Victorinox design issues

[Vicarious Reality]

I've noticed that on my two Victorinox SAKs (Spartan & the bigger Solo model) there seems to be some very odd design choices.
Speaking only of the main blade now, why does it taper in towards the handle? It gets smaller than the handles which makes it real awkward to put your fingers on the front end of the handle/blade spine.
Also, the tension bar is sunken into the handle to compensate for this or something.
I find this very odd, since the handle liners then are way above the bar, cutting my thumb if i put serious force there.
Is anyone else really annoyed and confused by this?

 

[Tsujigiri]

It is a very light duty knife... If you want the same thing but more robust you can look at their locking blade series.

 

[BJE]

I wouldnt call it light duty, I use mine everyday as a mechanic and it is holding up just fine, I carry the Tinker. Its not as comfortable for heavy/hard cutting requiring a lot of force on the handles, but I would give it the respect it has earned and say its an average duty knife. As for the design, all the Victorinox knives with tools on the back have sunken springs, those models without back tools have flush springs, it used to bother me, but I dont notice it anymore.

 

[Magus]

In my opinion SAK's are pretty much meant to be a complement to a main EDC knife. For what they are, they're pretty durable though, I like them a lot.

 

[HardTripper]

I have a Trekker, Champ, and Climber love em all, design and feel.

 

[shecky]

I've noticed that on my two Victorinox SAKs (Spartan & the bigger Solo model) there seems to be some very odd design choices.
Speaking only of the main blade now, why does it taper in towards the handle? It gets smaller than the handles which makes it real awkward to put your fingers on the front end of the handle/blade spine.

It's not clear to me what you mean.

Also, the tension bar is sunken into the handle to compensate for this or something.
I find this very odd, since the handle liners then are way above the bar, cutting my thumb if i put serious force there.
Is anyone else really annoyed and confused by this?

On most models, the backsprings are not flush with the handle. I think this is simply a design feature, that may allow higher production with fewer production steps and quality control issues. This is sometimes a nagging problem with traditionally made slipjoint knives. Victorinox chose to design around the problem.

As for being light duty... I dunno. My old standby Tinker has been prying, scraping, driving, poking and even cutting for many many years, while being shown no mercy. It's held up fine.

 

[mat_890]

I wouldnt call it light duty, I use mine everyday as a mechanic and it is holding up just fine, I carry the Tinker. Its not as comfortable for heavy/hard cutting requiring a lot of force on the handles, but I would give it the respect it has earned and say its an average duty knife.

If a SAK is a average duty knife what are benchmades, spydercos and kershaws or that cold steel knife people use to baton wood. Every knife can't be average/above average. That not an attack on your opinion, just a curiosity on my part.

Remember, light duty does not have to mean low quality. :thumbup:

 

[mmarkh]

I'm not sure they are design flaws at all. Victorinox seems to have nailed it on most of their knives IMHO. Sweet knives for what theya re made for. For me they are a compliment to my larger knives but they hold their own for sure.

 

[shecky]

I didn't take it to mean low quality. Rather, I addressed the idea that SAKs are light duty, which I refuted. If batoning wood is the tipping point that sets light duty knives from heavy duty knives, I'd suggest that very few folding knives even from those manufacturers are ideally suited for that task.

 

[Tsujigiri]

I wouldnt call it light duty, I use mine everyday as a mechanic and it is holding up just fine, I carry the Tinker. Its not as comfortable for heavy/hard cutting requiring a lot of force on the handles, but I would give it the respect it has earned and say its an average duty knife. As for the design, all the Victorinox knives with tools on the back have sunken springs, those models without back tools have flush springs, it used to bother me, but I dont notice it anymore.

I think you're right about the tools on the back; now that I think about it my alox Soldier has the springs flush with the handle. But I still think it's a very light duty knife. It doesn't have a lock, the blade grind is a thin polished FFG, and it doesn't have a lot of grip or ergos that lock into your hand. Everything about the design seems to indicate that it's a light slicer rather than a hard use knife. And as mat_890 said, light duty isn't a flaw of the knife. I tend to prefer slicers over prybars, and Victorinox's are the best you can get for the purpose they're intended to fulfill.