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.

I've gotta say I'm no fan of SAKs at all and I have owned a few over the years. IMHO it's too bad they changed the scales when what they should have been doing is changing to at least half decent steel and adding a solid locking mechanism. <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

FWIW, for the price, both SAK makers' steel is actually pretty good, in my experience. Easy to sharpen and better edge holding than I'd expect for the buck. Is it the equal of higher quality cutlery steels? Heck no. But, that's not their market. <shrug> Do I wish it was otherwise? Sure.

Also, FYI, Wenger does make a series of standard size SAKs with a blade lock. Not the best lock in the world, but much better than none. Unfortunately, with a single exception of which I am aware, none are imported for sale here because they couldn't sell them. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> Also, FYI, they make a version of the Esquire with a locking blade that's also not imported here. Finally, many of their screwdriver tools do lock when pressure is applied. They call it "packlock."

Both have locking blades in their larger size SAKs. The Victorinox Rucksack/Trailmaster are favorites of many survival instructors, providing good value and functionality for the price. Victorinox even makes a one-hand opening large frame SAK, the One-Handed Trailmaster. Unfortunately, they ruined it for many of us by having a partially serrated blade.

Of course, times change and so may what you see over here in terms of SAKs. Never say never... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Maybe another reason for NON locking blades, is that in many places/countries carrying a folding knife with a locking blade is illegal (in France such a knife is called "un cran d'arrêt")
I guess that makes a multitool with a locking blade illegal too ... not good for marketing ....

A good point. Talk about insanity run rampant, but let's not get me started... Spyderco came out with the Pride just so they'd have a knife to sell in those markets. That is also the case with one-hand opening knives in many places.

Just a side note, I heard Vic SAK steel is usually 440A, however it is such a thin blade that once sharpened is an incredable slicer. Just goes to show the latest in wonder steels isn't a replacement for good edge geometry.

I think your point is valid in that if they're supplied to the army then they're almost useless in most situations, but isn't the idea of a SAK in the hands of a civilian to provide an afordable, useful array of tools which are quick at hand in a discreet way? I don't think anyone can expect them to do any serious woodwork if they want these features, and if they do there are other options.

Having said this, I have been tempted to buy the Rucksack (can't remember if this is the one I saw but it has an interesting skinning tool <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )mentioned by Doug.

Ian

My first knife, at the age of 5, was a Victorinox Swiss Champ. Black Scales, everything you could ever need. I still have it in the "retired" box on my dresser. Great memories of that knife and the years I used it, running around in the woods, repairing G.I. Joes, etc.

Now I have a Benchmade Griptilian and can't help to feel that it is boring after this moment of nostalgia. Oh well, my wife loves the SAK Classics, and I have bought her two or three over the past couple years. I'll live my SAK fantasies vicariously through her...by the way, the reason she's gotten three SAK Classics over the past two years is because the scales have come off. I am a biased "Vic" fan incidentally.

Thanks for the heads up Doug! I wish someday that Wenger and/or Victorinox would make take apart model SAKs that you can mod. I know some have done this already, but imagine if you could get the parts individually and take the SAK apart as easily as a Sebenza. You could also offer custom scales, titanium parts, etc. Oh well, I guess I'll just go to bed and dream of my perfect SAK. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the info Doug! I would certainly love to seeing lock blade SAKs here in the US! I finally gave up on slipjoints after my last trip to the ER for stitches. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />