Victorinox Excelsior
The Excelsior is a knife I personally would never carry, because of its "refined" looks. I bought it a few years ago in Germany just because of these looks. The elliptical shape is unique and adds a nice shape to the rather limited shapes by Victorinox. In my opinion, the excelsior is a nice knife to look at, but misses the wider blade to use it in a rougher environment. Keep in mind that these blades are only a fraction wider than the blade of a Classic, and this knife is intended to use in emergencies. It stays on the keys, till you need it one day. As an edc, the excelsior isn't the thing! My wife uses the Classic for the lesser demanding tasks, ie opening an envelope, cutting paper/cardboard and she admits that the blade of an Excelsior would be ideal to use in this environment. On the other hand, she also uses a Camper with the blade of any standard 91mm knife, so the Excelsior would be the perfect "in between". She still prefers the camper because of its wide array of tools. The excelsior is already a nice looking knife, but I found two more a few weeks ago, in alox....
This 84mm knife has a rather strange division of types. The cellidor type WITH keyring is called Excelsior. The one without the keyring is called the Pocket Pal. When we look at the Alox division, it is the other way arround. The ones without the keyring are called the Excelsior. The Cellidor one and the alox with smooth scales are still in production, but the checkered alox ones aren't. Since the 80's there aren't any checkered alox Excelsiors produced, only the smooth alox ones! So when I saw that a certain Greek Vic collector sold two alox Excelsiors in mint condition, I couldn't wait any longer and bought them... The alox Excelsior, adds an extra refined feel and a stronger impression than the cellidor one. The alox edition came in a wide variety of colours and I had the luck to find it in red and silver. These two were produced in the eighties, according to the tang stamp and look as if they were never used. Conclusion is that the Excelsior should be used for the smaller tasks, due to the thinner blade, but it is a beautiful knife to add to the collection, and certainly the alox ones!
The Excelsior is a knife I personally would never carry, because of its "refined" looks. I bought it a few years ago in Germany just because of these looks. The elliptical shape is unique and adds a nice shape to the rather limited shapes by Victorinox. In my opinion, the excelsior is a nice knife to look at, but misses the wider blade to use it in a rougher environment. Keep in mind that these blades are only a fraction wider than the blade of a Classic, and this knife is intended to use in emergencies. It stays on the keys, till you need it one day. As an edc, the excelsior isn't the thing! My wife uses the Classic for the lesser demanding tasks, ie opening an envelope, cutting paper/cardboard and she admits that the blade of an Excelsior would be ideal to use in this environment. On the other hand, she also uses a Camper with the blade of any standard 91mm knife, so the Excelsior would be the perfect "in between". She still prefers the camper because of its wide array of tools. The excelsior is already a nice looking knife, but I found two more a few weeks ago, in alox....
This 84mm knife has a rather strange division of types. The cellidor type WITH keyring is called Excelsior. The one without the keyring is called the Pocket Pal. When we look at the Alox division, it is the other way arround. The ones without the keyring are called the Excelsior. The Cellidor one and the alox with smooth scales are still in production, but the checkered alox ones aren't. Since the 80's there aren't any checkered alox Excelsiors produced, only the smooth alox ones! So when I saw that a certain Greek Vic collector sold two alox Excelsiors in mint condition, I couldn't wait any longer and bought them... The alox Excelsior, adds an extra refined feel and a stronger impression than the cellidor one. The alox edition came in a wide variety of colours and I had the luck to find it in red and silver. These two were produced in the eighties, according to the tang stamp and look as if they were never used. Conclusion is that the Excelsior should be used for the smaller tasks, due to the thinner blade, but it is a beautiful knife to add to the collection, and certainly the alox ones!
Was searching for more information about the Alox Excelsior and found your article. In a single layer Alox, two blades in a knife this size doesn't make that much sense unless all one does is cutting, slicing and whittling. There are plenty of pockets carrying small two-blade penknives made by companies such as Case or Schrade, and they serve their owners well for decades. The Excelsior is the Victorinox version of a penknife in the same type and size class. Within the current Victorinox line, the single layer Alox Bantam is the same length and width with the larger blade and the combo tool that combines can opener, cap lifter, flat tip screwdriver, 2D Phillips and wire stripper in one tool. That would have more utility in the same length and width, albeit with a slightly taller oval shape instead of an elliptical one. However having a combo tool opposite the main blade provides more utility in practical use for those that would use those tool functions. Was contemplating an Alox Excelsior, but thinking now I'll stick with the Bantam as I'm a user, not a collector. Thanks for writing this up with the photos. Gave me what I was looking for.
ReplyDeleteWas searching for more information about the Alox Excelsior and found your article. In a single layer Alox, two blades in a knife this size doesn't make that much sense unless all one does is cutting, slicing and whittling. There are plenty of pockets carrying small two-blade penknives made by companies such as Case or Schrade, and they serve their owners well for decades. The Excelsior is the Victorinox version of a penknife in the same type and size class. Within the current Victorinox line, the single layer Alox Bantam is the same length and width with the larger blade and the combo tool that combines can opener, cap lifter, flat tip screwdriver, 2D Phillips and wire stripper in one tool. That would have more utility in the same length and width, albeit with a slightly taller oval shape instead of an elliptical one. However having a combo tool opposite the main blade provides more utility in practical use for those that would use those tool functions. Was contemplating an Alox Excelsior, but thinking now I'll stick with the Bantam as I'm a user, not a collector. Thanks for writing this up with the photos. Gave me what I was looking for.
ReplyDeleteI have one too the non-alox version Its a gentleman's pin knife 100% mine only has the Rostfrei stamp with out a back. I think the scale stamp stands out more on this model than others
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