Victorinox Questions

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CutleryMaster62

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Mar 2, 2010
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Question 1: What are the differences between the Alox Solo and the single-bladed Alox Pioneer? They seem like the same knife to me.

Question 2: Is the blade on either the Solo or the Pioneer krinked?

Question 3: Do the Solo or the Pioneer come in different colors?

Question 4: Since the Solo and the Pioneer seem so similar, how should I decide between the two?

Question 5: What places have the best prices on SAKs?

Question 6: I'm not very familiar with slipjoints. What can you tell me about them?

Thanks!
 
Just to get you started, take a look at smartknives.com. You can examine the differences in the models, and it tells you colors are available.
 
Solo, just a blade
Victorinox_Solo.jpg


Pioneer, blade, screwdrivers, bottle opener, can opener, drill/awl
VN-53960.gif
 
The solo will be slimmer , but the tools on the pioneer has very useful tools (esp the awl) the pioneer is the civilian version of the 'old' soldier model that was issued to swiss soldiers until 09.
The only differences are the shield and lanyard ring on the pioneer. Similar is the wenger standard issue , that made up the other half of the military knife contract , that has a bail.
Then there's the farmer model that adds a wood saw to the tool assortment.
 
Question 1: What are the differences between the Alox Solo and the single-bladed Alox Pioneer? They seem like the same knife to me.

The Solo is single-bladed and the Alox Pioneer has many other tools, as mentioned above.

Question 2: Is the blade on either the Solo or the Pioneer krinked?

What do you mean by 'krinked'?

Question 3: Do the Solo or the Pioneer come in different colors?

Yes.

Question 4: Since the Solo and the Pioneer seem so similar, how should I decide between the two?

They are not all that similar. If you want a can opener, bottle opener, reamer, screwdriver, and knife blade, go for the pioneer. If you just want the knife blade, go for the solo.

Question 5: What places have the best prices on SAKs?

The internet.

Question 6: I'm not very familiar with slipjoints. What can you tell me about them?

They are ridiculously simple, and, consequently, extremely reliable and easy to use. They will close on your hand if you do a spine whack test, so don't do that. They do not lock. This type of mechanism is commonly used on swiss army knives.
 
They are the same knife. The alox Solo is listed on the Victorinox website as "Pioneer range" along with a few other models. The Solo shown on the website has nylon handles but if you see one for sale that says "alox Solo" it will have alox handles.

The regular Pioneer has two layers and more tools and is pretty easy to find in blue, red, black and silver. It is also available in other colors if you do more digging. I've only seen the alox Solo in silver but it might be available in others too.

The Solo should have a straight blade. I've heard of a few with the krinked blade but most of the time they are straight.

The Vic alox knives are some of the most durable slipjoints you can buy. They have thick blades and the rivets have large mushroom heads that don't loosen over time the way some other pinned knives do. I have an alox Soldier in my pocket right now and can tell you that they are very high quality and can't be beat for the price (IMO). The alox knives are way more sturdy than the plastic SAKs too.
 
Most is already said. I strongly agree with Canook that the alox series from Victorinox are excellent pocket knives. I use them for both EDC and for outdoors.
 
do all the victorinox alox models have the thicker blades and are they all the same thickness/stock within the alox series? i wasn't sure if all models had the thicker blades or just the soldier. also, are the other tools thicker as well?

any thoughts on the soldier vs. farmer vs. pioneer vs. cadet II? does the reamer/awl on the soldier and farmer have a sharpened edge or just a very pointy tip...all the pictures i've seen make it look very cylindrical with only a pointy tip. reason i ask is that i'd love a smaller pen blade but if the reamer/awl has a sharpened or sharpenable edge that could/should probably work for detail carving. if so i would maybe even prefer that over the pen blade since it may end up being more versatile.

would love to see a tinker in the alox series!

thanks!
 
I haven't noticed any difference in thickness between the blades of alox SAKs and plastic-handled SAKs whatsoever. Not sure if the soldier used to have an unusually thick blade, but I haven't seen any of the current models with 'thicker' blades or tools, personally.
 
beestokk said:
do all the victorinox alox models have the thicker blades and are they all the same thickness/stock within the alox series? i wasn't sure if all models had the thicker blades or just the soldier. also, are the other tools thicker as well?

any thoughts on the soldier vs. farmer vs. pioneer vs. cadet II? does the reamer/awl on the soldier and farmer have a sharpened edge or just a very pointy tip...all the pictures i've seen make it look very cylindrical with only a pointy tip. reason i ask is that i'd love a smaller pen blade but if the reamer/awl has a sharpened or sharpenable edge that could/should probably work for detail carving. if so i would maybe even prefer that over the pen blade since it may end up being more versatile.

would love to see a tinker in the alox series!

thanks!
Click to expand...

The alox models like the cadet and alox bantam have the same blade stock as the plastic handle recruit and bantam. The pioneer and soldier have thicker blades and tools.

The awl on the Wenger SI and soldier/pioneer is very sharp along the edge. I use it for a spare cutting tool for hard use like stripping wire. It drills through wood like a carpenter bee on crack.

Carl.
 
Yes, the Soldier, Pioneer, Farmer, Electrician, etc. have the same blade thickness and size. Their tools are also of the same size, so a bottle opener on a Soldier has the same size as the bottle opener on the Farmer or Electrician.

The awl has a sharpened edge, so can scrape with it and drill holes in wood or other materials. It works nice actually. I haven't used it for carving, so I'm not sure about that. You could sharpen it, but the Electrician for example has a nice sheep foot blade. I think that's nice for carving. The sheep foot blade is smaller than the main blade.
 
excellent input, thanks all - i've been going on a tear looking for great user knives at a good price and this series, specifically the ones i mentioned, look like winners.

harayasu - thanks for the comparison within the alox series itself...just to clarify are you in agreement that the alox models, specifically the pioneer and soldier (as jackknife mentioned), have thicker blade stock than the plastic handled models?
 
bigbadboom said:
The only differences are the shield and lanyard ring on the pioneer. Similar is the wenger standard issue , that made up the other half of the military knife contract , that has a bail.
Click to expand...

I had a Vic Soldier that I gifted to somebody, and it was a great knife. I ended up replacing it with the Pioneer, which was also a great knife, but I didn't like the lanyard ring, being used to the Soldier. Took the ring off.

Eventually I found some Wengers at a Dick's Sporting Goods, and bought the Wenger Soldier model. At first I really liked the bail, until 2 things happened...

1. I accidentally let the blade snap closed while the bail was covering the blade slot, and instant chip in the blade :(
2. the bail levered out of the holes one day... there is very little metal inserted into the holes, and it's not pinned construction like on the Camillus/Ontario Camp Knife.

So now I just carry it like the Vic Soldier. My suggestion is that if a lanyard attachment is important, go with the Victorinox. It's a much better design overall.

FWIW, the Alox model SAKs feel a lot more solid in use than the plastic models. IMO, they're money well spent.
 
beestokk said:
excellent input, thanks all - i've been going on a tear looking for great user knives at a good price and this series, specifically the ones i mentioned, look like winners.

harayasu - thanks for the comparison within the alox series itself...just to clarify are you in agreement that the alox models, specifically the pioneer and soldier (as jackknife mentioned), have thicker blade stock than the plastic handled models?
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree with jackknife. The blade on the alox models is a bit longer, thicker and wider.
 
A blade is “krinked” when it rests in the handle at an angle. This is usually done to make room for another blade pinned at the other end of the grip. The main blade of the Farmer is close to the inside of the scale at the pin. It’s about 3/32” away from the scale at the tip. That leaves room for the awl.
 
Harayasu said:
Yes, I agree with jackknife. The blade on the alox models is a bit longer, thicker and wider.
Click to expand...

all of the alox models or just the soldier/pioneer/farmer/electrician??

i'm a little confused as jackknife implied the alox cadet and alox bantam have the same blade thickness as the plastic handled models. this seems probable since both knives remain very slim based on measurements from sakwiki.com (very informative site I just came across today) with the alox bantam being significantly slimmer (6mm) than the plastic bantam (11.3 mm) which i assume means they didn't make the blades thicker on the alox version, otherwise i doubt the difference would be that much.

sorry, don't mean to beat a dead horse, just making sure i understand so i can make the appropriate selection when the time comes as i'm considering a cadet II (if there are even any out there currently), but leaning more and more toward a soldier, pioneer, or farmer. the electrician seems neat but the little reviews i've read thought the sheepsfoot blade/wire stripper left something to be desired.

reading back that post i may have even answered my own question short of being able to do a side-by-side comparison :foot: thanks a bunch!
 
Pioneer vs. Tinker

c7H2w.jpg


The Tinker's blade is 2mm wide at the base whereas the Pioneer's is 3mm. I can only eyeball it (I don't have a ruler with smaller markings than mm's), but it seems like towards the tip, the Tinker's blade is thicker than the Pioneer's, however.
 
all of the alox models or just the soldier/pioneer/farmer/electrician??

i'm a little confused as jackknife implied the alox cadet and alox bantam have the same blade thickness as the plastic handled models.
Click to expand...

Here too jackknife is right. The Cadet and Bantam are a series of smaller alox models, their tools are smaller too, more similar to the models with plastic handles. The Soldier and Pioneer are models from the serie of largest alox models. There's also a series of smallest alox models, in which you find a.o. the alox Classic.

The handles of the alox models are thinner than the plastic handles, but the plastic handles can have toothpicks, tweezers, pins and pens.

I don't own a Cadet II, but have a few Cadets and in my opinion they're great for EDC. Small, light and thin, but very functional. The Soldier or Pioneer are a bit larger and heavier, but can handle also heavier tasks. I rarely use the nail vile, but the awl/reamer on the large alox models is a great and versatile tool.
 
it consistently amazes me how helpful people can be on this forum. thanks for the picture kreole and thanks for yet another reply harayasu. last two questions and hopefully i'm done :rolleyes:...it seems from what i can find that the sheepsfoot blade on the electrician models is a chisel grind...is that accurate? if you had to have the can opener/smaller screwdriver or the sheepsfoot/wire scraper, what would you choose and why? any electrician owners chime on in! thanks again!!
 
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