Victorinox Alox Pioneer

Fronta · **on:** March 14, 2010, 02:21:26 PM

Victorinox Alox Pioneer
====================

* 53841      - US Model: Red Pioneer with a Cross and keyring (1976 year model "Sturdy Boy")
* 53960      - US Model: Silver Pioneer
* 54967      - US Model: Red Pioneer
* 54968     - US Model: Black Pioneer
* 0.8200.20 - Red Pioneer, with a Cross, no keyring
* 0.8200.27 - Silver Pioneer, with a Cross, no keyring
* 0.8201.20 - Red Pioneer, with a Cross and keyring (issue early 1980s)
* 0.8201.26 - Silver Pioneer, with the Logo and keyring
* 0.8201.22R4 - Blue Pioneer, with the Logo and keyring
* 0.8200.20R4 - Red Pioneer, with the Logo and keyring
* 0.8201.24R4 - Green Pioneer, with the Logo and keyring
* 0.8201.79R4 - Orange Pioneer, with the Logo and keyring

Explanation of the numbering sytem of the Victorinox Alox:
=================================================

For example - Red Alox Pioneer with a Cross and keyring (0.8201.20)

* 0.8201.20 - the first digit "0" means a type of the knife
* 0.8201.20 - the group of digits "8201" means a model of the knife. The numbers are different and depend on a type of the knife: Electrician - 8120, Farmer - 8241 etc.
* 0.8201.20 - the last 2 digits of the number means a colour and a type of the knife's scales, etc.
* 0.8201.20 - the first digit “2“ means “Alox “
* 0.8201.20 - the last digit "20" means “Red Alox with a Cross”

* 0.8201.22 - the last digit “22” means “Blue Alox with a Cross”
* 0.8201.26 - the last digit “26” means “Silver Alox with the Logo”
* 0.8201.27 - the last digit “27” means “Silver Alox with a Cross”

Red Alox "Pioneer" model of the 1961, with the stamp "Elinox":

* 2220 U (USA)

Victorinox Silver Alox "Pioneer" model of the 1961, the issue 1960s -1970s:

* 2220 Us (USA)

Victorinox Gold Alox "Pioneer" model of the 1961, the issue 1960s -1970s:

* 2220 Ug (USA)

Victorinox Red Alox "Pioneer" model of the 1961, the issue 1960s -1970s:

* 2220 r (USA)
* 0.8200.20 (Europe)

Victorinox Gold Alox "Pioneer" model of the 1961, the issue 1960s -1970s?

Victorinox Red Alox "Pioneer" model of the 1961, the issue 1960s -1970s, with keyring

Victorinox Red Alox "Pioneer" model of the 1961, the issue 1960s -1970s, with a flat area for engraving on a front scale

Victorinox Red Alox "Pioneer", the 1994 version of the 1961 model, the issue 2008, with a flat area for engraving

Victorinox Black Alox "Pioneer", the 1994 version of the 1961 model, the issue 2008, with a flat area for engraving

Victorinox Silver Alox "Pioneer", the 1994 version of the 1961 model , the issue 2008, with a flat area for engraving

Some Pioneers were issued with a year stamp on the blade

Victorinox Silver Alox "Pioneer", the 1994 version of the 1961 model , the issue 1999

In 2009 Victorinox produced a small quantity of Blue Alox Pioneers for South African market.
The same time Victorinox issued the Blue Alox Pioneer for the Swiss Border Patrol with a laser etched blade and a flat area for engraving.

Some unique Alox Pioneers were produced in different colours for the South African Dealer of Victorinox - Sharpedge.co.za.
The Victorinox Pioneer was made in: Green, Blue and Orange colours.

The Red Alox "Fisher" model; very similar to Alox Pioneer; was issued between 1966 and 1973

==================================================================

List of references:

"Swiss Army Knife - Victorinox è Wenger Soldiers"

sakwiki.com - "Pioneer"

sharpedge.co.za

www.guns.ru: Katran73: 1, 2, 3

Wayne 's Public Gallery

Catalogue Victorinox Alox (1960-s)

Catalogue Victorinox Alox (1970-s) - USA market

Catalogue Victorinox Alox (1970-s) - Germany market

(edit to fix images, plus some minor updates)

J-sews · **Reply #1 on:** March 14, 2010, 02:56:04 PM

THAT is an impressive bit of information there Fronta!

Thank's for putting it all together.

meanx · **Reply #2 on:** March 14, 2010, 02:57:34 PM

Nice info thanks, at last I found a no for this knife

in the 1960 Catalog you posted, been searching high and low for something on it, I almost thought it was some custom job.

Fronta · **Reply #3 on:** March 14, 2010, 02:58:51 PM

Quote from: J-sews on March 14, 2010, 02:56:04 PM

THAT is an impressive bit of information there Fronta! Thank's for putting it all together.

My pleasure!

ICanFixThat · **Reply #4 on:** March 14, 2010, 03:42:42 PM

Excellent Compilation!!

Thanks!

Neil · **Reply #5 on:** March 14, 2010, 03:48:06 PM

WOW

That's a cool load of info. brought together there, hats off to you sir

Mike, Lord of the Spammers! · **Reply #6 on:** March 14, 2010, 04:10:15 PM

Very impressive mate

Chako · **Reply #7 on:** March 14, 2010, 04:31:42 PM

Thank you.

North Man · **Reply #8 on:** March 14, 2010, 04:43:22 PM

Hi

Glad to see that there are more seekers out there

Super!
NM

Gareth · **Reply #9 on:** March 14, 2010, 04:46:59 PM

Superb mate. Bookmarked the page for future reference.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #10 on:** March 14, 2010, 05:09:44 PM

Interesting- I have what appears to have once been a gold Pioneer with the older style awl and a tang stamped FISCHER on it:

http://sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=287&Itemid=35

Have you come across any info on something like that?

Also, this info needs to be put on www.SAKWiki.com for everyone to enjoy!

Def

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #11 on:** March 14, 2010, 05:12:53 PM

Oh, and here's the info I have on my gold one, as supplied by a member named Josh:

Quote

Defender;
I read your article about the Fischer-stamped Soldier, and I found some information for you.

R.M. Fischer is a distributor in Estonia (not Lithuania, as some thought). The new company is still located in Estonia and serves all of the Baltic region. Their #1-selling product is Victorinox poxket knives. However, the knife you have is from the earlier company. Like other distributors (Victor, Kellam, etc.) they stamped their name on the tangs of some of the knives they distribute. The gold-colored anodizing you see is actually brass anodized over the aluminum handles. This makes the brass more corrosion-resistant, while doing very little for the aluminum (since aluminum doesn't tarnish much at all) except make it look nicer. This was likely done second-hand and not by Victorinox. Fischer stopped anodizing their products in 1973, but that doesn't mean that they did it. It could've been done at home or in a shop somewhere as a project.

The model you have, with the rounded awl and cut-away handle scale, was made between 1966 and 1973. It sold for about $11 in 1969, and if it were in new condition, it would be worth about $110 now. That's including the brass anodizing. My source for all of this is a very nice, very old man who has enough old knife books to rival Case Cutlery. Hopefully, this has helped you in establishing where your knife is from, and what it is.

Josh

I don't know if any of this helps the info you have amassed or not, but that's what I've been told.

Def

jazzbass · **Reply #12 on:** March 14, 2010, 05:32:07 PM

Wow.. great info. Thanks for putting it together.

duder · **Reply #13 on:** March 14, 2010, 06:15:37 PM

I have some doubts about some infos. The old style awl was made between 1957 and 1960. If you look at the old yellow catalog page you can see the handwritten year 1958 in the upper right corner.
From 1961 Victorinox used the newer awl, also in the new soldier knife.
If the Fisher knife was made later in the 60s, they must have used older parts, but it does not really make sense.

And I don`t think that alox knives were eloxated or anodized after they have left the factory in Ibach. That would not make sense either.

nuphoria · **Reply #14 on:** March 14, 2010, 06:23:44 PM

Superb

AHB · **Reply #15 on:** March 14, 2010, 06:30:47 PM

That's an amazing piece of work...

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #16 on:** March 14, 2010, 06:41:32 PM

Quote from: duder on March 14, 2010, 06:15:37 PM

I have some doubts about some infos. The old style awl was made between 1957 and 1960. If you look at the old yellow catalog page you can see the handwritten year 1958 in the upper right corner.
From 1961 Victorinox used the newer awl, also in the new soldier knife.
If the Fisher knife was made later in the 60s, they must have used older parts, but it does not really make sense.

And I don`t think that alox knives were eloxated or anodized after they have left the factory in Ibach. That would not make sense either.

That's what I was thinking as well. Anodizing the knives after they left the factory would mean they'd have to be disassembled, have the factory anodize stripped off, re-anodized and re-assembled. That's what Bill had to do when he created these:

So, unless the knives were shipped in pieces, and the scales weren't anodized at the factory, it would have involved a lot more work.

Since Victorinox didn't crank out nearly as many pieces then as they do now, the possibility exists that they had some old stock components within a year or two of the new style being introduced, but any more than that and I think the likelihood drops off significantly, so I wondered about the possibility of a "special" model being done 6 years after the awl design was changed, and quite frankly, I don't see that either. A special run model like that would have cost quite a bit more, and with no serious collectors in that era to support special runs, I just don't see it happening.

Still, as it's the only info I had to go on, and no actual proof to back up my claims, I found it hard to argue with their findings.

Def

Fronta · **Reply #17 on:** March 15, 2010, 05:21:25 AM

Quote from: duder on March 14, 2010, 06:15:37 PM

I have some doubts about some infos. The old style awl was made between 1957 and 1960. If you look at the old yellow catalog page you can see the handwritten year 1958 in the upper right corner.
From 1961 Victorinox used the newer awl, also in the new soldier knife.
If the Fisher knife was made later in the 60s, they must have used older parts, but it does not really make sense.

And I don`t think that alox knives were eloxated or anodized after they have left the factory in Ibach. That would not make sense either.

Thanks for extras about the old awl. Do you have any pictures?

I don't have any further information about the Fisher company and still looking for any documents or info.

Fronta · **Reply #18 on:** March 15, 2010, 06:20:06 AM

Quote from: Grant Lamontagne on March 14, 2010, 05:12:53 PM

Oh, and here's the info I have on my gold one, as supplied by a member named Josh:

Quote
Defender;
I read your article about the Fischer-stamped Soldier, and I found some information for you.

R.M. Fischer is a distributor in Estonia (not Lithuania, as some thought). The new company is still located in Estonia and serves all of the Baltic region. Their #1-selling product is Victorinox poxket knives. However, the knife you have is from the earlier company. Like other distributors (Victor, Kellam, etc.) they stamped their name on the tangs of some of the knives they distribute. The gold-colored anodizing you see is actually brass anodized over the aluminum handles. This makes the brass more corrosion-resistant, while doing very little for the aluminum (since aluminum doesn't tarnish much at all) except make it look nicer. This was likely done second-hand and not by Victorinox. Fischer stopped anodizing their products in 1973, but that doesn't mean that they did it. It could've been done at home or in a shop somewhere as a project.

The model you have, with the rounded awl and cut-away handle scale, was made between 1966 and 1973. It sold for about $11 in 1969, and if it were in new condition, it would be worth about $110 now. That's including the brass anodizing. My source for all of this is a very nice, very old man who has enough old knife books to rival Case Cutlery. Hopefully, this has helped you in establishing where your knife is from, and what it is.

Josh

I don't know if any of this helps the info you have amassed or not, but that's what I've been told.

Def

Thanks, Def! It is very helpful!

Could you please contact Josh and ask if he could contact his source for any kind of documents or old catalogs regarding the Fisher knives?

Cheers
Paul

gafftapegreenia · **Reply #19 on:** March 15, 2010, 07:49:03 AM

Does anyone have a physical example of the single blade electrician model?

donvito · **Reply #20 on:** March 15, 2010, 08:20:45 AM

Thx for compiling the info Fronta

Fronta · **Reply #21 on:** March 15, 2010, 08:26:20 AM

Quote from: donvito on March 15, 2010, 08:20:45 AM

Thx for compiling the info Fronta

No problem, mate!

duder · **Reply #22 on:** March 15, 2010, 10:27:23 AM

Here are some pictures.

duder · **Reply #23 on:** March 15, 2010, 10:29:37 AM

And the single blade electrician...

Makaveli · **Reply #24 on:** March 15, 2010, 12:54:50 PM

Anyone gots info on what color of Pioneers are in Japan? BTW great forum

Styerman · **Reply #25 on:** March 15, 2010, 01:53:17 PM

Makes me want to kick my own a$$ , many of those alox jems were widley available in the early to mid seventies , for cheap . I should have loaded up .

Chris