GAK Refurb...........Not

[1jump2many]

About 6 weeks ago or so I sent an old Modeler SAK to Victorinox in Connecticut to be refurbished.  A few weeks later I bought a 108mm GAK on eBay and it turned out to be in a lot worse condition then described by the seller.  I decided to send it to Vic in CT to see if they could refurb everything but the scales and the saw.  When I sent the Modeler in they told me turnaround was 7 weeks so I was in no hurry.  Today I got a call from a representative from Vic in CT and she told me they were sending my Modeler back finished but there was nothing they could do with the old 108mm GAK    I told them I just wanted to see if they could replace the blade and the awl but the representative said once they removed the scales they wouldn't be able to put them back on or replace them.  The rep said they were sending it back with the Modeler.  But because they couldn't fix the GAK the rep gave me her extension and said that if I wanted to buy something from their site, www.swissarmy.com and called her they would give me 50% off.  I thought that was pretty decent.  The knives on their site are MSRP so I don't know how much I would really save, I guess it depends on the knive I choose.  Maybe it might be a good time to buy a Heritage 

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[american lockpicker]

Thats nice of them.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

At least there meeting you half way

[1jump2many]

Yeah, I thought it was nice of them too.  It was a long shot that they would be able to refurb any parts on the 108mm GAK in the first place.  Especially the awl.  Now I'm anxious to see how my Modeler came out.   


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[ICanFixThat]

That's pretty good, they have so many models that to their credit have lasted so long, that I see them having to do this more often.

Of course you won't forget to post pics of the Modeler!  Maybe you'll have BEFORE and AFTER pics?

 

[1jump2many]

That's pretty good, they have so many models that to their credit have lasted so long, that I see them having to do this more often.

Of course you won't forget to post pics of the Modeler!  Maybe you'll have BEFORE and AFTER pics?

 

I wish I had taken before pictures.  It wasn't in too bad of condition actually.  Mainly the scales were a little beat up.  It all started when I called them to ask if I could buy scales from them.  This was before I knew about Rotokid.  They told me they didn't sell scales but I could send it in and they would refurbish it for me for free.  I started looking it over a little closer and figured the phillips screw driver could be replaced as well.  So I sent it in.  I hope they didn't send me an Explorer in it's place.  When I talked to the rep on the phone they had it listed as an Explorer.  I had to explain to her it was a Modeler.  I even directed her to SAKWiki.  So now all that is left is the waiting. 


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[max6166]

Vic's warranty service is really unbelievable. I have never come across anything like it before. 

You have to be careful when sending in discontinued models though. I *think* I recall some people reporting that they received new different models as replacements.

I really like the Modeler by the way. The metal file is a really useful addition to the Explorer!   

[1jump2many]

I've heard about them replacing knives with new models too.  Of course I didn't hear about it until AFTER I sent them the knife.  I would actually be pretty PO'd if after waiting 7 weeks all they ended up doing is replacing my Modeler with an Explorer!  The only part on the Modeler that is no longer available is the original magnifying glass.  On the form I mentioned not to replace the knife and if they couldn't replace any tools with the same style of tool not to.  We'll see

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