Victorinox scales strength test

After I heard someone claim that Cellidor scales aren't the strongest, I had to laugh. Cellidor was to my opinion strong, if not VERY strong! But that same guy verified his statement with a dishwasher experiment. He placed a Victorinox Spartan with Cellidor scales in the dishwasher and placed the picture online. I was a bit disappointed and did some tests myself. I did two main tests on 3 different Victorinox scales. First the scratch test. Everyone knows that wearing a Victorinox knife in your pocket results in scuffed and dented scales. I always wondered if other materials would have the same result so I took a punch tool and scratched a small cross in the three different materials. The first one on the left (A) is a Translucent scale and showed a very visible white scratch. The second one (B), the Cellidor scale did a bit better, but the scratch was still visible. The last one (C), a Nylon Economy scale surprised me. This was the cheapest and the strongest. I had some trouble to make the scratch the same depth as the other ones and afterwards it didn't look as ugly as the other two. This material is made to resist and it shows. Too bad it looks so damn ugly! By the way.... The scales I used are used donor-parts, so they were already scratched, but sanded and polished like new. The second test was how the different materials would react to hot water. This is to proof that these knives are safe to wash in very hot water (hotter than hot tap water, but NOT boiling!) or not! The Nylon one (C) is once again the winner, or better said, the only survivor. Let this be a good lesson... Stay away from HOT water (Not boiling!) Cellidor and Translucent scales have the tendency to bend if heated so be careful! ...

Victorinox evolution : Can opener & Cap lifter

I've made a few mods by now and after my first few knives I started noticing the small evolution that Victorinox made with every tool. Some are the more known ones, like the 90 degree lock on the cap lifter and the pat. marking on the can opener, but I'm here to talk about the small, but ingenious steps we didn't even know they existed. Sometimes it isn't necessary to inform the user about these changes because they're so small, but in use they make a huge difference. Let's start with the Can opener... Victorinox used the 1,5mm gap (A) between cutter and spine for ages and ever since the late nineties (according to my knives) they changed to the 3mm gap (B). Why? Well I can only guess, but the only advantage you would get with this change is a stronger spine and small screwdriver. The other one I wanted to talk about is the base of the Cap lifter. This changed after the 90 degree lock (A - B) was introduced. Victorinox used a plain square base (B) in the first generation Cap lifter, but after a while they removed a small strip on the left side. Again a guess, ... this must've been done to save in material costs and weight but this doesn't affect the overall strength. One other change is the nail notch. They moved this a bit closer to the screwdriver. I've seen many of these changes, even with the Swisstool. They changed the plier head-setup to strengthen the tool when used to loosen locked nuts... Again ingenious... This shows that, even if the overall design didn't change for over a century, the tools change constantly to evolve in an indestructible toolbox...

Victorinox Grand Prix

Don't you love the Victorinox knives with metal inlayed-scales? This gives the knife a certain value that painted scales just don't have. About a week ago I noticed this rather unusual knife with a strange tool combination and beautiful Ford T-model in metal on the front scale.  It was in near mint condition and I was able to buy it for a very good price. The Grand Prix consists of 4 layers filled with the usual (main Spartan tools) ,metal file, scissors,  small flathead screwdriver and the very nice looking phillips head screwdriver with can opener shaft. One more thing I noticed was that it doesn't have the usual key chain ring. My first taught was that this knife must've been made around the early 70's but after some closer inspection I noticed that some tools weren't made before 1975 and after 1980. This is one lovely knife and after a good polishing it looked like new! The Grand Prix was made till 1995, but this specific one with small flathead screwdriver instead of the parcel hook till1980. 

Age - marks :

* Cellidor scales : These scales were introduced in 1937. Before 1937 the scales were made from fibre, and had no mirror polish. This knife has cellidor scales!

* Can opener : This type can opener is the more recent one. This one was produced from 1972 on till today...

* REAMER : This older type reamer without the sewing eye was used from 1961 to 1985.

* Small blade : The small blade has a spear point. These blades are still used from 1973 on.

* Cap lifter : The cap lifter, here used, without the sharpened curve, without the 90 degree lock, was manufactured from 1970 till 1985.

* Philips head screwdriver : The square back-layer screwdriver was used from 1952 till 1980.

* Scissors : The scissors with screw joint were used between 1975 and 1992.

Conclusion :

This knife was made between 1975 and 1980.

Victorinox Buffalo horn 84mm Golfer

This knife was for sale in the Victorinox outlet shop and after some close inspection, I noticed that the tweezers-opening was damaged. Nothing huge, but you could clearly see that someone tried to pull out the tweezers with force. The big disadvantage with natural scales is that these materials expand and shrink in temp-changes. Often, the scale-tools get stuck and some people don't take no for an answer if you know what I mean. If you see that it won't budge, please leave it the way it is... I know someone who tried to pull out the tweezers that got stuck in a nice executive with Mother of Pearl scales. Result.... the corner cracked....  To continue with the Golfer... :) It was a New Old Stock, so it didn't took me long to decide weather I would take it or not. The guy decided to give me some discount since it was damaged and I returned home with a nice discontinued 84mm Vic. This knife contains unique tool combination with scissors, combination tool, large blade, corkscrew and large nail file. This last tool is fairly rare and was discontinued due to the weak design and replaced by the more sturdy nail file you find in the Cadet. The scales are made of Buffalo horn and show nice beige stripes flowing through the jet-black background. I love pure black Buffalo horn scales, but these have a nice combination of both colors. There are some variations on this knife even in 91mm and without the long nail file, so that makes this one "rare", and after some time, Victorinox evolved this knife to the compact (in 91mm) and eventually the Golf-tool to satisfy the needs of the actual golf-enthusiast. This knife was produced from 1986 till 1990, since in 1990 Victorinox added a gliding groove inside the scissors handle and before 1986 the combo-tool didn't exist. This is one rare beauty for a fair price and New In Box! 

Happy New Year