Wenger of Victorinox?

M

Morgoth412

Joined
Oct 4, 2002
Messages
1,297
Having only one SAK and it being a Wenger, I wanted to get a Victorinox one. I was just wondering what you forumites thought was the better quality company. Thanks, and sorry if this has been done to death.
 
Most are going to say Victorinox. Too bad you can't use the search function. This topic will bring up hundreds of threads.

But anyway it depends what you're looking for also and which tools are most important to you. For example the Wenger variety tend to have that flathead screwdriver which actually locks as you put pressure on it. Nice feature.

One other thing I'll note is the scissors. On the Wenger they are 'grippier' making them better for slightly heavier cutting chores. The Victorinox ones tend to have a smooth finish and are better for cutting paper and bits of thread.

There are other differences but I can't comment too accurately on them since I only own Victorinox right now.
 
Thanks alot for the info! The victorinox do seem popular here. I was thinking of getting a Victorinox Soldier. Do you have any info on that? Thanks again.
- Kev
 
For me the Soldier is not one of my favourite models. I find the aluminum handles just aren't to my liking. They're cold and they don't grip as well. Doesn't make too much of a diff for urban use where you're indoors a lot but on a camping trip when it's cold and if it rains this may be something to consider.

It's a good knife but just not for me!

My personal carries and favourites are the Camper, the Swisschamp and the Swisstool.
 
Over the years I collected about 30 SAKs, some Wenger, but most Vics. I think that they're a great knife for the price. Make a list of features/implements you'd like in one and then go to a place like www.swissarmy.com and have fun.:) Pocket size was always an issue with me, so I look at how many layers a model is. 2-3 layers seem to be the most for my pocket. The Tinker line or the compact are good models to start with. Happy Hunting!
 
i asked this question a while back in a different forum... no one answered, and so i bought a bunch of victorinox and wengers just to see the differences and stuff. like BOK mentioned, the scissors are different.. wengers have a much more robust scissor with a better spring mechanism to keep it open, and "teeth" on the scissor blade. There are also slight differences in the blade shapes and size of the corkscrew and the features, but both are excellent brands. From what i've seen, the Victorinx in general have a much nicer finish and seem a little more "polished" in that they are smoother. The wengers are a little more robust, but seem less pretty...

Both are great tho IMO..
 
Well I think I'm going to go with the soldier for an urban user and get a Victorinox camper for outdoors use. Thanks everyone for your imput. If anyone else has any suggestions I would be happy to hear them.
 
I have owned many Vics but only one Wenger and prefer Vic so you can take that for what it's worth. None of the stores where I grew up sold Wengers so I guess I just bought Vics and was happy. I tried one Wenger and as mentioned above, the screwdriver locks but I didn't like the serrations on the scissors and the overall quality "seemed" less.

My EDC SAK is a Vic Soldier. I like the aluminum handles because they are a little thinner than regular SAKs and you can bang it around and not mark it up terribly. The tools and blade on it are a little larger than on the regular Vic SAKS. The springs are stiffer too. It's what I use if I have to cut something around the sheeple. Most are surprised when they find out that is the model issued, not the red handled ones.

Good choice on the Camper too! I used the Huntsman (Camper + Scissors) for five years in the Scouts. The saw on that thing is a great cutter.
 
I have several SAK and my favorite is the soldier model. I think I have something like 5 Soldiers from both Victorinox and Wenger.

I have an earlier Victorinox Soldier that has a lanyard hole through one of the pivot pins. They don't make them that way any more but it was a nice feature.

Wenger's Soldier model has a D ring which at times I find useful and some times I find it to be in the way. The D ring can also be removed which leaves a hole for a lanyard just like the older Victorinox models.

The diameter of the hole in the pivot pin is small but a lanyard similar to what you would find on a compass works well.

I find the quality is the same from both manufactures.

The only other difference is the tip of the awl...I prefer the shape of the awl on the Victorinox Soldier over the Wenger. I recall drilling a hole in a piece of leather with the Wenger and the hole ended up not centered but that was only because I was more used to the shape of the Victorinox awl.

I carried my other SAK's on different occasions but only used the tools that are found on the soldier models. (I've used the other tools but only because they were there and I wanted to see how well they worked but I never really needed the saw!) I also find the can opener on the Soldiers to work better than the can openers on other models. It might just be the size and shape of the handle but they work better for me.

I had no intention of writing this much so I guess I must really like these knives.

OK, I better stop writing!
 
I love Swiss Army Knives (both Vics and Wengers)!
I really like the aluminum SAKs the best for overall toughness.
Two of my all time favorites from Victorinox are the Electrician and the Cadet.

The Electrician is the same as the Soldier model except, instead of a can opener it has a sheepsfoot blade with a wire stripping portion.

The Cadet is a very slim aluminum SAK with main blade, bottle opener/screwdriver, can opener/small scredriver, and a nail file.

BTW, you also might want to consider the Victorinox Pioneer. It is the same as the Soldier model except it has a key ring, and the aluminum handle is anodized a beautiful red!

One bit of useless SAK trivia: the Victorinox Solder and Pioneer models, and the Wenger Standard Issue, all have the year they were made on the tang of the main blade.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
Both are good knives for the money. there are some differences though. The wenger blade isnt as thick, is shorter, but has a wider profile. the victorinox has a longer blade, and the blade thickness is much more than the wenger. The scissors on the wenger are shorter, but nicer on the wenger, and it has small serrations that improve its cutting ability. The wenger scissors use the backspring pressure to operate, while the victorinox scissors use a thin weak spring (built into the scissors, can be replaced when broken though, Ive replaced a few myself).

The quality of both is preety good, but from my own experience, just my opinion, my victorinox seem to hold a better edge. I know both are stainless, probably 420, don't really know, but I have better luck with the victorinox. I will say though I have one of the issue models wenger and it works pretty good. I suspect some, or alot, of that has to do with the blade being much thicker than their other knives.

all in all they're both good!! :)
 
The Soldier is a great knife. Not all the bells and whistles, but it is attractive, lightweight and very sheeple friendly.

I gave them to my groomsmen at my wedding and all the guys really like them.

OFr like 18 bux it's a great knife.
 
I have a Victorinox Tinker. Greatest thing ever, the phillips head screw driver in place of the corkscrew is great, it comes in real handy i love it. Just thought i'd add that.
 
Do not worry about differences between Vic and Wenger. Just stay away from the lower-quality knockoffs that have little stars, diamonds, letters, etc. instead of the Swiss cross symbols of the Wenger and Victorinox.
A lot of people like the Compact for urban use. I tend to like the Ranger.
 
I usually either carry just a lock-blade folder or my SOG PowerLock, but the SAK that I have used the most is the Spartan. I took this knife to Philmont with me three years ago and found that it would cover most daily camp chores.

Our Cadet Store has a small but very well-priced selection of Victorinox knives. A friend at USAFA and I split the cost of three Hunters, had them engraved, and gave them to friends who had enlisted. They all say taht they carry them every day (there aren't many places you can't carry a non-locking SAK, even in Japan) and et a lot of use out of them. If I were to get an SAK to carry daily, it would probably be the Hunter (black handles).
 
The alox Victorinox knives are really nice, and my favorites are the Farmer and Electrician. The Farmer is not available in the USA but can be bought from www.swiss-knife.com , which is a company from which I have ordered with complete satisfaction.
 
The Victorinox Soldier is an excellent knife.

Mine used to be in daily use till the Spyderco bug bit me.

Skip the Wengers. The quality is no where near the same, in my opinion anyway.
 
I own several SAKs. Only one is a Wenger. From it and the few others I have seen, the quality is good but not as good as Victorinox. I have V-noxes ranging from the Classic up to the Rucksack and Swiss-tool. The Soldier is an excellent choice. Any of the Pioneer series are great choices too. The best thing about SAKs is that they are cheap enough that you can pick up a few different models without breaking the bank.

Paul
 
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