Spirit Quality Control issue?

[hassium270]

g'day from me...a bit of a lurker round here. this site is great stuff.

after reading some great reviews and finding a good price, i just picked up a new victorinox spirit. i have to agree with others who have described its general build quality as eerie and otherworldly, except for the plier pivot which has a small bit of play in it. just as an example of the freeplay - my old leatherman supertool (easy life) will still cut through paper or even sticky tape cleanly with its wire cutters, where the new spirit will struggle, and won't cut sticky tape because of the play involved. they also struggle a bit with very fine wire - similar to freezer bag ties. have others found this with their spirits? perhaps i'm nitpicking. regardless, its an absloute keeper.
i would also like to find a proper compatible leather sheath for the spirit. old pst case?

the old leatherman is the other end of the spectrum ergonomically. i have nearly lost fingers and limbs manipulating those tools, but its a classic and also a keeper! one day i got so mad at its stiff movement i was going to bin it, but i got a pine stud and beat its pivots senseless, and its been sweet ever since

take it easy

[Grant Lamontagne]

Welcome to Multitool.org!  Nice to see lurkers jumping into the fray once in a while!  Not that lurking is a bad thing, but it's so much more fun when everyone gets involved!

The Spirit is typical of Swiss Quality, which is world renowned for precision.  There shouldn't be any play whatsoever in a Spirit or any other Victorinox product.  It seems that you may have gotten one of the very, very few that managed to sneak past the QC department.  As the head of the world's largest Swiss Army Knife collector's group, I have seen and heard about more SAKs than most folks, and in all my time, this is maybe the third brand new tool I've ever heard of coming from the factory like that.

The good news is you can send it back to Victorinox or return it to the retailer you got it from and it's covered by Victorinox's unconditional lifetime warranty, or if it's functional enough, you can keep it and show it off as a true rarity.

You can find any and all kinds of sheaths at www.felinevet.sosakonline.com for any Victorinox products.  If you don't see what you want exactly, send him an email as he can never seem to keep up with his stock load!

Def

[BIG-TARGET]

You can get over your control issues.  Just let go!! 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

g'day from me...a bit of a lurker round here. this site is great stuff.

after reading some great reviews and finding a good price, i just picked up a new victorinox spirit. i have to agree with others who have described its general build quality as eerie and otherworldly, except for the plier pivot which has a small bit of play in it. just as an example of the freeplay - my old leatherman supertool (easy life) will still cut through paper or even sticky tape cleanly with its wire cutters, where the new spirit will struggle, and won't cut sticky tape because of the play involved. they also struggle a bit with very fine wire - similar to freezer bag ties. have others found this with their spirits? perhaps i'm nitpicking. regardless, its an absloute keeper.
i would also like to find a proper compatible leather sheath for the spirit. old pst case?

the old leatherman is the other end of the spectrum ergonomically. i have nearly lost fingers and limbs manipulating those tools, but its a classic and also a keeper! one day i got so mad at its stiff movement i was going to bin it, but i got a pine stud and beat its pivots senseless, and its been sweet ever since

take it easy

First up welcome aboard mate, good to have you along

If i were you I'd take your spirit back as there should'nt be any play at all, mine are as tight as a drum, so unfortunatly your one of the unlucky one's in literaly a million who got a slightly duff one

On the plus side victorinox's returns policy is second to none so you should have no problem's whatsoever

[Trocergian]

Just so you don't feel too alone, my Spirit has some play also. If I grab both handles there is some definite wobble I can get between the two. That said I have never had it not cut through any wire I've used it on yet.

I guess I should also note that I have not tried to use it to cut through tape or any thread thin wire. I don't think there's anyway I could send it back as I'd feel naked without it in my pocket.

[hassium270]

hey, thanks for the responses. i might just look at contacting victorinox, because otherwise, the tool is brilliant. i will be using it to cut very fine wire so it is a relevant issue for me.

are all their other tools this well made (barring the one off plier issue)?
i feel a mild case of sak fever coming on...what other tool would compliment the spirit?

cheers to all.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

are all their other tools this well made (barring the one off plier issue)?
i feel a mild case of sak fever coming on...what other tool would compliment the spirit?

cheers to all.

Oh Dear with that one sentence your financial well being is over ;D

Frankly all saks are built to such a high standard that you just cannot belive how cheap they sell them for and still make a profit

Like most people I started of with sak's, then lost my way and bought shed loads of tactical knives costing a not so small fortune each, and then you buy yourself a $20 sak,s out of nostalgia, and you notice the built, tolerances and functionality of the humble sak is often equal and quite a few time much better than the high end tactical knife that you worked all week to be able to buy

So yeah saks are pretty good!

as for a complimentary sak, how about a soldier or pioneer?

I'm getting a wenger patriot to pair with my spirit

hope this helps mate

[Grant Lamontagne]

I thought you were getting an Eloxy?   

Def

[hassium270]

whats the go if returning the sak to original place of purchase is tricky..eg bought on interstate road trip?
will any official dealer send it away for warranty?

[Grant Lamontagne]

The dealer may or may not- I think that's at their discretion more often than not.  If you are in the US there is an office in Shelton Connecticut you can send it to.  There are also offices in almost every country in the world, and you can find your closest office here:

http://www.victorinox.com/index.cfm?site=victorinox.ch&page=38&lang=E

Send it in to them, registered and insured- may cost you about $10 but they cover return shipping to you.  If it's a brand new tool though, it might be worth trying to locate your local dealer and see if they'll do an over the counter swap for you.  Most will because Victorinox doesn't usually argue these things, but some folks just don't like any hassle whatsoever and may just tell you to send it in.

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I thought you were getting an Eloxy?   

Def

they changed the name for those damn yankee's remember ;D

[Grant Lamontagne]

Not just the damned Yankees.  Us damned Canucks also call them that!

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Not just the damned Yankees.  Us damned Canucks also call them that!

Def

as long as it's not just me then!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Heck no... you really aren't any more warped than the rest of us!

Def