My SAK failed... Details on the Canadian Warranty Experiance.

ghostguy6 said:
So something strange happened today, the blade on my Swiss Soldier broke while I was cutting the paper tape on an Amazon box. I'm not sure why as it doesn't look like there are any defects in the steel. The blade is still shaving sharp so I wasn't forcing the blade. Its like it just suddenly fell apart mid cut. No snapping sound what soever. I have owned this knife for at least 15 years and never had an issue. Is it possible a micro crack held together for that long? I did sharpen away the serrated edge as I don't like them. Anyways here is the obligatory photo.

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I have one of these Victorinox Soldiers. I find that opening the blade using the thumb hole is quite different from, say, my Spydercos. I have to push hard against the thumb hole in order to break the back spring tension that holds the blade closed (back spring tension as in basic slip joint SAKs).

This introduces flex into the blade with every opening, and I suspect fatigue over time at the thumb hole location. Not sure if I’m describing this well.
 
I really don't think the use of the blade played much part in this. I very rarely used the blade even in the 15 or so years I used it. Mostly it was the saw and can opener that got used when hunting. If I had to guess I would estimate the blade has seen less than 100 actual uses, most of which would have been cutting paracord to make blinds with. I do get what you are saying about the thumb hole being the weak point though. I have asked Victorinox to install a regular blade so we will have to see if it is possible or not. I also asked a former co worker who had a Phd in metallurgy to look at the blade if it gets returned. I suspect the blade geometry might be causing a harder spot at the thumb hole area when it is quenched.
 
fixed blades can have holes too :)
%5B09911%5D%20Spyderco%20Sjoerd%20Stok%20Bowie%20Fixed%20Blade%20Knife%20Satin%20Plain%20Blade%20OD%20Green%20G10%20Handles%20%23FB49GPOD
 
ghostguy6 said:
So something strange happened today, the blade on my Swiss Soldier broke while I was cutting the paper tape on an Amazon box. I'm not sure why as it doesn't look like there are any defects in the steel. The blade is still shaving sharp so I wasn't forcing the blade. Its like it just suddenly fell apart mid cut. No snapping sound what soever. I have owned this knife for at least 15 years and never had an issue. Is it possible a micro crack held together for that long? I did sharpen away the serrated edge as I don't like them. Anyways here is the obligatory photo.

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Sometimes, bad things happen. And that big hole in the blade... doesn't help...
 
ghostguy6 said:
I really don't think the use of the blade played much part in this. I very rarely used the blade even in the 15 or so years I used it. Mostly it was the saw and can opener that got used when hunting. If I had to guess I would estimate the blade has seen less than 100 actual uses, most of which would have been cutting paracord to make blinds with. I do get what you are saying about the thumb hole being the weak point though. I have asked Victorinox to install a regular blade so we will have to see if it is possible or not. I also asked a former co worker who had a Phd in metallurgy to look at the blade if it gets returned. I suspect the blade geometry might be causing a harder spot at the thumb hole area when it is quenched.
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I would be very surprised if they return the broken blade.

With your update on actual usage, I would have to say it was a flaw in the steel or the heat treat. It can happen over the thousand and thousands of blades they make in a year. One question though, did you ever loan it to someone?
 
I did pass the blade to someone else but they only used it to cut some lengths of paracord and the occasional can opener use. No hard use or unsupervised uses.
 
I'm no metallurgist, but the clean break makes me think the blade was brittle, which makes me think a heat treat issue. Certainly not expected from Victorinox, but with the number they produce, defects are bound to happen.
 
So just a small update, yesterday I finally received a reply to the email I sent them. That was 1 week to reply. Basically it just said fill out the forms and we will try to accommodate your request. I have tried several times to do the pre-authorization but it never works. I know it is not the credit card because I was able to place an order through the Victorinox Canada website no problem. I will now have to wait for them to phone me to see what happens.
 
Just a bit of an update. I got this reply from Victorinox yesterday.

We haven't received it yet from our warehouse in Canada.
Your knife will be shipped to the US for the repair.
Upon the evaluation we will call you for the payment process.
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For us Canadians it looks like you ship your knife to Ontario then Victorinox sends your knife to the US for repair. I was hoping it would stay in Canada. Hopefully customs will allow the knife back into the country since they basically decided to ban all folding knives on their own accord.:mad:
 
ghostguy6 said:
Just a bit of an update. I got this reply from Victorinox yesterday.


For us Canadians it looks like you ship your knife to Ontario then Victorinox sends your knife to the US for repair. I was hoping it would stay in Canada. Hopefully customs will allow the knife back into the country since they basically decided to ban all folding knives on their own accord.:mad:
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There is no ban on folding knives in general in Canada according to a well known website I just viewed. But apparently any spring-assisted knife, switchblade etc are illegal. You only need to check any unique Provincial laws that apply to your specific Province s far as I can see.
 
RPZIP said:
There is no ban on folding knives in general in Canada according to a well known website I just viewed. But apparently any spring-assisted knife, switchblade etc are illegal. You only need to check any unique Provincial laws that apply to your specific Province s far as I can see.
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They are not illegal, however Customs has taken it upon themselves to declare any folding knife is a "gravity knife" if they can flick the blade open with a sharp flick of the wrist. An insider has told me they will hold the blade and use the weight of the handle to aid in the momentum. There are plenty of horror stories about perfectly legal knives being seized and appeals denied. Technically spring assisted knives are legal here.
 
Ah, gotcha 🙂👍

But if it has a traditional style blade with that tiny groove, plus the generally quite strong spring tension typical of SAKs, I seriously doubt anyone can make that happen.

Besides, being a genuine Swiss Army knife from Victorinox, the history and image is tame enough.
 
Another update. I got a copy of repair order in my email yesterday acknowledging Victorinox in the US has received the knife and will being looking at it soon. I still have not been able to pay the service fee. Hopefully the link they are supposed to send will work. In all honesty I wish they would have just sent me a new blade and I would install it myself since it has almost been a month at this point.

We received your knife from our warehouse in Canada.
It will be entered today and sent to our repair team for the evaluation.
We do not accept credit card payments over the phone.
For payment we have to send you a secure payment link to your email address: ************
Upon receipt, please click on the link to enter your debit/credit card to approve the repair.
You should receive the link in 2-3 business days.
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ghostguy6 said:
Another update. I got a copy of repair order in my email yesterday acknowledging Victorinox in the US has received the knife and will being looking at it soon. I still have not been able to pay the service fee. Hopefully the link they are supposed to send will work. In all honesty I wish they would have just sent me a new blade and I would install it myself since it has almost been a month at this point.
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That's unfortunate to hear, especially about such a beloved brand. I imagine it's like this with most companies - make it a royal pita so you just buy a new one rather than faffing about.
 
It has officially been over 1 month since the blade broke. Still no new information from Victorinox. I still have not been sent the link to pay. My research has found some people have had their knives back in as little as 2 weeks. Victorinox Europe claims up to 10 - 12 weeks. So far I have only found 1 Canadian repair that mentions a 3 week turn around. I ordered a replacement just in case.
 
I am pleased to say when I arrived home today there was a package from Victorinox on my doorstep. The knife arrived safe and sound. They put in a non serrated blade with the thumb hole, new can opener and new scales. They did send back the old parts so I had some fun making a new project that will be shown at the end of this post.

Anyways here are the obligatory photo of the knife.

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Since the sent back the can opener I decided to make my own full tang SAK style can opener for the kitchen as I am sick of the store bought can openers braking every few years. I think this may be the very first full tang SAK style can opener in existence. It was not easy to weld without wrecking the temper but I think I managed as it works and there was no damage to the blade. The tang was made from salvaged 440C. The liners are aluminum and the scales were 3D printed with PETG. Hidden brass pins and a copper through hole for some para-cord I will add later.

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20250729-191735.jpg
 
I think it is really cool and noteworthy Victorinox returned the old parts. Looks like you have a virtually new knife - with your preferred blade.

I suspect the time factor was due to the fact that they have sold and sell such a high number of knives, and law of averages says there will be x number of failures/returns, and they don't make hasty below quality repairs. They probably have people that first evaluate failures for any shortcomings in materials and production, decide whether or not to repair/replace. Then the skilled folk that do the repairs. Then to the shipping Dept.

Great work on the can opener! 😁👍
 
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