I love Wenger. As a lefty I give them beau coup kudos for fully left handed knives.Wenger showed there was a way to do it slightly differently and with distinct advantage.The cap lifter is a short knife that is very useful as a pull ull up and back cutter for twine and fishing line. I use it quite a bit that way. It could easily be modified to an effective seat belt cutter if Wenger were still in biz. And I have even mastered screwing withe rounded tip, though it is sub optimal.The two position pliers are very good, also.And wrench was way ahead of its time. But my problem with Wenger remains their willingness to stick with ineffective solutions, or useless ornament. They carried on indefinitely with sub par scissors that just don’t cut much but paper and that are susceptible to loss of springy function from gunk and corrosion. I am supposed to prefer Wenger scissors because the spring won’t break. But the scissors never cut that well. My Vic’s spring breaks once in a great while, 99 percent of the time they cut the way I want. I prefer the Vic trade off. I will find a way to limp through a broken spring once in a great while for top cutting all the time. The short chain was also useless—too short for a lanyard, and unnecessary if you add a lanyard.The blade lock works good new but wears out. It was too flimsy to have stuck with IMHO. Wenger’s sense of smaller size, higher tool density, and better scale ergos are deeply missed by me.But on some level they lacked the seriousness of purpose about getting function right to keep me from preferring Victorinox’s durable, effective tools. I love and trust my s557, EXCEPT for the blade lock and the scissors. I sense they will fail me sooner or later at normal function they claim to provide. I don’t sense the same risk from my victorinox knives. I want my knife to come through in a pinch.That’s why I carry a SAK.
. There's something about Wengers.... I love them. I'm a lefty, too, but have learned to adapt in a right hand world
Nice Ben Hope to see you and them in the Delemont challenge in October
Finally got my hands on a reasonably priced Wenger EKA #3 off eBay. Should have took some before pics because it was in pretty rough shape, but I went straight into fix up mode right away. Had a bent corkscrew and blade. Tarnished all over with virtually zero snap. Now it’s straight and true with decent snap. I never wanted to pay too much for one of these because I always thought I’d hate the bubinga wood scales. Now that I have it I find not only are they really comfortable, but also look great.
I love Wengers too now. Also really easy to take apart.
Oops, I just bought another NIB Wenger off eBay. EVO S101.
I see loads of stuff about Vic but not so much on the Wenger line. Any reasons for this?
I can only speak for myself but I simply feel Vic's are better quality. I like the scissors on a vic much better, and Victorinox tools have this distinct "CLICK" sound that I LOVE when you open or shut the blade. The several Wengers I have owned and used never seemed to have that nice CLICK. To me that translated to lesser quality. Now that being said, In High school, and when I worked in a factory I did carry a Wenger every day because I didnt want to scratch up my Vics. I have to admit that my Wenger, I think it is a Highlander, did its job perfectly fine and I have a soft spot in my heart for it. I will attach a picture. I think thats why I never gave it away. I have nothing against Wenger. I just feel Victorinox is slightly better quality. Wenger is still a fine tool.Here is mine
I think Wenger brought more innovation than Victorinox. Locking blade in a medium SAK, auto locking screw driver, and ergonomic scales, serrated scissors fed off the backsprings, and lighter in the pocket. I think the fact Wenger/Delemont series blades are a little thinner than Victorinox isn't because of lower quality, but by design to keep the whole package lighter. In a slip joint design where everything is held together by 3 pins/rivets, you can't do too much prying anyway, so I'm not sure having overly beefy blades is a benefit. My S17 is noticeably lighter than my Huntsman. Those ergonomic scales have grown on me and I do find them really comfortable. Perfectly contoured for your hand really. In contrast Victorinox is more traditional in it's approach. I think both have their merits. It's a good thing Victorinox, when they acquired Wenger appreciated the innovation and took the best from Wenger and incorporated it into their product set and created the Evolution/Delemont series.. This from Victorinox website: "Embrace change, explore new horizons, progress everyday... This is what the Evolution collection is about."
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