Corkscrew and Phillips together

[Guy McVer]

When choosing a swiss army knife, one is often forced to decide between having either a Phillips screwdriver or a corkscrew. There is a third choice. There are many choices, actually. What follows is intended to be a compilation of information to serve as a reference for those who want the best of both worlds.

ATTENTION! This is a long post listing and describing various discontinued and currently available Swiss army knives which have both a corkscrew and a Phillips screwdriver together. There is a condensed list version at the beginning for quick reference. Following that is a more detailed list briefly describing each model. After that are a bunch of tips and ideas for alternative things you can do/try. Feel free to skip around to whatever part(s) you'd like.



MODELS WITH CORKSCREW + PHILLIPS, THE QUICK LIST:

91mm, 2-3 layers

-Scientist - 2 layers, discontinued
-"Engineer" - 2 layers, discontinued (special run)
-Passenger - 3 layers, discontinued
-Yeoman - 3 layers, discontinued
-Spartan Lite - 3 layers, discontinued
-Cybertool S - 3 layers

91mm, 4 layers or more

-Explorer - 4 layers
-Voyager/Traveler Lite - 4 layers, discontinued
-Woodsman - 5 layers, discontinued
-Modeler - 5 layers, discontinued
-Huntsman Lite - 5 layers
-Mountaineer Lite - 5 layers
-Cybertool M - 5 layers
-Outdoorsman - 6 layers, discontinued
-Cybertool Lite - 6 layers
-Expedition Lite - 6 layers
-Champion Plus - 7 layers, discontinued
-Cybertool L - 7 layers
-Swiss Champ - 8 layers
-Swiss Champ XAVT - 15 layers

111mm, all

-Atlas - 4 layers, discontinued
-Outrider - 4 layers
-Skipper - 4 layers
-Hercules - 5 layers
-Tradesman - 5 layers, discontinued
-Work Champ - 6 layers
-Work Champ XL - 10 layers

85mm, 3-5 layers

-Wenger Classic 132 - 3 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Mustang - 3 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Cyclist - 3 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Swiss Sportsman - 3 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Fly Fisherman - 4 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Nomad - 4 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Pathfinder - 4 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Skier - 4 layers, discontinued
-Wenger EVO S557 - 5 layers, discontinued
-Delémont Evolution S557 - 5 layers
-Wenger Swiss Outdoorsman - 5 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Minathor - 5 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Biker 36 - 5 layers, discontinued

85mm, 6 layers or more

-Wenger Mountain Bike/Biker 37 - 6 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Deer - 6 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Duck - 6 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Master Tool 13 - 6 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Motorist - 6 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Seafarer/Windjammer - 6 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Survivor - 6 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Tool Chest - 7 layers, discontinued
-Delémont Evolution 28 - 8 layers
-Wenger Champ - 8 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Matterhorn Original - 8 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Snap Shackle - 8 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Matterhorn Plus - 9 layers, discontinued
-Wenger SGT Fix-It - 9 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Serrated Tool Chest - 9 layers, discontinued
-Delémont Evolution S54 - 10 layers
-Wenger Tool Chest Plus - 10 layers, discontinued
-Wenger Giant Knife - 60+ layers, discontinued



Descriptive list of Swiss army knife models with both corkscrew and Phillips drivers:



91mm, 2-3 layers

-Scientist - 2 layers, discontinued

This model has the bottle/can opener Combo Tool which takes the place of the secondary blade on the knife layer, allowing the opener layer and the blade layer to be merged into a single layer. This combined layer also has a corkscrew on the back side. The second layer has a magnifying glass and an inline Phillips driver.

This is the only two layer model containing both a corkscrew and Phillips driver. It is also somewhat rare.

-"Engineer" - 2 layers, discontinued (special run)

This is a rare version of the Scientist model with a small flat screwdriver replacing the secondary knife blade.

-Passenger - 3 layers, discontinued

This has the exact same tools and configuration as the popular 2 layer Spartan model, but it also adds a magnifier/Phillips layer in the middle.

-Yeoman - 3 layers, discontinued

This is similar to the Scientist, but it adds a scissors layer with a back side parcel hook tool. There are at least two versions of this model. There is the original version, and then there is the special edition which was created for the Swiss born knife dealer SwissBianco. The SwissBianco version adds a skinny fingernail file texture to the back of the parcel hook and moves the magnifier/Phillips layer into the middle.

-Spartan Lite - 3 layers, discontinued

Same as the Passenger, but it replaces the magnifying lens with an LED flashlight powered by two flat round button cell batteries. The extra thickness of this tool makes the overall width of this model noticeably greater than the Passenger.

-Cybertool S - 3 layers

Same as the Passenger, but with an inline 4mm hex bit driver layer in place of the magnifier/Phillips layer. This layer also holds 4 double sided bits for a total of 8 different sizes/shapes.



91mm, 4 layers or more

-Explorer - 4 layers

This model has a standard knife layer with a primary and a secondary blade, a scissors layer, a magnifier/Phillips layer, and a bottle/can opener layer. The back tools are a corkscrew, a hook, and an awl.

-Voyager/Traveler Lite - 4 layers, discontinued

This is like an Explorer with an LED light instead of a magnifying lens. It also has a digital numerical display built into the front plastic scale. It shows a clock and it has an alarm function. It also shows altitude, temperature, and changes in atmospheric pressure (Traveler model only).

-Woodsman - 5 layers, discontinued

Same as the Explorer, but it adds a wood saw.

-Modeler - 5 layers, discontinued

Same as the Explorer, but it adds a metal file.

-Huntsman Lite - 5 layers

This is simply Huntsman with the addition of an LED/Phillips layer. Just like the regular Huntsman model, it also has a knife layer, a saw layer, a scissor layer, and a bottle/can opener layer.

-Mountaineer Lite - 5 layers

Same as a Huntsman Lite, but with a metal file instead of a saw.

-Cybertool M - 5 layers

Same as the Cybertool S, but it adds a scissors layer and a set of pliers.

-Outdoorsman - 6 layers, discontinued

This is a Marlboro branded model. It is the same as the Explorer, but with the addition of a wood saw and a fish scaler.

-Cybertool Lite - 6 layers

Same as the Cybertool M, but it adds a magnifier/LED layer.

-Expedition Lite - 6 layers

Same as the Traveler Lite, but includes 2 more layers with 2 additional back tools: a metal file with a back side chisel and a wood saw with a small back side flat screw driver.

-Champion Plus - 7 layers, discontinued

Older version of the Swiss Champ. No pliers.

-Cybertool L - 7 layers

Same as the Cybertool M, but it adds 2 more layers with 2 additional back tools: a metal file with a back side chisel and a wood saw with a small back side flat screw driver.

-Swiss Champ - 8 layers

Victorinox's flagship model. Very thick. It has nearly everything except for a flashlight and a bit driver.

-Swiss Champ XAVT - 15 layers

This has everything. It is too big. Don't buy this.



111mm, all

-Atlas - 4 layers, discontinued

Large locking knife blade, wood saw, pliers, bottle and can openers, short inline Phillips driver, a back side corckscrew, and a back side awl.

-Outrider - 4 layers

Large locking knife blade, wood saw, scissors, bottle and can openers, long inline small Phillips driver, a back side corckscrew, and a back side awl with no sewing eye.

-Skipper - 4 layers

Large locking partially serated knife blade, marlin spike, pliers, bottle and can openers, short inline Phillips driver, a back side corckscrew, and a back side awl.

-Hercules - 5 layers

Large locking knife blade, wood saw, pliers, scissors, bottle and can openers, short inline Phillips driver, long inline small Phillips driver, a back side corkscrew, and a back side awl.

-Tradesman - 5 layers, discontinued

Large locking knife blade, wood saw, metal file, pliers, bottle and can openers, short inline Phillips driver, a back side corckscrew, and a back side awl.

-Work Champ - 6 layers

Large locking knife blade, wood saw, metal file, pliers, scissors, bottle and can openers, short inline Phillips driver, long inline small Phillips driver, a back side corkscrew, and a back side awl with no sewing eye.

-Work Champ XL - 10 layers

Large locking knife blade, seat belt cutter, safety cutter/gut hook (not in all versions), horse hoof cleaner, marlin spike, wood saw, metal file, pliers, scissors, bottle and can openers, short inline Phillips driver, long inline small Phillips driver, a back side corkscrew, and back side awl(s).

 

[Guy McVer]

85mm, 3-5 layers

-Wenger Classic 132 - 3 layers, discontinued

This model has a 2D flattened Phillips driver on the opposite side of the knife layer. The rest of the tools are normal. It has a bottle opener and a can opener, a wood saw, a knife blade, a corkscrew, and an awl.

-Wenger Mustang - 3 layers, discontinued

Corkscrew, awl, primary knife blade, smaller secondary clip point knife blade, bottle opener can opener, inline Phillips, and a multi-size "universal" wrench tool.

-Wenger Cyclist - 3 layers, discontinued

Same as a Wenger Mustang, but it has a fingernail file instead of the secondary knife blade.

-Wenger Swiss Sportsman - 3 layers, discontinued

This is another model with an inline 2D Phillips where the secondary knife blade would normally be. It also has a locking knife blade, scissors, bottle and can openers, a corkscrew, and an awl.

-Wenger Fly Fisherman - 4 layers, discontinued

This model is the same as the Swiss Sportsman, but the main blade doesn't lock and it also adds the fish scaler tool.

-Wenger Nomad - 4 layers, discontinued

Same as Wenger Mustang, but adds scissors.

-Wenger Pathfinder - 4 layers, discontinued

Same as Wenger Classic 132, but adds a ruler with a magnetic navigational compass.

-Wenger Skier - 4 layers, discontinued

This is a somewhat rare and unusual model. It has a wax scraper with a safety guard, a locking inline Phillips driver, a metal file (not all versions have this), a primary knife blade with a fingernail file in place of the secondary knife blade, an awl, and a corkscrew.

-Wenger EVO S557 - 5 layers, discontinued

Primary knife blade with a fingernail file in place of the secondary knife blade, scissors, small pliers, wrench, inline Phillips, bottle and can openers, awl, and corkscrew.

Delémont Evolution S557 - 5 layers

This is Victorinox's updated version of the old Wenger EVO S557. It removes the fingernail file and replaces it with a secondary knife blade. It also uses Victorinox's own versions of the awl and the can opener.

Wenger Swiss Outdoorsman - 5 layers, discontinued

Yet another model with a 2D flat Phillips driver in place of the secondary knife blade. The main knife blade also locks. This model has a wood saw, scissors, and a fish scaler in addition to the standard bottle and can opener tools with an awl and a corkscrew.

Minathor - 5 layers, discontinued

This is a very unusual model with a toolset intended for watch repair. Across from the bottle opener is a watch case opener instead of the usual can opener tool. There is also a magnifying glass with a watch spring bar release tool on the end, and a small metal file with a #0 Phillips screwdriver tip that takes the place of the secondary knife blade. The back tools include the typical awl and corkscrew. The rest of the space is taken up by a small bit holder and tool bits compartment, both of which can be completely removed from the main body of the Swiss army knife. The included set of bits are for driving various screw types, and it also includes a small circular file.

-Wenger Biker 36 - 5 layers, discontinued

This is a bicycle multitool for roadside maintenance. It has a bike chain tool and a 10mm hex wrench with spoke keys. It also has a fingernail file in place of the secondary blade, a multiple size wrench, an inline Phillips driver, and the usual bottle and can openers with the back side awl and corkscrew tools.



85mm, 6 layers and up

-Wenger Mountain Bike/Biker 37 - 6 layers, discontinued

This model is the same as a Biker 36, but it adds a set of small pliers.

-Wenger Deer - 6 layers, discontinued

Inline Phillips, wrench, scissors, metal file, wood saw, clip point secondary knife blade, bottle/can openers, awl, and corkscrew.

-Wenger Duck - 6 layers, discontinued

Same as the Wenger Deer, but with a magnifying glass instead of the metal file and a fingernail file instead of the secondary knife blade.

-Wenger Master Tool 13 - 6 layers, discontinued

Inline Phillips, wrench, scissors, pliers, cigar cutter, primary and secondary knife blades, bottle/can openers, awl, and corkscrew.

-Wenger Motorist - 6 layers, discontinued

Same as the Wenger Deer, but with a magnifying glass instead of the wood saw and a fingernail file instead of the secondary knife blade.

-Wenger Seafarer/Windjammer - 6 layers, discontinued

Same as the Wenger Deer, but with a scaler instead of the scissors and a fingernail file instead of the secondary knife blade.

-Wenger Survivor - 6 layers, discontinued

The Wenger Survivor has a rescue whistle and a fold-out carabiner clip in addition to an inline Phillips, scissors, wood saw, clip point secondary knife blade, bottle/can openers, awl, and a corkscrew. On some versions the clip point blade is replaced by a fingernail file, or the carabiner is replaced by a wrench, or there is a wood saw instead of a metal file.

-Wenger Tool Chest - 7 layers, discontinued

Inline Phillips, wrench, pliers, scissors, metal file, magnifier, bottle/can openers, awl, corkscrew, and a fingernail file instead of the secondary knife blade.

Delémont Evolution 28 - 8 layers

Knife layer with locking main blade, scissors, magnifying glass with small flat screwdriver tip, wrench, inline Phillips, metal file, wood saw, fish scaler, bottle and can openers, awl, and corkscrew.

-Wenger Champ - 8 layers, discontinued

Same as the Wenger Tool Chest, but it removes the pliers and adds a wood saw and a fish scaler.

-Wenger Matterhorn Original - 8 layers, discontinued

Same as the Wenger Champ, but it has a clip point secondary knife blade.

-Wenger Snap Shackle - 8 layers, discontinued

Same as the Wenger Champ, but it has a fold-out carabiner instead of the wrench.

-Wenger Matterhorn Plus - 9 layers, discontinued

Same as the Wenger Champ, but it adds a ruler with a magnetic navigational compass.

-Wenger SGT Fix-It - 9 layers, discontinued

Similar to the Wenger Minathor, this model has a tool bit compartment with 3 different tools for use with a small removable tool handle. It also has a removable combination wrench/screwdriver tool. It has a 2d flat Phillips driver in place of the secondary knife blade, pliers, scissors, a magnifier, bottle and can openers, an awl, and a corkscrew.

-Wenger Serrated Tool Chest - 9 layers, discontinued

Inline Phillips, fold-out carabiner, pliers, scissors, metal file, wood saw, magnifier, bottle/can openers, awl, corkscrew, serrated primary knife blade, and a clip point secondary knife blade.

Delémont Evolution S54 - 10 layers

Same as the Evolution 28, but it adds small pliers and a ruler with a magnetic navigational compass.

-Wenger Tool Chest Plus - 10 layers, discontinued

Inline Phillips, wrench, pliers, scissors, metal file, wood saw, magnifier, ruler with compass, bottle/can openers, awl, corkscrew, and a fingernail file instead of the secondary knife blade.

-Wenger Giant Knife - 60+ layers, discontinued

This is an absolute monstrosity and it should not exist.

more might be added later...

 

[Guy McVer]

Ideas for alternatives

There are some alternatives if you can't get the exact model(s) you are looking for. Each one has its own pros and cons.

EDC bit drivers are available to carry alongside your corkscrew Swiss army knife of choice. Carrying a small bit driver in a pocket or on your key chain can offer you more versatility too, but choosing the right one can be difficult.

There are also many EDC pry tools with some kind of bit driving capability. A few of them even have bit storage built in. A small pry tool can clip to a pocket or dangle from your keys. These can be very expensive.

Key chain Phillips drivers are another option, and they are very cheap to buy, but sometimes it can be difficult to get enough torque on them to loosen a stubborn screw.

Key chain cork screws can also be found easily enough. You can carry a Phillips based Swiss army knife in your pocket and have a corkscrew on your key chain.

You can also carry the actual corkscrew piece from a broken or disassembled Swiss army knife. If you don't care about opening wine bottles but you still need the corkscrew to help you untie knots with, then you can just salvage the corkscrew tool from an old Swiss army knife and slap it on a small split ring to be carried with your keys.

Complimentary Multitools

You can carry another small multitool alongside your swiss army knife with the goal of adding some functionality that the Swiss army knife is lacking.

Victorinox makes a few keychain sized models which can compliment your larger Swiss army knife. Of particular interest are the models with the 58mm magnetic combo Phillips head screw driver. This little screwdriver is extremely capable and often surprises people with how well it works, even for larger screws in many cases. Noteworthy key chain sized models with this tool are listed here.

-Rally
-Jetsetter
-Rambler
-Manager/Midnite Manager
-Vagabond (discontinued)
-Minichamp/Alox Minichamp

Also of note are some fairly small and long discontinued wire cutting pliers with Phillips and flat screw drivers built into the handles.

-Sebertool M2 (discontinued)
-Sebertool M3 (discontinued)
-IDL Tools T5 (discontinued)
-IDL Tools T10 (discontinued)

The ones made by IDL Tools are identical to the Serbertools, but are slightly lower quality. There are also some extremely poor quality copies of these tools which should be avoided at all costs. Also of note are the Swiss Tech versions of these tools, which should also be avoided because they use an inferior design which causes the arms to rotate while you are trying to use them. They are also very heavy.

Modding/Customization

If you can't find what you are looking for, then you can always make it or have it made. You can try to build the Swiss army knife you want from old parts taken from other models, or you can pay a custom SAK maker to do it for you.

One easy example would be to take an Explorer model Swiss army knife and remove the scissors layer to create a discontinued Passenger model. Another example would be to combine a Victorinox Compact model with the inline Philips layer from an Explorer, thereby creating a discontinued Yeoman. You could make it even smaller by removing the scissor layer, which would turn it into a discontinued Scientist model.

You don't have to be restricted to recreating discontinued models. A good example of this would be to combine the knife blade layer of a Victorinox Compact with the bit driver layer from a Cybertool S to create a new 2 layer "Compact Cybertool S" model. To my knowledge, Victorinox has never officially made anything like that. Or if you prefer to keep the scissors layer, then you can make it a "Cyber Yeoman".

Useful Tips

-The small screwdriver on the end of a Victorinox can opener will work as a weak inline #2 Phillips screwdriver, but be careful not to damage it by using too much force. It is not very resistant to hard twisting.

-On models such as the Sportsman, the Cadet, the Ambassador, or the Minichamp, the pointed tip of the finger nail file often works on small Phillips screws.

-On models such as the the Classic SD, the Escort, the Rally, or the Rambler, the flat screwdriver on the end of the fingernail file often works on large Phillips screws.

-On a Waiter or a Compact, the downward pointed corner of the bottle/can opener Combo Tool works as a #2 Phillips driver, but it gets chewed up very easily when used this way.

-The gray corkscrew mini screw driver works on both flat and Phillips screws. It will also fit into a 1/4" hex driver.

-If you do not have a corkscrew, it is still possible to open wine bottles using one of several alternative methods. One such method involves inserting the knife blade of your Swiss army knife into the wine cork at an angle and then using the blade to slowly twist the corkscrew out. Another method is to use a cigarette lighter to heat the air pocket underneath the cork so that the pressure increases enough to push the cork out.

-The tip of the inline awl on 93mm alox Swiss army knife models can also be useful for untying knots, similar to the way that the corkscrew on 84mm and 91mm model Swiss army knives is useful for untying knots.