Wenger will be no more.

Knife Crazied

Knife Crazied

Joined
Apr 17, 2009
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It appears Victorinox had decided that they will combine with wenger and all knives will now be produced under the victorinox name. It will help with the competition between them plus duplicates of the same patterns. I would say all wenger knives will become collectible.

Since I have a wenger tattoo on my arm; is my arm now highly collectible? :D
 
Of all my SAKs, I don't have a single Wenger. I believe the Victorinox side has a more well rounded selection. I can't stand the nail file that Wenger has to put on nearly every knife. When I do find a Wenger they are a little overpriced. You get more for your money out of Victorinox and maybe Vic will level the playing field.
 
I work for Victorinox in The Netherlands and haven't heard anyting about it yet. Where did you get the info from?
 
TheGent said:
Of all my SAKs, I don't have a single Wenger. I believe the Victorinox side has a more well rounded selection. I can't stand the nail file that Wenger has to put on nearly every knife. When I do find a Wenger they are a little overpriced. You get more for your money out of Victorinox and maybe Vic will level the playing field.
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I totally agree with this.I feel Vic is the real deal.
 
I've a dozen or so SAKs, all Vics except for the Wenger Tradesman (similar to the Vic deluxe tinker). The Wenger is sturdier, more robust and has better pliers and scissors IMHO. Sorry to see them go.

Rich
 
VICTORINOX JOINS FORCES AND INTEGRATES WENGER KNIFE BUSINESS
Eight years ago, the family-owned Swiss company Victorinox took over the long-established company Wenger, headquartered in Delémont, and has since managed it as a standalone subsidiary. Now Victorinox will integrate Wenger's knife business. This move eliminates duplication in the product range, responds to increased market demand and strengthens its competitive position internationally. In the future, Victorinox knives will also be made in Delémont and all employees will keep their jobs.

In 2005, Victorinox bought the long-established Wenger company in order to keep it in Swiss hands. Since then, Wenger has operated as an independent entity, sometimes in competition with Victorinox. Both companies have asserted themselves on the highly competitive international market.

Now Victorinox has decided to integrate the Wenger knife business. «Many consumers can hardly distinguish between the knife products from Victorinox and Wenger and the global fight for survival is getting increasingly fierce. That's why we are joining forces and focusing on one brand: Victorinox." says Carl Elsener, CEO of Victorinox.

The site in Delémont will be maintained. An assortment from the Wenger knife collection will be produced going forward under the brand name Victorinox. Wenger's watch and licensing business will continue. The Wenger branch in the US will be merged with the existing Victorinox headquarters based in Monroe (Connecticut).
With this move, Victorinox is looking to still better utilize its distribution strength. Competition requires clear strategic positioning, as well as the concentration of investments in products, product range and distribution. Consumers in turn expect a unique brand promise.

Peter Hug, CEO of Wenger: "We regret of course that we will no longer be producing Wenger knives in the future. The concentration of forces will allow the group to grow within the global competitive environment, to enhance the product range and to strengthen the Delémont site in the long term. So we are taking this step from a position of strength."

With the incorporation of the Wenger knife business, Victorinox is able to retain many years of experience in the areas of development and production from its well-established subsidiary. Together with its existing watch production in Porrentruy, the Victorinox Group remains a major employer in the canton of Jura.
 
Only good thing about Wenger over Vics are the handles IMO - I would like to see Vic integrate more contoured handle designs with grippier materials across the full line - not just the soldier.
 
Other than their version of the Soldier i'm not a huge Wenger fan. I have 50+ Victorinox but only 5 Wengers.
Not that they are bad knives i just don't think they are the same level of design and quality as Vics.
If they do discontinue Wenger hopefully Victorinox will expand their 84mm line to fill in the gaps!
I really want a 84mm Huntsman!
 
I honestly think it was about time. They were just creating competition for themselves with themselves, and that's kind of silly! Perhaps we'll start seeing some integration of features, but at the same time, who knows? The good news is there won't be any layoffs resulting from the brand absorption.
 
Hope there won't be any F&F issues or poorly HT'ed blades now that after the integration all Victorinoxs are made from Wenger's factory.
 
I think the 84 and 85 line will go away as the 91mm is to close in my mind to allow them. :/ plus victorinox refused to make 84mm scissors due to having to make a new mold but who knows. I'll just keep my eyes peeled.
 
This is big news. Maybe they'll use wenger's scissors design. Everything else, I find Victorinox to be better except maybe for design innovations.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I honestly think it was about time. They were just creating competition for themselves with themselves, and that's kind of silly! Perhaps we'll start seeing some integration of features, but at the same time, who knows? The good news is there won't be any layoffs resulting from the brand absorption.
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I tnink FortyTwoBlades is correct. If I were able to understand airline deregulation and market theory, I might worry about lack of competition but I consider the Swiss Army Knife more like a public utility (air, water) than branded products to be competing in the market with overheated advertising (new, improved, new model) and no real change or improvement. I hope that resources will be used to make THE Swiss Army Knife better quality and available to all, even the underprivileged of the world who do not have access to the SAK. For me, a Swiss Army Knife is one of the necessities of life.

I think people can see that I did not do too well in my required Economics class. :D
 
Ultraman said:
This is big news. Maybe they'll use wenger's scissors design. Everything else, I find Victorinox to be better except maybe for design innovations.
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I hope not. You can replace the springs on Vic scissors you can't on Wenger scissors. I have an old model Wenger with scissors which has lost its "oomph". Wenger did however have a locking blade mechanism on some of its 85mm knives that was ok.
 
This is great news! Now all those big box stores like Academy & Target (both in driving distance from me) will carry the knives I buy!
 
The Wenger 85mm lock is not bad. However the larger lock like on the Wenger Ranger is not one of my favorites.
I like the liner lock on the 111mm Victorinox OHT (and others), it would be interesting to see Vic try a lock like that on the 84mm or 91mm frame size.
I'm a Vic fanboy but the main positive thing Wenger had over Vic was that Wenger was willing to take more design risks. However that was likely due to them being the perpetual underdog trying to compete with Vic.
I love Victorinox but they are sluggish when it comes to change, look at the ongoing effort to try and convince them to produce an Alox Farmer with scissors!
 
The coolest SAK lock i ever saw was a custom liner lock made by one of our European BF members. I think he was from Poland? Anyway if you can find the thread on it its worth a look!
 
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