Whatever Works... Victorinox Swiss Army Knives and into the third decade. Knives out!

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I cannot understand how most people get through the day without a penknife of some kind. Half a dozen times a day I reach for mine, permanently carabinered to my belt and tucked into my trouser back pocket, to access scissors, knife, screwdriver, or whatever. So many gadgets, so many uses.  

This post, anyway, is about my latest Victorinox Swiss Army Knife, the 'Tinker', thirty-odd quid at Amazon UK. Now, before you say that this is a lot of money, the knives shown here are, from left to right:



  • the aforementioned 4-layer Tinker, bought in the last few weeks (see below for what it has)
  • my original 4-layer Victorinox knife, from the early 1980s. So it's now over 40 years old and still fully functional. The only reason I don't still use it is that the keyring/carabiner attachment point got mangled when doing some DIY - so it's now my backup 'briefcase'/car knife. 
  • my second knife, bought around 2000, and slightly slimmer with 3 layers. It's now 22 years old and I stopped using it recently because the spring that fully retracts the blades has softened and I cut my finger open reaching for the knife, which I thought was fully closed and which... wasn't. Oops. Again, the two decade old knife is still fully functional and can be used with care.
  • a promotional 2-layer mini-Swiss Army knife from my old employer. Quite limited, but hey, it's in my collection.
I also have several 'Swiss Cards', multi-tools in credit card form and, when I've found them in my cupboards, I'll feature them too.

So yes, extravagant and I treated myself to the Tinker, but hey, these knives last DECADES. So the purchase cost is pretty irrelevant, I reckon.

Victorinox Swiss Army works for me anyway, and I've lost count of the number of times when with friends, or just around the house, when having just the right tool always to hand, accessible in under two seconds, has saved the day.

PS. For the record, the 'Tinker' has:
  • bottle opener
  • can opener
  • key ring
  • large blade
  • multipurpose hook
  • Phillips screwdriver 1/2
  • pliers
  • reamer
  • punch and sewing awl
  • scissors
  • 3mm flat screwdriver
  • 6mm flat screwdriver
  • small blade
  • toothpick
  • tweezers
  • wire crimping tool
  • wire cutter
  • wire stripper

Comments

Lightweight Buffmeister said…
There are several people that mod and repair Victorinox knives at multitool.org It's probably worth asking on the forums there. Most posters will be USA based, but I'd guess there are a few in the UK Steve.
5:08 PM
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