Victorinox to shut down Wenger

I think there was a thread about this a couple of months ago wasn't there?
 
It's a bit of a shame. I really liked the wenger nail clipper knives. Great gift knives/ purse knives.
 
I have never tried either one of the Swiss Multi-tool brands but my local Kmart is going out of business and they have knives marked down 40% right now. Most of it is China junk but they have a few Wenger Highlanders and Wenger Evo S 10 models left that I'm thinking about picking up. I can get the Highlander for $12 and the Evo for a little under $14. I'm going to wait until tomorrow morning though as they put the new price reductions up on Friday nights so hopefully they are down to 50% tomorrow. :) IF they are down to 50% I'll probably grab a couple of each and I'll do a giveaway.
 
I can agree with their marketing logic in combining into one brand. I always preferred Victorinox of the two.
I suppose Wenger will eventually bring a collectible premium like Camillus and the other manufacturers that have faded into the sunset.
 
This is a classic business move (sorry, bad pun): buy out the competition, gain ownership of its patents and designs, then close it. Vic will see this as "strengthening the brand," which it probably will be because it'll mean there's only ONE maker (style, brand) of SAK.

Edit: Well, I'm glad I have my Wenger Standard Issue.
 
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So, does this open up a possibilty of somebody creating a legitimate alternative in the camper pattern?
 
I heard that Victorinox bought Wenger originally to preclude its sale to say a Chinese firm. If that was the case, it appears to be a good move.
 
pinnah said:
So, does this open up a possibilty of somebody creating a legitimate alternative in the camper pattern?
Click to expand...

Possibly. But I think Vic will continue its "variations on a theme" at which they have been quite successful. Thus there may not be "market space" for another traditional camper. I like your suggestions for a 21st Century Camper, but the — can I say this? —lukewarm response among knifeknuts isn't encouraging.

Could be it's a great pattern of its time — and its time has passed.

I dunno.
 
My first real knife, was a Wegner. Victorinox is a smart, profitable company, and I have high hopes they know what they're doing. Wegner's offerings don't have a lot of appeal to me, and I always opted for Victorinox branded ones anyhow. I think the brand was viewed by many as second to Victorinox. I don't think many will miss the Wegner brand, but who knows ?
 
pinnah said:
So, does this open up a possibilty of somebody creating a legitimate alternative in the camper pattern?
Click to expand...

To tell the truth, I think the various SAKs are the legitimate alternatives to the traditional camper. At least, of all the knife manufacturers, I suspect Vic would make a "21st Century Camper" long before anyone else would. They have the market dominance, the brand, and the experience in fitting various tools into a knife frame.

Leatherman? Maybe. They're coming along strong, certainly, but they're still linked strongly to the tool world, not so much the knife world. That could change.

But i think the bigger issue is the fractionation of the "camper" market itself. Vic is successfully selling all those knives with all those blades precisely because the market has splintered into a gazillion micro-segments. Ya gots a need? They gots a knife. Any combo, anytime.

I think it would take a total transformation of peoples' knife needs — and I haven't the foggiest idea what direction this would go in — the create a New Camper pattern. It's all a horde of micro-markets. That's the world we live in.
 
AreBeeBee said:
Possibly. But I think Vic will continue its "variations on a theme" at which they have been quite successful. Thus there may not be "market space" for another traditional camper. I like your suggestions for a 21st Century Camper, but the — can I say this? —lukewarm response among knifeknuts isn't encouraging.

Could be it's a great pattern of its time — and its time has passed.

I dunno.
Click to expand...

If a picture is worth a thousand words then this is my answer.


EDC Pair by Pinnah, on Flickr

That is, this one time loyal Ulster camper user has moved on to a different pattern/combo.

Actually though, I could see Leatherman being well positioned to make a decent camper patterned knife. They really should replace the can opener with scissors though.
 
I always like the Wengers.Sad to see another good knife company go,but im sure glad China didn't snatch it.I recall reading that Vic and Wenger would take turns being the Official Swiss Army Knife.
 
Victorinox bought Wenger to preclude them being bought by outside sources. Main reason for it was because Wenger is the only other brand allowed to use "Swiss Army Knife" and Victorinox did not want that being used by anyone but a Swiss company.

Sort of sucks because I had been pondering getting one of the large Wenger Ranger models. Now this forces me into a decision. Buddy of mine will be bummed out because he prefers the Wenger models over the Victorinox. He especially prefers the Wenger scissors over the Victorinox ones.
 
I really respect Victorinox for handling the closing down of Wenger the way that they did.

Jim
 
Sad to hear. Hope they keep some of Wenger's features around. The scissors seemed to be a great design. I remember sometime in the 70s my Dad's big Christmas gift (every few years there would be something, SAK one year, Gerstner chest another), where he and Mom would shop around for what he wanted. He liked the Wenger scissors, but the Vic saw and the inlaid shield. He wound up getting an interesting model, same tools as the Huntsman, but philips instead of corkscrew and one size down from Huntsman. Was a nice knife, very pocketable if a bit heavy. He became a keychain Classic devotee later in life. I have several Victorinox, including kitchen knives, but have always kind of wanted a Wenger, just to have. I recently picked up a Cadet, but was looking around for a Wenger soldier or similar, but they dont seem to exist anymore.

Edit, reading the other thread, apparently the Wenger scissor design was subject to failure. The ability to replace the spring on the Vic design seems to be a major advantage. Figures.
 
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For those unhappy about Wenger's impending demise, go out there now and get what you want before you have to pay collector prices. Get the new stock before it becomes new old stock before it becomes collectable. Maybe get an extra just in case.

As regards a New Camper, I'm with Pinnah. That would be a useful knife. The traditional camper — mine was an Imperial Scout from the late 1950s — served its times pretty well. But those times have passed and a new camper pattern would be desireable. I gave the reason why I suspect that may never emerge up above. Vic's vast array of blades-n-toolz in various frames has covered the market, I think. Or at least to an extent that any other company has to wonder where they can muscle in and make a niche.

I'd love to see Leatherman take a chop at it.
 
New camper pattern? You can find a Vic Recruit for $15 or less after taxes (in most states) from wallyworld. Knowing that, why would anyone even try to compete against the consistent quality and value for money Vic offers?

Vic%2520SAK%2520Recruit.jpg
 
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