Wenger Heritage Knife "leather" box, not really

[Marius]

Or what everyone thought the green stuff is on the box of the famed Wenger Heritage Knife.

Apparently everyone who reviewed this knife said that's leather. Even Amazon described it as such.

Now, look at this:



That's not leather, it's vinyl, cheapest possible since it got peeled off like this just sitting in storage.

Here is the listing with the description and photos:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Wenger-1893-Heritage-Limited-Edition-Replica-of-First-Swiss-Army-Knife-/151168824592?

How about the smart design ideea to have the vinyl slide on vinyl

Chacko, you had a very nice review of this knife comparing it with the Victorinox counterpart. Would you mind checking your box's lid now and tell us if yours shows anything like this? (I will bump that old thread for visibility).

[basilio]

The model I have doesn't yet show this defect.
However, I saw one in a shop a while back and the box had the same issue in a corner.
Perhaps adding a light coat of oil or vaseline should prevent this.

[Chako]

I can confirm...one of my boxes is just like this. Crappy design as the vinyl falls apart just sitting there.

[tosh]

  Any experts care to comment.
Really need to prevent this if at all possible. 

[lowtech]

Cheap vinyl will "sweat out" the softeners, making it first gooey and later sticky, leading to the effect visible.
It would be best to keep the box eitehr closed or completely open.
I´d use soem Armor All7Vinylex on teh Vinyl regularly - not only will it slicken the surface, but it builds a barrier that reduces contact to oxygen and will slow teh evaporation of softeners.
In the end, it will rot.
A bit drastically, but you could, however, take teh box to a n upholstery shop and have it coarted in automotive/marine grade vinyl.

I think Wenger did order the boxes from a third party supplier as they are. Maybe they have spares they would send out under warranty?

[tosh]

Because of the box's opening design, I'm guessing it constantly rubs that area as its slid open and closed.

Also, don't actually know what the plywood is that's used for the lid (obviously not marine grade) - but if it isn't stable then expansion will occur due to atmosphere changes, same applies to the rabbet the lid slides into, that will no doubt contract and expand depending on humidity levels. Add it all together along with the cheap material used and premature wear is almost guaranteed.

Just my thoughts.

[jerseydevil]

I sell leather/vinyl repair and maintenance products at my store.  Just going over what I know I have in stock, I can't think of anything that will prevent this from happening off the top of my head.    I'll take a look through some catalogs tomorrow when (if?) I get a chance.  From the looks of the damage, it would actually be a pretty straightforward repair, but the products aren't exactly cheap or simple to use without any practice.  Getting the color match dead on would be pretty difficult, and in the end the repair would probably be higher quality than the remaining original vinyl......

[condcup]

Another one with the same issue, vinyl peeled off in parts.



http://www.ebay.ca/itm/We...Army-Knife-/151172027750?

[enki_ck]

Well he did say in his previous listing:

We observed this condition on every box we have in stock (see pictures for details).

And this is his listing again.

[condcup]

Well he did say in his previous listing:

We observed this condition on every box we have in stock (see pictures for details).

And this is his listing again.

 

[ausjulius]

pleather. hehe.. smurfers.. expencive knife too..
with that kind of thing i can see no reason why leather would not be used,
cant say id buy a collectors knife with such a construction knife might be just fine i just  dont like the idea of a very pricy ninfe being billed with a fancy box and then the box is actually made from old korean car seat  covers :S 

[comis]

I am curious does anyone know any box maker/craftsman who can do repair or remount it with better material?

[enki_ck]

I am curious does anyone know any box maker/craftsman who can do repair or remount it with better material?

I think your local upholsterer can fix that for you.