Would you rather have a Vitrinox Pocket/swiss army knife or a Wenger? Based on any knife, size, quality, and its components.

I can't recall ever seeing any major difference and typically buy whichever is available. Is there some significant and functional difference between the two that I've been heretofore unaware of but need to know? Please, illuminate the issue for me.

I think they're pretty equivalent, especially since Victorinox has owned Wenger for almost 5 years. My only real preference is that for keychain sized knives I prefer the Wenger Esquire over the Victorinox Classic. This is mainly because the Wenger scissor design is better. They use slightly serrated or toothed blades which don't slip. The lever action torsion bar spring can't break or get pushed out like the Victorinox hairspring. I've never broken a Victorinox hairspring, but it must happen since replacements are available for sale. The Wenger design also puts side pressure on the blades to cut cleanly, but to call it "self sharpening" as they do might be a stretch. My EDC includes a black Wenger Pocket Tool Chest, which adds a cap lifter/screwdriver, eyeglass screwdriver, and awl with sewing eye to the standard pen knife blade, pointed nail file (also great staple remover and emergency small Phillips screwdriver), toothpick and tweezers. The Wenger Esquire is also a few mm longer than the Vic Classic. Either fits in the watch pocket of my jeans.

Wenger has also seemed willing to try some things that Victorinox hasn't, like the contour grip handles of the Evo (Evolution) line, some left handed models, and minor things like the old Soldier model having lanyard bails that the Vic models didn't have.

Both are several steps above any Chinese imitations that I've seen. One of the reasons Vic bought Wenger was to prevent the Chinese from doing so, and thus being able to market "genuine Swiss army" knives.

Quality wise, there's no noticeable difference. Victorinox is more open to unconventional components a-la pens, flash drives and LED lights - which makes it the ideal choice for keychain carry.



Wewnger, on the other hand, has the evogrip series, which is an absolute delight to use and thus preferable in "working" and outdoor knives. The gap widens when the New Ranger line enters the equation.



New Rangers also sport some of the baddest components to grace any SAK, ever, with their locking flatheads, massive scissors, full size folding pliers and enormous - and ergonomic - wood saws.

Marantz, I agree fully on the chinese pieces of ... every one i have seen other people use has a bent blade, missing parts, or is completely wrong!! i have been using my victorinox tinker forn about 7 years, After my grandpa owned it and used it for whittling for 4 years!!! the blades are easy to sharpen, they "lock" pretty well! and some of the chinese knives are alot bulkier than Wenger or Vict. i personally havent had any experiences with Wenger, besides the fact that I have a great Wenger watch from my grandpa!! And thats why I wanted to know, thats cool they bought them out so china couldnt!! I never knew it was victorinox, i thought it was vitrinox! big mistake on my part!! well, i want to get a Wenger Giant!! just for recreational purposes!! thaks guys!
777!

Wenger has been owned by Victorinox since 2005.

I have broken one, but the scissors work just about as well without the hairspring.

You are pretty much splitting hairs in comparing the virtues of these two very fine lines. I upgraded to a Leatherman many years ago and have never looked back.

the Victorinox Midnight Manager is my edc, and a gem - I have a big Wenger (forget which model) as my out and about knife and itr works a treat.

Beautifully engineered bits of kit with lovely design features, in a light and entirely non-tactical format - for the UK the SAk is the go-to knife of choice I think and does a good job for a lot of tasks (if you need something bigger, you probably need something MUCH bigger)

Wenger have a proper Philips screwdriver instead of the shouldered flat blade that Victorinox use and their scissors are a little better.

Victorinox have an excellent aftersales, lifetime free replacement as far as I can tell, I'm guessing Wenger do the same though.
Especially as someone said they have owned Wenger for the last few years.
Both companies took a big hit with new airport security. It means a fewer people carry one on their key chain and a lot less are sold in duty free - except in switzerland where you could buy any you wanted in the airport after baggage check!

I have a Victorinox Spartan in my pocket right now that I have carried just about every day for the last 28 or 29 years. (If I have pants on, it is in the pocket). The makings on the scales wore off years ago, but everything else is just fine. I just reached for it a few minutes ago to get into one of those #$%&! clam shell packages. If I do not loose it, I suspect that I will wear out before it does.

I have a similar Wenger that I picked up on sale several years ago (pre merger days) that I keep in the glove box of the car. It is a good knife also, but I have not done the extensive wear test on it that I have done on the Victorinox.

I would rate either as a fantastic value for the price.

For $15 i can get a super tinker (on sale at wally world) and compare it to a china hunk of crap and i can tell you exactly how that would go!! i chipped the blade on a chinese knife by trying to build a fire with a Mag Block!! i have used my victorinox to pry out the flint bar of my old mag block (for PKS purposes) and it didnt even bend the blade! the smaller blade on my tinker is my "striker" it works like a charm, for the most part. but can anyone tell me how well wenger holds an edge?

i personally do not like the victorinox classics, they are too small to do much, and i personally think the blade is too thin. whats your take?

I just got myself yet another Classic, this time it came with a One Handed Trekker that I picked up on sale at Amazon. I carry a Classic every day. Use it at least once a day.

My only problem is losing them, I can't seem to keep the black handled ones around while the traditional red ones last a long time...

The Trekker is going to be modified/re-shaped into a standard blade instead of the very sharp but hard to re-sharpen serrated edge that it came with.

I keep a Tinker in my car and I have a nice Alox Farmer around for daily carry as well. Love the heavier blade on it.

If you're looking for one, Amazon has some amazing deals on occasion, I got the Trekker and the Classic for $27 including free shipping.

I've always been a Victorinox guy, don't know why, probably cause the Wenger's weren't as available when I got imprinted with the SAK buying gene...

I've never bought a Wenger although I am fairly certain they are well made and a fine knife. I bought my Victorinox Boyscout Huntsman about 15 years ago and, with few exceptions (like today), it has been with me ever since. I experimented a while back with using a Victorinox Tinker as an EDC but it was too light and was misplaced so now I'm back to the Huntsman. I think it just depends on which model you start with as to which you like best. Some of the tools are made slightly different on the Wenger as opposed to the Victorinox (I am thinking in particular of the can opener). I started with Victorinox and am familiar and comfortable with it's tools and if I buy another it will likely be another Victorinox. It's familiarity, though, not quality or other variables, that drives that decision. Quality is about the same but as I said I am more familiar with the Victorinox.

For me, it's Victorinox all the way.

I have owned several of each brand; and Vic has earned my trust, in durability, sharpness, and general functionality.

In particular, the older Wenger blade steel is bloody awful. Vic's at least step up to the mark. That line may be blurring: IIRC, Victorinox blades are appearing in Wenger products.

Aside: I wish the locking blade, big saw versions of both were designed to be comfortable in my pocket. Or at least add a big, strong pocket clip. That's my biggest gripe.

I find the Classic to be extraordinarily useful. It is on my keychain, and therefore always handy. I use both the blade and the scissors quite often. For bigger tasks, I go to my Leatherman Wave, usually on my hip. Versions are now available with a ballpoint pen or a small LED light, either of which makes a nice backup.

There are a lot of situations where it is much better to pull out a classic, or perhaps nearly any SAK. They are generally perceived as nonthreatening by a lot of nervous nellies.

While I wouldn't want to dress out an elk with a Classic, quite a few lightweight backpackers have traveled the length of both the Appalachian and the Pacific Crest Trail using one as their only edged utensil.

I like the scissors and the reamer better on the Wenger, otherwise
I like the Vic.

I have a Bantam that I use everyday and discovered it does more
than I thought. The can opener is also a bottle opener, the tip of
which is both a flat blade and a phillips. So for just a knife and
one other blade, it does most everything I need.

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Bantam-Pocket-Silver-Ribbed/dp/B0007QCO9M/ref=pd_sim_sg_2

I've used both the locking Wenger (Wenger Mountaineer) and it's Victorinox equivalent (Trailmaster or Locksmith.) On balance the Trailmaster is - for me - the better knife. It's slightly smaller, easier to carry and most interestingly the saw is much less prone to binding when sawing greenwood. That is because the saw is thinner. I also have issues with the sheer size of the Wenger. The Victorinox has about a 3" blade against the Wengers 4". In a pocket knife 4" is simply too large.

The Wenger is a good knife. Very good. Excellent survival knife but I just happen to prefer the Vic.

One other point: In terms of a survival knife I consider the serrations on the Trekker and the '09 preferable to the straight edge of the Wengers. I find them far more proficient at dealing with fibrous material.

Just an FYI regarding your last point: most of the Rangergrip series have a serrated equivalent with 1 added in front of the model number. e.g. 178 to 78:

I have both, but prefer Victorinox. My favorite is the Huntsman.

Hey Serbert just FYI Wenger have some of their 85mm knives, like the backpacker and EVO S13 with a locking 2.5" blade, any of the EVO line with a S in front have the locking blade.

One more thing, if you don't like the vic classic you might want to take a look at the 65mm wenger pocket tool chest(seems more usful than the vic minichamp) or if you want some thing bigger still try a vic 75mm executive(it has two blades, one big one small)

Also you might want to take a look at sakwiki or the sosak subforum at knife forums site (they also have their own website) they have a LOT of info on saks and some of the people their even mod their knives.

All but one of the real SAKs I've owned have been Victorinox. I somehow lost my one Wenger within a year, so based on Internet Logic (TM), the Wenger is a piece of crap.

I definitely liked the Wegner scissors better. I even took my beater Victorinox and roughed up the edge on the scissors to get a better "bite". I don't use the can opener very often and both work well enough, but the Victorinox style has always felt smoother to use. I don't think I'd like the newer rubberized Wegner scales.

What's the Russian saying? Quantity has a quality of it's own? I can buy a Victorinox off-the-shelf in a dozen nearby stores, but I can't name one Wenger dealer. I don't know if any retailers like Ace Hardware still have spare parts, but I think they only carry Victorinox.

Hands down the fit and finish of Victorinox is superior to Wenger.

Cheers,
W-W

I prefer Victorinox because of the design of a few of their tools - especially the can opener, but they are both high quality. Preference probably depends more on which one you used first than on any real quality differences.

My thoughts exactly. I have several of both, but my first SAK was a Vic, and I just prefer them now. I bought replacement parts for Vics, and I now buy them used and fix them up. My EDC is a green Vic Classic with a shamrock.