Wenger New Ranger series pliers?

[Lynn LeFey]

I'm not sure if these will ever fall into my 'want to try' category, but they might, so...

Are the fold-out pliers on the Wenger Ranger (130mm) 70-line any good?

I tend to go for smaller-is-better, but this plier design has my curious.

[AimlessWanderer]

The pliers are excellent - the biggest failing by far on the 130mm Wenger line up is the thickness of the scales. If you took all the blades and tools out completely and just had the scales back-to-back, it would be just about the thickness of a Juice KF4 ... utterly ridiculous!!

[dks]

+1

And they are empty for some reason... no tools in them, not even a toothpick.

The Horn version is very sexy!

[Smaug]

I find them excellent too, Lynn. They are spring loaded, which is always nice. The needlenose tips are nice and fine. The "regular pliers" part are also a little finer than you'd find on a full size Leatherman (Surge, ST300) or even their next size down. (Wave, etc.)

The scale thickness doesn't bother me, because the tool fits so well in the hand. By the time you get a Ranger with pliers, it is much too thick to pocket carry. It's hard to tell this from the promotional pix, which never show a side view.

The build and finish quality is a step above Leatherman's; on par with SOG's.

The knife blade is nice & big, and it has the best implementation of a liner lock I've ever seen: just push the shield to release the liner lock.

Disadvantages?

The only one I can think of is that they're thick. Remember, pliers = 3 layers, and there is only one handle in which to store all the other tools. Plan on sheath carrying, and it won't be a problem. The lack of scissors on any Ranger model is also a drawback.

I've got the Ranger Electrician model, with the electrician's blade instead of the can opener. Great knife/tool. It also has the automatic-locking screwdriver that the smaller Wengers have; great feature.

[dks]

Agreed, apart from the SOG quality comparison...

The SOGs are pretty low on my quality product list...
Good pliers but really bad quality lately.

[Lynn LeFey]

Oh, wow. Wandered off to make dinner and came back to a bunch of useful info. I didn't know how many people here were experienced with these, so had no idea how much, if any, response this would get.

Thanks all!

Interesting. Something to maybe think about down the line.

[papercut]

Oh there are scissors, check the monsters on the 71 and 172 (which was just on clearance for $32 a few days ago).

[Lynn LeFey]

I believe he meant any ranger with pliers.

[papercut]

 

It would be cool if there were alternative scales available that were thinner so folks with more dainty hands could have a better time, alternatively they could allow Wenger to make the models have more items.  I would love a 78 matched with the scissors of the 172, or the pliers (although they might have a real thick model with the pliers et al already).

[AimlessWanderer]

Another point I've made before is that Wenger could easily have put a Phillips and possibly something else under the pliers handle, much like they did with the scissors and pliers on the 111mm Vics. They did it with the Swissgrip and utilised the space very well on the Minigrip, but chose to allow the handle to create a void on the 130mm line. A little more time on the CAD system could have seen the space put to much better use.

Also, another benefit of having thinner scales on the  New Rangers would be the improved ergonomics of the OHO blade. The blade cut out itself is perfectly fine, but I find myself "fighting" the scale unnecessarily as the thickness of the scale is trying to push my thumb out of the cut out. I appreciate that it gives a more hand filling grip of the thinner options (which I don't have BTW), but  on the larger knives it's a real inconvenience.

I know this is sounding a little negative overall, but I really like the tools on my Rangergrip 90 ... I just wish they hadn't fitted it with ridiculously huge scales so it doesn't fit in my hands  Re scaling it with something more appropriate is on the wish list, but time won't permit it (along with all the other mods and tweaks I'd like to do with other stuff) 

[papercut]

Cabron fiber scales would be pretty sweet, but based on Syphs checking, the pins on the rangers are steel, so they are not that easy to remove.  It would also suggest that Wenger feels brass is not up to the task for the rangers.

NVM, it looks like the scales need some room due to the push button liner lock:

[AimlessWanderer]

Cabron fiber scales would be pretty sweet, but based on Syphs checking, the pins on the rangers are steel, so they are not that easy to remove.  It would also suggest that Wenger feels brass is not up to the task for the rangers.

NVM, it looks like the scales need some room due to the push button liner lock:

Yeah, one scale needs additional room in one area, but there's still lots of potential for reducing the overall thickness I think

[Nikos]

Cabron fiber scales would be pretty sweet, but based on Syphs checking, the pins on the rangers are steel, so they are not that easy to remove.  It would also suggest that Wenger feels brass is not up to the task for the rangers.

NVM, it looks like the scales need some room due to the push button liner lock:

Yeah, one scale needs additional room in one area, but there's still lots of potential for reducing the overall thickness I think

It's a liner lock! Why don't they add a cutout on the handle and let the user disengage the lock just like in any other linerlock knife out there?! IMHO it's not the lock button as much, as the pin bushings that require the giant slabs they call handles...

[AimlessWanderer]

Cabron fiber scales would be pretty sweet, but based on Syphs checking, the pins on the rangers are steel, so they are not that easy to remove.  It would also suggest that Wenger feels brass is not up to the task for the rangers.

NVM, it looks like the scales need some room due to the push button liner lock:

Yeah, one scale needs additional room in one area, but there's still lots of potential for reducing the overall thickness I think

It's a liner lock! Why don't they add a cutout on the handle and let the user disengage the lock just like in any other linerlock knife out there?! IMHO it's not the lock button as much, as the pin bushings that require the giant slabs they call handles...

I hate blades where you have to put your thumb/finger under the line of travel to unlock it  I'd be more likely to convert it to slippy if it was that much of a problem

[dks]

Cabron fiber scales would be pretty sweet, but based on Syphs checking, the pins on the rangers are steel, so they are not that easy to remove.  It would also suggest that Wenger feels brass is not up to the task for the rangers.

NVM, it looks like the scales need some room due to the push button liner lock:

Yeah, one scale needs additional room in one area, but there's still lots of potential for reducing the overall thickness I think

It's a liner lock! Why don't they add a cutout on the handle and let the user disengage the lock just like in any other linerlock knife out there?! IMHO it's not the lock button as much, as the pin bushings that require the giant slabs they call handles...

I hate blades where you have to put your thumb/finger under the line of travel to unlock it  I'd be more likely to convert it to slippy if it was that much of a problem

I was thinking of that the other day.

I have some linerlock locking slipjoint knives (like locking SAKs) where you not only have to put your hand in the way of the blade to unlock them, you also have the spring pushing the blade to  shut, when past a certain point. (normal linerlocks have a very weak push on the blade for closing or opening)

So you are busy pushing the linerlock out of the way, finger under the blade and also pushing the blade towards your finger, hard, to overcome the backspring.
Bear trap!

[Nikos]

Half stop...

[AimlessWanderer]

Slippie or fixed is better 

[dks]

Half stop...

They do not have any....   

[Nikos]

I know. That makes no sense though... Take for example the Wenger S557; it is in essence a lockback of sorts, with a button to disengage the lock located just by the main blade. Silly, but the Swiss did it right and added a half-stop to the blade. Why would anyone use a strong backspring on a locking knife and not think about adding a halfstop or other safety mechanism, is beyond my understanding.

[dks]

One of my best looking knives is my RR locking sodbuster, which I never use because of the strong backspring..