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- Jan 8, 2013
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This is a short review of the Swiza swiss miluti-function knife, as compared to a Victorinox alox pioneer. (The orange knife is a Vagabond, also for scale.)
The differences in shape and function that you notice first are also nice features. It is ergonomic and the scale material is grippy. It feels secure in hand, filling it out a little better than the pioneer thanks to the width and material.
It's good to have a liner lock (accessed through a button, so it doesn't bite into the hand). The lock is good enough to stop the blade from collapsing if you stab something, even though there is some play. The button is solid and has a nice spring to it. The lock is necessary with the angle of the main blade.
The blade does not come out 180 degrees from the handle. It points down enough to notice. It's a plus for draw-cuts on cardboard. I suppose in theory it would be worse if you needed the blade to be straight out, but in practice I haven't found any daily tasks where the angle got in the way, and a few (like cardboard) where it felt a bit more comfortable.
The main blade is essentially the same size, shape and grind as the pioneer. it's a fraction of a mm thinner and a tiny bit longer, but not so that you'd notice for regular tasks. The steel held up to use and sharpened up no different than my Victorinoxes. I did no scientific tests, but didn't notice any performance issues.
The lack of a keyring and extra thickness means it's a larger carry than the pioneer, and it's bottom-of-the-pocket only. That's a downside for me, since I prefer to use clips to keep a knife upright and out of the way. It's as thick as a farmer and that makes a bulge when it's horizontal at the bottom of a pocket.
The tools are ... fine. They work. The spring tension is ok, a little light on the can opener, but a comfortable 6/10 or so on the rest. The cams on the tools aren't as well shaped as the Victorinox though: the tension on the blades changes a bit as you open or close them, which leads me to believe they aren't cut with a constant radius around the pivot. It doesn't get in the way of use, but the blades on the Victorinox feel better.
The tweezers are awesome, though. Strong, a little sharp, and angled so there's a very precise tip for getting wood slivers out of skin.
On the other hand, the awl is not great. It is sharpened in the opposite direction to the Victorinox, so it cuts when twisting counter-clockwise. It works, but it's odd. And too stubby. But it is nice and sharp, and the tip is pointy and able to cut through blister packages and wood well.
In summary, this is a capable Swiss knife. It's close enough to a Victorinox to be good, and different enough to have its own feel and trade-offs. If you don't mind pocket carry, and always wished your alox knife had a lock, this may be a competent replacement for your pioneer.
On the other hand, it doesn't offer anything that makes it a must-have upgrade from a beloved alox knife. Neither function nor materials break such new ground that it obsoletes what came before. But I'm glad that people are still experimenting in the multi-function knife market. One day yet, I may get a locking alox knife with decent upgraded blade steel.
The differences in shape and function that you notice first are also nice features. It is ergonomic and the scale material is grippy. It feels secure in hand, filling it out a little better than the pioneer thanks to the width and material.
It's good to have a liner lock (accessed through a button, so it doesn't bite into the hand). The lock is good enough to stop the blade from collapsing if you stab something, even though there is some play. The button is solid and has a nice spring to it. The lock is necessary with the angle of the main blade.
The blade does not come out 180 degrees from the handle. It points down enough to notice. It's a plus for draw-cuts on cardboard. I suppose in theory it would be worse if you needed the blade to be straight out, but in practice I haven't found any daily tasks where the angle got in the way, and a few (like cardboard) where it felt a bit more comfortable.
The main blade is essentially the same size, shape and grind as the pioneer. it's a fraction of a mm thinner and a tiny bit longer, but not so that you'd notice for regular tasks. The steel held up to use and sharpened up no different than my Victorinoxes. I did no scientific tests, but didn't notice any performance issues.
The lack of a keyring and extra thickness means it's a larger carry than the pioneer, and it's bottom-of-the-pocket only. That's a downside for me, since I prefer to use clips to keep a knife upright and out of the way. It's as thick as a farmer and that makes a bulge when it's horizontal at the bottom of a pocket.
The tools are ... fine. They work. The spring tension is ok, a little light on the can opener, but a comfortable 6/10 or so on the rest. The cams on the tools aren't as well shaped as the Victorinox though: the tension on the blades changes a bit as you open or close them, which leads me to believe they aren't cut with a constant radius around the pivot. It doesn't get in the way of use, but the blades on the Victorinox feel better.
The tweezers are awesome, though. Strong, a little sharp, and angled so there's a very precise tip for getting wood slivers out of skin.
On the other hand, the awl is not great. It is sharpened in the opposite direction to the Victorinox, so it cuts when twisting counter-clockwise. It works, but it's odd. And too stubby. But it is nice and sharp, and the tip is pointy and able to cut through blister packages and wood well.
In summary, this is a capable Swiss knife. It's close enough to a Victorinox to be good, and different enough to have its own feel and trade-offs. If you don't mind pocket carry, and always wished your alox knife had a lock, this may be a competent replacement for your pioneer.
On the other hand, it doesn't offer anything that makes it a must-have upgrade from a beloved alox knife. Neither function nor materials break such new ground that it obsoletes what came before. But I'm glad that people are still experimenting in the multi-function knife market. One day yet, I may get a locking alox knife with decent upgraded blade steel.
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