New Farmer

[collim1]

After all the talk about the Farmer I could resist no longer. I got mine in today and am very impressed with it. After years if carrying a cellidor scaled Tinker I wanted an upgrade that included a saw.

I also ordered an alox Bantam to carry in the city, I can't wait to check it out.

This is my first alox model after years of Victorinox love. I must say the difference in feel is immediately apparent. Thanks for the great suggestions.




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[captain spaulding]

Excellent choice and congrats on the Farmer. The alox line just have a certain allure to them that can only be explained by owning one. 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Welcome to the club mate

Sent from the astropathic choir.

[comis]

Farmer is a timeless classic, do enjoy!  And welcome to the Alox club! 

[coSAK]

Congrats to your new Farmer.
Which is a very good SAK and almost on top of the vic alox line.
Only beaten by the Harvester. 

[pfrsantos]

Congrats to your new Farmer.
Which is a very good SAK and almost on top of the vic alox line.
Only beaten by the Harvester. 

And the Electrician. And the coloured Cadet. And any of Syph007's mods...

 

[coSAK]

Congrats to your new Farmer.
Which is a very good SAK and almost on top of the vic alox line.
Only beaten by the Harvester. 

And the Electrician. And the coloured Cadet. And any of Syph007's mods...

 

 

[collim1]

Had to work the night shift last so just I am just now getting to tinker with it.

It was not very sharp out of the box, but the bevels were nice and even. I decided to freehand as to keep the factory edge angles which is a shallower angle than I normally sharpen at. It only took a few passes on a medium stone to get a burr. I then made a few light strokes on an Arkansas stone and finished up with a thorough stropping on a loaded strop and then smooth leather.

It cleaned up nice and is now very sharp. I think it will be my daily carry for a while.

Moras and Victorinox always seem to be super easy to sharpen and I love them both for it.


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[Aloha]

There is a discussion regarding SAK steel that Rimfire started and yes they are easy to get razor sharp.  Congrats on your first Alox, mine was also the Farmer and I cannot say enough good things about it. 

[sawman]

I'm glad you like it although I prefer the Pioneer myself

[Mr. Whippy]

Farmers are the sweet spot in the Alox line, IMO.

[red_rider_1979]

I'm glad you like it although I prefer the Pioneer myself

Hmm.... Given your username, I would have guessed otherwise 

[Sazabi]

I'm glad you like it although I prefer the Pioneer myself

Hmm.... Given your username, I would have guessed otherwise 

I have to agree with Sawman; the Farmer is just a bit too thick for my liking.  That doesn't mean I don't pick up Farmers when the price is right.

[pfrsantos]

There is a discussion regarding SAK steel that Rimfire started and yes they are easy to get razor sharp.  Congrats on your first Alox, mine was also the Farmer and I cannot say enough good things about it.

+1. I just don't carry it more often because I don't have a daily (weekly) use for the saw. I tested the saw on a cherry tree log, once. I was using a Kukri and wasn't making any real progress. I took out the Farmer saw and it was like a hot knife through butter.

 

[zoidberg]

There is a discussion regarding SAK steel that Rimfire started and yes they are easy to get razor sharp.  Congrats on your first Alox, mine was also the Farmer and I cannot say enough good things about it.

+1. I just don't carry it more often because I don't have a daily (weekly) use for the saw. I tested the saw on a cherry tree log, once. I was using a Kukri and wasn't making any real progress. I took out the Farmer saw and it was like a hot knife through butter.

 

Yeah kukris don't make very good saws. 

[daverobson]

This is my first alox model after years of Victorinox love.

It's a safe bet that it won't be the last!
You do realize that you need a BLACK Farmer now don't you?

http://www.swissworld.it/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=138&idproduct=1255

[smiller43147]

I also prefer a Pioneer for daily carry, but if you need/want a saw, you couldn't make a better choice than a Farmer.

[collim1]

^^^^
Haha!

Well I haven't found any reason to use it thus far, but it did accompany me on the mountain bike trail this afternoon for a 17mi ride. 

I did get bored this morning and made a couple of pocket slips from scrap leather.  They are both quite functional, but I am a perfectionist and not real happy with them aesthetically speaking.  Pocket space is scarce and my knife has to ride with a bunch of other junk. 

By the way I am an amateur leather worker and photographer, but here is a pic or two of my creation:

[RimfireNZ]

There is a discussion regarding SAK steel that Rimfire started and yes they are easy to get razor sharp.  Congrats on your first Alox, mine was also the Farmer and I cannot say enough good things about it.

I was just surprised at how soft it is is all. It's only a problem for me because I SUCK at sharpening knives and I hate those pull through sharpeners.

Congrats on the new knife Collin. I've only got one alox knife and it's a little Cadet. It's awesome. Soon you'll be after a Syph007 custom

[zoidberg]

but I am a perfectionist

I couldn't leave the ends of the paracord like that.

[collim1]

There is a discussion regarding SAK steel that Rimfire started and yes they are easy to get razor sharp.  Congrats on your first Alox, mine was also the Farmer and I cannot say enough good things about it.

I was just surprised at how soft it is is all. It's only a problem for me because I SUCK at sharpening knives and I hate those pull through sharpeners.

Congrats on the new knife Collin. I've only got one alox knife and it's a little Cadet. It's awesome. Soon you'll be after a Syph007 custom

Believe me I have lusted over one of those a few times.  Its hard to spend that kind of money on one though, I would have to be committed if I lost one. 

[collim1]

but I am a perfectionist

I couldn't leave the ends of the paracord like that.

Yeah, I know.  That was a quick job to have a safety lanyard before carrying it.  I am capable of better and actually enjoy tying lanyards, just haven't gotten around to it yet. 

[collim1]

Ok, so this morning I headed out to the hunting camp to do some planting, hang a tree stand, and put up some new camo netting on one of my existing stands. I took only the Farmer so that I could really see what it can do. Normally I would never head out with just a Victorinox, in the city all the time, off the beaten path I like to have a small fixed blade as well. One unforeseen task was about a dozen phillips head dry wall screws holding up the tattered existing netting. I had forgotten about those when I decided to head out with just my Farmer. At first I was regretting not bringing along my Leatherman with a dedicated philips driver, or at least my Tinker which also has a decent philips driver. I used the small driver on the can opener to turn the philips screws and despite a few slips they all came fairly quickly and the slip outs did not ding up the driver either.

I had to clear a few 1" or so thick branches away from the stand to keep my shooting line clear as well. I wouldn't have guessed it, but the saw on the Farmer cut quicker than the saw on my Leatherman Wave.

The blade on the Farmer cut through a couple dozen feet of the camo burlap with no issues.

The one problem I did have was due to the lack of one hand opening. I was using the blade to trim the zip ties I was using to hang the netting while also using the awl to punch a hole through the burlap to run the zip ties through. Keep in mine I was in a tree 18ft up in the air, holding onto the netting with one hand and using the knife in the other. I knicked myself pretty good several times as I was using the knife with the awl and the blade open at the same time. One cut on my thumb actually bled pretty good. I have never really needed a one hand opening knife, but in this instance it would have come in handy.

All in all the little Farmer performed well and I was very impressed. No pictures of it action as I left my phone in my truck and didn't climb back down to get it. Had a lot of tractor work to do and was in a hurry I guess.

At the end of the day just for fun I noticed a few pieces of wood on the ground that looked as if they would make a decent hand drill set. I used the awl and the blade to get the set ready and was really impressed at how neatly and effortlessly the awl drilled through wood. I got some smoke but no coal with the hand drill. Might have been able to had I stuck with it, but the wood did not appear to be weathered right for it and I was hungry so I headed out without getting a coal.

On another note while I was out the Bantam alox that I ordered at the same time as the Farmer arrived while I was out. I guess I expected more from it than was reasonable, but my initial impression was a little underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, it is a handsome little knife and I think it will carry great when I am wearing dress pants, but I think any serious cutting will leave my hands aching quickly.  More on that later after I get a chance to really try it out.  It was probably the least sharp out of the box of any Victorinox I have owned.  It will definitely need a touch up before I use it. 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Thanks for your thoughts mate

They really are a versatile bit of kit, hence why I'm never without mine

Sent from the astropathic choir.

[Mr. Whippy]

Excellent review.

Yesterday we were out clearing trails for fox hunting (so brush has to be cleared 5-8 feet over head as well).  I also brought my Farmer for much of the cutting, along with lopping shears.  Anything too big for the shears was sawed off by the Farmer without an issue.  My assessment is similar to yours: For green wood, the Vic saw works better.  For kiln dried lumber, the Leatherman saw seems better (less rip out ).