Been carrying a SAK for 20-some-odd years, but broke down yesterday and bought a Victorinox. OK, I bought two. An alox-handled (aluminum) Soldier and a Tinker. I have probably a dozen Wengers, with the Highlander pattern being my favorite. Don't know how many of them I've lost through the years. My little Wenger Esquire is probably my most used knife, primarily because of the scissors – no cheesy spring to lose and serrated teeth. Lately, though, I've just been feeling the urge to see how well a similar Victorinox stacked up to my favorite. I know I hate the scissors on the Vics, so I knew I couldn't live with a Classic that matched my Esquire, so went to match the Highlander pattern instead. The closest I could find and buy locally was a Tinker. Really, the only difference is a nail file on the Wenger as opposed to a second blade on the Vic. The Soldier I just picked up because they're cool. You know how it is.
For this post, I'll just compare my first impressions between the Highlander and the Tinker.
Vic Tinker: 3 1/2” closed – 6 1/4” main blade open
Wenger Highlander: 3 1/4” closed – 5 7/8” main blade open
The Wenger has a shorter handle and blade, but the blade has much more belly and larger profile than the Vic. The Vic blade is thicker, though they both have about the same amount of flex. Considering I've never seriously damaged a Wenger blade, the extra thickness is not a plus. Thinner blades slice through things easier, but the difference is not enough to really matter in normal use. Nail nick on Vic is deeper, though the Wenger's is more than enough. Polish is a little higher on the Wenger and the blade stamps are equally clear and level. They both have slightly off-center bevels, but nothing objectionable. The Vic's backspring is stronger and the blade snaps open and closed with more authority. They both open smoothly. The Vic does not seem to be as sharp out of the box as my Wengers have been. Still plenty sharp. (The Soldier is sharper and has a blade design closer to the Wenger.)
Can openers are very different designs. Length and thickness near identical. Some can testing shows that I either really need to get familiar with the Vic or that its design is much poorer; the Wenger opens a can twice as fast with a lot less effort. The difference lies in the fact that with the Wenger, you're pushing the tip of the blade in and opening more of the can with each stroke. The Vic's entry point is in the middle of the blade, with less opening per stroke and a strange-for-me forward motion. The Vic's hook pops off the lip of the can much easier. It's more like mutilating the can until it succumbs as opposed to opening it. The Vic has a small screwdriver tip, but the edges are so rounded I wonder how well it would ride in the slot. A little bit of file work will fix that. Can't tell any discernible difference in thickness. The backspring on the Vic is noticeably stronger.
The bottle opener/screwdriver blades look very similar, but have quite a few differences. The Vic has a notch to stop it at the halfway open position. I've had to use the screwdriver in that position on the Wenger and have not had an issue, but it's a nice feature. The Vic has a bit more overall length and the blade is wider at the tip, though also has a bit more rounded edges. The Wenger has more of a hook on the opener section, though the gap is about identical. The wire stripper has the same uselessness on both. One thing I can see that will make a big difference here is the keyring. The Wenger has a chain and that has gotten in my way before when using the driver. The Vic has no chain, so nothing to get in the way, but I have always liked the chain on the Wengers. Of course, this blade also sports one of the major things I have always liked about the Wengers - the locking feature. When you put pressure on the end of the blade, such as when you are trying to torque a screw, the blade pushes back into the body and locks open, becoming very, very hard to close while you're applying pressure. I'm sure the Vics will get this when the patent changes. Once again, the Vic backspring is stronger.
The fourth blades can't be directly compared. The Wenger has a nail file/cleaner and the Vic has a small blade. Both have their uses, but the file has been very handy on several occasions and I have never thought I needed another blade on a Wenger. I'll keep the Vic blade in reserve so I'll have a sharp edge when I need it. Backspring is very much stronger on the Vic. Curiously, on all my Wengers, the nail file has the weakest backspring – maybe something to do with it being by the phillips screwdriver?
The awls/reamers have quite a bit of difference. The Vic's awl creates a bump on the bottom of the knife, whereas the Wenger's sits flush with the frame and the scale is cut out to expose the nail nick. The Vic has a semi sharpened edge and a sewing eye. The Wenger is a bit longer and comes to a much, much finer point. The Vic, with its eye, would seem to have more function, but I have never had a need that the eye would help with. I use the blade to poke holes and the Wenger seems to be better designed for that purpose. The Wenger's backspring is noticeably stronger.
The phillips screwdriver is a necessity for me on a SAK. Corkscrews are useless to me. The drivers are near identical in length. The Vic has a larger diameter and the tip is slightly bigger. Using them on a screw of the kind holding my computer together, the functional difference is non-existent – they both work just fine. The backspring strength is a draw.
The Vic has a definite edge with the toothpick and tweezers as the way they interface with the handle is much better. The toothpicks are sharpened plastic and neither shows any advantage to me. The tweezers are longer on the Vic, but seem to come to a finer conclusion on the Wenger. Both are slightly off at the end from the factory. I always redo the ends on my Wengers so don't mind I have to do it on the Vic.
The overall level of polish is higher on the Wenger, including the scales. All the nail nicks are deeper on the Vic. The backsprings are stronger overall on the Vic. The Wenger's scales cover the frame edges, which looks more finished to me. The quality of the exposed frames are equal and seem to be of the same metal thickness, except on the end near the keyrings, where the Wenger has a section of exposed frame that is much thicker. This makes up for the fact that the nail file blade on the Wenger is noticeably thinner than the Vic's small blade. The bottom seems much more finished on the Wenger, with it near flush, with the backsprings meeting flush to the frame. The Vic has a gap and also the hump from the awl/reamer. The springs themselves are taller on the Wenger and the end of the main blade – the part surrounding the pivot – is larger.
I guess if I really wanted to get particular, I should have bought a new Wenger Highlander also, but the one I'm using for comparison is quite new anyway and I've owned enough of them to be very familiar with them. Besides, I wanted the alox-handled Soldier and couldn't afford a third knife for the day. I'm going to use the Vics as EDC for awhile and see what kind of overall impression I come away with.
Going to have to leave the Soldier at home or I'll wind up using it instead of the Tinker. Don't know yet if the Tinker will compare well with the Highlander, but the Soldier is a wonderful piece of kit. I can already tell it's a keeper. They've got a new Soldier model out, larger, more tools, way less cool. This is the model to have.
For this post, I'll just compare my first impressions between the Highlander and the Tinker.
Vic Tinker: 3 1/2” closed – 6 1/4” main blade open
Wenger Highlander: 3 1/4” closed – 5 7/8” main blade open
The Wenger has a shorter handle and blade, but the blade has much more belly and larger profile than the Vic. The Vic blade is thicker, though they both have about the same amount of flex. Considering I've never seriously damaged a Wenger blade, the extra thickness is not a plus. Thinner blades slice through things easier, but the difference is not enough to really matter in normal use. Nail nick on Vic is deeper, though the Wenger's is more than enough. Polish is a little higher on the Wenger and the blade stamps are equally clear and level. They both have slightly off-center bevels, but nothing objectionable. The Vic's backspring is stronger and the blade snaps open and closed with more authority. They both open smoothly. The Vic does not seem to be as sharp out of the box as my Wengers have been. Still plenty sharp. (The Soldier is sharper and has a blade design closer to the Wenger.)
Can openers are very different designs. Length and thickness near identical. Some can testing shows that I either really need to get familiar with the Vic or that its design is much poorer; the Wenger opens a can twice as fast with a lot less effort. The difference lies in the fact that with the Wenger, you're pushing the tip of the blade in and opening more of the can with each stroke. The Vic's entry point is in the middle of the blade, with less opening per stroke and a strange-for-me forward motion. The Vic's hook pops off the lip of the can much easier. It's more like mutilating the can until it succumbs as opposed to opening it. The Vic has a small screwdriver tip, but the edges are so rounded I wonder how well it would ride in the slot. A little bit of file work will fix that. Can't tell any discernible difference in thickness. The backspring on the Vic is noticeably stronger.
The bottle opener/screwdriver blades look very similar, but have quite a few differences. The Vic has a notch to stop it at the halfway open position. I've had to use the screwdriver in that position on the Wenger and have not had an issue, but it's a nice feature. The Vic has a bit more overall length and the blade is wider at the tip, though also has a bit more rounded edges. The Wenger has more of a hook on the opener section, though the gap is about identical. The wire stripper has the same uselessness on both. One thing I can see that will make a big difference here is the keyring. The Wenger has a chain and that has gotten in my way before when using the driver. The Vic has no chain, so nothing to get in the way, but I have always liked the chain on the Wengers. Of course, this blade also sports one of the major things I have always liked about the Wengers - the locking feature. When you put pressure on the end of the blade, such as when you are trying to torque a screw, the blade pushes back into the body and locks open, becoming very, very hard to close while you're applying pressure. I'm sure the Vics will get this when the patent changes. Once again, the Vic backspring is stronger.
The fourth blades can't be directly compared. The Wenger has a nail file/cleaner and the Vic has a small blade. Both have their uses, but the file has been very handy on several occasions and I have never thought I needed another blade on a Wenger. I'll keep the Vic blade in reserve so I'll have a sharp edge when I need it. Backspring is very much stronger on the Vic. Curiously, on all my Wengers, the nail file has the weakest backspring – maybe something to do with it being by the phillips screwdriver?
The awls/reamers have quite a bit of difference. The Vic's awl creates a bump on the bottom of the knife, whereas the Wenger's sits flush with the frame and the scale is cut out to expose the nail nick. The Vic has a semi sharpened edge and a sewing eye. The Wenger is a bit longer and comes to a much, much finer point. The Vic, with its eye, would seem to have more function, but I have never had a need that the eye would help with. I use the blade to poke holes and the Wenger seems to be better designed for that purpose. The Wenger's backspring is noticeably stronger.
The phillips screwdriver is a necessity for me on a SAK. Corkscrews are useless to me. The drivers are near identical in length. The Vic has a larger diameter and the tip is slightly bigger. Using them on a screw of the kind holding my computer together, the functional difference is non-existent – they both work just fine. The backspring strength is a draw.
The Vic has a definite edge with the toothpick and tweezers as the way they interface with the handle is much better. The toothpicks are sharpened plastic and neither shows any advantage to me. The tweezers are longer on the Vic, but seem to come to a finer conclusion on the Wenger. Both are slightly off at the end from the factory. I always redo the ends on my Wengers so don't mind I have to do it on the Vic.
The overall level of polish is higher on the Wenger, including the scales. All the nail nicks are deeper on the Vic. The backsprings are stronger overall on the Vic. The Wenger's scales cover the frame edges, which looks more finished to me. The quality of the exposed frames are equal and seem to be of the same metal thickness, except on the end near the keyrings, where the Wenger has a section of exposed frame that is much thicker. This makes up for the fact that the nail file blade on the Wenger is noticeably thinner than the Vic's small blade. The bottom seems much more finished on the Wenger, with it near flush, with the backsprings meeting flush to the frame. The Vic has a gap and also the hump from the awl/reamer. The springs themselves are taller on the Wenger and the end of the main blade – the part surrounding the pivot – is larger.
I guess if I really wanted to get particular, I should have bought a new Wenger Highlander also, but the one I'm using for comparison is quite new anyway and I've owned enough of them to be very familiar with them. Besides, I wanted the alox-handled Soldier and couldn't afford a third knife for the day. I'm going to use the Vics as EDC for awhile and see what kind of overall impression I come away with.
Going to have to leave the Soldier at home or I'll wind up using it instead of the Tinker. Don't know yet if the Tinker will compare well with the Highlander, but the Soldier is a wonderful piece of kit. I can already tell it's a keeper. They've got a new Soldier model out, larger, more tools, way less cool. This is the model to have.