COLLECTION: Victorinox Classic SD 125 year Anniversary Edition

I've been lucky to find this brand new from a local retail shop for a cheaper (compared to online) price.

COLLECTION: Custom Wood Scale - Victorinox Spartan 91mm

This is my first go at making a custom wooden scale for a Victorinox SAK - specifically a Spartan as my first guinea pig!  I was inspired by the work of Mile (MWDP at MTo).  He's a real master at this.

The scale is a Tasmanian Oak stained with natural color Kitchen oil.

I did not include the tweezers and toothpick as I want the scale to be as thin and squarish as possible.

The Victorinox shield was epoxied and clamped - I was surprised the the force of the clamp was enough to embed the shield unto the wood.

I'm still thinking if I'll varnish it with natural color or leave it as is.

I think I'll make another one :) a Classic!

COLLECTION: Victorinox Alox Farmer

This is one of my few alox Victorinox SAKs - the Farmer (Item Number: 0.8241.26). One of a few alox with a wood saw.

This one is in a pretty good condition. There's a very slight bend near the tip of the main blade but it's very slight that it's difficult to photograph it. There's a very small nick in the awl but except those two, the tools are very good. No sign of being sharpened or scratched.

The alox scale has pocket wear with a few nicks on the corners usually seen on pocket carried alox saks. There's a CMM engraved on the engraving panel.

COLLECTION: Victorinox Tourist 84mm (Pre-1971)

This is part of my 84mm collection. It's coming along nicely.  This is the early version without the tweezers and toothpick.   It has the followring tools:

1. Main blade with the Victoria Officier Suisse stamp on the reverse tang.

2. Small blade with the clip point

3. Cap lifter with wire stripper and wire bender

4. Can opener with small screwdriver at the tip and the +PAT stamp

5. Five-turn fluted corkscrew

6. Reamer w/o sewing eye

It also has the brass metal inlay Victorinox shield and no key ring.

I'm estimating this to be pre-1971 due to the +PAT stamp.

COLLECTION: Victorinox Huntsman (Pre-1973)

The Victorinox Huntsman is probably one of my favorite SAKS.  It's the perfect SAK to bring on camping trips.  It has all the tools that you will need for the outdoors.  The wood saw is perfect for cutting small dried branches of trees for use as firewood. 

It is one of the early eight original named models released during the 1950's together with the Champion, Master Craftsman, Craftsman, Fisherman, Woodsman, Camper and the Tinker. 

The Huntsman today is actually more similar to the Woodsman model than the Huntsman model from the 1950's.  Their toolset is the same except the actual tools themselves have evolved through the years.  The main difference is the addition of the Long Nail File (LNF) and the Tweezers and Toothpick on Huntsman.

Over the years, the Woodsman was discontinued and the LNF was removed from the Huntsman to get to the current toolset that we are very familiar with.

My Huntsman is a pre-1973 model with the small clip point blade, LNF, 5-turn fluted corkscrew and the cap lifter with wire stripper.  I'll try to complete all the models representing the major changes in the Huntsman line.  This is the second one I got apart from my modern Huntsman.

Reference:

Victorinox 1950s Catalog

REVIEW: Victorinox Midnite MiniChamp: My Every Day Carry (EDC)

I've been carrying a Midnite MiniChamp for close to two years now. It replaced my Classic and it has been in my key ring from the moment I got it.  It has all the tools that I need for quick fixes. 

Layer Tools:
     Pen Blade
     Scissors
     Cap-Lifter / Combo tool includes small Phillips screwdriver / wire stripper/bender
     Screwdriver-Ruler

     Emergency Blade (small Wharncliff)

     Cut-and-Picker Blade with scraper
     Cuticle Pusher
     Nail File with nail cleaner tip
     Key ring

Scale Tools:
     White LED light

     Retractable Pen

But honestly, I mostly use only the half side of the tools and the two scale tools.

One of the most used tools is the retractable ball point pen.  I had signed important documents with it.  Although, I don't think it is good for writing a long note, but for instances where you need a pen to sign, it's a savior!

The ball point pen. It accidentally dropped a few months ago, never to be found but after a quick email to Victorinox Warranty, they sent a replacement at no cost.

The Pen Blade gets a lot of use, from opening letter envelopes, to opening carton boxes (cutting the tapes only) to cutting nylon ropes, fishing lines, etc.  It has remained sharp and I always clean it after each use, specially when I'm cutting sticky tapes.

The Combo Tool! I think this is one of the best single tool in the 58mm range.  I've used the cap lifter to open countless of beers and the small Philips screwdriver is perfect for opening the battery lids of my children's toys. Although, I think it would have been better if it opened away from the key ring . 

The Scissor gets a lot of tool time as well.  It's small but stays very sharp.  It's also pretty strong and can cut a board paper with no problems.  

The LED light can light up a pathway during this dark wintery nights.  It's like a regular flashlight on a key ring.  The small white LED bulb is pretty strong for its size. Definitely a good addition to the MiniChamp model.  The original battery is still strong even after two years of use.  No signs of it going low at the moment.

The Ruler with flat screwdriver tip gets an honorable mention. I've used the flat screwdriver but I haven't found the need to use the small ruler.  It's really not that practical to have a ruler that's only 35 mm long.  I think it would have been better to have the same nail file with flat screwdriver tip like the Classic SD.

For the other tools, well, let's just say that they're still in their unused condition.  Honestly, if I'll buy another SAK for my key chain , I'll probably buy a Midnite Manager - I think this SAK is bang for the buck! Has all the tools that I need without the added "fat". Lean and mean, cost a lot less as well.

Also, did you noticed the paper clip in the key ring?  I think what's missing in this tool is a pin!  I've been in some situations when a friend needed a pin to replace his phone's sim card and I did not have any!  After that, I added the paperclip on the key ring for emergency situations requiring me to have a pin. 

Overall, the Midnite MiniChamp has all the tools you'll need for those quick fixes plus more.  But, if you're like me and will most probably use only half of the tools, you'll be better of buying the less expensive Midnite Manager.

COLLECTION: Victorinox Camper 91mm (pre-1971)

The model we now call Camper started as model 240KU. The old Camper model back in the 1960s through the 1970s did not have a wood saw. Its tool set was the same as the current Spartan. See photo below from a 1960s catalog.

The top model in the photo above was called "Camper" but did not have the wood saw that the current Camper had.  The bottom model was called 240KU which identified it with two blades and a saw.

Another 1970s catalog photo of the old Camper.

At the start of the 1980s, in the SMICO dealer catalog the 240KU model was renamed to the Camper and the old Camper was called the Standard.

From the SMICO dealer catalog showing the "switch" in the model names to what we now have (Note: the Standard model was later renamed again to Spartan).

My SAK is an early 1970s 240 model that still had the "+PAT" marking on the can opener and the "Victoria Officier Suisse" in the back tang of the main blade.

The photo was white balanced to the white background, notice a darker red color on the cellidor scale, not the kind of red we see in the current models.

Main blade tang marks.

+ PAT mark on the can opener.

The five looped-fluted corkscrew and the reamer without the sewing eye.

Nickel Silver metal shield inlay.

This particular knife might have been an economy model as it is without the tweezers and toothpick.

Update:

One reader, mentioned the mistake in the 240kU designation. I changed it accordingly to 240, as it is not a "k" (84mm) and it doesn't have the "U" (bail).  Thank you for the correction!

References:

Victorinox 1960s Catalog

Victorinox 1970s Catalog

Victorinox 1980s Catalog