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How rare is the Wenger Monarch?

us Offline ChopperCharles

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How rare is the Wenger Monarch?
on: May 30, 2018, 09:23:27 PM
I just snagged one in poor condition at auction for $13.50. (along with two other poor condition knives, a commander and a handyman). It has the old style can opener, so it's reasonably old. My intention is to break it down and use some parts in a custom knife... but if it's a rare knife I could also consider fixing it up and putting new scales on. I see a completed auction on eBay for $77, but it was the modern can opener. Looks like the tip of the file is broken too. So my thinking is parts knife.  Thoughts?



Charles.


us Offline smiller43147

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Re: How rare is the Wenger Monarch?
Reply #1 on: May 31, 2018, 06:24:59 PM
I have no idea how rare a model it is, but all Wengers are getting rarer every day (even the Commander).
From the one photo, it looks like it should clean up pretty good.  I say fix it up. 
One man's opinion.
- Steve


us Offline TennTexan

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Re: How rare is the Wenger Monarch?
Reply #2 on: May 31, 2018, 07:45:54 PM
I may be wrong, but as I understand it the Monarch was Wenger's flagship model prior to the Wenger Champ.  I paid $65 for a NIB Monarch (new style can opener) on eBay back in February.  It's a great knife.  Not sure how "rare" they are, but I've only seen a couple of them pop up on eBay in the past 5 months or so.
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ie Offline Don Pablo

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Re: How rare is the Wenger Monarch?
Reply #3 on: May 31, 2018, 07:51:47 PM
The value difference between NIB and used for SAKs can be significant....
Hooked, like everyone else. ;)

All hail the hook!


us Offline ChopperCharles

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Re: How rare is the Wenger Monarch?
Reply #4 on: May 31, 2018, 08:57:00 PM
The monarch arrived today, along with the two other knives in the lot - a commander and a handyman. One look at the Monarch and I put it aside. Instead. I immediately cleaned up the Commander with the "Wegmann" logo on the blade.  Cleaned up nice, lots of snap. I took some novus plastic polish to the (tool-less) scales, and though you can tell it's a used knife, the scales shined up nicely. I may repaint the logo - it's just an indentation in the scale with paint inside. The only gripe about this knife is someone left some kind of goop on the blade for a long time.There are a couple of pits on it, which is unfortunate. Still, they're minor, and don't impact the edge of the blade, which is still quite sharp. Not sure what I need with a Commander, or a Wegmann branded commander, but I'm not griping!

The Handyman is nothing special.  I'm procrastinating. The Monarch is... well, in pretty sad shape. The blade I think was chipped, and then ground down shorter and then given an edge. It's significantly shorter than the layer, by a good 1/4 inch. The scissors are the old spring style. They don't close fully. The blades don't come to a point, there's always a gap, which prevents the scissors from sitting all the way down into the knife properly. This hides the nail nick for the wood saw. The wood saw still has bits of wood in the teeth! The file is just a file. There is no metal saw. It's not broken, but it's seen hard use all its life. It's loaded up and needs a dressing pretty badly. I'm not sure if it will be usable after a dressing. On one side, there's a part near the handle which is worn down so much it's beginning to go smooth again. The fish scaler is useless, so I'm ignoring it. The magnifiying glass is scratched, but kinda usable. I dunno if it's this old knife, or if it's a "feature", but the Victorinox magnifier is miles away better than this old Wenger glass. Everything is severely distorted, it does kinda make things bigger, but you can't see what they are anymore. The bottle opener and can opener are unremarkable. One of the scales is half missing, the other has chipping on nearly every edge. The ends of the liners are all beat to hell.

The only redeeming thing about this knife is that it's been used and maintained. It was a little dirty, but it's been oiled regularly. Every blade except the main blade has a nice snap, and nothing was stuck or difficult to open. (The main blade snaps shut, but not open). I'm calling this knife as beyond restoration. The blade and the ruined liners are enough for that. If the file is usable after a dressing, I'll end up using it in my custom knife. I'll find a use for the wood saw as well. The rest of the parts will be up for grabs for any Wenger Sakmodders out there.

Charles.


us Offline smiller43147

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Re: How rare is the Wenger Monarch?
Reply #5 on: June 01, 2018, 03:45:28 AM
That's too bad, I really didn't think it was in that bad of shape from the photo.
At least the Commander is good.  Nice minimalist SAK.
- Steve


 

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