REAL Swiss Army knives, how well are they built?

M

megatronrules

Joined
Apr 15, 2003
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I always wanted to know this. Are they good steel? Do they hold and edge well? How long will these knives last? Thanks.
 
What do you mean "REAL" ? The Victorinox Soldier is the REAL one issued to Swiss troops. No difference from the one you can buy anywhere.
 
I've carried a "hiker" for near 20 years.

The steel holds a good edge and can be sharpened easily when necessary.

If you don't lose it they'll always take it back, fix it or replace it if there is a problem.

I believe they use a surgical steel on their products. After 20+ years the red handles are gouged, scratched from pocket change rubbing against them but it only adds character to the thing and certainly does not hamper it's use.

Brownie
 
EDC a Tinker now, it has great fit and finish, decent steel for small tasks, and sharpens very easily.

Of the Victorinox SAKs I've examined, in general, all have very good fit and finish, especially for the money.
 
Victorinox and wenger both make the "real" sak's. As far as quality their reputations speak for themselves, they are both good companies. Personally I prefer the victorinox I think they are a little better than the wenger (just my opinion though). Ive been using and carrying sak's (both wenger and victorinox) for 20 (?) years. My Dad, who is in his 70's has carried an old wenger for over 40 plus years.


If you would like some more info here is a link to a book about victorinox:
http://www.swiss-knife.com/asp/detail.asp?lan=EN&code=9.6038&shop=SK
 
I personally don't carry one.

However My father-in-law ( deceased ) carried one for many years.
To sharpen it he used the same grinding wheel he used to sharpen screw drivers.

One year it fell out of his pocket and was run over by his VERY heavy tractor. ( that tire later served as a sand box for my sons )
The scales didn't even crack under the weight.

Another time it was dropped and buried in a field over a harsh winter. That next spring it was found again and cleaned up.

That knife went thru abuse it was never meant to.

My son has it now.

Rick
 
Victorinox SAKs are,IMO, among the finest knives in the world. Especially when you consider the price point.

Paul
 
I currently own four V'nox models. Included in that number is the Soldier which is the knife that is actually issued to the Swiss Army. It is built like a tank and has excellent steel. If you want to get a V'nox the Soldier would be a perfect introductory model.
 
There are only two companies who are allowed by international law/agreement to call their knives SAKs (Swiss Army Knives) -
Victorinox and Wenger

So in that way their "regular" red handled SAKs are "REAL".

However both are official suppliers to the Swiss military and these two models are the actual "standard" issue to the troops:

Victorinox "Soldier":
0-8610-26.jpg


Wenger "Standard Issue":
16520.jpg


I own several models in both brands, but I have a preference and use Victorinox. I have EDC'd a Victorinox Scientist for about 20 years with my current customized handled Scientist being just over 10 years old.

Build Quality - Both brands of SAKs are very well built and are literally the benchmark that other slip-joint folders are judged by.

Victorinox tend to be more "conservative" and optimized. Wengers are more innovative and perhaps a tad "eccentic"/"gimmicky" but only in comparison.

I did a tool by tool comparison/analysis between the then flagship "everything" models of the Victorinox SwissChamp and the Wenger ToolChest Plus:

SAKs - Victorinox or Wenger

Steels - eg: Victorinox are reluctant about giving any details of the steels used in their knives saying it is proprietary.

However most know that SAK steels are not particularly hard or exotic - but they are very stain-resistant - seem work well as general purpose knife steels - sharpen well and will hold an edge adequately for most people. The beauty of SAKs is that most of the knife blades do not get abused, since there are other tools in them that are more suited, eg: screwdrivers for prying......
 
This will be only my opinions based on over 40 years of SAK EDC, nothing official and probably wrong and/or biased.

The SAK is not my only EDC knife, it complements a stockman which is a better cutter for my particular way of life, the SAK handles many everyday needs very well, including many non-cutting things.

The steel is made to be very rust resistant and easy to sharpen, it will take a good edge and hold it long enough to satisfy most people, though most people let it go dull because they don´t know much about sharpening, it is tough and to my taste a bit soft, I would like the cutting blades and the files to be harder.

The plastic handles are their weak point, they can come loose, fall off and break too easily, the alox handles are very good, it is easy to replace the plastic handles (epoxy them on) and to make custom handles.

A SAK will last as long as you take care of it, keep it clean, dry and sharp, don´t abuse it, and it will serve you well for many years.

The tools are very well designed and made, fit and finish is incredibly good for the price, especially considering how fast they make them, truely Swiss engineering at its best.

There is room for improvement, better handles, harder steel, more models with locking blades, fancier and more modern gadgets, this will be coming as natural evolution.

SAKs should be allowed in airplanes, schools, everywhere. Everybody
should have a SAK, including kids as soon as they are reasonably mature and responsible (something hard to judge but we as parents can do it).

There have been attempts by other makers to make similar knives, some get close, but not quite.

Probably good alternatives to SAKs will come, multitools based on the Leatherman design are getting close.
 
'Real' SAK's are surprisingly well made. I had a fake one when I was a kid and although I still have it lying around somewhere and it managed to survive my childhood it wasnt amazingly well made. Having handled a 'real' SAK (ie victorinox) last year when I bought my girlfriend a mini champ I was pleasntly surprised at the quality of the workmanship in the knife. They dont cost a fortune and they arent s30v or anything, probably just plain old 440 steel but they really are well made and easy to sharpen up to a reasonable edge. If I didnt have a leatherman I would consider one. In fact I might get one anyway as the leatherman is very bulky for suit wear and some of the SAKs can be quite slim.
 
You can find good SAK bargains on our sale forums. I recently picked up a Ranger for $25:

Spear point blade
pen blade
file-nail cleaner-saw edge
wood saw
scissors
bottle opener-large screwdriver
can opener-small screwdriver
corkscrew
chisel
eyeglass screwdriver
buttonhook
sewing awl
toothpick
tweezers

I can't think of anything it's missing except a philips screwdriver, and one of the small ones could fill in for that. Of course, it doesn't have the pliers, but some SAK models actually do.

All this in a package at least as compact as most multitools and a lot lighter. (about 3.5 x 1 x .75") Since the tools are not super strong, it is for simple office or domestic use, so the handles don't have to be titanium and the pivots don't have to be a quarter inch thick :) But it sure covers a lot of ordinary everyday needs and is even good on a walk in the park.
 
I bought a Vict. Executive in 1985 and I can't imagine being without it whenever I'm wearing pants. It's not just the blades, it's the scissors, the toothpick, the tweezers, the file, etc.... It's truly the Swiss Army Knife of knives. heh heh heh ...
 
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