Victorinox Executive or MiniChamp II

C

cardimon

Joined
Sep 20, 2000
Messages
1,539
I usually wind up carrying both because I can't make up my mind. I find I have favorite small SAKs for both keyring carry and pocket carry.

I keep swapping out the Executive and the Midnite MiniChamp II to see which one works better where, but each one is pretty good at both keyring and pocket carry.

How about you folks?
 
cardimon said:
I usually wind up carrying both because I can't make up my mind. I find I have favorite small SAKs for both keyring carry and pocket carry.

I keep swapping out the Executive and the Midnite MiniChamp II to see which one works better where, but each one is pretty good at both keyring and pocket carry.

How about you folks?
Click to expand...

I EDC an Executive and I have done so for at least 15 years, probably more like 20 years. I would indeed like having all the tools on the MiniChamp but it's a bit too small to hold while using it, for my liking.

- Tim
 
I carry usually the Classic, but often drop the Executive in my pocket, too. I own a regular Minichamp, but find I prefer the Classic or Executive to the Mini for EDC carry/use.

One thing I have noticed about the Executive, and it may just be me, but I find it's the one Victorinox SAK that I feel I need to check the open/close blade action before buying, and sometimes even to check the edge on the larger blade. It seems a bit less consistent than the small, compact models like the Classic, Minichamp, etc. YMMV.
Jim
 
I recently swapped my EDC Classic for the Rambler, same length and only slightly thicker than the Classic, it has a nicely useful combination Phillips head screwdriver (magnetic) and tiny bottle opener that actually works.

Buz
 
A trivia bit about the executive- I read Chuck Yeagers book "Press ON" in witch he described his and his friend Andy's backpacking trips into the Sierra Nevada mountains for up to 3 weeks at a time. They are fanatics about these trips because of the great fishing for California golden trout. The only knife Yeager carries is the Victorinox executive. Its his favorite knife.

Thats a heck of a recomendation!
 
jackknife said:
A trivia bit about the executive- I read Chuck Yeagers book "Press ON" in witch he described his and his friend Andy's backpacking trips into the Sierra Nevada mountains for up to 3 weeks at a time. They are fanatics about these trips because of the great fishing for California golden trout. The only knife Yeager carries is the Victorinox executive. Its his favorite knife.

Thats a heck of a recomendation!
Click to expand...

If I were heading into the mountains, ANY mountains, I'd be carrying the SwissChamp.
 
jackknife said:
A trivia bit about the executive- I read Chuck Yeagers book "Press ON" in witch he described his and his friend Andy's backpacking trips into the Sierra Nevada mountains for up to 3 weeks at a time. They are fanatics about these trips because of the great fishing for California golden trout. The only knife Yeager carries is the Victorinox executive. Its his favorite knife.

Thats a heck of a recomendation!
Click to expand...


Chuck yeager's aerial exploits are well known. Is he also reputed to be an authority on backpacking or other outdoor adventuring, enough so that his personal preferences in gear should influence others?
 
the excutive is big enough to actually get ahold of to use. i've had 2
since '72. i'm responsible for my entire family having and most edc this knife.
my pop who's 83, gave his up at an airport but had a replacement at home
'cause he knew he couldn't do w/out one.
enteresting about chuck yeager...mine was in my pocket while catching golden trout, ahi, tarpons...
i guess i shouldn't be surprised there are excutive enthusiasts out there
i'm proud to be a member.
 
znapschatz said:
Chuck yeager's aerial exploits are well known. Is he also reputed to be an authority on backpacking or other outdoor adventuring, enough so that his personal preferences in gear should influence others?
Click to expand...

He grew up in the wilds of West Virginia mountain country, where putting food on the table did not mean going to the Safeway store. Hunting and fishing were an important sourse of food for those poorer W.Va. families in the depresion ere. Yeager joined the army at the onset of WW2 and went into the air corps. The rest is history. As a pilot he recieved survival training in addition to his mountain country hillbilly background. He's been a lifelong outdoorsman, hunter, fisherman, and camper. His hobby is backpacking in the Sierra Nevadas, not far from where he lives in Lone Pine California, and fishing for the golden trout that has become his favorite thing. He's become such a fanatic on light backpacking that he and his friend don't take much supplies, intending to live off the land and the trout. They go into the mountains for a couple weeks on end. They must be doing something right, they have notten killed yet, in spite of being a couple of aged sportsmen at this point.

Yeagers hunting and fishing trips have been featured in Field And Stream, Outdoor life, and some books.

At one point in his life, shot down over occupied France, he found himself fleeing the Germans while climbing over the Piernese mountains to the Spanish border. He was carrying another badly wounded young flier with him. Durring this escape, he had to pause to amputate what was left of this kids leg with his pocket knife. Yeager has always stressed the importance of a good pocket knife in his outdoor naritives.

Yeah, with his background I would consider him an authority on what is really needed in outdoor equiptment. I find it interesting that he loves the Victorinox executive. Intersting in the same way that Grits Gresham carried a Gerber microlight, and Colin Fletcher carries a Vic classic.
 
I'm a big fan of the Executive. I tried a MiniChamp, but found it a bit too bulky on my keychain, so I downsized to a Signature Lite, but recently downsized even more to a Classic Alox. Now THAT's small and light!!

I do have a couple Executives that I'll drop into a pocket when I'm all gussied up in a suit, though. My favorite is an oddball, that I've never seen in a catalog or the swissarmy.com site: it has smooth Alox scales! No toothpick or tweezers, but it's very nicely flat and smooth in the pocket.

Anybody else here seen a Alox Executive? Or does it have another name?
 
Gryffin said:
...My favorite is an oddball, that I've never seen in a catalog or the swissarmy.com site: it has smooth Alox scales! No toothpick or tweezers, but it's very nicely flat and smooth in the pocket.

Anybody else here seen a Alox Executive? Or does it have another name?
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I have seen a lot of those with advertising logos or messages on them, but never a plain metal one. It's still called an Executive, even with the Alox scales, as far as I know.

Does yours have an advertising logo on one of the scales? Of course, the finish will wear off the metal eventually anyway, producing plain metal scales where once there was an advertisement.

- Tim
 
tcolling said:
Me too, or else an XLT.

- Tim
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You know, I've always lusted for an XLT.

If you're the Tim who runs the Felinevet Shop, would I be able to order an XLT from there, and if so, could you tell me about how much it would be (sheath included)?

I'd have to save up for it, mind you. This monthly car payment business kills any spontaneous buying of men's toys.
 
cardimon said:
You know, I've always lusted for an XLT.

If you're the Tim who runs the Felinevet Shop, would I be able to order an XLT from there, and if so, could you tell me about how much it would be (sheath included)?

I'd have to save up for it, mind you. This monthly car payment business kills any spontaneous buying of men's toys.
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I'm not the Tim from FelineVet, although I'm honored to have been mistaken for him. He would be my first choice to buy from.

I'm sure that he can get you an XLT. You can email him at fveap@earthlink.net and he can quote you a price.

Good luck!
- Tim
 
JoeKansas1 said:
The Alox Executive is the Director. It lays flat in the pocket and has a nice weight to it.

Joe
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Actually, the Director is an Executive with Stainless Steel scales. It is indeed a very nice, "dressy"-looking knive and I have one that I often carry.

In addition to the Director, there were also some Alox (aluminium) scaled Executives made, with exposed rivets, that are sold for advertising purposes with logos on them. I've never seen a "plain" one without a logo, but I suppose that there may be some out there.

Here's a Director:

Director.jpg


Here's an Alox Executive (photo borrowed from an eBay auction listing):
Alox_Executive.jpg


- Tim
 
tcolling said:
I'm not the Tim from FelineVet, although I'm honored to have been mistaken for him. He would be my first choice to buy from.

I'm sure that he can get you an XLT. You can email him at fveap@earthlink.net and he can quote you a price.

Good luck!
- Tim
Click to expand...

Thanks man. :)
 
tcolling said:
Actually, the Director is an Executive with Stainless Steel scales. It is indeed a very nice, "dressy"-looking knive and I have one that I often carry.

In addition to the Director, there were also some Alox (aluminium) scaled Executives made, with exposed rivets, that are sold for advertising purposes with logos on them. I've never seen a "plain" one without a logo, but I suppose that there may be some out there.
Click to expand...
Bingo. I've seen the Director, mine's not that, it's definitely Alox, not steel. Specifically, silver Alox, so even though it's beat up, it doesn't really show it. The Alox scales save a lot of weight; it's actually lighter than the cellidor one I have.

Oddly enough, there's no logo on mine, just a (slightly worn) red Vic shield.
 
Gryffin said:
...
Oddly enough, there's no logo on mine, just a (slightly worn) red Vic shield.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Any chance you could post photos of both sides here?

- Tim
 
jackknife said:
A trivia bit about the executive- I read Chuck Yeagers book "Press ON" in witch he described his and his friend Andy's backpacking trips into the Sierra Nevada mountains for up to 3 weeks at a time. They are fanatics about these trips because of the great fishing for California golden trout. The only knife Yeager carries is the Victorinox executive. Its his favorite knife.

Thats a heck of a recomendation!
Click to expand...

That is soooooooo cool Jack Knife. What is it about the Exec that he likes
over all the others? Did he say?
 
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