Victorinox Handle Durability

The scales evolve from shiny to matte, and they buckle and come off, if you carry them with keys or coins. I guess because I'm a knife user (not collector) and because I have never paid very much for a knife (less than $60, max, ever), I really don't care what the finish ends up looking like. In my hands, at least, these things are meant to be used. And if some part fails, the knife gets retired or discarded.

For daily pocket use, I'm on about my fifth or sixth Vic Classic or Wenger's little guy. My first Classic lost both its scales, and I polished the brass liners. It was wonderfully unrecognizable as an SAK at first glance. So you have that to look forward to.
 
I must have had better luck with mine, no cracks and just the usual sandpapering matte effect from other pocket contents times years of EDC.

I've never had the little keychain Classic SD, just the larger backpacking (91mm?)versions, so I don't know if the SDs are more frail or prone to damage (they'd certainly get nonstop key action).

A Victorinox retailer told me I could have shipped Vic my SAK I dropped onto the rocks (100 feet plus drop) and they would have replaced the lost scale for free.
 
In the '80s and '90s, I carried a Vic Spartan, which did not have the toothpick/tweezers. Over the years, it had been occasionally dropped on concrete, and was the only knife I carried when I lived in Taiwan, and was carried on planes with me to places like Hong Kong and South Korea. Of course, now that would be impossible.

The handle was no longer mirror smooth, obviously. It had a couple slight cracks from the dropping, which never got worse. I don't know if the plastic handle material was different or harder back then, or if the lack of tweezers/toothpick slots somehow resulted in the scales being more solid.

Jim
 
pinnah said:
IMO, "durability" is a comparative subject. The question is better asked, compared to other knives...

Thousands of words worth of pictures.

A 70s vintage Ulster BSA type knife. No visible damage to the scales save a single dent.

Modified Ulster Camper by Pinnah, on Flickr
Click to expand...

This looks a great deal like my Imperial Schrade Kamp King, the only apparent difference is that mine has a bail. Can there be a family connection?
 
Just received this swiss champ from a dealer. This is the way it came out of the box. After contacting the dealer, they sent another one right out for replacement.
 
"Pocket wear" is a strong plus for many, at least among the traditionals. SAK, maybe not so much. But the scrapes say that the knife has been a useful companion for a long time and that's a good endorsement, I should think. Colored alox scales take on a wonderful weatherbeaten appearance as the color wears off the high spots.

For a brief while, I was trying to descuff the scales on a Vic Classic by rubbing them with toothpaste or Simichrome. It worked but it was a lot of bother and I stopped. Now the scuffs and scrapes are just honorable battle scars.
 
I've been carrying the same black Vic Executive in my RF pocket daily for nearly 14 years, and the scales are intact but scratched up. I don't carry it in a protective holster or anything, just down in the pocket with some other stuff. I personally like it; it makes the knife truly my own and unique.

Jim
 
I just sent a Vic Champion I was given in Cambodia in 1992 to Vic for repair/spa. The one thing I told Vic not to replace were the scales. The chip and scratches mean something. That knife has traveled all over the world in my kit.
 
If you are looking for durability, get a silver alox SAK. They can take a beating and still look new after years of use.
 
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