Swisstool(victorinox) warranty?

[Scott86]

Can anyone speak about the coverage victorinox offers on their swiss tools?
I have a swisstool(Plain, full sized one) that has been pretty thoroughly used. Everything has a bit of wear, but nothing is non-functional EXCEPT the pliers, who's cutting edge has deformed enough that it sticks and requires the handles to fold in before they release.
Question is, would that qualify for warranty replacement or repair?
And can i go to an authorized seller(Like Canadian Tire or Mec) and swap it with a new one, or will i have to ship it to them?

I love the thing and think the tool loadout is amazing, so id rather not be without it for a few weeks while they repair/replace it, unless thats the only option.

[captain spaulding]

If your speaking about the Wire Cutters in the Pliers head than that is probably the one thing they would not cover under warranty as the only real way (99%) of the time to damage them would be miss use. I'm not saying you did or you didn't miss use them though. With that said Victorinox's warranty is almost always excellent and I would suggest sending them an e-mail. I would assume they will wan't you to send it in for them to look at and replace or repair under there discretion. I doubt you would ever be able to swap it out in store for a different one unless you just bought it and still have your receipt. This is all under the assumption that you are talking about the wire cutters. Hope this helped and if you have any more questions please ask.

[Scott86]

Thanks.
And yeah, its the wire cutters... Not sure what did them in(They have been sitting at the back of a drawer for atleast a few years. Forgot i even owned them till i re-discovered them last night after selling my desk) but i dont remember using them to cut anything harder than a coat hanger or screw.

[sticktodrum]

My Spirit RT is still with Vic for a loose wobly plier pivot. From my use of my regular Spirit X though, the plier head is fairly soft. The fine serrations near the tip of the needle nose jaws have deformed and don't have the precise closure that they did before. It wasn't hard use that caused it either, so I would personally not be surprised that regular use of the wire cutters for more than softer copper wire would deform them in time.

If it were Leatherman pliers, I'd say you'd have to abuse them to seriously deform the cutters enough to cause that kind of issue. With a Swisstool, it seems that the material and hardness is more the cause than what I'd consider abuse.

[lowtech]

Victorinox does offer a quite extensivbe warranty and also does service their tools.
Here in Germany, you can have a Vic Dealer send your tool in.
If it is clearly a warrantzy issue this serv ice is free. If it is not you are charged a fixed sum (I paid 8,- € for aa all-round service on my Swisstool). I asked them to sharpen the blades and the (misused and mangled) scraper and Awl. They replaced teh Plierhead and all tools in my oldf handles, although I´m sure it would have been easier to just exchange the tools for a new one.
The Spirit I did send in for warranty repair (some play in teh plierhead) was replaced with a new one, free of charge.

You can also send the tools to Victorinox or your local importer to have taken care of them.

I would ask for a service, not warranty, as I think wire cutters are not covered under warranty. They will do excellent work and it will be priced very fair.

[Scott86]

yeah, i just got their reply. Not under warranty coverage.
To get the tool worked on, it will cost $20 + registered mail shipping to the canadian offices(So thats another $10-12)
Pretty disappointed, since i would have thought a tool that costs more than a comparable leatherman would have had a better, or atleast equal, warranty.

I might try fixing it up myself, as i'm sure i can grind the deformed metal off the cutters with a bit of patience. Everything else works fine, albeit with a few scuffs and gouges. I'll also probably end up scrapping all the red decal off, since most of it has already worn off.

[captain spaulding]

Yea I figured they would say that. Like I said it's just about the only thing you could do to your Swisstool that they will not cover. Tough luck, but it can be repaired yourself. You might not be able to use the wire cutters again but the pliers won't stick anymore. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[sticktodrum]

Hmmmm....I'm sorry, but that kind of puts a bad taste in my mouth.

[captain spaulding]

Hmmmm....I'm sorry, but that kind of puts a bad taste in my mouth.

What? That they would not replace it because of wire cutter damage?


I'm not disagreeing with you. Just wondering what your talking about.

[sticktodrum]

What? That they would not replace it because of wire cutter damage?


I'm not disagreeing with you. Just wondering what your talking about.

Yeah, that was what I was talking about. I know it's just how Vic does things, but since I've seen serration deformation on the needlenose portion of the pliers, I'm inclined to think that deformation of any part of the plier head wouldn't only be from abuse. The nature of how they made the plier head sours me, and not being willing to replace it makes a bit worse.

I'm not saying that their materials are a problem, but I've never seen this on a LM plier head, and even if I did they would replace it. Bending 1/16" sheet metal is what deformed the teeth on the tip of my pliers, and they not closing fully at the tip now makes me figure that consistent moderate use would damage the wire cutters and they wouldn't accept it as warranty work.

Personally, I don't think the wire cutters perform well to begin with so I don't see myself having that problem. However it's a bit discouraging and has made me replace the Spirit X in my bag with something else.

[captain spaulding]

Not much to add here. Just wanted to get your take on things. 



I think Victorinox needs to change there policy on warranty (pertaining to wire cutter damage) or step into the light and start playing around with replaceable wire cutters of higher quality steel or any steel for that matter. 

[sticktodrum]

We seem to be of one mind on that matter.   

[captain spaulding]

 

[lowtech]

To add my 2ct: For a European Manufacturer, where anything exceeding 2years is a remarkable warranty, Victorinox is doing great. Here in Germany I never had any trouble with their warranty - They did replace (or repair) what I broke and more than once did it under warranty, even if it clearly came from misuse.
Maybe it´s the overseas Headquarters acting differently?
I dn´t know about the shipping costs, but maybe you might want to consider sending the tool to Ibach. I did send VIcs there twice and had a Knife Dealer do so since my Childhood.
In every case I did not have to pay anything except for the initial shipping - Even in a case where I inquired for paid repair work on a knife with sentimental value that I broke.

To illustrate what I mean:I did experience some trouble with LM´s European Warranty department.  They refused to do warranty repairs if i would not show the original receipt of the Tool. The Tool in question was a LM Knife - A 502 or so?! - where the carabiner failed and the bit holder was defective.  After calling them and writing eMails repeatedly without any success, I sent the knife over to the states and got a replacement and a friendly letter - Free. No receipt necessary. Same with the bit on my first SKeletool - It stripped and LM Germany wanted to sell me a Bit kit - I wrote an eMail to the Headquarters, asking where I could get a single replacement bit and received an envelope with 4 Bits, no further questions asked.
So maybe it´s not Vic´s Warranty per se, but the Represantatives over in the US.

[enki_ck]

...
Maybe it´s the overseas Headquarters acting differently?
...

This.

We had quite a few complaints on how the US Vic headquarters handled warranty complaints but hear only great things from Europe.

And vice versa, mostly complaints from Europeans using LM Warranty. Luckily I only had problems at my first LM return, after that I even got offered by them to fix/exchange tools for a member from another country.

Don't be mad at Victorinox, it's their US representative that is causing the problems.


Also, I'm a bit abut the cutters being so easily damaged. I used both the Swisstool and the Spirit pretty hard on hard wire many times and haven't noticed any damage to them at all.

[Syph007]

Also, I'm a bit abut the cutters being so easily damaged. I used both the Swisstool and the Spirit pretty hard on hard wire many times and haven't noticed any damage to them at all.

Ive used mine hard as well, no problems.  That being said, if you tried to cut something harder than the steel of the plier head itself then ya, it'll deform.  So if you tried to say cut a fishing hook, or other metal that you'd need carbide cutters for, I would expect them to fail, but then I wouldnt try that.

I know alot of users treasure a warranty, but honestly if there was zero warranty I would still have the same number of SAKs and Swisstools.  Ive never used a warranty and doubt I would unless it was defective out of box.  If it breaks after I buy it and use it, then I tend to accept the blame and fix it.

If its not too much metal binding up on you dremmeling off the offending material should solve it.  Just make sure to not remove too much or then it would make cutting thinner wire tough.

[Scott86]

If its not too much metal binding up on you dremmeling off the offending material should solve it.  Just make sure to not remove too much or then it would make cutting thinner wire tough.

Thats exactly what i did earlier today. Worked perfectly, though i accidentally pressed the grinding tip against the edge of the interior of the plier head and now have a little mark of smooth/shiny metal around the matte finish.

Might try submitting it as a warranty repair now, as i noticed the precision flat head is rounded off and the file is really dull.

[papercut]

don't the wire cutters have a specific area that is hardened to cut tougher things? iirc it is the case.

also the local Vic office is rather terrible and all about getting sales clerks commission. ibach is so much better and more capable.

cheets

[sticktodrum]

Well, the plier head has two different sized notches for regular wire and hard wire. I figured the size of the notch would spread the force out a bit more and give a bit more force before deformation.

I'm not sure if they actually have different hardnesses at those spaces, since it'd be pretty difficult to differentially temper an area that small... I did a little searching but couldn't find much on that specific topic that was difinitive.