The Victorinox Waiter Appreciation Society

[El Corkscrew]

I like the Waiter over the Bantam for two reasons: The corkscrew allows for an eyeglass screwdriver to be added, and the pin and bushings for the corkscrew itself acts as the middle attachment for the scales, keeping them on the knife better and preventing them from bowing outward in the middle, which is a pet peeve of mine, whether for the Bantam or for my Hardwood Spartan.

For this reason, I have never purchased a Bantam. 

Old Waiter & SI hanging out today

[pfrsantos]

Just to tease Poncho...

[El Corkscrew]

Just to tease Poncho...

Dang, he can moonwalk....

[El Corkscrew]

I had a NIB Waiter laying in my collection. Bought it at a closeout sale once, just for the heck of it.
This thread made me curious and today I have swapped the 108mm Solo for the Waiter.
I'me very curious how it will do today, it's in my watch pocket know and so far it has been used three times already!
I'll rapport back in tonight.

 
Let us know how it goes!

[Gareth]

I really like that relative of the Waiter, the Apprentice.  The Phillips gives it a slimmer profile than the Waiter, and for me it's more useful than the corkscrew.

Another fan of the Apprentice here.  Easy enough to mod your Waiter into one as well.

[theonew]

Please do not sully the good name of this society with pics of your brutish Apprentices

 

[jaya_man]

This is the only one I have left that is still intact...


It replaced the one in my collection. Needed the scales and blade of this former shelf queen to restore a golfer (same production period).

Waiter is a good basis for 84mm mods. Another Waiter unit ended as a base for my custom golfer pictured here


I have another set of complete waiter parts waiting to be used... It might end up as an Apprentice or some other model... Haven't decided yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[theonew]

Waiter is a good basis for 84mm mods.

Apparently there are other diverse ways to appreciate a Waiter

 

[jaya_man]

Waiter is a good basis for 84mm mods.

Apparently there are other diverse ways to appreciate a Waiter

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[El Corkscrew]

This is the only one I have left that is still intact...
(Image removed from quote.)

It replaced the one in my collection. Needed the scales and blade of this former shelf queen to restore a golfer (same production period).

Waiter is a good basis for 84mm mods. Another Waiter unit ended as a base for my custom golfer pictured here
(Image removed from quote.)

I have another set of complete waiter parts waiting to be used... It might end up as an Apprentice or some other model... Haven't decided yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great stuff!  Those are tools for furthering SAK education and they are well-shot.   

Now back to El Waiter, he performed better than expected today as a keychain SAK.  Never really gave anything bigger than a 58mm an honest chance. I think El Waiter could be a more permanent keychain fixture.  Or maybe as a pool/mail box keychain SAK.  Or take-to-the-beach keychain SAK.   No problemo for 5th pocket carry. 

[jaya_man]

This is the only one I have left that is still intact...
(Image removed from quote.)

It replaced the one in my collection. Needed the scales and blade of this former shelf queen to restore a golfer (same production period).

Waiter is a good basis for 84mm mods. Another Waiter unit ended as a base for my custom golfer pictured here
(Image removed from quote.)

I have another set of complete waiter parts waiting to be used... It might end up as an Apprentice or some other model... Haven't decided yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great stuff!  Those are tools for furthering SAK education and they are well-shot.   

Now back to El Waiter, he performed better than expected today as a keychain SAK.  Never really gave anything bigger than a 58mm an honest chance. I think El Waiter could be a more permanent keychain fixture.  Or maybe as a pool/mail box keychain SAK.  Or take-to-the-beach keychain SAK.   No problemo for 5th pocket carry. 

Nice pics El CS


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[El Corkscrew]

This is the only one I have left that is still intact...
(Image removed from quote.)

It replaced the one in my collection. Needed the scales and blade of this former shelf queen to restore a golfer (same production period).

Waiter is a good basis for 84mm mods. Another Waiter unit ended as a base for my custom golfer pictured here
(Image removed from quote.)

I have another set of complete waiter parts waiting to be used... It might end up as an Apprentice or some other model... Haven't decided yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great stuff!  Those are tools for furthering SAK education and they are well-shot.   

Now back to El Waiter, he performed better than expected today as a keychain SAK.  Never really gave anything bigger than a 58mm an honest chance. I think El Waiter could be a more permanent keychain fixture.  Or maybe as a pool/mail box keychain SAK.  Or take-to-the-beach keychain SAK.   No problemo for 5th pocket carry. 

Nice pics El CS


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why thank you Sir Jaya Man    Not too shabby yourself.

[Mactire404]

Yesterday I carried a Waiter alongside my Handyman.
I swapped out my 108mm Solo out for the Waiter and took note of what I used the waiter for.

The moment I arrive at work it's go-time for the Waiter. A lensmeter is not functioning properly and I have to remove the dustcover to clean it out. Easy fix with the combo tool.


Next I'm in my workspace and I'm all out of alcohol. I can't function properly without alcohol, so I pop the cap of a fresh bottle with the knife.

Halfway through my consultation hour I felt hungry and peeled an apple.

The rest of the day isn't that exciting,
During lunch break I cut my bread and spread some filet americain.
I expected the blade to be short for the job but it dud very well. I didn't miss my Solo for a moment.

The day crawled on and near the end of the day I peeled another apple.

Back hope I used the blade to cut open some packages during cooking and flipped my meat with the blade.
The Waiter is a solid performer! I can't wait to do a "Cooking with..." experiment with the Waiter.
(It might be fun to shoot some pix and post them here).

At the end of the day it was time to reconcile and evaluate the day.

I loved the red scales on the Waiter. I haven't carried a red-scaled cellidor SAK in a while and since the Waiter was brand new it had that 'new SAK shine' to it. Lovely.
The Waiter is a 84mm which is shorter than the 91mm I usually carry. I tend to forget that. However, It performed very well at the same tasks.
Sure, I like a larger blade when making my lunch. The Solo 108mm is my favourite at the moment. But the large blade of the Waiter does everything it has to.
I'm a fan of the combo tool. A lot of functionality in one tool and it saves one layer on the SAK.

I had all the time to look at the Waiter more closely and noticed that it has the thinner bladestock and the embossed liner. I did not like that. Even though it didn't impair use in anyway. I want thick stock blades! 
It made me wonder when Vic decided it was a good idea to skimp on the blades reduce the tickness. Do any of you know? I had this one laying around for a good couple of years now (7 or 8 years I guess) and thought it was a more recent change.


At the end of the day I brushed off the pocket lint and cleaned the blade. I put it back in it's sleeve and back into the collection. To leave it Waiting for another day.

I really liked this experiment and put my StayGlo Climber on my nightstand, ready for service tomorrow!

[El Corkscrew]

Yesterday I carried a Waiter alongside my Handyman...

 

Wow, great post!   Really enjoyable read.  As far as thickness on 84mm, I'm not entirely sure, I assume the most recent was in '05 with the new stamp (No rostfrei, crossbow) 

[pfrsantos]

(...)
At the end of the day I brushed off the pocket lint and cleaned the blade. I put it back in it's sleeve and back into the collection. To leave it Waiting for another day.

(...)

[Ron Who]

 I love alox, but alox isn't enough...

[Don Pablo]

  
Wow!

[El Corkscrew]

 
Wow!

+1 

I'm going to compare Waiter weights tonight...

[mcrib]

I just wanted to add myself to the society. I have two Waiters with two more on the way. One of which will have nylon scales. I'm addicted.

I love how simple, light, and thin they are, yet have so many uses. I think they are probably the smallest iteration of the full size SAK where by just glancing at it you know undoubtedly that it is a SAK, probably because it has a blade and the exposed back corkscrew (setting the red cellidor scales aside that is).

I've added stainless steel pins and the mini screwdrivers to mine making them that much better. Now they look like compact Compacts.

[Mizedog]

I used my 84mm nylon scaled Waiter to open a can of beans this weekend. It worked fine. In fact,  smoother than my Wenger Classic 62 did recently.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[Huntsman]

If you want probably the best looking Waiter on the planet
Try this....

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Victorinox-Swiss-Army-Knife-custom-Black-Wattle-wood-scales-/172626428892?hash=item28315643dc:g:1Y8AAOSwj25Y8de0
But hurry just under four hours to go on the auction 

Stunning scales and fabulous filework. And a great price at the mo... $30ish usd?

I think one of our members may have had something to do with this... 

[TonySal]

If you want probably the best looking Waiter on the planet
Try this....

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Victorinox-Swiss-Army-Knife-custom-Black-Wattle-wood-scales-/172626428892?hash=item28315643dc:g:1Y8AAOSwj25Y8de0
But hurry just under four hours to go on the auction 

Stunning scales and fabulous filework. And a great price at the mo... $30ish usd?

I think one of our members may have had something to do with this... 

Always miss these things!  Back to the basic Waiter....

[TonySal]

SAK Waiter 3 days in a row!  This could be serious!!

[theonew]

On rare occasions Amazon reviews can be quite good. This one for the Waiter is excellent and comprehensive. It even references multitool.org

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3C6ECYZMIRY3/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0001P15JY

Why Does the Best SAK Have the Worst Name?, May 23, 2014
By
Brad Gadberry
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Waiter Swiss Army Knife (Sports)
OK, I won't totally commit to saying the Waiter is the absolute *best* SAK, but it's certainly in the running.

(I don't comment on the quality of SAKs; others cover that; I just talk about what's good -- or not so good -- about particular models)

If the Galactic Overlords decreed we could only have one SAK and had to use it all the time, I could be happy with any of these: Spartan, Compact, Camper, Climber Plus, Huntsman, Farmer, Waiter, Rambler, or Manager.

Thinking specifically about the Waiter:

I hate the name. Waiter. I have nothing against waiters (they bring me food and drink for low pay... I wish they got paid more), but such a lousy name for this knife.

It should be called either the Thru-Hiker or the Ultralight.

It's the perfect knife for a long-distance thru-hiker or ultra-light backpacker. Its blade is big enough to do actual work, but it's ultra light. It opens packages, bottles. and cans; it unties knots; it cuts stuff that needs cut; its screwdriver can fix a pack or tune a stove: everything a backpacker or thru-hiker needs. It's also terrific for around town and at the office. It's a great low-key gentleman's folder. Very nonthreatening even for hoplophobiacs.

The corkscrew is very good at untying stubborn knots in paracord. This is important. If you hike, if you camp, you know this. (It also opens wine bottles; easy way to be a hero.)

Can-opener, bottle-opener, wine-bottle-opener... This is important too. At some point -- whether you're a thru-hiker or just a civilian -- you're going to need one of these.

The Waiter (Thru-hiker, Ultra-light) has a screwdriver... it can fix a pack or stove. With attention, the multi-tool blade will handle a Phillips screw.

Of all the umpteen bazillion models of SAKs, the Waiter (or Thru-Hiker, or Ultralight) has the best ratio of tools to layers. Put in a mini-screwdriver and straight pin, and it's 10 tools (not counting lanyard ring) for one layer. Best of any SAK.

The straight pin and and tweezers are what you need for splinters/slivers.

The whole point of carrying a Swiss Army Knife is to carry it all the time (or, as close to all the time as you can get with our new and onerous laws... airports, airplanes, courthouses). Its virtues only shine when you always have it with you. Read any SAK review on Amazon... no matter how thick it is (Explorer, anyone?) someone will say "This SAK has all the tools I need but it's thin enough to carry in my pocket." That's only true if you dress a certain way (the Explorer is way fat... so is the Huntsman, which is one of my favorites). This SAK, the Waiter (Thru-hiker, Ultra-light), truly is slim enough to carry no matter what you're wearing.

The scissors are great... the saw is great... This knife doesn't have either of those.

But, it has way more than a regular slip-joint pocket knife or single blade lock-back, which many people have carried for, like, a century. And it's so slim... and it's so cheap... and it's so good.

In general, I'm not a fan of the 84 mm SAKs... I think the Tinker is better than the Small Tinker, I think the Spartan is better than the Tourist. But... in this case, the 84 mm platform makes sense. The thin (and kinda short) Waiter fits on a key chain just fine. Perfect for EDC aficionados.

FYI: the springs on the Thru-Hiker (aka Waiter) are stiffer than those on the 91 and 58 mm SAKs. This isn't good or bad... just a fact. If you use the knife often, it's a good thing: good solid open and close; the knife "walks and talks." If you toss the knife into a pack or glove compartment and ignore it for months... not so good. I've handled neglected Waiters that I just couldn't get open.

Factoid for Knife Knerds: At one point, Victorinox made a 91 mm Waiter Plus... same knife as we're talking about here, but a little longer, with a ballpoint pen in the handle. Very collectible. If you see one, check the price (multitool.org, bladeforums.com), but be ready to jump on it. (Best tool-to-layer ratio of all SAKs ever made.)

If you need/want the scissors, go with the Climber, Compact, Rambler, or Manager.

If you need the saw, go with the Camper or Farmer.

If you can live without either of those, and you want a versatile and high-value pocket knife you can carry anytime, anywhere, no matter what you're wearing, no matter how liberal the people you hang out with are, go with the Thru-hiker (aka, the Waiter).

[El Corkscrew]

 

[MacGyver]

I'm really not much into the one layer SAK's, i tend to settle on two layer minimum because of comfort and basic functions i need.
But i was just browsing to some used Vic's on the used sites over here and came across this waiter for €18. It looks great, but probably won't carry it, so i'm trying to decide if i buy it or not (don't know if the seller still has it tho, haven't called yet...)  What do you guys think...?

[Mechanickal]

I'm really not much into the one layer SAK's, i tend to settle on two layer minimum because of comfort and basic functions i need.
But i was just browsing to some used Vic's on the used sites over here and came across this waiter for €18. It looks great, but probably won't carry it, so i'm trying to decide if i buy it or not (don't know if the seller still has it tho, haven't called yet...)  What do you guys think...?

I think those scales look like fun!

[Ron Who]

Dropped the Waiter today and replaced it with the Big Wino One. Weight goes up from 34 tot 55 grams. Remember I was only carrying the Waiter for the corkscrew and t&t and as an aside to my alox EDC, I will not miss the combo tool a lot. And now I'm carrying a 111mm blade again.

[Ron Who]

I'm really not much into the one layer SAK's, i tend to settle on two layer minimum because of comfort and basic functions i need.
But i was just browsing to some used Vic's on the used sites over here and came across this waiter for €18. It looks great, but probably won't carry it, so i'm trying to decide if i buy it or not (don't know if the seller still has it tho, haven't called yet...)  What do you guys think...?

I think those scales look like fun!

+ 1 ! 

[TonySal]

I think Ill gift a waiter to my nephew to go along with his Classic.... meaning Ill just have to by a brand new waiter for me!