Multitool.org Forum
Tool Talk => Swiss Army Knights Forum => Topic started by: ThundahBeagle on November 04, 2017, 12:34:18 AM
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Yes, I see a "four layer" club and various other ways that the Mountaineer could be included into some club. I even though about asking about joining the Huntsmans club with it, reasonably sure of being accepted, what with the only difference being a different type of saw... a METAL saw!
However, I believe the Mountaineer deserves a club of its own. While not rare, I understand that they are not common in the US.
Mine has no large driver half-stop, has the groove in the cork screw, the snap ring on a shim, a screw holding the scissors together, and no sewing hole in the awl. I place it between 1974 and 1985. If I am wrong, please let me know.
Here are a couple of pics:
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Nice knife TB!! I only know of one other person that packs one, and she absolutely loves it!
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I have one exactly like that! :D
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Yes, I see a "four layer" club and various other ways that the Mountaineer could be included into some club. I even though about asking about joining the Huntsmans club with it, reasonably sure of being accepted, what with the only difference being a different type of saw... a METAL saw!
However, I believe the Mountaineer deserves a club of its own. While not rare, I understand that they are not common in the US.
Mine has no large driver half-stop, has the groove in the cork screw, the snap ring on a shim, a screw holding the scissors together, and no sewing hole in the awl. I place it between 1974 and 1985. If I am wrong, please let me know.
Here are a couple of pics:
Good idea TB I really like the Mountaineer and its metal file. Almost as much as I love the fish scaler. Mine is quite modern but it deserves a Club of its own :cheers:
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I finally have a Mountaineer, but I had to build it. :facepalm:
Does it qualify for this thread? :D
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Mountaineers.
The red one is an older version with 8 blades, including a grooved corkscrew. The blue and onyx are 9-blade versions.
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If it has a corkscrew, I'm a fan. Sadly, I have sold or traded off the 2 mountaineers I've had... I haven't discovered the beauty of the large file YET... but the day will come. I'm sure of it.
At any rate, I am pleased to see another model-specific club has sprouted. :cheers: :salute:
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Mountaineers.
The red one is an older version with 8 blades, including a grooved corkscrew. The blue and onyx are 9-blade versions.
Some nice ones CS. :like: It looks like the older versions came with or without keyring, and were more popular in Europe for some reason, and the new ones are only available with keyring. :think: Anyway, I think I made a mistake, I went ahead and put 4 backtools on it, so it's not exactly a Mountaineer. :facepalm:
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If it has a corkscrew, I'm a fan. Sadly, I have sold or traded off the 2 mountaineers I've had... I haven't discovered the beauty of the large file YET... but the day will come. I'm sure of it.
At any rate, I am pleased to see another model-specific club has sprouted. :cheers: :salute:
I am a big fan of the 91mm file, and the newer one is super nice, I find uses for it a lot, you can even use it for a general pokey thing like the fish tool. :salute:
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I have one but TBH it's probably my less carried SAK. I feel it's too heavy for its layers/tools and I've never had much love for the file, if I carry one it's usually on my Champion or Swisschamp.
Not that it doesn't have its merits but to me it's a very limited model :-\
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Nice knife TB!! I only know of one other person that packs one, and she absolutely loves it!
Hi Barry. Thanks! Glad she likes it. While I like the woodsaw, the metal saw is so much less common. I like less common. I have a Camper with a saw, and my Surge, Rebar, and Super Tools all have wood saws. So a metal saw is refreshing. Of course, I can swap out saws on my Surge, but I'd not had or even seen a metal saw on a SAK before I got this at a flea market.
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I have one exactly like that! :D
Great, Mech! So our personal club is even smaller!
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Good idea TB I really like the Mountaineer and its metal file. Almost as much as I love the fish scaler. Mine is quite modern but it deserves a Club of its own :cheers:
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Thanks FastBill. The only ones I have had with fish scalpers have been knock-offs. One day I may get an Angler.
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I finally have a Mountaineer, but I had to build it. :facepalm:
Does it qualify for this thread? :D
Approved!
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Mountaineers.
The red one is an older version with 8 blades, including a grooved corkscrew. The blue and onyx are 9-blade versions.
Very nice! Anyone ever seen one with a bail?
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Oh no! Now I'll end up buying a mountaineer next! :ahhh :ahhh I gotta stop looking at these individual model threads, I'm running out of space! :facepalm: :D Great thread TB :tu:
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I have one but TBH it's probably my less carried SAK. I feel it's too heavy for its layers/tools and I've never had much love for the file, if I carry one it's usually on my Champion or Swisschamp.
Not that it doesn't have its merits but to me it's a very limited model :-\
I hear you, and agree that the wood saw, for example, is more useful in general. That being said...My Tinker Deluxe has the same number of layers, but the plyers layer is quite wide. That makes it wider and heavier than the Mountaineer. Plus Tinker Deluxe plyers leave a lot to be desired.
The Mountaineer file is really a metal saw on one side, with a nail file on the other, and nail cleaner end. So I find use for it. It will cut your beer and tonic cans open to make those emergency stoves.
Once in a while I pocket it, but it often is in my backpack
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I find the 91mm file to be pretty darn good for filing my nails as well as cleaning out gunk under them.
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Oh no! Now I'll end up buying a mountaineer next! :ahhh :ahhh I gotta stop looking at these individual model threads, I'm running out of space! :facepalm: :D Great thread TB :tu:
You know it makes sense S19. And if they're not that common your side of the pond ... why wouldn't you ? We'll all back you. :whistle:
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Another happy Mountaineer owner here. I bought mine new only a year or two back so is, for me, relatively un-carried. Rather superseded by my Grand Prix mod I suspect. However it is a fantastic SAK and I think people rather underestimate the newer version of the metal file, it's a excellent tool IMO.
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I think the newer file gets underestimated too. I use the file quite a lot, never for my fingernails, but so many other things. I use it 99 to 1 more than a wood saw on a SAK, in fact I have used it on full sized saws, even chain saws to adjust bad spots in the blades. The old style was adequate, and the one on my SwissChamp was completely worn out, but the newer one is really great. :salute:
Besides, all the coolest SAKs have them, Troubleshooter, Clipper, Modeler, Ranger, Grand Prix, Astronaut, etc. :D
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I awlmost forgot... I'll awlways be a Mountaineer... My alma mater's mascot is Yusef the Mountaineer.
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TB, I agree that the Mountaineer is a great SAK with the file, but since I tend to like fewer layers, I'm a Trail Guide fan. 3-Layers with the scissors, file, and blade/combo. :cheers:
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I have one but TBH it's probably my less carried SAK. I feel it's too heavy for its layers/tools and I've never had much love for the file, if I carry one it's usually on my Champion or Swisschamp.
Not that it doesn't have its merits but to me it's a very limited model :-\
I hear you, and agree that the wood saw, for example, is more useful in general. That being said...My Tinker Deluxe has the same number of layers, but the plyers layer is quite wide. That makes it wider and heavier than the Mountaineer. Plus Tinker Deluxe plyers leave a lot to be desired.
The Mountaineer file is really a metal saw on one side, with a nail file on the other, and nail cleaner end. So I find use for it. It will cut your beer and tonic cans open to make those emergency stoves.
Once in a while I pocket it, but it often is in my backpack
it's not a bad tool at all but I feel that my Surge and Gerbers with swappable blades are much more apt to any cutting task, and I always pair a SAK with a MT so it's usually a redundant implement on my EDC, and this one is not replaceable so I prefer to wear out and use blades that I can easily change and buy new for little price
(https://i.imgur.com/GlbqEbg.jpg)
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:rofl:
Oh no! Now I'll end up buying a mountaineer next! :ahhh :ahhh I gotta stop looking at these individual model threads, I'm running out of space! :facepalm: :D Great thread TB :tu:
You know it makes sense S19. And if they're not that common your side of the pond ... why wouldn't you ? We'll all back you. :whistle:
:rofl:Thanks Fastbill! I'll need it! :salute:
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I've 3 SAK files and can't recall using them since all my m/t's have them. I have to say I'd get a Mountaineer for the name alone!
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I have one but TBH it's probably my less carried SAK. I feel it's too heavy for its layers/tools and I've never had much love for the file, if I carry one it's usually on my Champion or Swisschamp.
Not that it doesn't have its merits but to me it's a very limited model :-\
I hear you, and agree that the wood saw, for example, is more useful in general. That being said...My Tinker Deluxe has the same number of layers, but the plyers layer is quite wide. That makes it wider and heavier than the Mountaineer. Plus Tinker Deluxe plyers leave a lot to be desired.
The Mountaineer file is really a metal saw on one side, with a nail file on the other, and nail cleaner end. So I find use for it. It will cut your beer and tonic cans open to make those emergency stoves.
Once in a while I pocket it, but it often is in my backpack
it's not a bad tool at all but I feel that my Surge and Gerbers with swappable blades are much more apt to any cutting task, and I always pair a SAK with a MT so it's usually a redundant implement on my EDC, and this one is not replaceable so I prefer to wear out and use blades that I can easily change and buy new for little price
(https://i.imgur.com/GlbqEbg.jpg)
I have no Gerbers (yet...I'm eyeing a Pro Scout), but agree with you about the Surge swappable blades. Such a solid and robust tool design. I also pair a SAK with a LM, but honestly, if I carry the Surge, there is never a real need to carry anything else, other than 2 are 1 and 1 is none. Plus, I carried a SAK or knockoff since before Leatherman sold the PST, so it is a habit to always have a SAK within reach. I know there is an off color joke in the last half of that statement, however, as an adult, I am told I must ignore it and let it stand
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I've 3 SAK files and can't recall using them since all my m/t's have them. I have to say I'd get a Mountaineer for the name alone!
Just to clarify, it is a nail file, nail cleaner, metal file AND metal saw. Upping the tool count over the wood saw
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The wood saw is a one trick pony. Don't forget that the file also saws wood! :tu:
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Mine qualifies as favorite, and most carried ! :whistle:
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A few years back I found a cheap one on eBay with a cracked scale. I put a set of StayGlow scales on it! It’s well used and a couple of the tools don’t have the snap they once did, but I still really like that model.
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I have to try it out on wood. I'm a big fan of the Craftsman and the Ranger. I have to say that file is the sweetest file I've ever seen!
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Just sharpened up el Mountaineer with el rod sir Mags so generously gifted. Thinking about slapping plus scales on it... Too bad I have to wait another 26 days to carry it :facepalm: on account of el 30 different saks/days challenge...
But it will be a fun challenge and many neglected saks such as el mountaineer will have the chance to shine :climber:
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I gave a friend of mine a multitool. She said it was great, but needed a more aggressive file.
I got her a used Mountaineer on ebay. She was satisfied that the file was sufficient.
I should also note that on probably Thursday, I'll have my own Mountaineer, another ebay acquisition.
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Great news Lynn...post some pics for us!
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Never thought I'd say this, but the crappy old Lite on my Mountaineer Lite saved my derriere the other day.
We'd just arrived in Denmark for Christmas. After dinner a friend and I leave everyone setting up the Christmas tree - the house we're staying at is supposedly near the sea so we want to go and find it. It's pitch black outside, no street lights and most houses are dark, as they're holiday houses made for summer and unoccupied in winter. We're plodding along these mud tracks, lit by the brightest lamp in the world - which suddenly dies. No worries, I think - I have a "Tank" LED light on my keychain. So along we go, turning left, right, without really paying much attention to navigation. "That sounds like the sea over there!" we say about a dozen times, only to find dark swathes of forest. Now this guy I'm with is diabetic. After about half an hour he stops to do a sugar test. Chomps into a Snickers to refuel. Grudgingly we admit we're kind of lost - which is ridiculous; even more ridiculous is the fact that neither of us has a working phone (mine is playing Fairy Tale of New York back at the shack, his has no connection and 9% power.) And to top off the absurdity of the situation, neither of us can remember our own address - it's some weird thing in Danish which we didn't think we'd need to memorise just yet. So we can't even knock on someone's door and beg for directions!
With perfect timing, the "Tank" on my keychain dies. It's pitch black, no stars, just a few lonely strings of fairy lights every hundred metres or so. It starts to rain. Mr Diabetic asks if I have any sweeties on me - as luck would have it I have some vile liquorice I picked up at the train station. So he's not going to die just yet, which is good! But now we can't even see where we're going, can't read the street names. Suddenly I remember my penknife! By the purest bit of luck, I chose to bring my Mountaineer Lite along with us on holiday. Originally I was going to take just a Spyderco and a Swisstool Spirit but then I remembered I'd need a corkscrew... So along came the Mountaineer Lite, which is my most expensive 91mm Vic but which doesn't get a helluva lot of use.
Ever since I've had it I've been dismissive about the Lite - the dimmest glow in the universe! But on this occasion it really saved the day. It was enough to see by, enough to read road names. We found the sea - the Kattegat of "Vikings" fame. And another sea on the other side of this narrow peninsula. Mr Blood Sugar Level was about to have another crisis when we passed a house which looked oddly familiar... There was a wreath on the door and the lights were on. "Maybe that's our house!" - and of course it was.
So we didn't scale any mountains, or do anything remotely adventurous, but it did turn into a bit of an adventure, even if it was just one of those lame adventures you have when you walk out the door totally unprepared, thinking - "Of course we're not going to get lost! We're not idiots!"
Here's the only picture I took of the Mountaineer Lite while we were on holiday. A bit blurry. But what the heck.
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:oops: So you lived to tell! Well done. It won´t happen again, I trust.
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Cheers Ron!
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Ever since I've had it I've been dismissive about the Lite - the dimmest glow in the universe! But on this occasion it really saved the day.
I think people get WAY overhyped on lumens, somehow forgetting that full moonlight, which is usually PLENTY to see by, is like a quarter lumen equivalent. A 2 lumen light is plenty for walking around at night, assuming you're in no big hurry.
By the way, this was a fantastic story.
Also by the way, I had a thread discussing the red LED in the older 'lite' tools, and apparently, the white LED is in the 9+ range. That's a pretty good light, and the 5-7 range is where I like lights for 'camp tasks', doing stuff within 20 feet or so. If it's 9 lumens, it's PLENTY for walking around at night.
Here's the thread I started on the red LED version, that got the discussion going.
https://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=44027.0
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Awesome story!!
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Cheers Lynn & Barry.
I'm sure if I'd bought my Mountaineer Lite nearer to 2009 or whenever they were made, the battery would have been fresher and whole thing more dazzling. As it is, the battery must have been 4 or 5 years old - not dead, but getting there. Fresh batteries improved things by several orders of magnitude.
I too am no fan of crazy dazzling lights - I can't think of anything more pointless than something that blasts out 200 lumens and nothing else. I've found that the Olight i3s has a great range of modes and runs well off a rechargeable AAA Eneloop.
Silly me didn't have the Olight with me that day, just my flaky Tank, which would be banished from my keychain forever were it not for its colour which matches my Alox Classic! (Pink!)
Getting back to the Mountaineer - I did think the Lite was a bit of a waste of space but now that it has proven itself reliable and usable in a dodgy situation, my overall assessment of the SAK has inched towards a perfect score. There isn't really anything unnecessary on there. The only thing I find odd about it is the placement of a chisel on the side with the awl etc. I would by far prefer to have the flat & thin screwdriver which, of all my SAKs, is only present on the Craftsman & Spirit. I use this tool all the time whenever fiddling with wiring. In our holiday house in Denmark there was some scary wiring - you know, insulation stopping short of the wall plug so all the coloured wires are showing - and as we had kids scrambling all over the place I decided they needed to be fixed. Coulda done it with the Mountaineer Lite if they hadn't decided to bless it with the world's tiniest chisel instead... But who knows, maybe I'll need that next holiday!
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Yeah, losing a toothpick to gain a light seems like a no brainer.
(EDIT: Crap, they embed it in the 91mm instead of just putting it in the scales, right? )
Dag-smurf it! Now I want a Super Tinker Lite, which, knowing my luck, they don't make. :rofl:
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Great story TP. The Mountaineer Lite is one of the very few SAKs I'd still really like to get my hands on.
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Cheers Gareth.
Here it is in all its glory. Alongside a surprisingly decent Chinese Spyderco.
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:like:
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:2tu:
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So... should I go ahead and take the scales off this Spartan and stick them on my ugly white Mountaineer?
Then I'd have a French Mountaineer, which I'd call Lachenal, or Destivelle, or Terray; Destivelle being the prettiest of the bunch.
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Well the votes are in (all 0 of them) so I went and made the French "Drapeau" Mountaineer that Victorinox should have made in the first place.
Et voila! The Vic Destivelle! Elle est trés belle!
And that's the end of my French. (8 years of school French and that's it?! Merde! C'est pas possible!)
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Just sharpened up el Mountaineer with el rod sir Mags so generously gifted. Thinking about slapping plus scales on it... Too bad I have to wait another 26 days to carry it :facepalm: on account of el 30 different saks/days challenge...
But it will be a fun challenge and many neglected saks such as el mountaineer will have the chance to shine :climber:
Um...silly question...do the rules of "30 different SAKs" negate the possibility of carrying more than one? Or having a spare in a backpack, sling, or briefcase?
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Beautiful!! :drool:
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I think multiple SAKs are okay in this challenge....or at least I hope so because I usually have a 58 or 65 in my pocket too! :D.
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Well the votes are in (all 0 of them) so I went and made the French "Drapeau" Mountaineer that Victorinox should have made in the first place.
Et voila! The Vic Destivelle! Elle est trés belle!
And that's the end of my French. (8 years of school French and that's it?! Merde! C'est pas possible!)
:like:
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I'm about to join this club! I was on eBay and thought this was a Trail Guide, which I don't own, but I see now that it's a Mountaineer. I didn't own this model either, until now. :tu:
So this one is in route (eBay photo):
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/26102987407_fc051df266.jpg)
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Excellent find, Folder!
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Just noticed there was a club for these, wont be carrying it for a while but count me in :tu:
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/804/40983159991_8f08d3897c.jpg)
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Excellent find, Folder!
Thank you TP! Seller said, never used. Sure seems like it's been carried though. So I'm now thinking there are distinctions between:
Never Used
Never Used but Carried
The ad:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Victorinox-Swiss-Army-C-ampingPocket-Knife-with-Case-and-Chain-Never-Used/232708061381?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
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I'm happy to report that the knife arrived and it's in beautiful condition, sadly it's not a Mountaineer. It's a Ranger, but that's okay too. :tu:
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Never mind! Think of it as a Mountaineer Plus....
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Just noticed there was a club for these, wont be carrying it for a while but count me in :tu:
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/804/40983159991_8f08d3897c.jpg)
Changed the scales yourself?
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As a matter of some interest (to me, at least), my Mountaineer happens to be the oldest Swiss Army Knife I have. Not the one I have had the longest, in fact, I only acquired I'd late last year. But it seems to be the oldest.
Im guessing it falls between 1975 and 1982. VSSR, small v, cross and crossbow, NO eye in the awl, has fluted corkscrew, no parcel hook. Full height center liner, and no bottle cap opener half stop.
What I noticed early on, but am just getting to posting now, is the fact that the "craw", or mouth of the bottle cap opener seems to have a blemish. The outer layer of metal seems like it never formed fully covering the inner layer. Same for the can opener.
They work fine, however.
I wonder if this is an indicator of the manufacturing process used during a specific time period, such as immediately after a change was made to the cap lifter/ large SD, or if this is just a flaw that made it past Quality Control.
Anyone else ever seen this on one of theirs, whether a Mountaineer or not?
I may cross post this to another thread to cast a wider net.
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Can opener
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It’s common on old SAKs. And is it not an unpolished bit? :think:
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I only have 2 SAK's. My first one is the Mountaineer. Also no half lock on the screwdriver, the scissor pivot has a screw and my awl has the eye in it. This was Christmas gift from the wife and probably got it somewhere in the mid nineties if memory serves me. Mine has no blemishes in the openers.
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Here's my Mountaineer :D
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/lktjs15196cljbv/wenger%20ranger%2006%201.jpg?raw=1)
And yes, it really is a Mountaineer (http://www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Wenger+Ranger+06+-+Mountaineer) :angel:
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I think Wenger were just picking names out of a hat most of the time... I mean that's an awesome SAK, especially the pointy blade, but how many times do guys perish on Mt. Everest cos they forgot to bring a wood saw?!
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Sheesh, it’s for amputating frostbitten limbs.
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Damn, I should have spotted it was a bone saw, not a wood saw!
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Dammit Jim, I’m a bone saw, not a wood saw!
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Is the chisel ever found on regular Mountaineers?
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Sadly not. They could easily have put a chisel or a screwdriver on the back of the Mountaineer's metal saw (or indeed the Huntsman's wood saw) but they decided not to.
"We'll save it for the Mountaineer Lite, and sell MILLIONS of them!" they said, overestimating sales by several orders of magnitude.
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Hmmm. Been a while since my Mountaineer got some air time. Must do something about that :salute:
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Ey up lads, here's a raunchy pic of some Mountaineers' bottoms.
The Lite isn't that much chunkier. One or two millimetres gets you a phillips screwdriver and an emergency lamp! Ace. A great SAK, crippled a bit by a ridiculous price tag. Nobody likes the clip I added, but it's useful!
I still don't like the blue scales... one day I will smash them off with a sledgehammer and replace them with something more magnifique. Actually those titanium Swiss Bianco scales might look good.... hm. Something to think about as I mow the grass in the blistering sun.
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Ey up lads, here's a raunchy pic of some Mountaineers' bottoms.
The Lite isn't that much chunkier. One or two millimetres gets you a phillips screwdriver and an emergency lamp! Ace. A great SAK, crippled a bit by a ridiculous price tag. Nobody likes the clip I added, but it's useful!
I still don't like the blue scales... one day I will smash them off with a sledgehammer and replace them with something more magnifique. Actually those titanium Swiss Bianco scales might look good.... hm. Something to think about as I mow the grass in the blistering sun.
Enough with the Raunchy ! It's bad enough I bumped into a Mountaineer Lite with a discount online but now this ?!
I'm not with you on the blue scales. I rather like them ... oh dear .... but it does look, er, "amply proportioned" :think:
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Never mind Swiss Bianco, I remembered I once bought an orange Spartan with the intention of transplanting those gorgeous scales. Of course, once I saw how beautiful that Spartan was I hesitated to mutilate it...
until now.
(That greenish bit under the corkscrew is just a blade of grass that got caught in there.)
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Crikey Tpants that's mighty Jaffa and no mistake ! Impressive :like: :like:
I guess Orange would be a better warning colour than blue if you're in the mountains ? But I do feel for the poor old Spartan ... is that feeling a bit blue now?
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The Spartan is still naked... I could squeeze the blue scales on, I suppose, but I already have a Spartan with an ugly clip on it and I am not sure I need another... they're kind of impossible to remove.
It was always my plan to Orangize the Mountaineer Lite - I'm just glad I managed to do it without wrecking the scales (though I did manage to wreck the pen that went with the blue scales!)
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:facepalm: :D
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:facepalm: :D
+1 :whistle:
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Um...
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New club member. c1980 small VSSR model with the eyeless awl, screwed scissors with no hook, no 90 deg stop on the flat, full height middle liner, keyring on spacer and grooved CS. Also has the rough stamping on the inside edge of the cap lifter ‘mouth’ so this was clearly a feature of the production process at the time.
This one needed a full strip-down and was rebuilt with buffalo horn scales and external rivets.
I think the Mountaineer deserves a little more love. For urban carry, the metal file is probably more useful than the wood saw, making it a better choice than the Huntsman.
I also prefer the smoother hookless design, and having carried this a couple days, I also prefer the flat without the 90 degree stop. It’s smoother and easier to open. :salute:
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Nice!
Sent fra min FRD-L09 via Tapatalk
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Thanks RF52 :hatsoff:
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Those buffalo scales are lovely Max.
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Thanks Gareth :hatsoff:
A pic from today.
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I took a Nelson Custom Works Huntsman, swapped out the saw for a metal file stolen from a broken-down Ranger, cut an ugly but serviceable nail nick into the hook, then added a SwissQlip I had lying around.
(https://i.imgur.com/JrYpfzx.jpg)
The custom came with a reamed-out keyring hole, which didn't co-operate with the clip, so I replaced the spring. Drilling that out with my cheap metal bit took an awfully long time.
The SwissQlip mangled the end of another SAK's cellidor scale, but it's working fine with these titanium scales.
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Nice! :tu: