Victorinox Soldier 2009

[Dimis]

went out today to hit all the familiar places and walked in to willey knives and found the new soldier model from victorinox

ive carried the soldier forever... first knife my grandfather gave me... heck first knife i owned period

long since my grandfather gave me that first one ive lost and replaced them a few times (still mad i lost the one he gave me) but i love the soldier SAK its everything i needed and nothing extra to bulk up a simple knife

well i guess like the swiss it was time for an upgrade so i picked up the new 2009 soldier and i love it it added a small saw and a phillips screwdriver to the standard 4 tools and its a bit bigger too
not so big that its still not a pocket knife just a good size

the blade and bottle opener have a liner lock system which im not a huge fan of but at the same time the old soldier didnt lock at all

overall im pretty happy with my purchase

 

[bikerdoc]

Good choice.

 

[Limeyfellow]

I have one of the SAK One Handed Trekker, which is just the civilian version of the Soldier with a toothpick and tweezers. Also comes in a non serrated version that the military versions like the Swiss and German version doesn't. It is a rather nice little nice in any of the models. The extra grippiness of the Swiss military version is rather nice though. I don't know who else has a military version.

There also a bunch of civilian models with lots of different setups that keep the one handed opening blade. Of course my thumb has slipped from the hole before and made a nice gash in my finger before. I do wish they had made that hole a little less slippy and maybe put a little jimping on top of the blade ramp.

 

[Izzy77]

thank you for the heads up, i'll check it out. Love those locking swiss knives.

 

[22-rimfire]

The Soldier is a good choice. It is one of my preferred designs. Have moved to the larger size and have a number but the ones I carry are all rather thin designs with a simple set of tools. Have a couple of the medium thicker designs; just to heavy for pocket carry. They stay with my tool bag that I travel with for jobs.

 

[HoosierQ]

I may get one anyway but I sure wish that Soldier knive had the small, fine edge blade like on the Tinker and others. May be the scissors too. I'd be willing to trade up that little bit of thickness for those very handy items.

I traded up my EDC pocket knife Tinker to Super Tinker to get the scissors although that little hook is not much use...rather have a scratch awl or something like that.

 

[Limeyfellow]

There is an old version of the the knife the Soldier is based on, the Trekker that originally had the old style blade with the finger nail groove similar to the Tinker, but has the length and usability of the Soldier and One Handed Trekker versions. The old style Trekker is really nice.

The Forester is very much like it but with a corkscrew rather than that Phillips head on the back.

The Nomad is the even more stripped down version.

Unfortunately I don't think they have one with scissors on for this specific style. I wish they did.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Wenger Version

Limeyfellow, I have a Wenger version of that Trekker with a locking clip-point blade, called the Mountaineer.

Mine has a plain edge. All the others I have seen have had serrated edges.

The main other difference between the Wenger and Victorinox products is the can opener: Wenger's is the lift and pull hook-style, while Victorinox's is the lift and push style.

Otherwise, they're very similar: same tool set, same size, same color.

 

[Dimis]

im loving my new soldier i think its the perfect tool set for me i have a swiss card in my wallet so if i needed scissors or tweezers id go there and my teeth are bad so i dont need a toothpick lol

i tend to use the awl and the screwdrivers the most (other than the blade of course)

it is a bit thicker and longer than my old soldier but i wouldnt say so bad that i cant pocket carry it

 

[HoosierQ]

Dimis

How are the serrations on the Victorinox? Well done or no?

QB

 

[Limeyfellow]

They are a little different from what I found in the US being at the front of the knife and not overly aggressive, but for the money they work very well and come razor sharp. Cuts fairly well through rope, string, cardboard. I actually prefer the serrations at the front. It is still quite a narrow blade and only ground on one side along the whole edge, so it is a very nice slicer. The only problem I have with it is the point is rather rounded. Makes piercing plastic baggies kind of difficult.

 

[Izzy77]

Limeyfellow, I have a Wenger version of that Trekker with a locking clip-point blade, called the Mountaineer.

Mine has a plain edge. All the others I have seen have had serrated edges.

My mountaineer has a 1/2 serrated blade...and I love the button lock

Bought it overseas...

 

[PorkChopsMmm]

They do make that style with scissors, I know, because I have one here in my backpack. "Hercules"



http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-Hercules-Pocket-Knife/dp/B0007QCP28