Victorinox Rucksack or Forester: better locking-mechanism?
Hans Pans
I noticed that both knives have the same features. Only difference is
the locking-mechanism. The Forrester seems to have an older, i.m.h.o.
more solid locking mechanism. Is this true? It seems that all the
newer Victorinox lockable knives have the locking-system that the
Rucksack has: with a little switch on the handle. This seems fragile
to me, or isn't it?
I would appreciate your comments.
Grtz Hans
Netherlands
Twan
I've got both knives you mentioned. Well actually, I have got several. But
you are wrong in your assumption that the Rucksack has the newer locking
mechanism. It is the other way around. Victorinox made the the one with the
little switch. You don't want to bet you fingers on that one.
Since you are Dutch I suspect that you are familiar with the aluminum Swiss
Army Knife the dutch army has used for many years.
In the 90-ties the Army was looking for a bigger replacement for this knife.
Of course they came across the big Victorinox knives. Quickly skipping the
big Victorinox the German Army uses because it doesn't have a locking blade
(but it does have a corkscrew!! funny for a military knife) they looked at
the picknicker. Realising that this was a great pocketknive for the military
they studied it and found it to weak for heavy use. After that Victorinox
made some improvements. Hence the 'liner lock'. They also added a bigger
screwdriver that can also be locked and replaced the corkscrew with a
Philipsscrewdriver.
So do yourself a favor and go for the Forrester.
Twan
"Hans Pans" <pan...@zonnet.nl> wrote in message
news:4afe6941.04042...@posting.google.com...
Hans Pans
But the fast majorerty of the lockable Victorinox knives have the
little switch locking mechanism, right? For example the Workchamp. All
lackable Victorinoxes in the stores I visited have the switch and not
the liner. The Forester was orderable though. They said it was an
older model, that soon would go out of production.
The aluminium army knive I am very familiar with indeed: it served me
well when I was in the army myself. I remember the first day at the
'boot camp' when they handed out our equipment and the knives to us,
the new soldiers. Our officer warned us that the knife looked petite
but that it was sharp. He made a bet with us that within one day at
least one of us would be needing medical help for cutting himself with
it. And indeed he was right: that night two of my platoon had to be
treated for pretty nasty cuttings in the fingers and hand...
Well, now I think I am going to order the Forester.
Bye
Hans
"Twan" <tw.he...@planet-nospam.nl> wrote in message news:<c72mps$mu2$1...@reader10.wxs.nl>...
Mark South
> Thanks for the info!
UB welcome.
> But the fast majorerty of the lockable Victorinox knives have the
> little switch locking mechanism, right? For example the Workchamp. All
> lackable Victorinoxes in the stores I visited have the switch and not
> the liner. The Forester was orderable though. They said it was an
> older model, that soon would go out of production.
That's as may be, but the liner lock models were introduced after those with the
sliding switch.
AFAICT all the black handled models have the liner lock.
> The aluminium army knive I am very familiar with indeed: it served me
> well when I was in the army myself. I remember the first day at the
> 'boot camp' when they handed out our equipment and the knives to us,
> the new soldiers.
So is the Soldier standard issue in the Dutch army as well?
> Our officer warned us that the knife looked petite
> but that it was sharp. He made a bet with us that within one day at
> least one of us would be needing medical help for cutting himself with
> it. And indeed he was right: that night two of my platoon had to be
> treated for pretty nasty cuttings in the fingers and hand...
The blade on those is not at all hard but does have a thin flat grind. Once the
edge gets into the flesh it keeps on going quite easily.
> Well, now I think I am going to order the Forester.
Did you consider the one-handed Trailmaster?
Let us know how you get on anyway.
--
Mark South
Citizen of the World, Denizen of the Net
<<Tiens! Ce poulet a une grenade!>>
Hans Pans
Centurion I am told.
The Trailmaster M3 looks great but the winedrinker that I am would
deeply miss the Corkscrew! If it had a corkscrew the Trailmaster would
have been my pick.
I let you know how I like the Forester, it is in my shop this monday.
Grtz Hans
"Mark South" <mark....@null.invalid> wrote in message news:<40a28502$1...@news.bluewin.ch>...
Hans Pans
I'll wait a few days more for the Forester .... aaahhrghh
pan...@zonnet.nl (Hans Pans) wrote in message news:<4afe6941.04051...@posting.google.com>...
Hans Pans
Great knife! The nylon handles feel good, the locking mech is great
and it the thing just feels sturdy. Not too bulky and with a nice
sharp saw. Only thing I miss for daily use is the ballpoint pen. Maybe
I'll drill a tiny hole in the handle where the toothpick is to fit in
a Victorinox presuurised ballpoint pen from the Compact.
Next mont I'll be hiking in the Alps for some weeks, this knife will
serve me well I think.
Grtz Hans
alv...@xx.com
> Got the Forester yesterday.
> Great knife! The nylon handles feel good, the locking mech is great
> and it the thing just feels sturdy. Not too bulky and with a nice
> sharp saw. Only thing I miss for daily use is the ballpoint pen. Maybe
> I'll drill a tiny hole in the handle where the toothpick is to fit in
> a Victorinox presuurised ballpoint pen from the Compact.
Cool. :) Modify that sucker! ;)
> Next mont I'll be hiking in the Alps for some weeks, this knife will
> serve me well I think.
> Grtz Hans
That reminded me of my dad and his ball-point pens and how they'd
leak in his pocket when he'd fly his airplanes back in the 60's.
Alvin in AZ
Hans Pans
carseat! Bummer. But the Victironox pen that is in my Victorinox
Compact and was in my Explorer Plus (lost the sucker last week) never
leeked and always work great! Cannot count how many times it served me
to write down a telephone number of a grocery-list or whatever...
alv...@XX.com wrote in message news:<c92rof$1eq$3...@reader2.panix.com>...
Geert
"Mark South" <mark....@null.invalid> schreef in bericht
news:40a28502$1...@news.bluewin.ch...
> "Hans Pans" <pan...@zonnet.nl> wrote in message
> news:4afe6941.04051...@posting.google.com...
> > Thanks for the info!
>
> UB welcome.
>
> > But the fast majorerty of the lockable Victorinox knives have the
> > little switch locking mechanism, right? For example the Workchamp. All
> > lackable Victorinoxes in the stores I visited have the switch and not
> > the liner. The Forester was orderable though. They said it was an
> > older model, that soon would go out of production.
>
> That's as may be, but the liner lock models were introduced after those
with the
> sliding switch.
>
> AFAICT all the black handled models have the liner lock.
>
> > The aluminium army knive I am very familiar with indeed: it served me
> > well when I was in the army myself. I remember the first day at the
> > 'boot camp' when they handed out our equipment and the knives to us,
> > the new soldiers.
>
> So is the Soldier standard issue in the Dutch army as well?
>
It used to be. I was in officers training camp back in 1985 in the Dutch
Army.
I asked my sergeant if this was all the knive whe got issued, because of the
small size. I asked him, what if we want to split some wood for a fire.
He took his soldier model, opened it. He put the blade on a 2 inch wooden
pole. Took another pole and started banging the handle with it. The blade
split the wooden pole like their was no tomorrow.
I did not check his knife after this demonstration. Maybe he had to replace
it but I was impressed!
With the new Dutch Army knife (made by Victorinox) I opened a can and broke
of a piece of the nylon handle.
I work as an outdoor and survival instructor in Holland (Yes, they do excist
:-)) and I carry other knives.
But the old soldier model always travells in my backpack as a final backup
knife.
Regards,
Geert
Mark South
news:6rSdnSrvcPm...@casema.nl...
>
> "Mark South" <mark....@null.invalid> schreef in bericht
> news:40a28502$1...@news.bluewin.ch...
> > So is the Soldier standard issue in the Dutch army as well?
> >
> It used to be. I was in officers training camp back in 1985 in the Dutch
> Army.
> I asked my sergeant if this was all the knive whe got issued, because of the
> small size. I asked him, what if we want to split some wood for a fire.
> He took his soldier model, opened it. He put the blade on a 2 inch wooden
> pole. Took another pole and started banging the handle with it. The blade
> split the wooden pole like their was no tomorrow.
Thin blade with a grind all the way back to the spine. Good geometry for the
use.
> I did not check his knife after this demonstration. Maybe he had to replace
> it but I was impressed!
The stainless is soft, but still harder than wood and easy to resharpen in any
case.
Of course, an Opinel works even better and you won't have to resharpen it :-)
> With the new Dutch Army knife (made by Victorinox) I opened a can and broke
> of a piece of the nylon handle.
Can you tell me which model that is, or post a link to a picture?
> I work as an outdoor and survival instructor in Holland (Yes, they do excist
> :-)) and I carry other knives.
> But the old soldier model always travells in my backpack as a final backup
> knife.
I'd like it if Victorinox would continue extending their aluminium handled line,
and make a large lockblade with the "ripped alox" handle.
--
Mark South: World Citizen, Net Denizen
Odd Bod b'God
"Mark South" <mark....@null.invalid> wrote in message
SNIP
> I'd like it if Victorinox would continue extending their aluminium handled
line,
> and make a large lockblade with the "ripped alox" handle.
Agreed - I've always liked the aluminium handled Viccy knives, in fact one
is number 3 on my purchase list (After a Spyderco Harpy and a rondel dagger)
Hans Pans
on my stuff-to-buy-list.
Kinda brings back to the old 'ideal sak'discussion'.
For me it would be:
Normal size Victorinox (pref with alu handles) and:
1:
- 1 big blade
- combi can opener/cap opener (Compact-style, only one tool)
2:
- saw
3:
- scissors
Handles:
- tweezers (toothpick can go)
- pressurized ballpoint pen (whimpy? not at all)
Back:
- corkscrew (must drink wine now and then) incl. mini screwdriver
- reamer (not the 'no purpose hook' please)
- pin (used it for all sort of stuff)
This all fits in a three backsprings wide knife so it would be pretty
compact for everyday use. Ok, they never made alu handles with a place
for tweezers or ballpoint pen but it was my ideal knife right?
I bought the Forester some weeks ago, and it is a great knife for
outdoor I think. It suprised me how sturdy the bigger screwdriver is
compared to the screwdriver on the smaller-sized Victorinoxes. The
locking is great.
What I DISlike about the knife is the softness of the iron that lies
under the Nylon handles. Maybe it is just as soft as the plates on the
normal Vics, but because of the design of the bigger Victorinoxes it
is much more easier to damage it (the front-ends of the handles
stick-out a bit more).
I dropped the kife on the street twice now, and both times it landed
on the front-end. As a result the soft-metal plate that supports the
handle next to the can-opener was bent inwards leaving some space
between the handle and the plate. When opening the can-opener it
presses against the plate, bending it outwards some.
I dropped my ex-Explorer (lost it some weeks ago) and my superb
Compact so many times but it never damaged the knives (but for some
minor scratches on the red shells and who cares about that).
Grtz Hans
"Odd Bod b'God" <idon't...@wantyoutoknow.tv> wrote in message news:<ca5gm3$be8$1$8300...@news.demon.co.uk>...
Mark South
> Me too, the Victorinox Farmer- ribbed silver alox knife with saw- is
> on my stuff-to-buy-list.
It's basically the Soldier with a saw added.
> Kinda brings back to the old 'ideal sak'discussion'.
>
> For me it would be:
>
> Normal size Victorinox (pref with alu handles) and:
> 1:
> - 1 big blade
> - combi can opener/cap opener (Compact-style, only one tool)
> 2:
> - saw
> 3:
> - scissors
> Handles:
> - tweezers (toothpick can go)
> - pressurized ballpoint pen (whimpy? not at all)
> Back:
> - corkscrew (must drink wine now and then) incl. mini screwdriver
> - reamer (not the 'no purpose hook' please)
> - pin (used it for all sort of stuff)
>
> This all fits in a three backsprings wide knife so it would be pretty
> compact for everyday use. Ok, they never made alu handles with a place
> for tweezers or ballpoint pen but it was my ideal knife right?
That's because there's no separate liner and scale on the alox handles. They'd
have to machine the tunnels down into the handle instead of merely moulding a
channel into the plastic scale.
> I bought the Forester some weeks ago, and it is a great knife for
> outdoor I think. It suprised me how sturdy the bigger screwdriver is
> compared to the screwdriver on the smaller-sized Victorinoxes. The
> locking is great.
I also like the fact that the screwdriver has a (nonlocking) stop at 90 degrees.
I've used that a lot. The soldier has that too.
> What I DISlike about the knife is the softness of the iron that lies
> under the Nylon handles. Maybe it is just as soft as the plates on the
> normal Vics, but because of the design of the bigger Victorinoxes it
> is much more easier to damage it (the front-ends of the handles
> stick-out a bit more).
The alox dents quite easily from a good drop, but doesn't develop sharp edges as
a result.
> I dropped the kife on the street twice now, and both times it landed
> on the front-end. As a result the soft-metal plate that supports the
> handle next to the can-opener was bent inwards leaving some space
> between the handle and the plate. When opening the can-opener it
> presses against the plate, bending it outwards some.
:-(
> I dropped my ex-Explorer (lost it some weeks ago) and my superb
> Compact so many times but it never damaged the knives (but for some
> minor scratches on the red shells and who cares about that).
They don't land so hard.
Still, the point about these knives is that they are consumables, not
collector's items. Use them till they won't work anymore and then replace them
with the latest version.
Hans Pans
corkscrew and has both a tool for can-opener and one for bottle
opener, thus filling one position (one backspring extra).
My ideal knife is the basically the Compact, with additional the saw,
and the reamer punch in stead of the no-purpose hook. And metal
handles. That's what it is. And that's all I ask from the fine people
at Victorinox...
Grtz Hans
"Mark South" <mark....@null.invalid> wrote in message news:<40c6e965$1...@news.bluewin.ch>...
damo...@gmail.com
> Me too, the Victorinox Farmer- ribbed silver alox knife with saw- is
> on my stuff-to-buy-list.
>
> Kinda brings back to the old 'ideal sak'discussion'.
>
> For me it would be:
>
> Normal size Victorinox (pref with alu handles) and:
> 1:
> - 1 big blade
> - combi can opener/cap opener (Compact-style, only one tool)
> 2:
> - saw
> 3:
> - scissors
> Handles:
> - tweezers (toothpick can go)
> - pressurized ballpoint pen (whimpy? not at all)
> Back:
> - corkscrew (must drink wine now and then) incl. mini screwdriver
> - reamer (not the 'no purpose hook' please)
So not quite so no purpose. You can also use it to with wire ties to tension them.
Also the rucksack model, while it has the same tools, has the main blade on the edge where the Forester has the main blade in the centre of the knife.