Used Victorinox Huntsman (Lynn's $10 MT Challenge)

[Lynn LeFey]

 This tool review is part of a challenge, to see what the best tool is I could find for $10, tax and shipping included. Here's a link to the main thread, if you want to see all the tools in the challenge.
https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,75705.0.html

I purchased this tool off of ebay. It was listed for $10.77 OBO. It was also listed as 'Super Tinker'. I offered $10 even, and it was accepted. This was not part of a lot. It was purchased individually.

Here it is...


When I started looking for tools for the review, one of my first conscious decisions was that I would not buy 2-later Swiss Army Knives. That was too easy, I thought. But I thought Campers and Climbers would be a good target, so I ended up getting a Camper. That tool didn't even show up in this Challenge, because, as it turns out, you can pretty reliably get FOUR layer Swiss Army Knives at the $10 price point. I did it before with the Explorer, then I did it with this tool, and then a third time with a Mountaineer. The Mountaineer won't be reviewed. I had a wealth of SAKs to choose from, and in picking between this and the Mountaineer, I decided to go with this one. They are in essentially the same condition. So, over a month, I was able to repeatably get 4-layer SAKs, but it was difficult to find them as a single tool, and usually had to get them as part of a lot. This was the only one I found by itself at that price.

So, what's the condition of this tool?

It's fine. Other than the kind of wear you expect on the scales of a used cellidor scaled knife, and possibly a bit of a bur on one blade of the scissors, there's nothing wrong with this knife. I can only assume that the seller, who had misidentified it, also undervalued it. Or maybe they felt so silly that they'd misidentified it that they sold it to me at my offered price. I don't know. All I know is that this thing wasn't rusty, wasn't packed with mud, and only needed a basic cleaning. It has tweezers, toothpick, and split ring. Before testing begins, just from looking at it, I'm really shocked I got it at this price.

But for those of you with a sick fascination for disgusting and/or rusty tools, don't worry. There are still two more tools to follow in the $10 Challenge, and they were less pristine than this.

Review of the tools to follow, so stay tuned.

Okay... you know what? We're in the digital age. You don't 'stay tuned'. What do we call this now? Stay subbed? Like, Follow, Sub, demand it in your feed, pester your digital provider if they don't carry it, support me on patreon (not really), fund my kickstarter (not really), Insta-tweet, hashtag #lynnisanattentionwhore

Whatever, you get the idea. Read on as posts become available.

[Don Pablo]

“Stay tuned” is good. 
And that’s coming from a teenager. 

[Lynn LeFey]

The blades

The Huntsman model Swiss Army Knife has the standard blade layer found on most of the 91mm Victorinox knives, with both a large and small blade. I tested them as received, and both would cut regular paper, thin receipt paper, and phonebook paper cleanly, along the entire length of both blades. In short, they were in like-new condition.



However, I did give each 20 light strokes per side on ceramic rods.

After this, I took the large blade against cardboard.


After the cardboard, I cut some firestick curls in ash, and then took the blade back to the paper to test edge retention. It still cut just as cleanly.

I then took the small blade, and tried stropping it on cardboard. I'd heard that cardboard is a good stropping material, and wanted to know if it worked. After 10 strokes per side, I tried shaving arm hair.


And... yes. The small blade is now shaving sharp. I have NO idea what to do to test a shaving-sharp little blade, but decided to see how it would cut through denim.


That's 10 layers of denim material (2 seams), and it went through in one cut with shocking ease. It also went through the cover of the phone book I had it sitting on, and a small number of pages beneath.

So... sharp. Very very sharp. Wow.

I stated in the review for the Explorer that I find the 3 and 4-layer Swiss Army Knives to be about the sweet spot for thickness of tool to get a good grip, and I stand by that here. I have medium hands, and the Huntsman is about perfect for solid hold while using the large blade through the cardboard, or while pressing hard into the Ash to make curls. One small point of note. As a left handed user, I have the corkscrew pressing into my palm while using the small blade, not the large blade, but the tasks I perform with the small blade tend to require less force. I'm not sure how much right-handed users are going to feel the corkscrew digging into their hand under hard use of the main blade.

Obviously, both blades are a PASS.

I have gotten other SAKs with blades in this good of condition before, but usually there's some little nick or slight dulling. These blades were both in great condition. I could almost stop now and be happy with this as a $10 tool. But wait! There's more great functionality to come!

[Lynn LeFey]

Pablo. Good to know. Thanks. 

On to the drivers.

The Huntsman has the standard flathead driver and can opener layer common to most of the 91mm Victorinox models, with a small flathead at the tip of the can opener. The size of the small flathead makes it a reasonably good light-duty phillips driver.

I started with the normal screws I test the flathead on, like the standard flathead found on the faceplates of light switches and outlets...


I moved on to the heavier screws holding our door hinges together. That is about the limit of how far I'd push this driver before I feared stretching the pins. It did fine. The head is well formed, and slots into screws cleanly, and holds on to them well, without a sense of them wanting to cam out under force. While the flathead driver is only a slipjoint tool, it feels quite secure. It's not the newest version, with stronger retention in the open position, but still has good strong backsprings.

The next step for the flathead in testing is as a light pry tool versus a crusty paint can, and...


It did the job well. Unfortunately, my 'crusty' paint can wasn't as crusted shut as I'd hoped. It didn't offer much resistance. I'm running out of old paint cans to test against.

I've said before that this is the limit I care to push SAKs to while prying. I think it's a fair test, and don't really want to damage a tool, but show reasonable limits.

On to the small flathead. For me, these inevitably get pushed into service as phillips drivers on all models where no other phillips driver is present. So...


It got a shot at the screws in my cabinets, for which it worked fine. I have a 'hard' test for phillips, which is a 3" woodscrew in a wooden bench made of 2x4s. I will NOT be attempting that with this driver.

There are other models of Swiss Army Knife with better driver capability. The Huntsman has essentially the 'stock' version with the large and small flatheads. This gets a surprising number of light-duty jobs done.

Drivers: Pass (for light duty)
Large flathead as pry tool: Pass (again, for light duty)

[Vidar]

Am I the only one that worries that your house and electric installation might come apart from all this testing? Very dedicated! 

[Lynn LeFey]

Am I the only one that worries that your house and electric installation might come apart from all this testing? Very dedicated! 

I try to rotate which screws I test on. All of the screws in my cabinets are well tightened.

And doing this, I discovered a couple stripped screws in hinges.

Onto the scissors

For those who've never read any of my stuff, I kind of made a rating system for multitool scissors. Here's the thread.
https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,36798.0.html

Here's a summary of the scale:"The materials tested were paper, corrugated cardboard, T-shirt, The seam portion of old khakis (4 layers thick), suede leather, PETE plastic bottle (as a stand-in for blister packaging), Cardboard box (non-corrugated), heavy gauge screw-on plastic lid (from a container of ‘country time lemonade’, about 1mm thick), and 550 paracord. I scored these in one of 4 categories: Fail (-1), Barely Adequate (+0), Pass (+1), Pass with distinction (+2)"

How did these do?

Pass: Corrugated Cardboard, t-shirt, suede,non-corrugated cardboard, heavy plastic
Pass with distinction: Paper, Khaki, PETE, 550 paracord,

Total score: 12

These are great scissors. The only limitation is not from their condition, but basic design. The short, and fairly narrow handle makes cutting through heavy harder than the previously tested Micra. Otherwise, these were great, and tested the same left and right handed, meaning they have a nice tight pivot. They would push cut paper, and PETE, and cut through the seam of khakis and 550 paracord with a single snip. Excellent!

Scissors: Pass

[Lynn LeFey]

The can opener and cap lifter...

The can opener is in great shape on this tool. The edge has no nicks or damage. The rim hook is in good condition. I would expect it to perform like any Victorinox, leaving a clean cut with no gouges on the inside of the can.



And that's what it did. It got to open 1/3 of a small coffee can. Only 1/3 because it has to share the can with two other contestants. I've only GOT the one can, you understand. I can only drink so much coffee, people!

On to the cap lifter.

Again, this is in fine working condition. And again I'd expect it to make easy work of a cap.



And again it does. I said this in the review of the Explorer. I've opened literally hundreds of bottles with a 91mm cap lifter, and they are very good at it.

BONUS OPENER!! Can't get your fingernail under the tab of a pop top aluminum can? Use the backside hook tool!


Openers: all PASS!

[Lynn LeFey]

The saw and awl

I'm going to be honest. I get a little tired of doing the exact same tests on tools every time. I understand that for comparison, you should keep things consistent, but this tool was going to test like any other Victorinox in good condition for saw and awl, so I skipped the 'bore hole in 1/2" Ash', and 'saw 1" Ash limb' tests. Instead...

I wanted to see how well the awl would punch through industrial plastic.


This is my old trash can. I should chop it up and recycle it, but I haven't yet. But it also doesn't matter if I punch holes in it. This required fair force, with slow, steady pressure, and the awl just gradually pushed through, A few turns reamed the hole out with very little effort.

The edge on the awl has no nicks or damage, and is quite sharp. I doubt it's been used before I owned it.

Then I turned my sights on the saw.

So... uhh... yeah... OBVIOUSLY I'm not a great carpenter...


That is a terrible, wonky cut through dimensional lumber, but it went through. First... WOW, this thing eats through pine WAY faster than ash or oak, and second... WOW is that still a lot of effort. This is not a saw you're going to use to build a house. I used this size saw when working as an electrician's assistant. Sometimes we'd have to notch rafters or enlarge drilled holes to run electrical lines through. It works GREAT for that kind of stuff. I didn't notice any dulling of the saw from this, and really wouldn't expect to, but I've tested so many cheap saws, I still have my eye out for it.

And again, the 4-layer thickness gave a good hold on the tool while using the saw.

Saw: PASS
Awl: PASS

If you want to see some other kinds of tests done with these or any other functions on a tool, feel free to make suggestions.

[Lynn LeFey]

What's left?

Toothpick, tweezers, and corkscrew.

I'm sorry to say that i can't test the corkscrew. But it's in fine condition, with good peening, and I'm certain it works as intended. I've opened a number of bottles of wine with the corkscrew on a 91mm Victorinox before, and I have every confidence in this one.

Toothpick. It's there, and in good shape. This is a used knife, and ... nah. Don't feel like using a used toothpick.

Tweezers. The test I use on tweezers is if they can grasp a hair well enough to pluck it without cutting the hair in the process. This passes that test, having good grip, but not being too sharp.

If I haven't mentioned it before, this tool comes in at 98g (3.46oz).

I guess the last note on function is that the split ring is present and in good shape, should you wish to attach a lanyard.

Final thoughts to follow.

[Fuzzbucket]

The saw and awl

...

Then I turned my sights on the saw.

So... uhh... yeah... OBVIOUSLY I'm not a great carpenter...


That is a terrible, wonky cut through dimensional lumber, but it went through. First... WOW, this thing eats through pine WAY faster than ash or oak, and second... WOW is that still a lot of effort. This is not a saw you're going to use to build a house. I used this size saw when working as an electrician's assistant. Sometimes we'd have to notch rafters or enlarge drilled holes to run electrical lines through. It works GREAT for that kind of stuff. I didn't notice any dulling of the saw from this, and really wouldn't expect to, but I've tested so many cheap saws, I still have my eye out for it.

And again, the 4-layer thickness gave a good hold on the tool while using the saw.

Saw: PASS
Awl: PASS

If you want to see some other kinds of tests done with these or any other functions on a tool, feel free to make suggestions.

Lynn, your terrible wonkey cut brought me here!  Excellent review though! 

[ReamerPunch]

Huntsman, now we're talking. 
Got a used one for $12 in excellent condition, so not too far off yours. 

[Lynn LeFey]

Got a used one for $12 in excellent condition, so not too far off yours. 

$12 is a GREAT price for a Huntsman in good shape. That's money well spent. 

And Fuzz... 
If I can't be competent, at least I can be entertaining. 

[Fuzzbucket]

Got a used one for $12 in excellent condition, so not too far off yours. 

$12 is a GREAT price for a Huntsman in good shape. That's money well spent. 

And Fuzz... 
If I can't be competent, at least I can be entertaining. 

 

[Lynn LeFey]

So, verdict on this tool?

Worth every CENT of $10. Actually, I'd say worth a lot more.

This is one of the few 'out of the box' tools that has just worked. The blades were sharp. The scissors were good. It didn't smell funny (unlike the Explorer). Nothing fell off while testing it.

This is absolutely in the running for best $10 MT.

The 4-layer size of SAK might be a bit uncomfortable for some folks to pocket carry. I personally find that with a pocket clip to keep it vertical, it's fine. I carry a similar SAK when I play disc golf, and have used the saw a couple times on the course, mostly to cut branches to shape to retrieve discs in the water or trees. For that kind of task, the saw is great. The scissors on 91mm SAKs are some of the best in the industry. I'm picky about my scissors, and these have my approval. The rest of the toolset is standard to the Spartan, which has the same toolset as the original Officer's Knife. Whether or not you need a can opener isn't so much the issue as it has been traditionally included since forever, and it still adds function, both as a light-duty phillips AND general scraping tool.

This is very simply a great tool, and useful in a lot of environments and situations. It's a good indoor/outdoor tool, and if you can't or don't want to get multiple knives if you switch between indoor/office functions and outdoor/hiking/woodscraft functions, then this one tool pretty well has you covered. For $10... and the weight of 14 quarters (in theory).

And, while it looks strong to win the $10 Challenge, there is still some stiff competition to come from the last two contenders.

[sir_mike]

Great review as always!   

I prefer the Explorer but have a new/unused Huntsman as well a new/unused Camper that I tried to sell cause I don't need them (got them in a package deal with others awhile back) but no one wanted them, not even for only $20 for the Huntsman or $15 for the Camper or both for $30!  Maybe now I will have to relist it after this review gets read! 
 
I too use a clip for any sak at 4 layers or more!  I actually even use the suspension with 3 layer ones too!

[Don Pablo]

Some forget that if you test the saw(or knife, can opener, etc) on one SAK, you’ve tested it on ALL the SAKs.
You know, because Victorinox makes each tool very consistently. Different levels of (ab)usage aside, they’ll all perform identically good.

[Lynn LeFey]

I would wholeheartedly agree. To the best of my knowledge, Victorinox is not most consistent, in terms of quality assurance. Every new example of a tool I've had was pretty much the same as every other new tool, and wear was the only difference. Every company, no matter how good, can still slip up occasionally. So, testing must be done.

And at the $10 price point for a tool that's normally $36 on Amazon, I would seriously have expected more issues from wear. But no, this one was in excellent condition.

Just LOOK at that beauty... 


Sorry, couldn't resist. I took the shot for the 'Which SAK is getting pocket time today' thread.

[McStitchy]

Thanks Lynn for another great review.
I've once bend the cap-lifter screw driver in 90 degree position. I can tell you that it didn't damage the liners or pivot at all. It's good to know what performance you can expect from your tool.
Always love your reviews.

Btw, may I suggest to test the saw "before" the cap lifter next time? 

 

[Lynn LeFey]

Btw, may I suggest to test the saw "before" the cap lifter next time? 

 

Is THAT why my fingers are always bleeding? 
 

[ironraven]

 

This is absolutely in the running for best $10 MT.

This is a ringer!! The fight was fixed!

 

[Lynn LeFey]

I would wholeheartedly agree. To the best of my knowledge, Victorinox is not most consistent

Should read 'Victorinox is most consistent'. No idea what happened in edits there.

[Don Pablo]

I would wholeheartedly agree. To the best of my knowledge, Victorinox is not most consistent

Should read 'Victorinox is most consistent'. No idea what happened in edits there.

I was wondering what happened there, but I decided to keep quiet.

[Vidar]

I would wholeheartedly agree. To the best of my knowledge, Victorinox is not most consistent

Should read 'Victorinox is most consistent'. No idea what happened in edits there.

I was wondering what happened there, but I decided to keep quiet.

Inconsistent typing irony

Brain-finger mismatch, That should be an official error message somewhere.

[ThePeacent]

I also prefer the Explorer but at that price it's as bargain.
You see them here used for 15€ min (about $18)   

good review a usual