My Take on the German Army Knife

The company was founded in 1884.  2014-1884 =130

However, the Company was originally named Victoria.  It became Victorinox in 1921 when the company switched to stainless steel (inox) in its knife production.  They first sold knives to the Swiss Army in 1891 and they used the trademark cross/shield emblem on their knives in 1909. 

I think the term "Evolving" is appropriate as soon you will see Victorinox/Delmont tang stamps  on a few knives now that Wenger Genuine Swiss Army Knives are truly no more.

A look at the Midnite Manager, one of my EDC knives

A Look at the Wenger "Evo Cow" knife

Most recent find at a Flea Market included a Swiss Buck Advantage (also known as the Sidekick).  Knife appears to be new but was sold without the box.  I bought it from a guy who was a Buck Knives Distributor for 13 years.  I got it and Coleman Fixed blade for $25.    Pretty good deal in my book.  The Swiss Buck has was made from 1991-1998.   Still tryign to find out about the Coleman fixed blade.  What I can say is both are sweet looking blades.

SWISS CHAMP VICTORINOX KNIFE

Nice Champ, Fingers!

I am glad I get my Late 1940 Victorinox Swiss Army Officer Knife. Looooong delivery to arrive my home fro Switzerland. It look beauty Vintage Swiss pocket knife. This is almost 70 years old knife.

Vintage Swiss Pocket knife

That's a great looker, Fingers!

Hi folks, we have a new member that posted this in a forum but I figure your the best people to ask

WTB Victorinox Wilderness Alox

Can anyone help him out?

A total of 250 were made with only 150 with black blades. 

100 black on black

50 orange on black

50 gold on silver (shiny stainless steel)

50 purple on silver  (shiny stainless steel)

Good luck.

They're Back!   The don't have the Wenger/delmont tang stamp but the 130mm Wegner knives are still around.   The new Victorinox/Delmont knives are showing up.

See:  New Victorinox Delemont Swiss Army 130mm Knife RANGERGRIP 61 0.9553... on ebay!   Item number:  131287278428

Landed two older SAKs recently.  Still need to get pictures.  One is an older Ranger model with the small clip blade and limited back tools.  It has a broken scissor spring (that is easy to fix!)  The other an older Explorer that came with the box and papers, appears to have only suffered "shelf wear"  $25 for the two of them.  Hard to pass up two classic knives for such a low price!

I've got an even more awesome SAK on the way.  Pictures to follow!

My pre-1991, near mint in the box.   Not bad  for $9.95! 

Functions perfectly.  I doubt if it was ever used or carried!

Maybe this one will warrant a response:

<br /><small><a href="http://iknifecollector.com/photo/photo">Find more photos like this on <em>iKnife Collector</em></a></small><br />

Ok, let me be the first to say it, happy year, may you aquire many new SAK's

Hello. Does anybody knows anything about this? Its a twenty dollar inlay with a star.

I knew I had a few Victorinox knives that I had put away and just thought I would post a pic of them. I really haven't been collecting them and don't know a whole lot about them. One I found and one I picked up years ago at a yardsale for a buck.

The top appears to be a Swiss Flash and the other the Pocket Pal.

Does the Swiss flash have a laser pointer or the LED light?

One here with a laser Tobias'

My first real knife was a Swiss Army, Victorinox craftsman I think. Dad gave it to me for christmas. I still have it. Anyone else have an SAK for a first knife?

Well a SAK wasn't my first knife but it was the first knife my wife ever bought me!  I got it for Christmas many years ago.  Carried for a long a time and still have it today.

It is a Victorinox Huntsman Economy, also known as  the Woodsman.  It differs from the standard Huntsman in that it lacks the toothpick and tweezers.  It was the exact model I had been wishing for!  Still one of my faves!

I have since bought another Woodsman and two other Huntsmans.  Love the pattern but this one if my sentimental favorite for obvious reasons!

those tweezers are hoghly overrated anyway Tobias. lol

I agree Michael.   I've come to appreciate the plastic toothpick, however.   I carry a Signature light which normally has tweezers and ink pen.  I swapped out the tweezers for a toothpick.  I really never use the tweezers.  The ones by wenger seemed to work better but even those are less than adequate in my book.

I have a knife that is stamped Wengerinox with a crossbow symbol on one side of the blade at the bottom and 57 on the other side.  Beside the 3" blade, it has a slot screwdriver blade with a curved cutting surface, a can opener and an awl. On one handle is a small stamp with a cross in a circle and what appears to be W-K.  The knife is in very good condition with only minor scratches.  Can anyone tell me what I have and what it might be worth?  I got it at an auction in a small lot for $2.00.  Thanks.  Al Rogers

Put a picture to have a look.

Its a swiss army knife made for the army by wenger in 57.

Depending on its condition it may worth from nothing to 80-100 bucks

Thanks Andreas, a photo won't help much from my crummy little camera, always blurry. Time to invest in a better one I guess. The knife is in very good condition, some minor scratches. Not bad for a $2.00 investment. I love auctions!

Al,

From your description I suspect that you have a 1957 Wenger Soldiers Knife, as Andreas has already informed you. The circled "W-K" stands for Waffen Kontrolle:

 
Originally it was a small stamp in the form of the Swiss Cross (top left), and later - two letters W-K - "Waffen Kontrolle" e.g., "Arms Control"

Depending upon the condition of your knife it could be quite valuable to a collector. These older Wenger and Victorinox knives are becoming scarcer. Especially the ones in decent condition. Does your knife's markings look like this:

From 1957 until 1961 Wenger makes a soldier knife with red plastic plates of Grilon (Grilonschalen - Swiss Nylon Quality). 

Soldier's knife manufacturing Wenger, restyled 1957 model 1951 1957 release

Parameters soldier's knife restaylinga 1957: 
Length: 93 mm 
Weight: 90 g 
Blade length: 65 mm

I hope this helps? It sounds like you got a fantastic deal for only $2.00. Congratulations! And, btw, a bad picture is better than no picture. So, please, post a pic from your "crummy little camera." I would love to see it!

Cheers, mate!

Hey Al, sell the knife and get a camera!!!

@Andreas-LMAO!!! Classic!

P7290804.JPGThis is the only half decent photo I can share. The markings on my knife are identical to your photos with one exception. The handles on mine are a darker shade of red than yours. There's minor scratching on the handles and someone did a half assed job of sharpening the blade but it can be saved. Maybe I will sell it, I really need a good camera more. Thanks, Ron and Andreas.

This is the pic Al posted of his knife...

I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty of sizing it and re-posting it? This way it's easier for the viewer to actually see it.

BTW, It's in really nice shape for a knife that's almost 60 years old. And, like I've already stated, to a collector of Wenger Soldier Knives it would probably bring you a very nice return for your initial $2.00 investment. You got a good one, my friend!

Thanks Ron. If anyone's interested in this knife, make me an offer, I need a camera.

Thanks Ron!  Al it is a good looking knife!

hello . im looking to find one of these. Michel Jordi with 18K gold plated corkscrew. I had one given to me as a gift 20 yrs ago and it was stolen from me 6 yrs ago. I have searched ebay and cant find any available. Any help in sourcing one would be much appreciated. :) ( this photo is from IKC site)

Victorinox Awarded $9.8 Million In Trademark Lawsuit

MONROE, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Victorinox Swiss Army, Inc., in conjunction with its parent corporation Victorinox AG, today announced the company has been awarded approximately $9.8 Million in addition to injunctive relief in its suit against Dallas-based The B & F System, Inc., and its president, John D. Meyer for infringement of Victorinox’s iconic registered trademark for red-handled multi-function pocket knives. Victorinox filed the lawsuit in 2013 when the company became aware The B & F System, Inc. was marketing red handled multi-function pocket knives copying the famous Swiss Army knife marketed and sold by Victorinox in the U.S. for more than 50 years.

Victorinox wins $9.8M award for #SwissArmyKnife trademark infringement

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Ruling in Victorinox’s favor, Federal District Court Senior Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on October 22, 2015 granted Victorinox a total award of $9,808,332.44 including treble damages, interest and counsel fees.

Judge Rakoff also granted Victorinox injunctive relief writing in his decision “the public interest will be served by an injunction that ends the likelihood of consumer confusion.” Under the Court’s Order, The B & F System, Inc. and Mr. Meyer are permanently enjoined from further infringements; required to immediately recall from their distributors and retailers the infringing goods; to deliver for destruction all examples of the infringing goods; distribute copies of Judge Rakoff’s Final Order to all of their suppliers, distributors and customers; and, are bound to take other steps as outlined in the Order (Case #13-cv-04534).

Jan, thanks for the heads up on that judgment against Maxam (B&F System).  That was really interesting -- it was decided by summary judgment, meaning that the counterfeiting was so obvious that no further trial was necessary -- & this one may not have even made it to trial at all.  More unusual, from what I can tell, is that such stiff penalties were brought without even going through the full trial process.  Maxam will almost certainly appeal, & it'll be interesting to hear their argument(s) on appeal.

Does anyone know what model this is ?? It's a Wenger product from th late 80's ~ early 90's. Thanks for any info anyone might provide !!! D ale

D ale,

I believe it looks like a Tradesman?

Link: Wenger Tradesman

Let us know what you think.

Cheers!

Ron,

Thanks for the feedback. I got it years ago .. late 80's / early 90's .. new .. from a salesman that was trying to land a contract with the company I was working for at the time.

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Note: I was chief engineer & had a display of knives in my office & indeed had influence over who would be awarded the contract ..&.. he was blatantly trying to influence the decision by "gifting" me this knife.

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The slip-joint pliers & the scissors are wonderfully functional ..&.. I make that statement based on actual use !!! I've modified the can opener to have a longer cutting edge. It is also quite functional .. based on actual use. The modification is noticeable if one blows the pic up.

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The screwdrivers certainly do their job too .. I just wished they locked in their open positions. The awl .. I have used to pierce everything from leather to aluminum & can report that it functions as intended.

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The blade steel I have found to be slightly on the soft side. This is strictly based on a personal observation of rolling the edge over when attempting to sever a deers hide after skinning & needing to remove the lower leg from the hide. i.e. My brothers & I hunt on the family farm in WI & do the butchering ourselves. We work in teams. One team performs the skinning & quartering while the another will do the deboning & cutting of the meat .. a 3rd team does the packaging for freezing .. while a fourth will do the grinding of the burger material. Some of our wives also actively participate.

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My personal responsibility is the deboning & the sharpening of everyone's knives. Anyway .. the lower leg & bone needs removed from the hide before rolling up the hide for later selling. I did this while taking a break from the above outlined tasks & actually didn't have a knife on me at the time ..so.. grabbed this one out of the glove box of my vehicle & attempted to do just that. I rolled the edge over in this attempt. I ended up going to the house to get an actual hunting knife in order to finish the job.

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That is the only shortcoming I've ever noted in the knife. And, I've used it extensively since late 80's ~ early 90's.

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Again .. Thank You .. for identifying the actual model.

D ale 

Hi

Put a full picture of the knife please

Victorinox just announced the Outrider will be the 2017 choice for their exclusive Damast series. The limited edition knife reinterprets the popular outdoors multitool as a high-end collector’s piece that is among the most costly Swiss Army Knives ever produced.

The centerpiece of the Outrider Damast is the 3.4” Odin’s Eye pattern Damasteel blade. And, in place of the standard red cellidor scales, Victorinox opted for a premium wood fiber composite handle from Epicurean, a company that specializes in the material. The Victorinox emblem is inlaid onto the scales and each Outrider Damast comes with a serial number on the back of the knife.