New Swiza knives - the 2019 releases

[Ron Who]

Because removing ticks with the same knife that you make your sandwiches with is gross

I use my dirty hands for both.

Once I had a Lyme infection but some antibiotics took care of it.
 I have been vaccinated against most other diseases out here.

[Top-Gear-24]

- There is no evidence that Lyme disease is transmitted from person-to-person. For example, a person cannot get infected from touching, kissing, or having sex with a person who has Lyme disease.

- Lyme disease acquired during pregnancy may lead to infection of the placenta and possible stillbirth; however, no negative effects on the fetus have been found when the mother receives appropriate antibiotic treatment. There are no reports of Lyme disease transmission from breast milk.
 
- Although no cases of Lyme disease have been linked to blood transfusion, scientists have found that the Lyme disease bacteria can live in blood that is stored for donation. Individuals being treated for Lyme disease with an antibiotic should not donate blood. Individuals who have completed antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease may be considered as potential blood donors. Information on the current criteria for blood donation is available on the Red Cross websiteExternal.
 
- Although dogs and cats can get Lyme disease, there is no evidence that they spread the disease directly to their owners. However, pets can bring infected ticks into your home or yard. Consider protecting your pet, and possibly yourself,  through the use of tick control products for animals.
 
 - You will not get Lyme disease from eating venison or squirrel meat, but in keeping with general food safety principles, always cook meat thoroughly. Note that hunting and dressing deer or squirrels may bring you into close contact with infected ticks.
 
- There is no credible evidence that Lyme disease can be transmitted through air, food, water, or from the bites of mosquitoes, flies, fleas, or lice.

- Ticks not known to transmit Lyme disease include Lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum), the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus).
 

So, turns out there's more danger for getting Lyme disease from owning a cat than from owning a Swiza with a tick tool ... 

[Mechanickal]

Does it?

Your text reads this:

- Although dogs and cats can get Lyme disease, there is no evidence that they spread the disease directly to their owners. However, pets can bring infected ticks into your home or yard.



I'm not stopping you guys to get a ticktool and go for it

My mom has been diagnosed with Lime's... too late.

She's been slowly recovering partialy for the last 6 years, and still has a long way to go. I'm not taking any chances and will just carry a seperate €2 tick tweezer in my pack. And no, not in the same place as my SAK.


Edit: I'll read further replies, but I feel as if I'm kicking the hornet's nest here. Feel free to PM me!
I'm not digging deeper into the subject.

[Top-Gear-24]

Does it?

Your text reads this:

- Although dogs and cats can get Lyme disease, there is no evidence that they spread the disease directly to their owners. However, pets can bring infected ticks into your home or yard.



I'm not stopping you guys to get a ticktool and go for it

My mom has been diagnosed with Lime's... too late.

She's been slowly recovering partialy for the last 6 years, and still has a long way to go. I'm not taking any chances and will just carry a seperate €2 tick tweezer in my pack. And no, not in the same place as my SAK.

Yes it does, "pets can bring infected ticks into your home or yard", which means there's a bigger chance of an infected tick ending up in your couch from a pet than from a Swiza.

Don't get me wrong, in no way am I trying to minimize the danger of Lyme disease, on the contrary.  One of the most important things to prevent you from getting Lyme disease is to remove a thick as fast as possible, and in the correct way.  And one could say that you could use a tweezer from your SAK to remove it, but the risk of removing the tick in a wrong way (squashing it so it spills its infected guts into your body) is much higher with a tweezer than with a tool like the Tick tool on the Swiza knives.

I don't own a Swiza, but I do own a plastic "credit card sized" tool with the same functions (see pic), and it works great, and it's always in my wallet as part of my EDC. I do understand that this "credit card tick tool" looks better since it is nowhere near anything you use for food preparation, but like I said, the risk of leaving the tick on your body until you get home is much higher than the risk (if there is any at all) of the thick tool being next to your sandwich knife.

[Top-Gear-24]

If you can read German, and still don't facepalm after this: buy a Swiza asap.

(Image removed from quote.)

Again, in my opinion, the only thing that's wrong with that text is the line "überzeugender funktionalität", since they did (or better, still do) have their fair share of small problems and/or flaws, but every beginning is hard.

I can only speak for myself, but I was excited when I heard the news that there was going to be a new brand of Swiss made pocket knives, and I still think it looks like a modern version of the SAK, but modern doesn't always mean better ...

But c'mon, it's a promotional text, what did you expect ?  I mean, have you heard that Leatherman d**chebag promo guy his grey vs black sheath cr*p ... Apologies for the strong language, but that guy really gets under my skin (the promo guy , not Mechy  , I mean, we're still good right ?  Mate ... buddy ... fellow Belgian ...  ).

To conclude, I really hope they (Swiza) can make it work, and they stay around long enough to get a chance to learn and improve.  And hopefully there will be a moment in the future that they surprise us, but they do have to step up their game ...

[Top-Gear-24]

Does it?

Your text reads this:

- Although dogs and cats can get Lyme disease, there is no evidence that they spread the disease directly to their owners. However, pets can bring infected ticks into your home or yard.



I'm not stopping you guys to get a ticktool and go for it

My mom has been diagnosed with Lime's... too late.

She's been slowly recovering partialy for the last 6 years, and still has a long way to go. I'm not taking any chances and will just carry a seperate €2 tick tweezer in my pack. And no, not in the same place as my SAK.


Edit: I'll read further replies, but I feel as if I'm kicking the hornet's nest here. Feel free to PM me!
I'm not digging deeper into the subject.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom mate  . 

Like I said, please don't get me wrong, I've seen the effects of Lyme disease first hand myself, and it's a nightmare ... That's why I kinda like the idea of a tick tool on a SAK, yes, dedicated tick tools (is this a real thing, or am I just making stuff up  ...  ) will always be better, but when you've nothing else but your EDC tool on you ... we all know that the best tool is the one you have with you, despite the fact that it's a bit of a compromise most of the time.

Oh, and I can only speak for myself, but I don't think you've been kicking the hornet's nest here, we're having a bit of a discussion, but as long as this happens with respect and in a possitive context we can only get smarter from it, both of us  .
 

[Reinier]

Sorry to hear about your mom Nick, I have a few family members with Lyme disease and it really is quite nasty.

But did we tick you off? Geddit...?

[Top-Gear-24]

Sorry to hear about your mom Nick, I have a few family members with Lyme disease and it really is quite nasty.

But did we tick you off? Geddit...?

 

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[AimlessWanderer]

The four things guaranteed to flare up a forum thread...

Politics
Religion
Firearms
Swiza

 

[Mechanickal]

Good one Al!

I'm not ticked off at all.
I'm just afraid I'm doing it to others...
Which is a thought I can't stand! 

You guys are friends... even if some of you want to eat tick parts

[alexTOOL]

The four things guaranteed to flare up a forum thread...

Politics
Religion
Firearms
Swiza

 

 

[gregpost]

 I am glad Swiza exist because at least they are trying new designs. I think Victorinox is a bit too conservative.

[Syph007]

For me the looks is all wrong.  I don't like the curved body and I dont like tools with holes though them.  Compared to a victorinox or Wenger they look cheap to me. 

I hope they make a go of it but I find it hard to believe they are selling at an economy of scale sort of rate.  I so miss the weird Wenger Saks and I'd support anything new like the business tool or anything like that.

[gregpost]

For me the looks is all wrong.  I don't like the curved body and I dont like tools with holes though them.  Compared to a victorinox or Wenger they look cheap to me. 

I hope they make a go of it but I find it hard to believe they are selling at an economy of scale sort of rate.  I so miss the weird Wenger Saks and I'd support anything new like the business tool or anything like that.

 I might be wrong but aren't a lot of ex-Wenger management and employees involved with Swiza?

[Syph007]

I might be wrong but aren't a lot of ex-Wenger management and employees involved with Swiza?

Yep so they have no excuse not to make cool things. 

[EMZ]

I might be wrong but aren't a lot of ex-Wenger management and employees involved with Swiza?

Indeed. The sales representative told me that the Wenger management plus engineers were moved out of the company when Vic took over.

[maxt]

Great news, I am glad Swiza brings new tools.

I do not get why the haters hate. You don't like the product, move on, don't buy it, that will be your personal verdict. Don't shovel smurf at something just because they hint at holy words "Swiss Army Knife". There is nothing sacred in the words. The people who make Swiza are the people who made an actual knives for the army. They know the trade and they know how to make knives and they are in Switzerland.

I respect their efforts for innovation.
I think I have collected all their tools varietes, so OHO blade and horse tools will be my new targets for this year.

[Thunderpants]

I totally agree with you, maxt. I'm delighted there is an alternative to the excellent Victorinox and I can't quite understand the contempt some people have for the new company.
The two Swizas in my posession are excellent knives - in some respects superior to the equivalent from Victorinox. I look forward to the OH blade as well.

[gregpost]

 The term Swiss Army Knife at this point in time is a generic term for a type of knife in a certain category. These things have been made in the hundreds of millions and the vast majority have been made for civilian use. Most of the designs themselves have never been issued to any Army. So the term SAK means something besides a company that makes knives for the Swiss Army. The fact these are Swiss Made by ex-Wenger employees in Delemont should really make the "it's not a real Swiss Army Knife" point, kinda pointless.

[Syph007]

It may be be used generically but Swiss army knife is a current trademark held by victorinox and still actively defended.

That's just name semantics though.  I haven't bought a swiza for esthetic reasons only.  I think the design is poor. I hate the curved body and nail nick holes.  It's a cop out that cheap knives do to keep production cost down since adding nail Nick's adds more steps.  I need to see some actual innovation like Wenger of old did to get excited by swiza.

[maxt]

The term Swiss Army Knife at this point in time is a generic term for a type of knife in a certain category.

Not only knife but any versatile multi-use all-you-need item. And not only item, but software too. I searched 'Swiss Army Knife' at https://play.google.com and I found couple of hundred apps that the authors call 'swiss army knife' (see the screenshot below).

Swiza advantage is its location and nationality of management and engineering. Think of this: who would implement hoof cleaner into the multitool\SAK. The Chinese would would rather include the LED light or hammer into a multitool. The US engineering minds would think of a new heavy-duty replaceble something.

But the hoof cleaner and the tick-tool is so unmistakenly Swiss.

[gregpost]

It may be be used generically but Swiss army knife is a current trademark held by victorinox and still actively defended.

That's just name semantics though.  I haven't bought a swiza for esthetic reasons only.  I think the design is poor. I hate the curved body and nail nick holes.  It's a cop out that cheap knives do to keep production cost down since adding nail Nick's adds more steps.  I need to see some actual innovation like Wenger of old did to get excited by swiza.

 I believe Swiss Army is one of Victorinox's trademarked terms, the others being Swissgear, Victorinox, Wenger and they are claiming extended variations of those trademarks. And Victorinox and the government of Switzerland actually had to come to an arrangement over the use of Swiss Army.

 https://www.victorinox.com/mx/en/Victorinox-Trademark-Protection-Policy/cms/trademark-protection

 I don't own a Swiza yet because they're too expensive for the limited functionality they offer. They have a long way to go with either matching value(might never be possible) or doing something so innovative or upscale that I can justify the price premium.

[gregpost]

Not only knife but any versatile multi-use all-you-need item. And not only item, but software too. I searched 'Swiss Army Knife' at https://play.google.com and I found couple of hundred apps that the authors call 'swiss army knife'.

 Very good point. I've seen various physical non-knife products and also virtual products that describe themselves with this moniker. I used to run this software on my computer called Perian that billed itself "The swiss-army knife of QuickTime® components".

[cody6268]

I noticed while in a waiting room, I was reading a physical therapy trade journal; and an illustration of an SAK was used for a form of office management software, WebPT.   I did take a photo of the ad, but can't find it at present.     And the Unimog is referred to as the "Swiss Army Knife" of trucks; but being as the Swiss Army did use them at one point, I think that's alright.

[Gath]

I think Swiza has a problem in that while they're adding tools not featured in other manufacturers they're still effectively targeting the same customers as SAKs and some other manufacturers, where brand recognition, economies of scale wider selections etc have them beat six ways to Sunday.

I wonder if Swiza could find a new kind of person to sell pocket knifes to, or at least a customer segment really underserved in the market.

I mean most specialized Wengers an Vics are discontinued either because they weren't hits or the niche isn't large enough anymore.

I mean, I consider the Cybertool the last honestly new ground with SAKs at least the one that caught any steam, that was 2000.

Even if one considers Rescuetool at 2007 another niche filled as the line of Fireman apparently finally reached widespread recognition and popularity with its target group, that's still a decade with no significant new ground, you'd think Swiza could find something as a small, agile company that's seemingly less traditional when Vics next step forward is already overdue.


What about our forum members, do you have ideas of knives filling a niche not yet explored, or perhaps worth re-exploring?

[Thunderpants]

Pocket knives are pieces of metal connected with rivets or screws - and there's only so many shapes those pieces of metal can have while still being useful. Which is why most of us at some point buy "the one with the most tools" only to find most of the tools are useless, or seldom of any use to us, or not quite as good as we expected. Everyone seems to try out several SAKs before settling on the one that strikes the right balance between features and pocketability.
The basic tools don't seem to change. Men, and indeed women, need to cut stuff and open bottles of beer. (That's why Kershaw makes horrible cheap knives in China which have cap-lifters built into the handle. They sell billions of them!)
Add a couple of screwdrivers, a corkscrew, and an awl (I personally have never, ever, ever used an awl) and you have what we all think of as the archetypal Swiss Army Knife.
From there, I have a hard time imagining anything that hasn't been imagined, tool-wise. Philips, magnifying glass, saw, metal saw - they're all OK, they've all been done before.
The tick tool, while being a bit bat-poop crazy and impractical, at least has the distinction of being an original idea.
Sift through all the bonkers things Wenger put on SAKs and it's wonderful fun, but honestly - how many SAKs-with-laser-pointers did they think they would sell?

All of this is a longwinded way of saying, nope, I can't think of any genuinely useful bits of metal (or plastic) that Swiza could add - apart from maybe a comb, which Victorinox prudishly decided against on hygiene grounds. Fish-guts and dental plaque are fine, apparently, but they draw the line at dandruff.

[Syph007]

If I were swiza.  1/4 inch bit driver that takes part of the handle to save space like the alox marlin spike.  I know alot of people want that.

[Mechanickal]

I'm wondering why people get so offended here lately.

Can we only share our thoughts when they are postive?
Why can't we point out what we dislike about tool selections and marketing strategies?

If we have to keep silent, manufacturers will never know what they can improve on and what is fine the way it is. They are reading along after all!

And just to be clear: Swiss Army Knife is NOT a style of knife.
If it were, any Chinachamp could be called "a Swiss Army Knife" without legal issues. Yet, there are legal issues surounding that.

The fact that Swiza has a development team existing from former Wenger employees amazes me even more that they feel as if they can call their product a SAK and actualy believe themselves that it is.

Now, if someone would walk up to me and show me a Swiza, I'd applaud them for buying a decent pocket knife.
I'd be annoyed to hear them talk about how they bought "a new and modernised, genuine Swiss Army Knife" though.
A new brand should grow their own brand recognition. Trying to surf along on someone else's trademark just curls my toes.

Basicaly:
- I don't like the way they market their products,
- I have held a few Swiza's and never got the feeling they were worth double the price of a Victorinox counterpart,
- The idea of a tick tool inside a pocket knife still makes me raise an eyebrow... or 2.

And most importantly, if I feel like sharing my opinion on something, I should be free to do so. Good or bad.

Don't like what I type? Feel free to reply or PM, but don't act as if my opinion is worthless because it does not go along with your own.

And to be clear, I'm not holding a grudge on anyone, but I do feel a bit targeted here so hence my reply.

[gadgetman7]

If I were swiza.  1/4 inch bit driver that takes part of the handle to save space like the alox marlin spike.  I know alot of people want that.

I agree. A 1/4” driver would be great but I’d like it as part of the frame for durability. Otherwise, replace the Philips screwdriver on the back side with it.

Also, they could make all of the tools lock open. Many people have remade Leatherman Charges or Waves that way. I think a manufactured version would work well.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[FiL Wisneski]

Forget tool innovation.  I'd be happy if Swiza could create a niche by allowing customers the ability to pick which tools they want, so they can have their own custom knife.  (But they would need a bigger selection of tool than they currently offer.)

Or maybe sell easily removable scales separately from the knives, for further customization potential.

Tool-wise, I'd love to see a larger version of Victorinox's 58mm cut-n-picker tool.  Or a knife similar to the Vic Explorer, but with the magnifying glass replaced with a shorter version of the 111mm #0/#00 Phillips screwdriver.  Add a fine screwdriver on the back side, a micro screwdriver in the corkscrew, and modify the can opener like Rob Duncan has done, and call it the Screwmaster.   I'd buy that!

  - FiL