Official (?) in-store mods

[glowanastole]

Edit: what do you think of the official screwaiter idea (waiter with the corkscrew replaced with a Philips screwdriver at an official Victorinox store)? Should I do it?

Hi there, I’m new so apologies if this has been discussed — I wasn’t able to find this.

/context/ I live in Warsaw, Poland

Basically, I’ve recently found out that in official Victorinox shops in my area (2 in my city) you can, quite cheaply or for free, have your own SAK oiled, scales changed (incl. plus scales for all 91mm models) and even have a screwdriver-corkscrew swap done without voiding the lifetime warranty.

Details: I have literally walked in from the street and just asked, politely, what can they do for my two Handymen - one new but purchased elsewhere, not from an authorized retailer; the other (prod. around 1991) I bought online used for around $20. I was met with amazing service, and after they looked at the knives - reassurance that my knives are genuine and still covered by lifetime warranty (and some help in dating the used one).

After some chatting, I’ve gathered a list of possible services, both free and paid, which include (apart from more extensive repairs when damage resulted from improper use/destruction/unauthorized tool modification, which I wasn’t interested in):
1. Scale change ($5 per scale) - available for new and old knives (discontinued scale sizes and mounting configurations may have limited availability), including:
- different colors and transparent + different colored scale tools for like a dollar each;
- 91mm plus scales with pen slot in several colors (got the white ones for one of the handymen) + pen ($3-ish);
- 58mm special scales - with pen slot and with flashlight (not sure whether they were more expensive, but I don’t think so for the pen one).
2. Oiling, pre-repair assessment, spring replacement (for damaged or lost springs in scissors and pliers) (free + you can buy spares, price negligible)
3. Tool swap - i found out to my surprise (considering the many lamentations online about the back corkscrew or screwdriver when someone would prefer the tool they don’t have) that you can, according to the victorinox employees I’ve talked to, bring your sak to have the corkscrew swapped for the screwdriver and vice versa without voiding the warranty for the price of around $18 (which will be raised soon to $20). This includes the smaller 84mm models (which made me consider the outrageous idea of an “official” screwaiter). Other replacements are (afaik) not permitted.

Is this something that official stores in other locations offer as well? How about the pricing? If you have any questions (like: can someone  send their sak to Poland to this shop to have it modified? which I’m yet to ask) I’ll see what I can do. The stores I’ve been to are the ones on Ptasia street and KOR street in Warsaw, Poland.

[Alan K.]

Welcome to   
Victorinox is known for their excellent customer service.  If you think this mod would be more useful to you then I think it is a great idea. I would change the scales at the same time just to make it even more personal to you.

[PitCarver]

Two,  TWO Victorinox shops in your city?
Look up Victorinox, here, and Google gives me Walmart, Amazon and the eBay.
If you're main concern is the warranty and the mods don't void it, I'd say go for it.

[Farmer X]

  And your Googling sounds about right. Stateside, you're lucky to find Tinkers and Classic SDs in brick-and-mortar stores anymore. Though I did see Cadets in Meijer or Wal-Mart once.

[AzteCypher]

I wish we had a Victorinox store.  I don't think there are any left in the US.  I thought I remember seeing one as a kid but I'm not positive.

[Farmer X]

I know I've never seen one. Google Maps doesn't list one, either; just stores that carry Victorinox.

[Huntsman]

Welcome to MTo - Glowanastole - Great first post

Sounds like you get great service from your Victorinox store
This seems common for many European/Eastern European countries

But I am amazed at the corkscrew/Phillips swap - This is fantastic if you want/need this

[pfrsantos]

Welcome aboard! Wish I had some stores like these around here. If you can get your SAK personalised to your taste, go for it! Show us some pics of the end result!

 

[glowanastole]

Small update - I’ve left the Waiter @ one of the stores today to have the corkscrew-Philips swap done, so the Screwaiter idea is on.
As a bonus I’ve had my second hand Swiss champ red scales swapped for black ones (a whopping ~$5 for that), and for another “legal” modification — my Jetsetter will have a pen slot (and pen, of course) added. They should be ready tomorrow or early next week.

Update when ready - for now, I only have a washed out low fi photo of the newly bescaled champ:
  [ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]  

[Farmer X]

Looks good! And your Waiter is essentially being converted to an Apprentice (a model I'd like to find).

https://sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Apprentice+Victorinox

[glowanastole]

Looks good! And your Waiter is essentially being converted to an Apprentice

Could have figured it was an actual model at one point. This one tool change could also transform a Handyman into a Craftsman if I recall correctly. Sadly, as far as I know based on talking to the store’s staff there’s only one other “legal” (Victorinox-warranty-wise) proper tool change available: normal to serrated blade (and vice versa), for larger models.

I’ve also confirmed they *can* upgrade basically any 58 cellidor model with a flashlight scale, but it’s imo prohibitively expensive (about 2x the price of the corkscrew shenanigans, making the upgrade alone more expensive than the retail price of some - if not most - 58 SAKs)