Victorinox Soldier Knife Standard Issue
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User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars new Swiss Army a winner
I finally decided to buy a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife because I knew I would get a lot of use out of it at work as well as home. I’ve never owned a Swiss Army Knife, just cheap imitations (which this ain’t). While browsing their online catalog and searching for the right compromise between features and size, I saw that the new standard-issue soldier knife had just gone on sale for 2009.
I was attracted to the olive drab color scheme, much more businesslike than the Swiss red. Since it’s brand new and I’m a geek, I had to have it. Factory site says it’s 4 and 3/8″ long closed, which is on the big end of the pocketknife scale IMO. Some may even carry this in a belt pouch, but I find it very pocketable. The grips are lightweight, hard plastic with softer black inserts. The matte texture is very easy to hold and won’t show fingerprints or smears. Comfortable in the hand.
The size of the knife, along with the tool loadout, make it more suited for outdoorsmen, soldiers (go figure), and assorted “rural adventurers”. The knife blade opens easily with one hand, lefty or righty, and locks with a satisfying clink!. The lower 1″ of the blade is plain (and sharp!) and the rest out to the tip is serrated. Fun fact: I believe they bill this blade as a “seatbelt cutter” as well. I carry the Swiss knife alongside a plain folding knife, so I don’t really miss having a plain blade, but this may be a concern for some.
The bottle opener is the only other tool with a liner lock; it doubles as a big flat screwdriver and it has a little wire-stripper notch onboard (works well on small wires, fyi). The can opener has a small flat screwdriver at the end. The saw is accessed by pulling up on the blunt tip on the blade (it sticks out of the knife just enough to get ahold of but not enough to snag anything). Its ability to fell small trees is limited only by your patience. The keychain attachment point could be used for a lanyard or something too, because it’s kind of a big knife for a keyring. The Philips screwdriver is fine but boring, so I won’t talk anymore about it. The “reamer” is a fearsome looking sharp little dude, useful for punching reamer-shaped holes in about anything (use your imagination), but be careful because it doesn’t lock open.
This knife is all about craftsmanship and good steel, no cheese to be found. It’s got the quality you’d expect from Victorinox, especially since they’re building these for the military. It comes together like a Swiss watch, or maybe a bank vault. I look forward to slaying a lot of beer bottles and odd jobs with it, and if it turns out to be a lifesaver someday then that’s cool too.
4 Stars Swiss Army Soldier Knife
I bought this knife as a camping backpacking knife. I wanted a one hand opening knife that had the the basic Swiss Army knife tools on it. I have many Swiss Army knives and they are always excellent in quality, and in fit and finish. This knife was as good as the best of them. First rate, but it is not really a one hand opening knife unless you have a lot of time to open it. A Spyderco knife can be shaken open, but this knife has the liner lock pressing on the blade so it can not be easily opened. I got two minor cuts playing around with it. I was lucky. I now take it very seriously, and use two hands to open it. It is razor sharp. This knife is an excellent camping knife, but respect it.
5 Stars a simple, sturdy knife
I carry this knife with me all the time, and I do a lot of outdoors activities, mainly long hikes. I carry a Mora carbon steel as my main knife, but this one is more than adequate for other jobs or as a backup. The saw is smaller than my camp saw, of course, but is capable of some decent sized saplings. This knife is more than capable of everyday jobs, as well as many wilderness tasks. It will not replace a full size blade or a campsaw, but it definitely has its place.
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