Wenger Ranger 14 translucent

[J-sews]

I just love the big scissors on the New Ranger model 172. They are far more capable than the puny little scissors found on most SAKs. No clam pack or heavy cardstock is safe with these things around!

About a year or so before Wenger came out with the NewRanger models with EVO grips, they offered the folding scissors in their Model 14 Ranger:



But apparently there was only a small quantity of these produced and they never made it to North America...?

Anyhow, I was tickled recently to obtain a model 14 new in box, and was even more excited to find it was clad in blue translucent scales!



A question for those who are wise in these matters: How common are these translucent scales on old Rangers?




Compared to a NewRanger model 172:




The old Rangers are definitely slimmer than the chubby new ones:




Blade lock release on the old Ranger seems to be more suited to a left hander:




Whereas the NewRanger blade release button is more righty oriented:




Knife blade styles are a matter of personal preference. Frankly, I like the one-hand opener on the Alinghi best:




 

[Chako]

Very nice.

[ICanFixThat]

They were marked as *NEW* in the Canadian 2005/2006 catalog. So I suspect some number of them did make it to North America, but all the Slide-Lock Wengers seem to be in fairly short supply.  I wonder if Vic and Wenger had a patent dispute over that lock?

[Gareth]

That's very nice Bob.  I think I like the look of the new rangers a bit more, but I have to say that I do wish they were less chubby.

[J-sews]

They were marked as *NEW* in the Canadian 2005/2006 catalog. So I suspect some number of them did make it to North America, but all the Slide-Lock Wengers seem to be in fairly short supply.  I wonder if Vic and Wenger had a patent dispute over that lock?

Ahh, thanks for that info ICFT

Mountaineer Ranger......that sounds pretty cool

[ICanFixThat]

They were marked as *NEW* in the Canadian 2005/2006 catalog. So I suspect some number of them did make it to North America, but all the Slide-Lock Wengers seem to be in fairly short supply.  I wonder if Vic and Wenger had a patent dispute over that lock?

Ahh, thanks for that info ICFT

Mountaineer Ranger......that sounds pretty cool

I think they really thought it was big as they dedicated an entire page to the introduction of just 1 knife.  See attached.

[J-sews]

Oh I see!

And then in 2007 the whole matter was dropped when they introduced the New Ranger line?

[nuphoria]

Nice, looks good in blue.

Did they make anything like that with a Phillips instead of the corkscrew? I like the left handedness of it 

[BIG-TARGET]

They were marked as *NEW* in the Canadian 2005/2006 catalog. So I suspect some number of them did make it to North America, but all the Slide-Lock Wengers seem to be in fairly short supply.  I wonder if Vic and Wenger had a patent dispute over that lock?

If Wenger paid the proper royalties,doubtful

[ICanFixThat]

They were marked as *NEW* in the Canadian 2005/2006 catalog. So I suspect some number of them did make it to North America, but all the Slide-Lock Wengers seem to be in fairly short supply.  I wonder if Vic and Wenger had a patent dispute over that lock?

If Wenger paid the proper royalties,doubtful

It could be all the technical tests on the lock systems just convinced them not to stick with the slide-lock while everyone else was switching.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Great write up and pics Bob

[stressmaster5000]

Great looking blue scales on that Wenger. That was a good grab there Bob. I think I spotted one of those and posted back awhile.

About the locks on this model. I have an Advantage Timberland Camo single blade model and it has the exact same sliding liner lock type switch that your blue one has here. It is an interesting design as it basically utilizes a standard liner lock with the addition of a sliding switch to open it. The switch has a little ramp that matches a similar ramp on the liner lock and when you move the switch it causes the ramps to slide and the top ramp slides downward to the unlocked position.

The Victorinox sliding switch lock system is entirely different.

[ICanFixThat]

... It is an interesting design as it basically utilizes a standard liner lock with the addition of a sliding switch to open it. The switch has a little ramp that matches a similar ramp on the liner lock and when you move the switch it causes the ramps to slide and the top ramp slides downward to the unlocked position.

The Victorinox sliding switch lock system is entirely different.

OK now it makes sense.  The new button is a nice enhacement.

[stressmaster5000]

I just love the big scissors on the New Ranger model 172.
(Image removed from quote.)

The whole knife is HUGE! My Century model makes me feel like I am holding a sword due to its size. Here is my knife compared to a Vic MiniChamp.

[J-sews]

Great looking blue scales on that Wenger. That was a good grab there Bob. I think I spotted one of those and posted back awhile.

About the locks on this model. I have an Advantage Timberland Camo single blade model and it has the exact same sliding liner lock type switch that your blue one has here. It is an interesting design as it basically utilizes a standard liner lock with the addition of a sliding switch to open it. The switch has a little ramp that matches a similar ramp on the liner lock and when you move the switch it causes the ramps to slide and the top ramp slides downward to the unlocked position.

The Victorinox sliding switch lock system is entirely different.

I missed out on the one you had posted about Wayne. Fortunately the guy had two of them.

Thanks for pointing out the differences in the sliding lock releases. I don't have one of the Vics to compare to.

[papercut]

You sir, have a Ranger 13.  And it seem that it was not imported into the USA due to the Buck contract.

http://www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Wenger+Ranger+13

Cheers

[ColoSwiss]

I managed to pick up one of the Canadian Mountaineer Ranger's some years back. Don't remember where I got it. Have a copy of the ad ICFT posted, but no other info. The standard black version was sold as the Ranger 13 or Ranger X.treme (#1.77.13).

The Swiss Border Guards had a Ranger with translucent red handles, but I don't know the model.

[North Man]

i kind of like this topic alot 

[papercut]

I found a ranger 14 in stock online, but it will cost over $100, so I am not sure I can jump on it. Expensive knives!

[J-sews]

Expensive indeed, but that's the price of high quality + small production runs

[Grass]

Hah! I picked up a Ranger 14 in Zurich years ago; before becoming a SAK addict. I had no idea I was picking up a Ranger 14. There were a lot of knives in a 'specials' box, and there, out of nowhere, was this incredible beast with all the essentials plus massive, strong folding scissors. I got it for something like 30 Euro ~2008. It was not easy to ID online because it seems to end up being rather rare! I mean, I only just realised it has the locking screwdriver behaviour. It's a bit of a surprise to see this thread and find it is quite rare and on the desirable side!