Victorinox Bantam on the way, WOOHOO!

How do you open a can with it? I have one and carry it all the time. One of the best models!
 
Razor said:
How do you open a can with it? I have one and carry it all the time. One of the best models!
Click to expand...

Jump to 3:01 and you will see it in action
[video=youtube;UNfMi8x9Ah4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=LLRxMBDpPvidXk63surYsZhA&v=UNfMi8x9Ah4[/video]
 
It is finally here! I gotta tell ya, THE SWISS ROCK! At least when it comes to knives, watches, and fondue.

For a $12 knife, the blades are nicely polished with full flat grind, have excellent walk and talk, with crisp half stop on the combo tool, and dead-on blade alignment. I was really excited to handle this knife for the first time. The cellidor scales are nice and shiny, and feel great in hand. I forgot how tight new tweezers and toothpick can fit inside the scales. It is very light, and should be a great EDC pocket knife. My Buck 309 comes in at 34g, while the Bantam weighs 33g. My Tinker is 62g, almost double the weight. This is a great little knife.
 
dogstar said:
It is finally here! I gotta tell ya, THE SWISS ROCK! At least when it comes to knives, watches, and fondue.

For a $12 knife, the blades are nicely polished with full flat grind, have excellent walk and talk, with crisp half stop on the combo tool, and dead-on blade alignment. I was really excited to handle this knife for the first time. The cellidor scales are nice and shiny, and feel great in hand. I forgot how tight new tweezers and toothpick can fit inside the scales. It is very light, and should be a great EDC pocket knife. My Buck 309 comes in at 34g, while the Bantam weighs 33g. My Tinker is 62g, almost double the weight. This is a great little knife.
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The tinker may weigh almost double the bantam, but aside from a spare blade, the only thing the bantam gives up is the awl. As long as you're not drilling holes, the bantam will do the same things. The bottom corner of the bantam combo tool deals with phillips screws just fine. :thumbup:
 
My Alox Bantam is the only knife I carry anymore (I like the concept of stepping up to a small Tinker but rarely do). The tip of the blade can contact the tool; I'm not so fond of that. I'd love one with the shorter blade. How about a Bantam XL, too?
 
Time for some pics, with Buck 309 and Case 32087:
closedv.jpg

mastermm.jpg

pens.jpg

thickd.jpg

p.s. I replaced the stock key ring with a smaller one from my Classic. The stock key ring is too big, IMO.
 
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I opened a can with the Bantam today. The combo tool takes a little getting used to. Hardest part was initially puncturing the can, as the tool is not very sharp. Cutting around the circumference was smooth, once you got into the rhythm. Important thing is, I got the can open and had a nice minestrone soup for lunch :)
 
dogstar said:
I opened a can with the Bantam today. The combo tool takes a little getting used to. Hardest part was initially puncturing the can, as the tool is not very sharp. Cutting around the circumference was smooth, once you got into the rhythm. Important thing is, I got the can open and had a nice minestrone soup for lunch :)
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I'm not overly fond of the can opener, the other type from Victorinox have me a bit spoiled.
But the beauty of the Bantam is that it is so small and light and actually has a lot more utility than most people would think. I really don't open cans very often when I'm not at home in the kitchen so the can opening performance isn't a big issue to me. If I was stranded somewhere and only had my Bantam on me and there was a can I needed to open . . . well, I'd be glad I had the Bantam and didn't have to bash the can with a rock. I'm sure I could get a can open with a Bantam if I needed to and that is what matters.

I'm constantly amazed at how cheap Victorinox can make a product and still have it being very high quality, useful & long lasting - they are bloody geniuses!

I have several SAKs and it's hard to say which is my favourite, they are all so nice!
I don't have a Classic, but I do have a Rambler - that is a great SAK for the size & price!
The Rambler on my keyring + Bantam in my pocket is not a bad combo, very small & light but gives me scissors, file & magnetic Phillips screwdriver while the Bantam offers a larger blade and an emergency can opener.

My full EDC loadout is much bigger & heavier with a Victorinox Cybertool 34 in a pouch on my belt and a SwissTool X in another pouch on the other hip. There are times when I don't have my normal EDC though and something small & light like the Bantam is better than carrying nothing. Seriously - I don't feel like I'm properly dressed with no SAK at all on me.
If I was flying somewhere and checking luggage then I'd probably opt to pack just the Rambler & Bantam - they are useful and if they got lost or stolen they are cheap enough to replace.

Overall I prefer cellidor to alox, I do have a Cadet & Farmer and I like them, but I do like to have the tweezers & tooth pick.
I think that the Alox Bantam is getting just too thin and the cellidor model feels quite nice in the hand.
 
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Gadgetaholic, thanks for the long post. I hope things are well in NZ, home of the Svord Peasant, one of my all-time favorites!
 
dogstar said:
Gadgetaholic, thanks for the long post. I hope things are well in NZ, home of the Svord Peasant, one of my all-time favorites!
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Things aren't bad here, a bit hot recently though. I'll have to try a Svord Peasant at some point, they remind me of the Opinels - simple, cheap and yet very effective.
 
Gadgetaholic said:
I'm not overly fond of the can opener, the other type from Victorinox have me a bit spoiled.
But the beauty of the Bantam is that it is so small and light and actually has a lot more utility than most people would think. I really don't open cans very often when I'm not at home in the kitchen so the can opening performance isn't a big issue to me. If I was stranded somewhere and only had my Bantam on me and there was a can I needed to open . . . well, I'd be glad I had the Bantam and didn't have to bash the can with a rock. I'm sure I could get a can open with a Bantam if I needed to and that is what matters.

I'm constantly amazed at how cheap Victorinox can make a product and still have it being very high quality, useful & long lasting - they are bloody geniuses!

I have several SAKs and it's hard to say which is my favourite, they are all so nice!
I don't have a Classic, but I do have a Rambler - that is a great SAK for the size & price!
The Rambler on my keyring + Bantam in my pocket is not a bad combo, very small & light but gives me scissors, file & magnetic Phillips screwdriver while the Bantam offers a larger blade and an emergency can opener.

My full EDC loadout is much bigger & heavier with a Victorinox Cybertool 34 in a pouch on my belt and a SwissTool X in another pouch on the other hip. There are times when I don't have my normal EDC though and something small & light like the Bantam is better than carrying nothing. Seriously - I don't feel like I'm properly dressed with no SAK at all on me.
If I was flying somewhere and checking luggage then I'd probably opt to pack just the Rambler & Bantam - they are useful and if they got lost or stolen they are cheap enough to replace.

Overall I prefer cellidor to alox, I do have a Cadet & Farmer and I like them, but I do like to have the tweezers & tooth pick.
I think that the Alox Bantam is getting just too thin and the cellidor model feels quite nice in the hand.
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:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

It is amazing how useful the combination of a 58mm SAK and a Bantam is in the real world. All my favorite SAK's are the one and two layer models, and if augmented with a 58mm like a classic or rambler, you can do a great deal. You have the ability to cut, deal with phillips screws, flat screws, cans, bottles, splinters, and much more limited by only uyour imagination of how to use the tools on even a basic SAK. It's amazing how much you can do with even a little classic on the keychain.
 
It is also worth noting that in true desperate times, you can open a can with the blade. While I have not done it with a Victorinox blade, I suspect the blade would be unharmed. [Edit: functionally unharmed, though it might be scratched]. Mr. Carl, maybe you should try that with your Bantam and report back!
 
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There is a way of opening cans, where you turn it upside down and abrade the rim on some concrete or a flat stone until the rim wears through. There is a little leakage, but you get through without damaging your blade.
 
powernoodle said:
It is also worth noting that in true desperate times, you can open a can with the blade. While I have not done it with a Victorinox blade, I suspect the blade would be unharmed. [Edit: functionally unharmed, though it might be scratched]. Mr. Carl, maybe you should try that with your Bantam and report back!
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Uhh! I don't think I could bring myself to abuse a knife like that unless the situation was very desperate. No SAK around, no P-38 in my wallet for some odd reason, no P-38 in Karen's purse for an even stranger reason, and no nice flat rock or brick or pavement to grind off the rim like brother dogstar mentioned.
 
dogstar said:
Time for some pics, with Buck 309 and Case 32087:
closedv.jpg

mastermm.jpg

pens.jpg

thickd.jpg

p.s. I replaced the stock key ring with a smaller one from my Classic. The stock key ring is too big, IMO.
Click to expand...

Nice.

I did not know the Bantam came with the plastic handles.

An Alox Bantam was my most carried knife until it fell out of my pocket and disappeared into the innards of the seat in a rental car, never to be seen again.

I used the hell out of the screwdriver/can opener for prying and tightening/loosening screws. The strength of this little knife is astounding -- it held up to a lot of torque and never loosened or got blade play.

I bet the thicker contoured scales on your model will be much more comfortable than the thin Alox, which actually hurt my thumb when opening a can. I considered sharpening the edge of the can opener a bit so it would puncture better, but never got a chance to try it. Might be something to consider.

I'm going to get an Alox Cadet to replace the Bantam and see whether I like it better. It looks about the same width as your Bantam with the plastic handle scales, but has two layers of tools instead of just one.

Congrats on the new knife.

-Matthew
 
The bantam sure peels an apple real good. Also oranges. I have three. Want to have a spare,ha ha.
 
If I was buying a knife for a non-knife person who had never carried a knife before, it would be the Vic Bantam. The reason why is because I would want it to be something that I could be fairly confident would end up in the receiver's pocket on a daily basis. With the cap-lifter tool, the single blade, and the small package, I think the Bantam would be the ticket.

Now, if I was feeling very generous I might commission one from Syph in some nice HA-III scales. :D
 
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