Swiza Swiss Army Knives

[Corwyn]

Here's what the old Wenger CEO is up to nowadays. What do you guys think?



Zurich designed and Jura made the new Swiza Swiss army knife was unveiled in Lausanne yesterday.

The product is the brain child of two Jura based entrepreneurs, Peter Hug and Florian Lachat. Peter, the CEO of the Helvetica Brands Group which makes the the knives, has a long track record in the watchmaking and cutlery industries. Working for Migros, Swatch Group and Wenger – a knife maker, Peter created the Wenger Watch brand before the company was bought by Victorinox in 2005.

http://lenews.ch/2015/10/22/the-venerable-swiss-army-knife-is-reborn/
http://www.swiza.com/en/index.html

[Corwyn]

For the lazy peeps, here's their current head of the line:

[Aferrel]

Let's wait for a video review


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[dks]

It looks nice, organic.

Lets see what the prices/quality will be

[alexTOOL]

They are nice but a bit expensive.
Locking 75 mm blade, but total size of the knife?? Must be big!
And how about the soft touch handles. They will stay in good shape...?

It is good to have alternative brands.
Let's wait for more models!

P.s.: I think I will buy one. In case their business gone wrong I will have a curiosity, a collector's piece!

[Storky]

Looks good.
A little expensive but I like the Swiza "Tinker", well
if the quality is worth the money this would be a
nice christmas present for myself 

[Modern SAK]

Ok, it's a knockoff. It has a very cheap and generic appearance and is not a real swiss army knife.

Victorinox bought Wenger to save them from bankruptcy and save jobs. And also to prevent a foreign company from purchasing them and moving production to china. This preserved and strengthened the history and tradition of the iconic symbol that is the Swiss army knife.

Starting a new company in switzerland that produces the same styled knives is not conducive to preserving this heritage. The swiss army knife has been famous for it's quality and craftsmanship ever since it's beginnings as the official knife of the Swiss army since the late 1800's. The rest of the world enjoys owning a piece of that history and it is the most widely recognized knife in the world. To market a product produced in switzerland by restyling such a classic icon only takes away from that history and tarnishes the image. It may technically be a Swiss knife, but it can never be a real Swiss army knife. Competition is good, but this is a blatant ripoff.

Furthermore, the name sounds like a household cleaning product and the knife looks like lipstick should pop out the top. It's not hard to imagine a swiza in pink istead of red. I half expect the handle to swing open and reveal a mirror! Victorinox fans should be offended. 

I can find the door, thank you.

[hiraethus]

Modern SAK is quite an ironic choice of username, dontcha think?

I like the look of them, but the first thing that sprang to mind were the Boker Tech Tools - I did wonder if they were rebadging the SRM knives.  But I think they look good and hope they sell well.

[firiki]

Looks nice. Now I want one.

[alexTOOL]

Ok, it's a knockoff. It has a very cheap and generic appearance and is not a real swiss army knife.

Victorinox bought Wenger to save them from bankruptcy and save jobs. And also to prevent a foreign company from purchasing them and moving production to china. This preserved and strengthened the history and tradition of the iconic symbol that is the Swiss army knife.

Starting a new company in switzerland that produces the same styled knives is not conducive to preserving this heritage. The swiss army knife has been famous for it's quality and craftsmanship ever since it's beginnings as the official knife of the Swiss army since the late 1800's. The rest of the world enjoys owning a piece of that history and it is the most widely recognized knife in the world. To market a product produced in switzerland by restyling such a classic icon only takes away from that history and tarnishes the image. It may technically be a Swiss knife, but it can never be a real Swiss army knife. Competition is good, but this is a blatant ripoff.

Furthermore, the name sounds like a household cleaning product and the knife looks like lipstick should pop out the top. It's not hard to imagine a swiza in pink istead of red. I half expect the handle to swing open and reveal a mirror! Victorinox fans should be offended. 

I can find the door, thank you.

I strongly disagree.

Applying your logic, then Henry Ford had been the only car maker in USA.
Other brands are only copies.

Come on man is a multifunction knife!

[Corwyn]

Ok, it's a knockoff. It has a very cheap and generic appearance and is not a real swiss army knife.

I'm with you.
No innovation. Just a hipster-ized Victorinox.
Also I agree on cheap looking.
Also I agree that it can't be called a Swiss Army Knife if the Swiss Army never used it 

[hiraethus]

To be fair, Swiza don't refer to it as a Swiss army knife, just a Swiss knife.

[beerbaron]

Ok, it's a knockoff. It has a very cheap and generic appearance and is not a real swiss army knife.

Victorinox bought Wenger to save them from bankruptcy and save jobs. And also to prevent a foreign company from purchasing them and moving production to china. This preserved and strengthened the history and tradition of the iconic symbol that is the Swiss army knife.

Starting a new company in switzerland that produces the same styled knives is not conducive to preserving this heritage. The swiss army knife has been famous for it's quality and craftsmanship ever since it's beginnings as the official knife of the Swiss army since the late 1800's. The rest of the world enjoys owning a piece of that history and it is the most widely recognized knife in the world. To market a product produced in switzerland by restyling such a classic icon only takes away from that history and tarnishes the image. It may technically be a Swiss knife, but it can never be a real Swiss army knife. Competition is good, but this is a blatant ripoff.

Furthermore, the name sounds like a household cleaning product and the knife looks like lipstick should pop out the top. It's not hard to imagine a swiza in pink istead of red. I half expect the handle to swing open and reveal a mirror! Victorinox fans should be offended. 

I can find the door, thank you.

Yes because only an authentic sak can be any good at all Look at all the useless garbage vic has turned out over the years.

This knife - looks good, it appears well made or at least as well made as a vic, maybe better, its using good steel, opening in ambidextrous, simple clean well made functional knife. Don't be such a bitter old hag, its not like vic is on the cutting edge of anything, most forum users get custom vics from swissbianco or other boutique companies or full custom makers. 

[shibafu]

I like the look of it.  I would happily buy one, if it were non-locking.

There are two threads on this, perhaps they should be merged?

[Modern SAK]

Yes because only an authentic sak can be any good at all Look at all the useless garbage vic has turned out over the years.

This knife - looks good, it appears well made or at least as well made as a vic, maybe better, its using good steel, opening in ambidextrous, simple clean well made functional knife. Don't be such a bitter old hag, its not like vic is on the cutting edge of anything, most forum users get custom vics from swissbianco or other boutique companies or full custom makers.

You're right,  Vic isn't on the cutting edge of anything. So why not create something new? I realize I'm being a bit harsh, competition is a good thing. I just would have liked to see more of an alternative to vics than a copy.

[firiki]

I'd also be sad that Vic couldn't cope up with the pressure in the end This will mean that this Swiza is probably a good product and that Vic didn't know how to remain Vic...

Does that make any sense?

[Grathr]

I like it!
I like the tool combo with a blade, phillips, and awl.
The tools I use the most.
I tried to order a D02, and when I got to the shipping choise, it was free shipping.
Until I opened the paypal window and suddenly it cost 48CHF. Wich is too much.

However a new multitool maker on the market is good news in my eyes. More fun tools for us. And hopefully its of good quality too.




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[Smashie]

Well they fail on the fact they won't accept a UK address for posting

[ducttapetech]

I like it. A lot! Love the blade shape.

That's us mobile.
Nate

[Toolslinger]

Don't care much for the styling and they lack scissors. Pass for me.

[ducttapetech]

If they take off, I bet we will see some with scissors.

That's us mobile.
Nate

[Fattsgalore]

I like the looks personally. I'm not a purist of anything and welcome change in design as long as it's beneficial in some way. I'll hold off judgement till I see a model with scissors.

Victorinox could use a freshing of their design to be honest. Their last attempt was what, the Tomo? Awful, just awful!

[Gareth]

If they were non-locking I'd be looking very hard for a way to get hold of one.  Peter Hug has been very nice to us here at MT.org and I hope this works out well for him. 

[ducttapetech]

If they were non-locking I'd be looking very hard for a way to get hold of one.  Peter Hug has been very nice to us here at MT.org and I hope this works out well for him. 

That's us mobile.
Nate

[Steinar]

I like the use of Scagel style “nail nicks”. (Not sure what the proper term is, when it is a hole through the blade instead of a nick... )

[cody6268]

I'll probably be getting one of the largest model (DO4) in black with a backside Phillips.   Problem is, they don't offer many tools yet!   Until they offer a saw, scissors, and probably a couple other tools, I'm not exactly sold yet.

[Corwyn]

I like the use of Scagel style “nail nicks”. (Not sure what the proper term is, when it is a hole through the blade instead of a nick... )

Not a fan of those either, I fear. The SOG CrossCut has those on the blade and my nails keep getting stuck and scratched in the nick. 
Maybe lefties with stronger nails will appreciate them...

[NetsNJ]

I think this looks like a cool knife.  I am skeptical of the locking system though.  The lock is a button under the cross shape on the scale?  I hope it isn't easy to accidentally push and release, as that is naturally where your thumb would go (as a rightie).

[Grathr]

I think this looks like a cool knife.  I am skeptical of the locking system though.  The lock is a button under the cross shape on the scale?  I hope it isn't easy to accidentally push and release, as that is naturally where your thumb would go (as a rightie).

I never had a problem with that on the wenger knives, but that button was pretty small.


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[Steinar]

I like the use of Scagel style “nail nicks”. (Not sure what the proper term is, when it is a hole through the blade instead of a nick... )

Not a fan of those either, I fear. The SOG CrossCut has those on the blade and my nails keep getting stuck and scratched in the nick. 
Maybe lefties with stronger nails will appreciate them...

I have exactly 0 knives with that solution, so I'm not surprised there are problems I hadn't thought of. My take was that it would collect less gunk than a conventional nail nick, or at least be easier to clean properly, which is nice for a blade in contact with food.