Victorinox VS Wenger

platbuck said:
wanted to add that any the Champion has many more layers and this will give a more solid feel that a single or two layer SAK

I noticed this in comparing my recruit and bantam. bantam much more flimsy

also climber more solid than recruit.
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This is a very good point. It's also worth remembering that most of the time we compare the 91mm Vics to the 85mm Wengers. If you look actually compare the smaller 84mm Vics and the Wengers then any difference is much less noticeable IMO.
 
I used to be a big Wenger fan, but after having handled a victorinox SAK, I can safely say the quality on victorinox is superior. It feels sturdier and the tools lock into place better IMO.

Not to mention, I feel that victorinox either uses better steel, or heat treats the steel better than wenger.
 
I've both, brands, and while I have a very strong bias to the Victorinox brand, I have an old Wenger SI that has given me exemplary service. In fact, I prefer the SI over the soldier or pioneer. The vic soldier has no lanyard attachment, and the keyring on the pioneer is put in such a place that it rubs the heel of my hand.

The newer Wengers I've sen are much better in quality than say 10 to 15 years ago.

Carl.
 
Here's a photo of my collection. You can see that I like both brands. I have since added more knives but no new photo yet. :/

1000937l.jpg
 
I love Vic, but I like Wenger, both before and after the purchase by Vic. I probably like the older Wengers vs. the newer ones, but they are still good.
 
The only Wenger I have is an Esquire, which is Wenger's slightly larger (65mm versus 58mm) version of the Vic Classic. It's hard to believe it's actually 7mm longer, but that's what SAKwiki says. In any case, I like it better than my Classics, of which I have about twenty (thanks to NTSA lot sales on eBay). I like the slightly bigger size, the fact mines in a cool camo type finish, and I like that the blade steel has a patina on it .... which doesn't appear to be rust or tarnish, but just the way it came new. The steel seems a little different as well ... seems to be sharper and hold an edge a bit better, as if this were a higher carbon steel. Not sure of the latter, but the steel does look different.
 
My only Wenger has a large blade and saw as it's only tools. It has an '88 tang stamp and three exposed rivets. It was a gift from a friend, and I've no idea what model it is.

Jeff
 
I think Victorinox charge much less for comparable knives made by Wenger. The Swisschamp can be had for much less than the Toolchest Plus and they have about the same amount of features/tools.

Things I prefer about the Wengers (EVO S series) are the locking main blade and screwdrivers.
 
I want to like Wengers as much as Vics. I really do. But for most comparable models, I don't. It's close, but not quite there. And the other factor that throws everything in favor of Vic for me is that Vics are almost always just a little bit cheaper than the closest Wenger alternative. Not by a mile. But with no real reason to get the Wenger already, why pay more?

Like I said, the Wenger Esquire I have is excellent. And I like the Wenger Standard Issue, perhaps more than the Vic Pioneer, mostly because of the bail. But I don't care for the "Evo" aesthetics and find something not to like about the tool configurations on most larger Wenger designs.
 
Mud Shrimp Moe said:
The only Wenger I have is an Esquire, which is Wenger's slightly larger (65mm versus 58mm) version of the Vic Classic. It's hard to believe it's actually 7mm longer, but that's what SAKwiki says. In any case, I like it better than my Classics, of which I have about twenty (thanks to NTSA lot sales on eBay). I like the slightly bigger size, the fact mines in a cool camo type finish, and I like that the blade steel has a patina on it .... which doesn't appear to be rust or tarnish, but just the way it came new. The steel seems a little different as well ... seems to be sharper and hold an edge a bit better, as if this were a higher carbon steel. Not sure of the latter, but the steel does look different.
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I admit my preferences (prejudices?) are based on a 30 year old assessment and times have changed (particularly now diamond sharpeners are freely available), but in the old days, the Victorinox was incredibly difficult to sharpen and didn't necessarily come razor sharp out of the box. The Victorinox also usually had smooth scales compared to Wengers textured scales. The Wengers also seemed to have more carbon (or maybe less other alloying elements) and was a joy to sharpen and keep sharp. As a youngster, I also preferred the less ferocious snap of the Wenger whilst closing the knife. I must admit that I've considered SAKs with disdain for the last 25 or so years, not really thinking of them as a "proper" knife, more of a collection of tools with an inappropriate blade (hate the shape), but a couple of years ago I found myself stranded in a boat with a rope fouled prop and no knife. The guide couldn't find any of his knives and I'd left my brand new knife in the car (not wanting to lose it overboard because I wasn't wearing a belt). Luckily after an hour or so my wife remembered she had a SAK in the bottom of her day bag. I no longer be disdainful towards something that possibly saved our lives. Vancouver Island, mid october, sun going down is not where you'd want to be stranded out of earshot.
 
When I started getting into quality production fixed blades and folders (and I'm still a quality production guy - mostly Spyderco and Ka-Bar, etc), I too was a bit disdainful of SAKs.

But then I recalled just how useful carrying a SAK along with another quality locking or fixed blade really is.

And then I started buying more of them and loving them. And I have to tell you that I can buy a used Victorinox with a really dull blade and bring it back to shaving sharp very easily, much more easily than VG-10 for example. Sure it won't hold an edge as long as harder steel. But Vics can be sharpened really, really sharp.

So I'm a big fan. I still like my fixies and Spydercos. But I love Vics too.
 
I own maybe 10 Victorinox knives and about 3 Wengers and I would say they are about the same as far as quality goes. As you probably know the Wengers have alot of different designs like the Evo-Grip and Evolution series, and the Victorinoxes are the simple flat design but I would prefer the victorinox design. The Wenger Evo design is pretty much useless for me in the wider knives, but it is alot more useful in the smaller knives to me.
 
I assume changes have gone down over the past 10 years. Maybe there was a slip in QC. Maybe it's improved. Maybe it never changed. I noticed my Wenger swisschamp was much beefier than my vic. Though both have the same tools approximately. The wenger swiss champ was bought at walmart some years ago. They only carried wenger at the time. Maybe that's still the case. In any case I wasn't up to speed on knowing there was Wenger and Vic. When I saw a vic swiss champ at a store when I happened to be carrying mine around with me, I was shocked to see how much thinner it was, while being a little bit longer. Quality wise, it was all good. I'd give Wenger another go it's just that I don't need or desire that many SAKs.
 
I prefer Victorinox over WEnger knives. You get more quality for less money. There´s only one exception. The New Ranger models from Wenger. These are really big and sturdy knives.

Kind regards,

Andre
 
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