Wenger Evo Grip??

[abey67]

Has anyone used any of the evo grip wenger knives? What are your impressions on this new style handle? Thanks in advance.

 

[supratentorial]

I've handled an Evo but not an Evo grip. I thought the Evo was really comfortable but it's not going to replace my Victorinox Farmer or Soldier. I think the ergonomics of the standard Swiss army knives is fine but I do appreciate the innovation from Wenger. I'd like to see them offer some upgrades in the composition of the handles.

Along the same lines, the ergonomic handles on the Porsche designed Wenger knives are made of Ruthenium.

 

[Getahl]

I have an Evo Grip 18 (Scissors and wood saw, four layers. Phillips and awl on the back side). I like the ergonomic scales, and the neoprene/grip tape stuff does keep my fingers from sliding around necessarily. Not that I've ever really had a SAK slide around on me, anyway. It pockets really well, too. It feels much smaller and slimmer than Vic's similar Huntsman/Fieldmaster.

I also don't like Wenger's toothpick. I broke off the tip, dislodged the hunk of apple I was trying to get rid of, and stuck the toothpick tip in my tooth. It was an annoying couple hours before I could get to some floss.

 

[abey67]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll have to pick one up to give it a try for myself.

 

[macdo]

There's a knife shop (mall type) opposite the supermarket where we do our weekly shop (you can see where this is going...). So I drop in and look at the toys pretty regularly. They have just started to stock Wenger SAKs and had a good range in. Now I used to have a Wenger, my favourite EDC for years which was a Traveler with a locking blade. Lost it when we were burgled. Anyway - I handled a few of Evos. I didn't like the regular scales - they seemed too glossy and their edge finish seemed a bit rough (though in line with the general view that Wenger finish isn't up to Victorinox standards) and name Wenger is embossed in a way that just didn't look right to me. The Evo-grips I liked, nice grippy pads in the scales. The two layers felt nice. I was tempted by a three layer but it had a phillips driver instead of a corkscrew (and I need a corkscrew to hold the little screwdriver. I ended up buying the soft touch ST814 which has black scales with a soft touch like some cameras have. Not rubbery. Very nice in the hand, the feel of the scales and the evo shape. Nice drop point blade. I like the awl on the back of the knife. I get a saw in an 84mm knife which sits well in my pocket. I wonder if Wenger are onto something about pocket feel, like Getahl says about his. I'm interested to see how the scale material holds up in a pocket with keys and loose change. Looks like it will be the new EDC for now. I may have to hunt for an the evo-grips with a locking blade though. There's the S17 but very like the knife I now have - not a bad thing necessarily. The Boy Scout knife would probably replace my old Traveler but there's time yet.