The Bigfoot of Swisstool Spirits - S Model in Black Oxide

[Rux]

Hi everyone!

New to the forum, been doing lots of research on multitools lately.

I've been trying to find a Spirit S model in Black Oxide without luck. Apparently there is a Spirit I (?) model in the same configuration, however I can't seem to find it. I found one online retailer that sells the Spirit S in polished stainless steel but was hoping to track it down in black oxide.

I messaged Dunc asking for his input on if the Spirit S was discontinued, and he sent me a link to the Victorinox website for what is called the Spirit I. Being in the states, it redirected me to the American website page with a "Link no longer exists" error message.

Any suggestions? Is there a way to order one directly from over seas? I've tried EBay and Google searching without much luck. Found one polished Spirit S on EBay but it wasn't labeled as such, so it might be only pictures for reference. The price of this vs the price of the one through a reputable retailer is all of a $5 savings, so I'd order from the retailer before the EBay seller since I would know for sure what I was getting, but still hoping to track down the black oxide version.

Thanks in advance. 

Edited the Spirit I models to reflect new information thanks to Millhouse.

[JAfromMn]

I'm not any help.

I just want to wish you the best of luck.

I know exactly how you are feeling.


I hunted down a Bo spirit s , it was far from easy but I did eventually find one I could afford.

[Rux]

You have one?!

I'm jealous. Is it as glorious as I hope it is?

Much like bigfoot, pics or it didn't happen!

Thanks for the words of support. Hopefully my quest for my holy grail ends on a happy note.

How long did it take you to find one?

[Millhouse]

I've just been on Victorinox's website. It refers to the Spirits as:

Spirit I -  model with both blades that we know as the S.

Spirit II - model with plain blade and scissors that we know as the X.

Spirit III - model with serrated blade and scissors.

I think the S has been discontinued  , maybe someone more knowledgeable can confirm this.

[Reinier]

I have one (of my original dozen or so) left but that one is (almost) sold... I may be able to get hold of another one though.

[Reinier]

A little teaser for you:

[Rux]

Oh, I like the real pictures even better than the professional type photos I've stumbled upon.

So I take it it's not discontinued but just not available in the states?

I just don't see the point in the scissors (for me at least) since I have three smaller pocket knives/multitools that have good scissors on them that I always carry anyway.

Between the Micra, Style CS and my SAK Huntsman (getting a Mountaineer soon too), I have scissors covered.

[Reinier]

Well this one was issued to the Dutch military.

[JAfromMn]

You have one?!

I'm jealous. Is it as glorious as I hope it is?

Much like bigfoot, pics or it didn't happen!

Thanks for the words of support. Hopefully my quest for my holy grail ends on a happy note.

How long did it take you to find one?

Il take a pic of it after I get off work.


its a great tool with its two blades.

I hope you find one it took me a few months and that was a couple years ago.

[Styerman]

Gotta admit , I'd like to find an S , B.O. or not . Loss of the scissors wouldn't be a big deal , as I always carry a Rambler .

Chris

[JAfromMn]

i finally took a pic of my well loved and well used Spirit s

[Rux]

That's gorgeous!

[JAfromMn]

That's gorgeous!

Thanks

I hope you find one.

It is one of if not the best made multitool I've had the pleasure of owning.

All I can say is good things.

[Brewer]

I'm no expert but I do my share of grail-hunting so I'll see if I can help.

The first thing you need are model numbers.

According to this page: http://www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Spirit

and confirmed here: http://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=9743.0

The US model number for your tool is listed as 53815. There's no evidence of a European part number for that model, which suggests to me that it may have been a custom variant ordered by the US importer.

Don't be afraid of ordering from eBay, I've bought a lot of MTs that way and had no problems. Just check out the seller's feedback, and make sure they look like someone you're happy to do business with. Also suss out how accurate they are with model variants, some are good and others are real sloppy. Generally, if they specify an actual model number, then that's what you'll get. A lot of them will just use catalog images which may be incorrect, especially for lesser-known variants. It pays to check with them, just a friendly "hi, the model is listed as (#) but the image shows a different version, can you confirm?" the busy sellers may take a couple of days to reply but they'll usually get back to you.

The other good thing about eBay is that you can save your 'Victorinox 53815' and 'Victorinox Spirit Black' searches, and get an email when things pop up. Patience pays.

Finally, FelineVet and SwissBianco (Google them) are often recommended as good guys to talk to. They seem to feed upstream of the herd and have access to more accurate info and possibly even dealer inventory. I've had positive dealings with FV in the past, and I have no reason to think that SB would be any different.

Finally, try and enjoy the search - if you could just walk into K-Mart and buy it, it would be boring. People do rationalize their collections, and 'new-old-stock' pops up from time to time too. I've had private messages in other forums (I'm new here) telling me where I can find what I'm hunting. They saw it on a dusty shelf in a quiet store and didn't want it themselves, but they like to see it go to a good home with a fellow forumite. Forum folk are amazing like that.

Best of luck, and don't forget to share the story and the pics when you find it ;0)

[Rux]

I'll buy a polished one next week more than likely then patiently wait until I hopefully am lucky enough to find one in BO. There's just something about well worn black oxide. Kind of the same feeling I get pulling my family heirloom cast iron skillet out. It's used, well worn and filled with character.

[Sobat]

Hello all,
I do not know if this tread is still active...
I my collection I have three Swisstool type S in black oxide issued to the Netherlands armed forces. They all came with a leather sheath ( as in one of the posts listed above ). Does anyone knows production dates? Though all models are the same, I found the swiss logo on different places: one left of “Victorinox “ and one above “Victorinox “. Who knows more?
Will try to post a picture as all my pics were to large of size...
Thanks

[Top-Gear-24]

I believe I've seen a pic with the different plier-head and handles logo time line somewhere, let me check ...

[Top-Gear-24]

Here's what I've found, don't know how accurate this is.

[EMZ]

I believe I've seen a pic with the different plier-head and handles logo time line somewhere, let me check ...

Please look at my pictures in the thread 'Dutch Army Knives".

[Top-Gear-24]

I believe I've seen a pic with the different plier-head and handles logo time line somewhere, let me check ...

Please look at my pictures in the thread 'Dutch Army Knives".

I browsed your topic, but there's not much specific info on the Spirit there, or maybe I missed it (like I said, I browsed each page quickly), if anyone else would like to check it out, click here, lot of info on DAK's to say the least.

The pic I posted above is one that was posted here on MTO by another member sometime in the past, and I saved the pic on my PC for future reference, like for Sobat his question in this topic, a couple of posts back.

[Sobat]

Enclosed the pics of my Swisstools. I noticed that the tool with the Vic logo above “Victorinox” came with a more reddish sheath. Both others are more brown of colour. All sheaths are on the back stamped with 4.0822.1.

[Reinier]

Good pic Sobat!

[Mechanickal]

Yup!

But the colour of the sheath is no valuable intel.
Leather is a natural product so the colour depends on the batch of leather used.

[EMZ]

Here are the three slightly different types of Spirits for Dutch Army.

Left one has a 2005 dated manual; middle one a 2013 dated manual; right one has a 2017 dated manual.
It is a small enigma, because the most recent one -at the right side- has an old type logo with a 'cross-less' pliers.

I will post this info also in the DAK thread.

[Top-Gear-24]

Once again, what you call "old type logo" ( shield above Victorinox brandname) is the logo that's on my most recent Spirits and Swisstools, while the other type (shield in front of the Victorinox brandname) is what's on my oldest Spirits and Swisstools.

I'm talking about Stainless as well as BO tools, and on the Stainless ones you can see that they're quite old when they have a goldish colour on the inside of the plierhead, in my experience this goldish shine is only there on the older Spirits and Swisstools, and all of these have the logo with the shield in front of the Victorinox brandname.  Another way to determine the age on a Swisstool is by the red print on the handles, in my experience this is only there on the older ones, and both "red print" Swisstools I own have the shield in front of Victorinox, while all others (which I bought later on) have the shield above Victorinox.

Not trying to argue, just telling my own experiences.

[Archibald Tuttle]

I distinctly remember when my local (at that time) Walmart ran the clearance of these for roughly $20.00 each. I bought them because I prefer the "S" model. Clerk behind the counter said the Vic's didn't move and that everybody wanted the latest and greatest Leather-guy. You know, sumthin' that works rite. 
I agreed, told him some of us just ain't got a chance in this world, MAN, and that I'll take the last two. 

[EMZ]

@ TopGear: In 2017 I had an worn-out DAK Spirit which I had repaired by Victorinox. It had the cross-above-logo style of stamps. When it came back, one handle was replaced and this new handle had the cross-next-to-logo type stamp! It also came back with new a plier head without the cross.

That is also why I think that's the latest style of logo. But maybe they change logos styles occasionally. I dunnow.

[Top-Gear-24]

@ TopGear: In 2017 I had an worn-out DAK Spirit which I had repaired by Victorinox. It had the cross-above-logo style of stamps. When it came back, one handle was replaced and this new handle had the cross-next-to-logo type stamp! It also came back with new a plier head without the cross.

That is also why I think that's the latest style of logo. But maybe they change logos styles occasionally. I dunnow.

Maybe they used "old" parts for the repair, I don't know ... 

I just checked my Victorinox catalogues and here are some scans:



First these two pages from the Swisstool in the 2003 Victorinox Catalogue:







Here's a pic from the 2006 Catalogue, showing the Swisstool and Spirit:







Again, the Swisstool and spirit, but this time in the 2008 Catalogue:







And last, the Swisstool and Spirit in the 2015 Catalogue:






The only ones that aren't in the catalogues are the ones with the "shield above Victorinox" logo and the Vic shield on the plier-head, or the ones with the "Shield in front of Victorinox" but with no shield on the plier-head.  But I assume these must have been made during the transition from one logo to the other, when they switched the logo on the handles and the shield on the plier-head, that's my guess at least.