Vintage Super Tinker with Wharncliffe blades?

[MartinD]

I own about 10 or 12 SAK over many years and so I am quite familiar with them.  However I inherited a Super Tinker with wharncliffe blades from my father and I have never seen this before.  How unusual is this?  I would estimate this particular knife is at least 20 years old.  It's kind of rough in appearance but is still functional.  My father loved those tinkers and probably went through at least 10 in his lifetime.  I know that Victorinox has a few models with wharncliffe blades but they don't seem common.

[pfrsantos]

I own about 10 or 12 SAK over many years and so I am quite familiar with them.  However I inherited a Super Tinker with wharncliffe blades from my father and I have never seen this before.  How unusual is this?  I would estimate this particular knife is at least 20 years old.  It's kind of rough in appearance but is still functional.  My father loved those tinkers and probably went through at least 10 in his lifetime.  I know that Victorinox has a few models with wharncliffe blades but they don't seem common.

Welcome to

Never heard of a Super Tinker with those blades. Care to post a pic, so we can see it? Are you sure it's an original? Could it be a mod?

 

[MartinD]

Welcome to

Never heard of a Super Tinker with those blades. Care to post a pic, so we can see it? Are you sure it's an original? Could it be a mod?

    I'm sure my father bought this new and he was never into modifying anything like this.  Hopefully I can post a picture here.
[/quote(Image removed from quote.)

[pfrsantos]

Thanks for the pic. From what I can tell, the small blade looks like it was reprofiled into that new shape. I think the same is true for the bigger one, too.

You said the SAK was bought new as it is so, I don't know.

 

[Antti Lammi]

I would say thats regular blade what have been sharpened so many times, one of my SwissChamps also has small blade looking same.

If you look closely it show it has been sharpened countless times so it profiled that way.




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[MartinD]

I would say thats regular blade what have been sharpened so many times, one of my SwissChamps also has small blade looking same.

If you look closely it show it has been sharpened countless times so it profiled that way.

(Image removed from quote.)
While it is possible that you might be right, I can't imagine my father spending a lot of time sharpening these blades.  For one thing, they look too perfect...the edges are absolutely straight.  I still believe that Victorinox manufactured it this way. Perhaps it was some kind of promotional item or a limited edition that was gifted to my father...I guess we will never know.


Only Tools Matters

[Farmer X]

Perhaps my assessment is best taken with a lump of salt...but I'm also voting for reprofiling or heavy sharpening.

[hsherzfeld]

After my first glance at the photo, my gut reaction is that it's reprofiled and sharpened. This conclusion is based on my familiarity with the general shape of over-sharpened SAK blades  , although whoever sharpened this one appears to have been meticulous about maintaining straight edges. When I looked closer at the photo, the numerous scratches on the blades appear to confirm, at least for me, that the blades were heavily sharpened and /or reprofiled.

[Aloha]

One thing is for sure.  Using a bladed instrument over a long period of time means that at some point you will need to sharpen it.  That said, I am not certain why both blade would be shaped like that?  I'm sure the experts will know better but what I am certain of is that the blade ( cutting edge ) had to have been sharpened at some point if the knife was used.  SAK steel is soft and any SAK used over time will need its edges worked on. 

[SteveP]

While it is possible that you might be right, I can't imagine my father spending a lot of time sharpening these blades. 

You mentioned in the original post that your father went through a bunch of Tinkers. Could he have used a couple at the same time and had someone (professional?) resharpen the blades on one while he used a different one?

Or maybe he decided he liked the Wharncliffe profile better and had someone reprofile both blades? Some poking around online found that Wharncliffes are popular for whittling. Did your father whittle?

Either idea would explain the resharpening/reprofiling without your father taking the time to do it. Just my $.02.

[MartinD]

While my father was a part time scout leader he was never into whittling.  Again I cannot see my father sharpening the blade so much that it ended up as a Wharncliffe blade.  I took some more pics...in this case my fathers Super Tinker and my own.  I am still of the opinion that these blades are original but judge for yourself.

[NutSAK]

Victorinox never offered Wharncliffe blades on officer's knives.  They definitely look sharpened/reprofiled to me.

[pfrsantos]

While my father was a part time scout leader he was never into whittling.  Again I cannot see my father sharpening the blade so much that it ended up as a Wharncliffe blade.  I took some more pics...in this case my fathers Super Tinker and my own.  I am still of the opinion that these blades are original but judge for yourself.

Hey, it's not a bad thing! Lots of folks here reprofile their blades to a shape they prefer. Those look great, whether original or not.

 

[Aloha]

 

What ever the reason these do look wonderful  . 

 

[NutSAK]

  as well.  For me it would actually make an inherited knife more special to have that evidence of his use.

[Aloha]

  and modded specifically for their usage. 

[hsherzfeld]

I suppose they could be one-off factory goof-ups, but the odds of two different messed-up blades ending up on the same knife, and then getting through quality control, seem very slim to me.

What really convinced me of sharpening is the way that the edge of the small blade is straight but tapers from base to tip. That’s exactly what happens when you sharpen a standard Victorinox small blade in a straight motion on a stone, as shown in the photo posted earlier. On a factory-made wharncliff, the edge is straight and the spine tapers down to the tip.

[MartinD]

Well the consensus seems to be overwhelming in favor of the blades being overly sharpened.  If that's the case my guess is that my father must have had someone else do the sharpening who knew what they were doing because the edge is just perfect.  He could easily have passed this on to another scout leader who did the job.
Thanks for all of your input,  This was a real curiosity to me.

[Huntsman]

I would not necessarily say over-sharpened - Maybe reprofiled by choice?   

[hsherzfeld]

I would not necessarily say over-sharpened - Maybe reprofiled by choice?   

I think a good argument could be made for that, considering how straight the edges appear to be. Clearly, someone knew what they were doing.

The other thought that comes to my mind is that the blades could have been sharpened with carbide v-sharpeners, which would also leave a fairly straight edge but can remove a lot of material if overused.

[kamakiri]

Victorinox never offered Wharncliffe blades on officer's knives.  They definitely look sharpened/reprofiled to me.

This.

And making a re-profiled straight edge is easier than doing either drop or clip points. A good flat whetstone or diamond can do it in little time. Grinding out the complex bevel and crink geometry for the drop point would be another matter and was clearly not done for these blades. An original wharncliff would have a different spine profile, which is clearly different like in the gardening knives.

I think it’s cool enough to inherit knives regardless of the condition. 

[Explorer]

Looks like the grind wheel got that one

[trichosirius]

The bellies of both blades were removed either intentionally or through poor sharpening technique. If you look closely you can see that not much of the original edge has been removed through sharpening, except the belly where more steel has been removed. I’ve seen this with lots of traditional knives, poor sharpening technique creating uneven where along the edge