Multitool.org Forum
Tool Talk => Swiss Army Knights Forum => Topic started by: ChopperCharles on May 16, 2018, 11:06:07 PM
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I bought my Wenger "Handyman" pocket knife when I was 12 years old. (I'm 40 now). Saved my money up and bought it myself. I needed a knife for boy scouts, and it's the first thing I really remember saving for.... it's also my oldest possession. I've kept it safe and not lost it after all these years.
Unfortunately it's in sad shape now. The main blade has a missing tip, as does the awl. The scales are falling apart after too many drops onto concrete. The tweezers and toothpick are long, long gone. The scissors screw backs out and they become loose after just a few snips.
My first thought was to send it to Victorinox for repair. However, I'm afraid they'll be unable to repair it due to a lack of compatible parts. (I don't want a replacement) I know they don't have any scales, but I found some from Russia on eBay, as well as some nice walnut scales. I taked to Victorinox and they said while it's unusual, since they don't have scales for that knife they'll install scales I provide. They were less forthcoming about whether they actually have replacement blades and awls for the Wenger knives, and didn't really respond when I asked if I should send a parts knife.
So has anyone had an old Wenger repaired recently? Did they have parts for it? Or did you just get a replacement Victorinox?
Also, I don't see the Handyman on any of the lists on this forum. There seem to be quite a few missing Wenger 85mm (84mm?) knives, at least going by what I see on ebay.
Charles.
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That’s a nice setup! Hope you can get it all freshened up!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Also, it'd be really nice to know the exact year of manufacture. Or at least a guestimate. I don't see any date codes on the blade, would there be any other identifying marks on the knife?
Charles.
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Victorinox still has plenty of Wenger scales.... at least here in Switzerland.
As for "replacement", they could swap out the blade for another Wenger if they have any (not sure but very likely) or put one of their new Delémont Vic blades (same shape and size but different kind of steel (harder steel) and different tang-stamp obviously).
They could also restore the blade; reshape and repolish it so it's more or less the original shape but a tad shorter (because of the broken tip).
I'm guessing you're in the US and if I were you I would tell the US Vic guys "I know you have Wenger scales in Switzerland, please get them to send you a pair for my knife and a spare Wenger blade if they have any left". Then it's up to you whether your next best option is to restore the original blade or to get a Delémont one (assuming its tang shape is compatible... I'm not sure if they have changed the back springs or not.... )
Another thing is you can always ask them to return any parts they remove from your knife.
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I'd rather go with the updated blade I guess. I want the same knife, but a different blade I can deal with.
The markings on my blade are
"Wenger Delemont Switzerland Stainless" and a picture of an umbrella.
On the other side there's a stylized "W" and "Wenger" in an all-caps italic typeface.
Charles.
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For dating the knife you can look into :
- tang-stamps
- tool design and stamps. e.g. the shape and number of the saw's teeth or stamps on the can opener
- front scale crest type (sticker? hot-stamped? printed?)
From the looks of it I'm guessing it was relatively new 28 years ago so 1990. It's not exactly an oldie or antique but it's not their latest designs either. Very early 1990s wood-saw design but post-1975 can opener. The awl seems like the "newer" blunt type so post 1988/1989. If that's the case they only had this specific configuration of tools for a few years. That could be said of most saks though... there's often small changes.
Here, have some fun : http://www.sakhome.com/305357088
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I'd rather go with the updated blade I guess. I want the same knife, but a different blade I can deal with.
The markings on my blade are
"Wenger Delemont Switzerland Stainless" and a picture of an umbrella.
On the other side there's a stylized "W" and "Wenger" in an all-caps italic typeface.
Charles.
It's a crossbow: Feel free to compare it to the table on this thread (download the pic to zoom in it...) https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,70421.0.html#_
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So looking at that chart, one side of the blade has "WDSS2" and the other side "Ww2". The bottle opener has the "P" patent. If going by these icons, that makes this exactly a 1990 knife. WDSS2 wasn't used before 1990 and Ww2 wasn't used after 1990.
Charles.
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Also it appears the Evo 18 is a more modern version of the same knife. It came in both regular and serrated. I wonder if they'd have blades from that knife, and if they'd fit. Anyhow, I'll send it to them and see what happens.
Charles.
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As I understand it, they would never "customize" a knife by replacing a plain edge blade with a serrated blade. They'll repair or replace with identical or closest to original as they can source.
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I never meant I'd want a serrated blade. I was wondering if the standard blade would fit, that's all.
Charles.