Vic Spartan translucent / cellidor

[pluto]

I want a small Vic for edc and have decided to buy a Vic Spartan. Which model will be most scratch-resistant? The translucent or the the old one with cellidor handles?

 

[stevekt]

Both will scratch but I feel that the scratches are more visible on translucent scales. There are also nylon scales from the Ecoline knives which supposedly are pretty scratch resistant. Or you could go or metal Alox scaled knife.

 

[felinevet]

I want a small Vic for edc and have decided to buy a Vic Spartan. Which model will be most scratch-resistant? The translucent or the the old one with cellidor handles?

If scratch resistance is your criteria then the "Eurosport" (Econoline) Spartan is what you want.

 

[Ultraman]

I second the Ecoline recommendation. Since there's no shine to begin with (matte texture), they don't show minor scratches as easily as the cellidor and translucent scales. Large gouges do show, however. Then again, all the plastic scales will show this with hard use or accidents. The Alox resists scratches the best, the silver alox seems to stay that way forever , I guess because there's no coating to lose.

You know, the rare Vic Scientist, and the Compact model might have more versatility, but the Vic spartan is slightly thinner (at least cf the Compact), and has a good combination of tools. The separate can opener and bottle openers may not save as much space as the combo tool, but I think I stumbled on a reason why two is better than one: if you use the screw driver portion of the bottle opener on an icky screw (say, something in the bathroom/toilet), if you used a combo tool it also is your can opener and therefore contacts food. At least with the separate screw driver/bottle opener, it only contacts a bottle cap and the can opener remains isolated. This may not be defensible enough to call an advantage since of course we wash our tools after use, but this might be arguably an advantage.

Sorry, didn't mean to divert topics. Reconsider getting the translucent scales and keeping it away from keys, etc. Use a belt lanyard or clip, or a sack-ems, maybe. Get it for aesthetic reasons! Get both!

 

[gatch]

You know, the rare Vic Scientist, and the Compact model might have more versatility, but the Vic spartan is slightly thinner (at least cf the Compact), and has a good combination of tools. The separate can opener and bottle openers may not save as much space as the combo tool...

I have been back and forth with this. I wanted a philips screwdriver and scissors so I managed to find a Yeoman (which is essentially a cross between the Scientist and a Compact). But I didn't really like the combo tool - the flat screwdriver blade was not wide enough for some uses and too large for others, and I found the can opener did not work so well. I reverted back to my ecoline Sportsman. It doesn't have scissors (I carry a Leatherman S2 for that), but is much more compact and I have found that he small flat screwdriver/can opener will fit many philips screws. It's also smaller and light enough (for me) to carry all day, every day (when I go sans the S2). I like having both screwdriver/can opener/bottle opener tools - I find that it is more versitle and suits my needs better.

Each to his own, and what is best for you.

I agree that the nylon scales found on the ecoline models is very scratch resistant. I gouged the corner of mine and you can see it unless you look closely and know where to look.