Wenger will be no more.

tholiver said:
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!
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Personally, I like Vic the way they are. But, I would like to see a Vic online custom shop where you can design your own SAK in alox, 111mm or 91mm. Customize your own tools offering a wider variety of color scales like orange (Hint Hint Vctorinox).
 
I hope they keep ranger series and evo s10 locking blade, the pressure locking flat screwdriver. I really want to get a swissgrip.
 
strange, but now i wonder about future tenders put up by the swiss government for pocket knives.
you can't have a monopoly in an open bid??
 
TheGent said:
Personally, I like Vic the way they are. But, I would like to see a Vic online custom shop where you can design your own SAK in alox, 111mm or 91mm. Customize your own tools offering a wider variety of color scales like orange (Hint Hint Vctorinox).
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Also a stayglow option for all non-alox models. Expand the Alox range, the tools available in the alox range. Swissbianco had a prototype 111mm Alox OHT made up by a custom guy but it never went into production.
I like 84mm and 91mm as slipjoints but that doesn't mean you couldn't add a separate line with some kind of unobtrusive lock.
A custom option should be doable but of course the price for those would be dramatically more than the regular production models.
An Alox huntsman, a huntsman in 84mm, regular vic scissors and a pocket clip added to the Swisstool Spirit, those would be my immediate wants from Vic (if they were listening to me,lol).
 
the 111mm alox will come one day. we have now the 111mm clip and that one will be integrated on the 111mm alox and we hope to get that done in 2013, with non us supplier as all we tryd did not work out one way or another, sad.

back to toppic, sak are a swiss thing and sure it was a pitch black day as that was announced and i posted on my facebook. wenger sak and knives will be made 2013 but end of that year then either the line will be stopped or made with victorinox logo. the other lines are currently kept up, like watches and luggage, for how long we will see. most important no job is lost and all keep working. during shot show they did not now it, i will meet them again at iwa show in march in germany and will go see a last time the place in delemont and then 2014 again to see the changes there. will post some pics and videos on my channels.

wenger had many hard times in the past and now its soon finished complete. for us swiss eidgenosse people its sure a really bad day and its not about how made the best sak or who like or dislike this and that its about a oldest swiss brand name be gone.

if you want a wenger sak now its the time to buy, they will get more and more rare and less easy to find in brand new in box condition.

+B
swissbianco.com
 
I would hope there is still a way to determine whether a Vic is made in Delemont or Ibach before purchase. I know it sounds silly, but I really prefer a "Vic"-Vic from Vic's original factory.

I own from 5 to 7 Wengers, but a whole bunch of Vic's, certainly over 20. I like Vic's designs much better. And I don't like Wenger's scissor design. As already mentioned, you can replace the Vic spring, but not the Wenger spring. A friend of mine whose sole SAK is a Wenger, the scissors on his have a broken spring and so they're totally useless. Plus, I like the precision of the Vic scissors in how they cut. The Wenger scissors nod up and down during use and the cut isn't as clean.

Jim
 
tholiver said:
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.
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Didn't think of that. Good point!
 
I hope they keep the Classic 66. A new name wouldn't hurt: it's a combination Waiter and Lumberjack, so they could call it a WinoJack. Nylon scales would be nice, and Victorinox tweezers and toothpick are a little better than Wenger's. The Victorinox saw is definitely better than the old production Wenger saw (I own both).

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I guess it's time for me to buy a Micro Tool Chest 16109 AKA Minathor. Too bad I can't afford one with fancy leather scales.

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I'm going to miss that crazy European name. ME NOT WHORE has to be the most distinctive name ever for a pocket knife.
 
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It's so sad.

I'm a contrarian weirdo, so of course I prefer Wenger.

I bought two Wenger SI's today, and I still need to buy a few other models too.
 
swissbianco said:
the 111mm alox will come one day. we have now the 111mm clip and that one will be integrated on the 111mm alox and we hope to get that done in 2013, with non us supplier as all we tryd did not work out one way or another, sad.

back to toppic, sak are a swiss thing and sure it was a pitch black day as that was announced and i posted on my facebook. wenger sak and knives will be made 2013 but end of that year then either the line will be stopped or made with victorinox logo. the other lines are currently kept up, like watches and luggage, for how long we will see. most important no job is lost and all keep working. during shot show they did not now it, i will meet them again at iwa show in march in germany and will go see a last time the place in delemont and then 2014 again to see the changes there. will post some pics and videos on my channels.

wenger had many hard times in the past and now its soon finished complete. for us swiss eidgenosse people its sure a really bad day and its not about how made the best sak or who like or dislike this and that its about a oldest swiss brand name be gone.

if you want a wenger sak now its the time to buy, they will get more and more rare and less easy to find in brand new in box condition.

+B
swissbianco.com
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Thanks for the info Roger! Even though I'm not a fan of Wenger knives, it's still terrible for the little guy when a company gets realigned. I'm definitely glad no one's losing employment in all this!
 
I have a locking version of the Wenger Official World Scout knife. I originally had one of the first run sent to me by Wenger for review in the early 90's, with the Official World Scout Knife etch on the blade. However, when the scissors fell apart (not from use, maybe from being flown around a lot) about ten years ago, and I returned it to the (then) UK agent, they replaced it with an inferior version of the knife without the blade etch.

I always much preferred the Victorinox knives, but interestingly, when Wenger suggested I do a head-to-head review of their respective pocket tool-boxes for a UK magazine, then the Vic Swiss Champ and the Wenger Major, it was Victorinox who chickened out. Wenger were so confident that their knife was better (wrongly in my opinion) that they even bought a Swiss Champ and sent it to me so the review could go ahead!

I can see the reason for this decision, but it's sad to see the name of a long-time knife manufacturer disappear.
 
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I'll be sad to see Wenger go. For one, it's always sad to see a n old name go away. I have an old Wenger SI that's covered a lot of ground with me in my travels, and it's been a great knife. I prefer it over the pioneer because of the bail. I like bails. I don't like those keyring mounting nubs on the pioneer that dig into the hand. It's always been a huge pet peeve of mine that Victorinox doesn't use the same angle on the keyring nub that the cellidor models do.

Second, I like the blade profile of the SI better than I do the pioneer.

I'm gonna have a whiskey, or two, for the memory of Wenger.

Carl.
 
I did a quick count, and right now there are 18 SAKs here (that I can find!). Most of them are Vics, but the ones that see the most use other than my Executive are Wengers. I really do like the 85mm Wengers. The 84mm Vics tend to have an almost holy status, but the Wenger ignored. Compared to a 91mm Vic, yes, their springs feel a bit soft. Not compared to an 84mm though.... For years I carried a Super Tinker as EDC. Some time ago I decided to try a Wenger with the same basic toolset, the Evo16. Nowadays, the Tinker has been traded away, and 9 times out of 10 if you check my pocket, the Evo16 is there. There's no contest in my mind between the Wenger Tradesman and the Deluxe Tinker. The locking flat screwdriver and the pliers on the Wenger win. Don't get me wrong, I love my Victorinox as well, and as I type this there's a Cadet in my pocket. But Wenger seems to get the short end of the stick in many conversations. To each his own, but there are a lot of Wenger fans who will miss them when they're gone.
 
jackknife said:
I'll be sad to see Wenger go. For one, it's always sad to see a n old name go away. I have an old Wenger SI that's covered a lot of ground with me in my travels, and it's been a great knife. I prefer it over the pioneer because of the bail. I like bails. I don't like those keyring mounting nubs on the pioneer that dig into the hand. It's always been a huge pet peeve of mine that Victorinox doesn't use the same angle on the keyring nub that the cellidor models do.
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I agree with this wholeheartedly. That 's one thing I absolutely dislike about some of the Alox Vics; that sharp, aluminum key ring projection. If they were shorter, smoother, polished steel projections like on most of the Cellidor models, they would be perfect.

Jim
 
While I am sad to see Wenger go, their lack of innovation has doomed them for a long time. Victorinox has been busy squeezing ever more functions into well conceived and well executed knives, while Wenger's stuff has always felt clumsy and inferior on every level.

I actually think this is a good thing in the long run, if it can keep Wenger's name alive in a more useful context.
 
I can understand integrating the two companies better in order to increase efficiency and clarify/define their separate brands. But I had hoped they would retain the Wenger name for certain product lines, like the EvoGrip and Ranger series.

Pocketgrip.jpg
 
Bob W said:
I can understand integrating the two companies better in order to increase efficiency and clarify/define their separate brands. But I had hoped they would retain the Wenger name for certain product lines, like the EvoGrip and Ranger series.
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Bloomberg (a poor source IMO) says that SAK sales have fallen by 1/3 in the post-2001 air travel nightmare.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-30/swiss-army-knife-maker-retires-120-year-old-wenger-brand.html

Victorinox's English press release reads like a computer translation. I have tried to make this as clear as their German.

Press Release

Ibach, 30 January 2013

Victorinox concentrates production and incorporates Wenger knives

Eight years ago, Switzerland's Victorinox Group welcomed Wenger, the legendary firm in Delémont, into its corporate family as an affiliate. Now Victorinox is integrating Wenger's knife business with its own. To strengthen our position in the international economy, we must respond to intensified competition for markets by eliminating redundancies in our product line. From now on, Victorinox knives will be made in Delémont; the workers there will remain in our employment.

In 2005, Victorinox bought the legendary house of Wenger to keep it in Swiss hands. Since then, Wenger has been an independently managed affiliate, and to some extent a competitor, of Victorinox. Both enterprises have held their own in a challenging international economy.

Now Victorinox has decided to incorporate Wenger's knife business.

Carl Eisener, Victorinox CEO:

"Many consumers were confused by Victorinox's and Wenger's knife product lines, and the worldwide competitive struggle grows ever more intense. That is why we have decided to unite to our forces under one brand name: Victorinox."
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Production will continue in Delémont. Part of Wenger's knife line will remain in production, branded Victorinox. Wenger's watch and licensed businesses will continue. Wenger's U.S. office will be merged with Victorinox's office in Monroe, Connecticut.

These measures will help Victorinox use the strength of its distribution channels to greater advantage. Remaining competitive demands a clear strategy and the concentration of investments in products, product lines, and distribution. Consumers expect a uniform assurance of quality from us.

Peter Hug, Wenger CEO:

"Naturally we regret that we shall no longer make Wenger knives. This concentration of forces will facilitate our continued growth in the global competitive struggle; it will sharpen the focus of our product line, and ensure the future of Delémont. We are taking this step from a position of strength."
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With the incorporation of Wenger's knife business, Victorinox retains its Jura affiliate's proven know-how in design and production. Together with its current watch production in Pruntrut, the Victorinox Group will remain a major employer in Canton Jura.
 
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