COLLECTION: Victorinox Lumberjack 84mm (1980s)

This is a new addition to my 84mm collection - the Victorinox Lumberjack with an old shield - Economy version.  All tools are the same as my other Lumberjack, except this one doesn't have any scale tools - toothpick and tweezers as all other Economy versions.  This one has the combo tool with the wood saw and main blade.  Older ones (1970s) still had the small blade instead of the combo tool.

COLLECTION: Victorinox Alumnus 84mm (1980s)

Little is known about the Victorinox Alumnus apart from it is a rare 84mm model and highly collectible. It is a three layer 84mm which has the same tool set as the 84mm Climber but it replaced the small blade with a nail file.  

According to sakwiki.com, the name itself is not officially verified to be Victorinox-assigned.  The catalogs I have (which are also available in sakwiki.com and other web sites) doesn't show the Alumnus as part of their product offering.  We can pin the date to the 1980s, specifically before 1985 due to the solid awl without the sewing eye.

The knife in my collection has an engraving in the main blade which reads "Krieg Solothurn".  Krieg is the German word for war and Solothurn is a capital city of the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. 

My 84mm collection as of 31 January 2015.

References:
www.sakwiki.com

COLLECTION: Victorinox Picknicker 111mm (1980s)

The Victorinox Picknicker is a two-layer 111mm model with a large side-locking main blade.  It also has the opener layer - can opener and bottle opener and the awl and corkscrew in the back layer.  Tweezers and toothpick are also included in the scale slots.

The Picknicker is one of the few 111mm Locking blade knives released by Victorinox in the 1980s and included in the 1989 Swiss Army Brands (SAB) Catalog.

It has been popular since then and continues to be in production (current as of 2015).

References:
www.sakwiki.com
www.victorinox.com
Victorinox 1989 SAB Supplier Catalog

COLLECTION: Victorinox Alpineer 111mm (1980s)

The Alpineer is a 111mm single blade, side locking swiss army knife introduced during the later part of 1980s.  I have a 1989 catalog which features it together with some other 111mm models.

Apart from the single large slide locking blade, it also has the corkscrew and tweezers and toothpick and the key ring attachment point.

It is usually in red nylon scales but a black version was released for the Simmons Scope company.

References:
Victorinox Catalog 1989
www.sakwiki.com

REVIEW: Comparison Victorinox Golfers 91mm vs 84mm (1980s & 1990s)

Up until the 1980's (or possibly 1990's) there were a lot more medium-sized (84mm) SAKs.  One of the popular models was the 84mm Golfer.  After Victorinox discontinued the 84mm Golfer, they made the 91mm equivalent and called it... 91mm Golfer (tada!).  Eventually, Victorinox added the plus scale and hook on the back layer and called it the 91mm Compact.  

There was another Golfer model with a Divot tool, but that is for another post.

This is a comparison between the 84mm and 91mm Golfer.  They have the same set of tools except for the plus scales and mini screwdriver on the corkscrew of the 91mm version.

84mm on the left, 91mm on the right: 

91mm on the left, 84mm on the right:

The now discontinued 84mm scissors side-by-side with the 91mm counterpart.

Not the difference in the shape of the combo tool.  The 91mm is more rounded and doesn't have the flat edge near the top of the curve. The other end of the 84mm combo tool is sharper compared to the 91mm.

The 84mm corkscrew is slightly smaller as well, the mini-screwdriver doesn't fit inside.

Reference:

www.sakwiki.com

COLLECTION: Victorinox Popular 84mm (1980s)

The Victorinox Popular (0.6901.20) is a ribbed alox SAK with a simple toolset - Large blade, small blade and a key ring.  This tool set has been implemented by Victorinox on a number of 84mm models as well with only a few differences like - Excelsior (0.6900.27 - no key ring), Secretary (0.6900.16 - smooth alox, no key ring), Pocket Pal (0.6900 - cellidor scales, no key ring).  It is usually in red alox with silver (/aluminum) cross.

This photo is from a Victorinox catalog from the 1980s showing the difference of the Popular and Excelsior 84mm models.

This is from the SMICO catalog with most of the two bladed-84mm models.

References:
Victorinox Catalog 1980s

COLLECTION: Victorinox Golfer 84mm (1980s)

The 84mm Golfer has been produced by Victorinox since the 1970s as seen in various catalogs from that era.  There's also a possibility that it has been produced as early as the 1960s - as the 84mm scissors has been in production as early as the 1960s. For these very early models the small blade was used instead of the combo tool which was only introduced in the mid 1980s.

The introduction of the combo tool in replacement of the small blade made it more useable!  It is a shame that Victorinox has since discontinued producing any models with scissors in the 84mm line.  This size would have been a perfect EDC size!

It has the fluted 4-turn corkscrew seen on models produced in the 1980s.

The much sought after tool by modders - the 84mm scissors.  The 84mm Golfer is currently the "cheapest" way to get the 84mm scissors.

After the 84mm Golfer was discontinued, Victorinox replaced it with the 91mm Golfer with a mini screwdriver attached to the corkscrew.  But this model was eventually replaced with the current 91mm Compact as well, which added the hook tool on the back layer and used plus scales to add a ball point pen and a straight pin.  Here's a photo showing them side-by-side. 

The 84mm Golfer as seen in one of the catalogs from the 1980s (from store: Baskets and Blades Ltd, Morrisville, NC).

References:
www.sakwiki.com
SAAM's Tool Evolution - http://victorinox.metodi.me/91mmtools.php
1970s & 1980s Catalogs

COLLECTION: Victorinox Engineer 91mm (1980s)

The Engineer (collector's name, not official) was produced, in very limited numbers, by Victorinox for Télémécanique Electrique - a French automation company founded by Michel le Goullec in 1924.  It was acquired by Schneider Electric in 1988.  It is a two-layer SAK which is a variation of the Scientist. It replaced the combo tool with the Technician's screwdriver.  

This SAK has blue cellidor scales and has metal inlays on both sides.  The front side has the "Telemecanique" logo together with the Victorinox shield while the back scale has the "ALTIVAR 5" inlay.

This is one of the very (very!) few 91mm models (if not the only one) with both the inline philips screwdriver and Technician's screwdriver in the main layer.

The Télémécanique ALTIVAR 5 is a variable speed controller for asynchronous motors. A sample is pictured below (most probably not used together with a wheelbarrow. :) )

Source: http://www.astrosurf.com/soubie/motoreducteur_&_variateur_2cv.htm

References:
www.sakwiki.com
MTO user jazzbass for verifying and identifying the model
Schneider Electric - Telemecanique History