Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades Swiss army knives

Was thinking last night that I don't see many folks on the fire talking about swiss army knives. Anybody here carry and use them? Care to make a recommedation on a particular model?

A Victorinox is one of the best bargains in the knife world IMHO. You get a usable blade steel and while it isn't a super premium steel of the month it will take a nice sharp edge, hold it at least �ok� and touches up easily. The Vic�s are one of the few inexpensive slip joints that you can trust to buy online and not worry about the blade play or wiggle. In my experience their QC is excellent and I have seldom found a new Victorinox with issues. I don�t get into those massive three and four layer knives with all sorts of gizmo�s, but the basic tools found on the Tinker and Hiker models suit me fine and are quite handy. I nearly always have a Hiker with me hunting because the little saw blade is so handy for trimming up the in the way scraggly brush on a stand site. The Alox models are nice and a bit sturdier but that comes with a bit more weight also.

Thanks for the info! The hiker is what I was looking at as well

Can not go wrong. I've had one in my pocket in one form or another for over 40 years.

I often carry a Trekker model. I have three of those now, with different handles, and with different main blades.
Probably have not gone hiking in my adult life, without a SAK in my pocket.

Love these.
Made in the mid 1980's (?) for Mauser... very well built.

Keep an eye out on Ebay and the like, they do show up.

I carry one every day. These are my favorites ...


.
. . "Farmer"


.
. . "Trailmaster"

I like this one. On the other side it has a coffee pot and a blender.

I usually carry a Swiss Army Hunter as a back-up knife while out stalking..


Wenger now do the Ranger 57 Hunter which is slightly bigger and with a main blade that can be opened one handed.

I carry an 'Officier Suisse' Victorinox to the office and around town when I'm not carrying my old Camillus stainless camper. Seems there are darn few camp utility folders being made in the US any more. Bear has one and Case makes 'mini' campers with fancy scales. The Ontario US Army utility folder retails for $35+ now.

Not Swiss but...

I have several of the victorinox and even have a victorinox watch. I think they are very handy and have even filed dresses a doe with one. I too tend to stick with the more simple versions as they can be too ungainly in the bigger models.

I've carried a variety of Victorinox knives for about 25 years. While I usually have another knife on me, the SAK is always in a pocket. The aluminum handled Farmer model is a favorite.

Wenger old model Soldier sits in the glovebox of the Camry, it will be ignored till we need it.

Went to the foothills of the Guadalupes ( west Texas, Trans-Pecos) hunting many years ago. Had my Hunter in my pocket. Stalked and killed a nice buck mule deer on the third ridge over. I had mistakenly left my belt knife at home. My BIL, hunting companion, did not even own a knife because I always had one if he needed it. Using a small cloth from my pack and a large flat rock on top of the ridge, I field dressed, boned out the meat, and removed the head for a skull mount, while BIL went to get the truck as close as he could and bring an ice chest to carry the meat out with.

The hunter was not the ideal tool, but it worked. Lost that knife to a bicycle guide in Germany, of all places. Daughter was backpacking Europe. Her guide on a bicycle tour was intrigued with the knife, so she gave it to him. Jack

My daily carry knife is a Victorinox Adventurer. I keep two or three spares of this model. I like a fairly large folder. I like many of the SAKs available, but go with a fairly thin one to carry in my pocket. Many like the Tinker, Soldier, and Farmer for a simple pocket knife that rides easy.