Vic factory custom - or what has this been?

[lowtech]

My Aunts Ex-Husband always carried an old Vic in his Toolbox. He was a woodworker and neglected his tools badly.
When he finally not only had the corkscrew but also the small blade snapped off of the knife, my father traded him a new one for the old one - Like me, he could´n´t stand abused tools.
The SAK was sent in for service to Ibach and returned as this:







The blade layer and corkscrew have been replaced with new tools, the old style Awl and openers have been kept. The Bail is still there and the guys in Ibach hand filed some new Cellidor files to fit the old tools.

Was the knife always called a "Camper", even with the old style awl? The repair has been done in 1997, but how old might the original knife be?

Does this "factory custom" still have any collectors value or is it just good as a user?

[GigaHz]

My guess it was from the 50's. The original thick blade that was in that knife is petty rare.

[lowtech]

..and it was pretty dull, scarred and buggered beyond regrinding/ repair.

My uncle was the only one i know who was better off with Chinese Fakes that could be disposed of once he was done with them...

[ICanFixThat]

That's a great knife and certainly has collector value.  It's great to see the repairs they can do, and any knife with the bail and/or the old awl/reamer is still quite collectible.  That one is now in great shape after the repair so there would be plenty of people interested in it.  It had a good story too and helps demontrate why Vic's really can be your "companion for life"... even for those people that don't take proper care of it.

 

[lowtech]

Yes, after the repair there is still much life left in this old fellow.
I really like how the folks at victorinox have taken the time to dismantle, repolish and reassemble the knife and even hand file some scales to fit - It gives you the impression that they really do care for their product.

I still have the box they sent the knife back in that contains the "service receipt" from the shop that did send the knife to switzerland in 97. I bought my first self bought SAK and my first Gerber there, sadly they went out of business afew years ago.

I´ll try to do some more pics for you as you seem to enjoy them.

[nuphoria]

That's lovely. They did a great job

[stealth007s]

I like the awl on that one!¡! Is that how they use to look?

[PTRSAK]

Yeah, something with Bail and/or old Awl is on my "to acquire" list, but anything I have tried for so far has gone for more moonbeams than I'm prepared to part with.

Still, persistance and luck may favour me yet.

If this old fella wasn't so beat up, I would chase it a bit harder...


http://www.ebay.com/itm/251203949189?

[tap78]

Hi

I've had a similar situation..... I've sent my father's Old Victorinox/Victoria Climber to Ibach for a repair the broken scissors with a note that I wish to only repair the scissors and to leave the rest as it is. That is what it looked like before a repair:





That is what I received from Victorinox service
(that kind of repair done accordingly to their service procedures):






I have contacted with Mr. Mettler from Victorinox Ibach (contact found on this forum) and said that it had a great value for me and he said that I should send it back - they would try to rebuilt it. It was a great info

That is what I received back right before Christmass








Thank You Very Much 

ps. Why couldn't they do that mirracle at first repair? ;P

[lowtech]

I think all repairs you get back from Ibach are done really good with teh target of making the tool serviceable / useable again. If teh Guy or Gal gets your note that the knidfe has sentimental value, he will try to keep as many original parts as possible, if he gets "just" the buggered knife, He´ll repair it. Maybe he even wants to do something nice by adding  tweezers and toothpick - I believe 90 percent of the customers would have been very pleased with the first repair, It´s just 2us" strange lot of people who know and care about details. I get strange looks at flea markets when looking at tang stamps or corkscrew / bottle opener Variations instead of just buying "that old knife".

I can feel your disappointment after the 1st repair  and, even more, feel your joy when getting back the restored Oldtimer.

In my case, they did everything right - No one asked them to keep the original parts, it was just a repair that my dad asked for. And i am satisfied with teh outcome and like the fact they do actually repair stuff. I guess replacement would be cheaper.