
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2005
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- 819
Exactly. Also the main blade is thicker in the Soldier (alox) model, don't know about the other alox models.
All those plus the bug repelent the army gave us in the late 60's that came in little green bottles. If you put on some of the bug repelent and then used your sak before washing you hands, it would make gooy finger prints in the red plastic. I also left disolved finger prints in my Garcia rod because of that stuff. But mosquitos, ticks, chiggers, or green headed horse flys would'nt come near us with that stuff on.
Nothing seems to bother alox!:thumbup:
I would always choose an Alox (solid aluminum) handle for any heavy duty use, but the red plastic handles work just fine for routine use. My long time favorites are the Victorinox Farmer, Pioneer, and Soldier. But lately I'm carrying a new little red Bantam in my shorts around the house. It's a great little SAK, and the Solo is a good larger model, too. You just can't beat an SAK made by Victorinox. :thumbup: www.eknifeworks.com
ElCuchillo
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I'm kind've at a cross roads when it comes to this topic. Right now I am carrying a Vic Sportsman II, which is a Red Nylon scale knife. Before that I carried an Alox Cadet, and before that an Alox Standard Issue. I love my Alox knives because they are tough as nails. They don't scuff much, scratch, fall off, etc. However, the red scales have their advantages as well. Granted, I have the red nylon scales as opposed to the red Cellidor ones, but I HAVE owned cellidor scaled SAKS. The red scales are definitely NOT as weak or flimsy as some make them seem to be. They are made to be tough. Not as tough as the ALOX ones, since those aren't scales but the actual frame, but tough nonetheless. I know people who have owned red scaled SAKS for over twenty years, and they are still intact. Another plus for the red scales is the that they carry the toothpick and tweezers, which come in REAL handy for a varaiety of things. Last but not least, the universally recognized red scales make these knives very sheeple friendly. People aren;t scared of SAKS, and see them not necessarily as knives, but as those little red things with the tools in them. For me it's a toss up. I guess in the end, though, I should deal with the question at hand. Which is more durable? I'll go with the Alox.
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I agree that alox is much more durable than cellidor,but at the same time I like the thiner blades for carving and enjoy the wider variety of tools available on the cellidor models.
So I guess if you want a simple rugged vic,alox is the way to go,but if you want more features,with alittle care (in most enviroments)The cellidor holds up pretty well.
So I guess if you want a simple rugged vic,alox is the way to go,but if you want more features,with alittle care (in most enviroments)The cellidor holds up pretty well.
Alox maybe more durable and I agree it's more attractive, but I find myself preferring to have the "extras" found in the red handles that are missing from the Alox - tweezers, toothpick, and in the case of my Swisschamp, which I've been edc'ing since I got it, the pen. I have the Champ and a Tinker (which was my edc prior to the Champ) both in red and an Electrician Plus in Alox.
I have several Alox SAKs and lots of cellidor SAKs, mostly in red. My favorites are the red cellidor ones. They just LOOK like a SAK. Call me a traditional kinda guy, I suppose. AND, I really do like the fact that you can carry tweezers, a toothpick in regular cellidor scales, plus a straight pin and a pen in "plus" cellidor scales.
- Tim
- Tim
All those plus the bug repelent the army gave us in the late 60's that came in little green bottles. If you put on some of the bug repelent and then used your sak before washing you hands, it would make gooy finger prints in the red plastic. I also left disolved finger prints in my Garcia rod because of that stuff. But mosquitos, ticks, chiggers, or green headed horse flys would'nt come near us with that stuff on.
Forgot about that stuff. Used to get that at army surplus stores 20+ years ago. DEET eats plastic.
Like the stock on my M1A...