Victorinox vs. Wegner Swiss Army Knife?

[Freshman]

My roomate wanted to get a Swiss Army Knife, although I tried to get him to buy a Spyderco. He says that he likes the other little tools. On the internet we found two brands: Victorinox and Wegner, is there one you might recomend?

[J Smith]

I have owned both and can't see any differance in quality.I would look at and handle both,then pick the one you like best.
Go somewhere that has alot of models the wenger I had was a cadet.

Jeff

[Kahz]

I agree with J Smith, I also own from both companies and I find them both to be of equal/good quality (I assume you mean Wenger as opposed to Wegner, both are different names).

As far as I know, both companies used to be one in the past and they ended up splitting (family feud, maybe?). Someone around here might know the correct version to this story. I have had my Victorinox longer than the Wenger, as a matter of fact it used to belong to my grandfather, then my father and now it's mine (stole it from my dad <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>). It's still in perfect shape, I've oiled it only a few times since I've had it, never had to worry too much about it and I use it a lot for camping trips.

Your roommate can't make a "wrong" choice, both are good brands. Check out availability of models for both, it also depends on what he wants to use it for, and what models dealers are carrying at the time.

Kahz

"Women and Cats do what they do; there is nothing a man can do about it." -R. Heinlein :)

[sam the man..]

Dudes,
Both are as good. Wenger and Victorinox were commissioned by the Swiss military to produce a standard-issued pocket knife at the turn of the century. Both companies are still producing the knives. Victorinox is well-known for their fine finish and excellent rendition. If you take a closer look and compare the standard officer's knife, you'll find Victorinox having a slightly longer blade. Just a fraction of a millimetre, but Wenger's way out there on the cutting edge by producing some of the most high-tech swiss army knives I've ever came across. They've even made a jeweller's and watchmaker's knife with ultrafine screwdriver bits...


Sam

have spydies will travel

[ftkinney]

i have only owned vitorinox i have about four. the first one i got when i was 13 or 14 (i'm 28 now. the reason there is two companies that are both swiss army is that victorinox started in german speaking town of ibach, while wegner is produced in a french speacking area asked for % in the military sales so now it has been 50/50 since soon after the turn of the centry. i found this out on each companies websites.

FTK

[James Y]

I own knives from both brands, but own far more Victorinox. Both make very good products, but I prefer Victorinox and just IMO I feel they are a bit better than the Wengers, though Wenger knives often incorporate new ideas. I just like Victorinox better, also because at one point my only knife was a Vic and it proved itself over a more than 10-year period.
Jim

[haji]

Vicxtorinox makes a clearly superior version of the "Swiss Army Knife" than does Wenger. They are, and have been for a long time, better built knives. There are clearly looser tolerances employed by Wenger, which shows itself in areas such as side to side play in the tools. Usually, this is most noticable on the corkscrews and phillips screwdrivers. The shop I work at sold both lines at one time, and found that, model for model, the Victorinox knives were better built, and far and away more popular. Some people feel that the scissor design of the Wenger knives are superior, in that the scissor spring works off the mainspring of the knife. Most of my customers, however, decided that having to replace a spring once in a while on a Victorinox knife was a small price to pay for what they thought was a better action. I carry various Vic knives daily, and have broken two springs in 10 years. That cost me a buck, roughly. Small price to pay.

[Freshman]

My friend bought a Victorinox Tinker and, after saying I wouldn't buy another knife before the Christmas Break, I got a Handyman, he also broke down and bought a Spyderco Steel Handled Endura, after playing with it it in the store. Now I'm a little jelous: he has a bigger knife than me and he didn't even go in planning to get it. Well what should I get next?

Edited by - Freshman on 10/4/2001 12:00:39 PM

[BladeMaster]

I own both Victorinox and Wenger , and I like Victorinox the best. Hey, its the brand that MacGyver carried!
I usually always carry my Huntsman with one of my Spydies.
Freshman: get a Military or a Chinook. I bet that one of these would make your friend's jaw hit the floor.

The BladeMaster
-PROUD TO BE AMERICAN-

Edited by - BladeMaster on 10/4/2001 9:56:20 AM

Edited by - BladeMaster on 10/4/2001 1:38:13 PM

[akbell]

Victorianox!! My Champion is 22 years old, used daily for 13 years, never had any problems with it. The olny thing that broke was the little spring in the scissors and that is a counter item at dealers.