Wenger is introducing their "Evolution" series this holiday season in Europe and will present them to the U.S. Market at SHOT Show next January. I'm pleased to be able to give everyone a sneak peek at the new line. These feature ergonomic sculpted scales, which promise to be quite an improvement over the classic scales we've come to know and not necessarily love over the decades. One of the drawbacks of the classic smooth flat scales is that it is easy for your hand to slip, especially when wet, and since there is also no guard incorporated into the blade, a nasty cut is the usual result.

Below is the "Evolution 81" which is equivalent to the "Esquire" (or "Classic" in Victorinox's line)



Below is the "Evolution 17" which is equivalent to the "Traveler"



You can find the rest of the new line at:
http://www.wenger-knife.ch/scripts/modules/Wenger_Products/page60.html
Note that all the text is in French, the U.S. version of this site is still under development. We'll have a report on just how well these new scales work as soon as I can get my hands on some samples.

I don't see where's the big deal. I have one Wenger similar to the #17 here. A remarkable and useful pocket knife. Nothing missing on it.
The new ones look ugly

D.

Though they look like they might be comfortable in your hand, I bet they're mighty uncomfortable in your pocket!

(Not a problem for me though, cause I've always been a Victorinox man...)

<img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

To each his own. In any case, the bigness of the deal depends on how much you value an effort to improve grip. I find that a good thing. Obviously, lots of other issues to consider and only when we have a chance to actually handle these can we make a true assessment of the value of the new scales and if they have a downside to them. In the meantime, you heard about it first here. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Can't say. Won't know until we get our hands on one. However, I am inclined to doubt it will approach "mighty uncomfortable." We shall have to wait to see how it works, or doesn't, in the pocket.

As for Wenger vs. Victorinox, they both have some pros and cons. Reminds me of the evergreen Ford vs. Chevy debate. Lots of emotion on occasion; no right answer, debate will go on forever. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

The history of SAKs is fascinating. Solingen secured the first contract and a swiss overcame great odds to bring the contract home. Rumour has it while we engage in endless arms developments and races that come to naught, Switzerland has stockpiled millions of the things inside the Matterhorn: Said deterrent giving generations of peace and security. My Uncle returned from WW2 europe with one. He cut his hands weekly, as did my grandfather, another uncle and my various siblings and cousins. If it's good enough for them--------let them suffer. I faint easily. Looks good to me <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I've had one of each. the Vic had more tools, a saw being the useful extra, having bought it after the wenger which did not have one. I like them both, the main difference between them is that I've lost the more expensive Vic. and the wenger which I have been almost indifferent to cos it was so cheap has been the dog's body, and subsequently more useful over time. Though I would prefer to have the Vic. in my pocket on a short walk, with its sturdier construction, the wenger has been more the household knife.

I don't want to be " heavy" on this.. but give me a break: better grip on a SAK? not relevant with the can opener, the scissors,the bottle cap lifter, the nails file,the awl... for the blade or the saw? I am not going to chop wood for the fire or build a log cabin with this thing ..
IMHO, a waste in design and manufacturing efforts for a feature that is marginal at best - My guess is that their sales dept were either bored or they just lack creative imagination.

To be fair, I am a fan of Wengers- got the fisrt one back in 1974 and now my "flag SAK" is still a Wenger (their can opener is a masterpiece of engineering)- They are sturdy, elegant, useful and well built. That thing with the new "ergoscales" I see as a dumb sales exercise- I prefer pocket knives with the plainscales. Nothing special needed to make a knife with the "natural grip"

JMHO

Just a wild guess, but I don't expect you'll be a customer for these new knives anytime soon. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> If you asked me for a list of what I'd most like to see changed on SAKs, the scales would be relatively high on the list, though hardly the top of the list. To me, first and foremost, a SAK is a knife and handles are an integral part of what makes a knife effective--or not. Guess I lack imagination... Whether this is the answer is yet to be determined. In any case, you're more than welcome to be "the heavy" here. Someone has to. Thankfully, the diverse opinions that exist in terms of what is desirable in knife design means there's usually something for everyone. That's a really good thing in my book.

BTW, if you think that much other than sales and marketing is the driving force behind most production knife design and production developments and decisions, you're mistaken. Technology and innovative design and production capabilties may offer options, but it is the sales guys who ultimately decide what gets done or not. More often than not, it is also the sales guys who drive what gets designed in the first place. True not just with knives, but in most all consumer products. Yes, there are exceptions, but they are relatively rare.

Put me in the Vic camp.

As a kid, I was dying for a "Swiss Army Knife" at one point, and someone came back from a trip with one as a gift- a Wenger. A month later, the scales had fallen off from relatively mild drops. I kept the scales, and much later got around to epoxying them back on. The rest of the knife fell apart. I had a second, also a gift, and it eventually fell apart too. They were both SOFT, and didn't hold an edge well at all.

My first Victorinox was a revelation- at that point, I didn't know there were Swiss Army Knives that weren't soft. Only downside to Vics I've ever experienced was the ever-breaking scissor springs, and of course the toothpicks and tweezers going missing.

Now, that was back in the late '60s, so things might well have changed. Haven't needed, or been tempted to try Wengers since, so I don't know.