- Joined
- Jun 4, 2010
- Messages
- 4,186
So, this may belong in the multi-tool subforum, and if any of the mods feel that way, please feel free to move this thread, But with all the swiss army knife loving going on recently, i thought i would start here for folks to check out.
So i received my black pioneer today and i have been looking at it and comparing it to my old wenger standard issue to compare and contrast these two knives. First and foremost, they come with the exact same tool kit. Blade, Awl, can opener (with small screw driver) and bottle opener (with larger screw driver). But for some undefinable reason, it FEELS like the wenger SI is just a smidge heavier. I dont have one of those scales to weigh them and see for sure, but its just a little, just enough to notice (FOR ME). Not that the wenger SI is in anyway to heavy, just an observation.
It appears to me that the can opener and bottle opener (with respective screw drivers) are absolutely identical, the only difference i see is that the pioneer can opener sits just a little lower in the frame. That being said the wenger SI can opener never bothered me in use or otherwise, so again, its not a complaint, just another observation.
The awl, now they are pretty similar, but the wenger awl is definitely pointier, i have used the awl on the wenger alot and i love it, i have not yet had an opportunity to use the victorinox awl (with the pioneer OR the farmer) except for drilling a hole through a wooden handle to make sure it worked ok, so i dont have a fair comparison as to which is better or if one works better than the other (yet). But i suspect that the pointier wenger awl is just slightly more efficient. time will tell.
The blade (again, i used the pioneer AND the farmer for comparison), well here ARE some differences. Now the wenger blade does not start to taper until near the tip where the victorinox blades start tapering much sooner, so while they are both the same spine thickness at the base of the blade, by the time you get to the tip, the victorinox is much thinner. I suspect that the victorinox blade is just a little bit slicier and the wenger blade would be a little bit tougher (i also suspect this is that very small difference in weight i talked about earlier. Also, the victorinox blade is thinner at the base of the blade with a larger swell near the tip, that makes this blade much more leaf shaped than the victorinox. This also gives the blade more of a point, if that is important to you. I dont know that it makes much or any difference in cutting ability, but there is a difference. I will try and get a picture showing this, but i was having trouble showing the blades clearly, too much light shining and reflecting off the blades lol.
Walk and talk, both knives are excellent examples, good springs, little to no gaps, no blade play or blade rubbing whatsoever. It does seem to me that the victorinox blade spring is just noticeably stiffer (not any harder to open, but a little harder to force the blade closed, which is probably a good thing). The spring on the awl for the wenger is just noticeably stiffer than the victorinox so really this is a wash/trade off.
The black alox is beautiful and makes for a striking knife, i have to give the appearance factor to the victorinox for that alone, but the little plate on the side for engraving is a nice touch. That being said, i really do prefer the bail on the wenger to the key ring attachment on the victorinox so that could be something to consider.
anyways, this is what i have noticed so far, both knives are great companions and i dont think you could go wrong with either one of them. I do kind of wish they hadnt discontinued the wenger standard issue, or maybe it would just be cool to have the pioneers have a bail option rather than the key ring. But such is life. Hope this was useful for folks.
and i dont have a good pioneer pic yet, so here is the wenger SI
So i received my black pioneer today and i have been looking at it and comparing it to my old wenger standard issue to compare and contrast these two knives. First and foremost, they come with the exact same tool kit. Blade, Awl, can opener (with small screw driver) and bottle opener (with larger screw driver). But for some undefinable reason, it FEELS like the wenger SI is just a smidge heavier. I dont have one of those scales to weigh them and see for sure, but its just a little, just enough to notice (FOR ME). Not that the wenger SI is in anyway to heavy, just an observation.
It appears to me that the can opener and bottle opener (with respective screw drivers) are absolutely identical, the only difference i see is that the pioneer can opener sits just a little lower in the frame. That being said the wenger SI can opener never bothered me in use or otherwise, so again, its not a complaint, just another observation.
The awl, now they are pretty similar, but the wenger awl is definitely pointier, i have used the awl on the wenger alot and i love it, i have not yet had an opportunity to use the victorinox awl (with the pioneer OR the farmer) except for drilling a hole through a wooden handle to make sure it worked ok, so i dont have a fair comparison as to which is better or if one works better than the other (yet). But i suspect that the pointier wenger awl is just slightly more efficient. time will tell.
The blade (again, i used the pioneer AND the farmer for comparison), well here ARE some differences. Now the wenger blade does not start to taper until near the tip where the victorinox blades start tapering much sooner, so while they are both the same spine thickness at the base of the blade, by the time you get to the tip, the victorinox is much thinner. I suspect that the victorinox blade is just a little bit slicier and the wenger blade would be a little bit tougher (i also suspect this is that very small difference in weight i talked about earlier. Also, the victorinox blade is thinner at the base of the blade with a larger swell near the tip, that makes this blade much more leaf shaped than the victorinox. This also gives the blade more of a point, if that is important to you. I dont know that it makes much or any difference in cutting ability, but there is a difference. I will try and get a picture showing this, but i was having trouble showing the blades clearly, too much light shining and reflecting off the blades lol.
Walk and talk, both knives are excellent examples, good springs, little to no gaps, no blade play or blade rubbing whatsoever. It does seem to me that the victorinox blade spring is just noticeably stiffer (not any harder to open, but a little harder to force the blade closed, which is probably a good thing). The spring on the awl for the wenger is just noticeably stiffer than the victorinox so really this is a wash/trade off.
The black alox is beautiful and makes for a striking knife, i have to give the appearance factor to the victorinox for that alone, but the little plate on the side for engraving is a nice touch. That being said, i really do prefer the bail on the wenger to the key ring attachment on the victorinox so that could be something to consider.
anyways, this is what i have noticed so far, both knives are great companions and i dont think you could go wrong with either one of them. I do kind of wish they hadnt discontinued the wenger standard issue, or maybe it would just be cool to have the pioneers have a bail option rather than the key ring. But such is life. Hope this was useful for folks.
and i dont have a good pioneer pic yet, so here is the wenger SI
