Case vs Victorinox

R

RugerNurse

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Jul 13, 2019
Messages
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I am thinking of ordering a SAK pioneer for the alox scales but also like the Case Sodbuster Jr. All I hear about is how bad Case’s QC is. Is it really that bad?
 
Victorinox has consistently very good quality assurance. Case is inconsistent. I would only get a Case if I can see and hold it personally. Others may have a different opinion.
 
So delightful!!!!!!!!!!


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Pretty different knives, given the additional tools/functionality you get with a SAK over the Sodbuster Jr. But in terms of consistent QC these days, I'd say Victorinox is head and shoulders over Case. If you decide to get the Sodbuster Jr, try to get one that you can personally inspect before buying.

That said, there is a SAK Alox Pioneer in my pocket just about every day. When it's not a Pioneer, it's an Alox Farmer.
 
Case can be hit or miss. Tragic for an old name in the cutlery world, but those times have passed. I've had experience with both, but Victorinox is on a pedestal by itself for production line QA. And Victorinox customer service is second to none, except maybe Buck. The Case is not a bad knife, but thats it. The Victorinox pioneer is in a class by itself as a compact tool in the pocket that can deal with lots of those little emergencies that tend to happen when we're far away from our tool box back home or in the trunk of the car a ways off.

I have to admit to being very prejudiced for the SAK, as I've been lucky to have one in my pocket to fix things 'out there', to include a gunked up fishing reel out on the Florida Straits in a rented boat with rented fishing gear, a conked out Vespa motor scooter on a lonely dirt road in the middle of nowhere, and some minor repairs on a rented cabin on vacation on the Rogue River. In each occasion, just having the ability to deal with Phillips screws and being able to partly disassemble something to fiddle with it, got me going again.

A knife is just a knife. All it can do is cut. But a SAK is a pocket size bundle of solutions to those little lives problems.
 
Can't go wrong with either one in my opinion. I love both brands. I got two Vic Spartans, a forester and a workchamp in the last years. All perfect. From Case I got two copperheads, two trappers and one stockman. The large stockman lives on my belt in it's leatherpouch ever since. All perfect. I heard about case and qc issues, but mine were all good.
 
I picked up a nice Case Sodbuster Jr. with the cro van carbon steel blade at McCoy's Building Supplles in El Campo, Texas a few years ago and was impressed by the quality and edge holding. Don't know if Case switched to a different steel but that was an excellent knife. My older son has it now.
 
I've numerous SAKs but don't have that Case model, love all the SAKs for what they offer but have you thought of the Boker Tech tool range, I've only the Tech 1 but blade and FnF is considerably better than my SAKs and they use Sandvik 12c27 which is well done.
 
While case is definitely apt to let a stinker through on occasion, they still make a fine knife. I bought 2 last year (a pruner and a medium stockman) and they're as well put together as one could hope for. I think we as enthusiasts tend to deliberately look for the small flaws that the average person would overlook. I also have several victorinox knives, and don't leave home without my swisschamp.

That being said... Either one will do what a knife should, but only the victorinox will do other things... Given the choice of either or, I'd go with the pioneer.
 
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