I've been ordering a few SAKs lately off eBay.

I'm wondering if they are really NIB ("New in box") as the seller claims in his listings... I receive the knives in small gray boxes which appear to be original Victorinox boxes. The box is unwrapped though. Inside, there is a small piece of white plastic molded to the shape of the knife. On top of this, there is a small sheet of folded paper, which are the instructions and guarantee information.

Even though all of it seems new, the scales are not perfect. My scales are translucent red, or what they call "ruby". They are definately not "perfect", with some strange glue-like stains that don't go off when scratched with my nails... Also, oil seems to be oozing from between the blades the first time I opened up the implements.

Does this seem normal? The tool still works nicely, but i'm wondering if this is what people find when they get new in box SAKs... <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />