Finally got a wenger SI

[gustophersmob]

Some of my wife's extended family was in town for an early Christmas get together this weekend, and one of them got me a Gander Mountain gift card.

Today I was able (after a whirlwind trip to Michigan) to go and check it out.

After spending way too long looking at things that were WAY more than my gift card, I decided to pick up and SI.

I was looking at each one of the blister packs to find the one that looked the best, when I noticed that one had brass liners.  I thought they were all supposed to have them, so I went and looked at all the others again, and nope, they were all aluminum. So, if you want a brass liner one, you may need to hurry, looks like they aren't making them that way anymore.

So I got the one left with a brass liner (which unfortunately had a little bit of a gap on the backsprings).

When I opened it up, I noticed it had an '04 dated blade, which is cool.  I recently got an '04 Vic Soldier in a trade over on SOSAK from Spudley, so now I have a matched set.  Plus, '04 is the year I started dating my wife, which is also cool

The SI is nice, and I'm sure you are all aware of the differences.  From the gaps in the backsprings, as well as the fact that their height is not even with each other or the scales when some tools are closed and when others are opened, it seems Wenger's fit and finish is a bit below that of Vics.  Still a very nice knife, though, and it will see a lot of pocket time, I'm sure!


 

[Stirling3749]

Right on man. post some pics? 

[Wire Edge]

Nice score!  I like the bail on the SI.  Reminds of of old Boy Scout Knives.

I used the can opener on mine to open up some olives and corn the other day 

[gustophersmob]

Right on man. post some pics? 

Hopefully I will have some up tomorrow, with some comparisons to my '04 Vic.  Not near my camera right now, though.

Nice score!  I like the bail on the SI.  Reminds of of old Boy Scout Knives.

I used the can opener on mine to open up some olives and corn the other day 

I like the bail as well, it is my biggest attraction to the knife.  I like the smooth, uninterrupted feel of the Vic, but having more carry options is always good! 

[felinevet]

Lucky find with the brass liners. Neither Vic or Wenger has made them with brass for a long time.

[gustophersmob]

Lucky find with the brass liners. Neither Vic or Wenger has made them with brass for a long time.

I thought I had read somewhere that Wenger was still using them, but am probably mis-remembering.  I feel even better about finding it now!

[Swiss Man]

I got the ALOX bug from Grant/Def.

Seems he wrote an article about the "beefiness" of the cap lifter and can opener and such

So to prove him wrong I got one and ran it through the paces and have been hooked every since.

[J-sews]

Great score on the brass liners, wow!

[gustophersmob]

Here are some pics (sorry for the poor quality...  )

1st one, Vic is on the left, Wenger on right.  The Wenger's date stamp is much more shallow.

2nd pic, Vic is top/left.  You can kind of see in this pic that the Wenger's main blade is canted forward just a bit, whereas the Vic's is completely in-line with the handle when open.

3rd pic, Wenger is on left.  This is the best I could get the brass liner to show up in the light that I had (it is too cold to go outside to try for better light). One thing I noticed while taking the pics is that the spacer next to a awl is aluminum of the Wenger, not brass.

[Craig]

Nice find, congratulations

[edursr]

Nice ones, Thanks for the pictures!!! 

I have a few Soldiers, from Vic and Wenger, how do I know if mine have brass or aluminum liners? 

[Styerman]

Good catch , the SI is a nice piece , I never seem to be able to keep them .

Chris

[ICanFixThat]

Maybe the liner is Nickle-Silver rather than brass?

It is nice that Wenger produced a large number of these soldier knives with the bail.

[Stirling3749]

Hey thanks for sharing the pics.
I can't really tell the difference in the liners with the lighting and my poor eyesight but I'll take your word for it. 

[gustophersmob]

Nice ones, Thanks for the pictures!!! 

I have a few Soldiers, from Vic and Wenger, how do I know if mine have brass or aluminum liners? 

Maybe the liner is Nickle-Silver rather than brass?

It is nice that Wenger produced a large number of these soldier knives with the bail.

Hey thanks for sharing the pics.
I can't really tell the difference in the liners with the lighting and my poor eyesight but I'll take your word for it. 

I am basing my opinion that the liner brass on the fact that it is distinctly more "yellow" in color than the silver Vic liner, which I know is aluminum.  Unfortunately I couldn't make it show very well in the pic, but in real life you can really see that it is different.  Plus, It stood out when I compared it to all of the other SI's in the store.

It seems more yellow to me than the nickle-silver used on bolsters in Case knives, but I really have no idea 

[ICanFixThat]

I could not find a good shot of the brass liners with a quick search but, the first image below shows a brass keyring attachment/spacer, and the second one you can see the top of the brass liner.  If it looks like these in color, it's brass.

[Dtrain]

I love my SI...My first one went tho the Youngest after I let him use it on a Scout Campout...My current one seems to find it's way into my Pockets no matter what else I am carrying...Maybe it is me,but I feel that the Alox SI can take a bit more abuse than their Cellidor Breathern