Keyring - Pioneer vs old Soldier

E

EagleIH

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
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179
I had a soldier many years ago and loved the utility. I'm thinking of getting a black Pioneer. Is the keyring useful or does it make the knife uncomfortable to use/carry? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
Unless you are going to attach it to your keys or make a lanyard for it the keyring would be useless. I personally do not find the keyring to get in the way or make use uncomfortable. If you do find it to be uncomfortable you could always cut or grind off the attachment.
 
each person will have a preference, but in general I think they are more useful than not. The plus side is, you can shave it off later if you don't like it.
 
What they said. I used to file it off my hard use knives but now that I'm older and have RA, a lanyard is more useful so I keep 'em on.
 
Considering the old Soldier and Wenger SI have been phased out, the Pioneer is the only one still in stock. I don't find the keyring on my Pioneer irksome, but then, I don't really use it for prolonged periods of time. Truly, my preference would be for a hollow rivet so I could attach a lanyard or cordage, but they don't make Soldiers like that any longer.
 
Getahl said:
Considering the old Soldier and Wenger SI have been phased out, the Pioneer is the only one still in stock. I don't find the keyring on my Pioneer irksome, but then, I don't really use it for prolonged periods of time. Truly, my preference would be for a hollow rivet so I could attach a lanyard or cordage, but they don't make Soldiers like that any longer.
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Sadly. I always loved the hollow rivet with the bail. Just have to be careful not to close the blade on it.
 
I have an old Soldier without the key ring attachment and see no practical use for this irksome protrusion. I wouldn't mind so much if it folded out of the way. I just received a black Pioneer and took it right over to the belt sander.
 
I like the key ring. I almost always use a lanyard attached to my belt. The thought of losing my SAK and needing it would so ruin my day.
 
gadgetgeek said:
each person will have a preference, but in general I think they are more useful than not. The plus side is, you can shave it off later if you don't like it.
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Thinking for you this is the way to go. Give it a try, and should you not like it, very easy to remove without damaging the knife. I myself didn't find them useful, but I did give them a try.
 
I own a Pioneer Swiss Army Knife and I find the key ring useful and I can use the knife very comfortably.
 
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i've never found the keyring to get in the way or be uncomfortable although it might be less comfortable to work with on the slimmer alox handled knives
 
Brock O Lee said:
I had a regular ding in the edge because of that, no matter how careful I was. Hated the bail for that reason. I much prefer the new style keyring.
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I had to remove the bail for the same reason. I never found them to get in the way during use though.
 
I like them without the ring, love 'em with it and I really love the bail.

IMO it´s a shame that the Wenger SI (Soldat) is discontinued. I love the classy look of this particular knife. Never had any issues with a ding on the blade.

The regular Pioneer series is a big deal, imo. I really like to put a lanyard or even a chain on these knives while carrying them. (Same thing with the 91mm series) But on a modern knife I don´t use any lanyards. Strange but I can´t explain why.

The Soldier series (Soldier, Electrician, Harvester etc.) w/o the ring is also a great carry. With its cigar/equal end frame it makes a classic feeling in the pocket.
 
I prefer to not have the key ring. Since my Alox collecting started with the farmer I can't stand the key ring because without a lanyard it makes a hot spot on the palm when using the saw or main blade. I recently obtained an Electrician model and love that it is key ring free.

Cadet on top, Electrician centered, and Farmer on bottom:







 
I does appear that buying a new Wenger Soldat is going to be difficult, since I purchased what may have been the last two from one of our sponsors...it's no longer listed on the site, nor on fleaBay.:(
 
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