How 'bout them Farmers & Pioneers!

coyote711

coyote711

Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
1,679
Been awhile since we've had a thread about Farmers and/or Pioneers ..... seems like on any "list" of any type the these two always come out near the top - and with good reason!

If I've got jeans on the Farmer is on me. If I'm wearing khakis or dress slacks the Pioneer is on me. They're just too useful not to carry! Hardly a day goes by that I don't use at least one of the tools on these knives. The only "mod" I did was grind off the keyring studs because they're friendlier in hand without it. The Farmer or Pioneer would be at the top of my list on any of those "If you could only carry one ..... " threads.

Pics are always welcome of course ..... let's hear about your Farmers and Pioneers!
 

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Before I got into knives, I carried a Soldier every day. I bought that Soldier for a camping trip, but since it is such a very useful and sturdy pocket knife, it stayed in my pocket when I got home and has been there for several years. The only thing I missed was a keyring or bail, but it never fell out of my pocket.

When I got into knives, one of my first acquisitions was a Farmer. I thought it would be an excellent pocket knife for the outdoors, better than the Soldier, since it had not only a keyring but also a saw. I knew from the Huntsman that I had as a kid that the saw on the Victorinox knives is very good.

The first Pioneer that I got was a silver model that was issued by the Dutch army in the early 90s. Now I have a black and red Pioneer too. The red pioneer was with me this year on a four week camping trip through Scandinavia and it has served me well. I had a small saw with me, so I didn't miss the saw on the Farmer.

I think the Pioneer, Soldier and Wenger SI (don't forget that one) have a great selection of tools for everyday use. In the past years this was the SAK that I carried most, but I should add that I rotate my SAKs usually once a week, so there are weeks I don't carry a Pioneer or Soldier. :)

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I did EDC one of the older red alox Pioneers for almost a year, probably some kind of record for me. Then I sold off my Pioneer collection. Recently switched to a Soldier and hope it can keep my attention for a while. It really is a great knife.
Never had much use for a saw for urban carry so the extra weight and thickness of a Farmer was too much.
adam
 
Whoaaaa ...... I certainly didn't mean to be exclusionary here and leave out the granddaddy of them all - The Soldier!!! Thanks Harayasu and SAKsRCool for talking about your Soldiers, in addition to the others! Don't be afraid to talk about Pioneers in all flavors, Electricians, Solos ..... heck, any and all 93mm Alox SAK's - they're all :cool:!!! :thumbup:
 
I just got a Farmer about a month ago, i really like this knife, i'm spending alot of time outdoors these days so it's a really great knife to have.

Just a week ago i finally managed to get a Soldier, they're as rare as hens teeth in the Uk since they went out of production. It's a used model from 1993 and in great condition so i'm really pleased with it, usually carry the Soldier on work days.

I know it doesn't strictly belong in this thread, but i've got to mention my little 83mm Alox Bantam II aswell, this little thing is what started off my love for Alox SAK's, it's basically a Alox penknife, 2 blades...spear and pen...small, classy, doesn't upset/frighten/offend the natives and is equally at home in my watch pocket or suit trousers.
 
I like em plenty , if I was restricted to one knife , it would be one or the other !

Chris
 
Soldier is my all time favorit.i edc soldier for quite a while and i love it. The only thing that i miss are tweezers,toothpick and scissors. The solution is to bring a little classic or ramble with me. I enjoy farmer,but got to admit only edc it several times. I agree with Adam,the saw and extra weight is not needed in urban environment.. The only alox i bring every single day is a thin classic alox in my wallet.
 
Well, I´m a bit on a minimalism road so I don´t carry the Farmer very often.
It´s always in my bag though, so never too far away:)
 
There are some really useful tools on the alox models. The sheep foot blade on the Electrician models for example or the pruning blade on the Pioneer Rancher. But I wonder why they put those blades at the position where there is "normally" the can opener. During hiking and camping trips and even daily life, the can opener is a tool that I use far more often than the bottle opener. I wished they would develop a Farmer variant with the bottle opener replaced by a sheep foot blade. I really like the sheep foot blade, it is a short and very strong blade.
 
My soon to be 27 year old Pioneer is pictured below.

It has served me well all these years and is a trusted and treasured friend. We are supposed to be retired but Mrs. purple95 keeps us busy with honey-do jobs and all the other activities of retirement. I can look at the knife and remember some very good times, a favorite activity in this, the later stage of my life.

A couple of years ago, I treated him to a new blade and backsprings but kept the tools. Our friend Scibeer did his usual top notch job on the restoration.

As you might imagine, I favor the Alox Soldier as well and have a favorite one purchased in 1996 that also sees regular use. I also have several NIB spares of both the Pioneer and Soldier on hand.

Like some others, I removed the keyring from the Pioneer those 26 years ago. Likewise, I removed the one from the restoration.

This is the knife that would remain if I could own only one knife, God forbid.

dan

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Just gotta Pioneer Solo today, very happy with it, i was inspired to get one by spydutch's recent thread on them.

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Top Left: Farmer
Top Right: Soldier
Bottom Left: Bantam II
Bottom Right: Solo
 
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