Victorinox and salt water

[ABN]

A Victorinox SAK has ridden in my back pocket virtually every day for the last 10 years. When you carry a particular knife that long, it becomes second nature to reach for it when needed. For the last several years, when visiting the beach, I left it safely at home for fear that the salt water would destroy the knife. Inevitably, when I do not have the knife on me, I find that I need it the most.

So this year I decided to carry the folder inside the front pocket of my swimsuit during the entire vacation. I fully expected the knife to be destroyed in the process.

For four days, the knife went in and out of salt water. It was rinsed in fresh water twice a day, but never lubricated. Despite the rough treatment, the knife developed no corrosion whatsoever. I was amazed. Interestingly, the only side effect of the water baths was to make the implements increasingly difficult to open. This was probably due to the fact that the knife was bone-dry.

As soon as I got home, I removed the scales, cleaned out the sand, and sprayed the entire knife down with WD-40. As good as new.

Now, I have always been impressed with the toughness of Victorinox SAKs, but the fact that it could take this kind of treatment with no ill effects really amazed me.

Does anyone else have a story about how a SAK survived a test that would have ruined a lesser knife?

Regards, -Alex

 

[Daniel Moore]

When I was in the first grade, I was carrying a Wenger Esquire. My friend's golden retriever used it as a chew toy unbeknownst to me and after keeping it in his mouth for a while he finally dropped it in the back yard. I was psychologically tortured that I lost my dad's knife, and a knife that I loved. Two days later, after a good bit of rain, we found it sitting in the saturated soil in his mother's garden. It was no worse for wear, except for a few chewmarks and it's dirty state.

Another time, I was cleaning my Victorinox Explorer which had developed a lot of grit in the opening (this was 5 years ago or so). I soaked it in warm soapy water in the sink at our bar. I was watching TV while it was sitting, and I fell asleep I remembered the next night that it was there, but in the meantime someone had drained the sink and left it sitting out on the bar (which gave it more oxygen to rust with). Luckily, there was no corrosion.

 

[ckl]

i duno if the metal layer in the vic's SAK are made by aluminum or other,but they is some "green thing" stick with the layers in my old classic i found......
luckily the tool itself had no rust.

is this a sign of corrosion?

 

[bama_lou]

i duno if the metal layer in the vic's SAK are made by aluminum or other,but they is some "green thing" stick with the layers in my old classic i found......
luckily the tool itself had no rust.

is this a sign of corrosion?

You're right. That 'patina' is from aluminum alloy, as Victorinox explains. They've been using that since 1951. Used to be nickel silver.

 

[UnknownVT]

i duno if the metal layer in the vic's SAK are made by aluminum or other,but they is some "green thing" stick with the layers in my old classic i found......
luckily the tool itself had no rust.

is this a sign of corrosion?

You're right. That 'patina' is from aluminum alloy, as Victorinox explains. They've been using that since 1951. Used to be nickel silver.

Maybe not?.....

I didn't think aluminum corrosion was Green
Green corrosion is usually due to copper content -
seems to me this might be due to the rivets used on SAKs - which I think are brass(?)

Isn't aluminum corrosion usually blue'ish white?

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/

 

[Sword and Shield]

Aluminum corrosion is quite white. Green is copper or brass.

 

[ckl]

You're right. That 'patina' is from aluminum alloy, as Victorinox explains. They've been using that since 1951. Used to be nickel silver.

oh....so wenger also use this cheap aluminum for their layers???i feel cheated for that....becos i want to find a all stainless steel SAK......