Good bye, Wenger

M

ml100

Joined
Jul 19, 2005
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Wenger does not exist anymore. Victorinox kept the brand alive in the recent years, but from now on, no more Wenger knives are produced. The stores here in Switzerland still sell what the have on stock, but they cannot reorder anymore. Victorinox took over some of the succesful designs of Wenger (with minor modifications). However, now there's the Victorinox logo on the knives.
So, keep your Wengers!
 
I only lament the loss of their only, and one color only, alox knife, the Soldier with the bale. That said, I have three NIB Wenger Soldiers, so I'm set. Life's a Wenger, until you get Victorinized. :D
 
well, some of the Wenger designs are getting the vic can-opener, which I think is superior. I wonder if the Wenger scissors design is better, and if it will get used in vics going forward. As sad as it is to see them go, at least they got taken over by a group that will look after the legacy rather than getting gobbled up by a "brand management company"
 
As the underdog, they had to be, and it seems some good ideas have come from it. I didn't like the shape of the big Wengers, but that said, I'm becoming more intrigued by the grind of the blade, and might try to pick one up if the opportunity presents itself. I had one of the Evo-grips (only knife I ever had stolen, and never got around to replacing) but I liked that as well. Vic has traditionally made some very interesting business decisions, maybe whats left of wenger will be more of a skunk-works? that could be very cool!
 
So I'm a little confused. I know Victorinox bought out Wenger, but does this mean they've chosen to discontinue the Wenger line of SAKs? Or does this little announcement simply mean that the old ownership is gone?
 
Charlie_K said:
So I'm a little confused. I know Victorinox bought out Wenger, but does this mean they've chosen to discontinue the Wenger line of SAKs? Or does this little announcement simply mean that the old ownership is gone?
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My understanding is that the Wenger crew was absorbed into the Vic crew, so no worker's were harmed during the friendly takeover. Knives are still being manufactured under the Wenger name, though they're no longer what I view as classical SAK's.
 
Alnamvet68 said:
My understanding is that the Wenger crew was absorbed into the Vic crew, so no worker's were harmed during the friendly takeover. Knives are still being manufactured under the Wenger name, though they're no longer what I view as classical SAK's.
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While many Wenger models were brought into the Victorinox lineup, Wenger named/branded/labelled/stamped knives are no longer manufactured. The Wenger stamp has been discontinued and is now assigned to knife history. That's why you see no knives listed under the "products" tab on Wenger's website. One brand of SAKs being made these days. Victorinox.
 
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My understanding - victorinox bought out Wenger years ago (2005). After a while they decided it was best to discontinue the wenger line of knives. I am guessing because of model redundancy between the two lines. Everything is now marked victorinox. Victorinox still maintains the wenger employees and facilities. And they are still producing some of the old wenger models but with the victorinox namebrand. I think it is the victorinox Delemont collection. Evo grips and all.
 
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Odog27 said:
My understanding - victorinox bought out Wenger years ago (2005). After a while they decided it was best to discontinue the wenger line of knives. I am guessing because of model redundancy between the two lines. Everything is now marked victorinox. Victorinox still maintains the wenger employees and facilities. And they are still producing some of the old wenger models but with the victorinox namebrand. I think it is the victorinox Delemont collection. Evo grips and all.
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Exactly. The Wenger knife brand is no longer, the factory keeps going producing Victorinox knives.
 
ml100 said:
Exactly. The Wenger knife brand is no longer, the factory keeps going producing Victorinox knives.
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We are in agreement. I just think it is more accurate to say they are still producing a lot of the Wenger knives but they are now branded and sold under the victorinox name. I make this distinction because if you are a fan of the wenger scissors, you can still get them on the models in the victorinox Delemont collection.
 
Odog27 said:
We are in agreement. I just think it is more accurate to say they are still producing a lot of the Wenger knives but they are now branded and sold under the victorinox name. I make this distinction because if you are a fan of the wenger scissors, you can still get them on the models in the victorinox Delemont collection.
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I am not so sure about this. For example, if you look and the "Vicortinox" Version of the Ranger knife, Victorinox exchanged the awl. So, now you get an Wenger design with a Victorinox awl (which is , I have to admit, an improvement).
I will go and check whether the scissors on the Evo are still the same
 
I'm not saying everything will be the same except the shield. I'm saying that some things will be the same some will change. I have heard that the toothpick and tweezers will be the Vic version on all knives but have not verified myself. I actually prefer the wenger toothpick and tweezers. I am also not trying to argue anything here or be a "know it all". Just adding information for others who may be reading this.
 
Manufactured now or not, there is plenty of Wenger branded knife stock everywhere, and as I stated before, it's not a lineup I find particularly attractive. Other than the three Wenger Soldat's I have, I don't own anything Wenger.
 
Alnamvet68 said:
Manufactured now or not, there is plenty of Wenger branded knife stock everywhere, and as I stated before, it's not a lineup I find particularly attractive. Other than the three Wenger Soldat's I have, I don't own anything Wenger.
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Wenger beat Victorinox on at least three accounts. A screwdriver that locks in place, scissors powered by the back spring, and a better can opener.
 
leghog said:
Wenger beat Victorinox on at least three accounts. A screwdriver that locks in place, scissors powered by the back spring, and a better can opener.
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And their pliers. Which operate like the scissors and are adjustable to fit a wider range.
 
I collect them both, like them equally well and it seems to me neither is better, just different. Vic is the celebrated standard...Wenger is innovative and enjoys a cult following. A person is fairly well equipped carrying either.
 
SAK Guy said:
I collect them both, like them equally well and it seems to me neither is better, just different. Vic is the celebrated standard...Wenger is innovative and enjoys a cult following. A person is fairly well equipped carrying either.
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Agreed.
 
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