Well worn 91 mm nylon scales?

[Northern Geek]

Not having owned a nylon scaled Vic I've been wondering what they look like after being used for quite a while. I've seen people praising them for being a lot tougher than the regular celidor models after all.

So is anyone up to snapping a few pics of their well worn nylon clad beauties? It'd be much appreciated!

[Marius]

I have one such SAK and I will try post a pic of it later unless others can do it faster.

 

[Northern Geek]

I have one such SAK and I will try post a pic of it later unless others can do it faster.

 

Thanks mate!

I'm in the mood for picking up a new Climber since I forgot I had my last one on me when I was boarding a flight.. 

Figured I might as well try it out in nylon this time around.

[Marius]

Ready

First, one in sunlight. Three Recruits/Drivers used in this quick comparison. One new in Cellidor (top in this first photo), one new in Nylon (middle of this photo) and the oldie in Nylon (bottom in this photo).

The old one is about 20 years old and used, a lot. Blades especially are all scratched up and were sharpened several times but are still full. The cap opener / flat screwdriver is without the half stop (of course). It still has the original T&T and ring. The blade has the stamps of the time but is the cheap precursor variant with the thin tang (exactly what the Cadets and Recruits have today, unlike what the Cadets had at that time) probably because this was an "economy" model.

Click on the thumbnail to view the full size photo. More will follow.

[Marius]

Next, scales front and back. The older Nylon (in the middle from now on) besides being a bit scratched, it lost its silver embossed shield and got somewhat polished by use. It was also a bit more vibrant red than the new Nylon.

[Marius]

Now, from top and bottom. See the gaps between scales and exterior liners on the new Cellidor? The old Nylon does not have any gaps at all, after all the abuse it was through. The Cellidor is brand new and practically unused.

[Marius]

One more with the blades out. The main blade on the old Nylon looks much worse in reality in terms of stains and scratches (and the other side is worse).

[Northern Geek]

Thanks alot for those pictures mate! Just what I wanted!

I have to say that they hold up surprisingly well.. too bad about the shield though. It'd be nice if they used the same shield as on the celidor scales, then they'd look like new for ages.

Still, very impressive. 

Looks like my next Climber will be wearing nylon!

[Marius]

Conclusion:

Nylon held up very well. Got scratched but nothing too bad. Got more smooth by wearing off the surface (polished while carried and used). Never lost its T&T, never lost its grip on the knife. No gaps. The cheap painted on shield is gone.

Overall, despite the same cheap construction, the old Nylon has the best build of all three. The new Cellidor has the ugly gaps and the new Nylon touches the tip of the blade on metal when the ring holder is moved (a defect visible on most current 84 mm Vic SAKs; with the blade closed move the ring towards inside and then try to mode the blade tip a bit laterally - if the defect is there the blade tip will get stuck on metal and not move, it should move).

[Marius]

Thanks alot for those pictures mate! Just what I wanted!

I have to say that they hold up surprisingly well.. too bad about the shield though. It'd be nice if they used the same shield as on the celidor scales, then they'd look like new for ages.

Still, very impressive. 

Looks like my next Climber will be wearing nylon!

You are welcome!

I think that the painted shield was the first to go. If I had better care of the SAK it would be in much better shape today but poor thing got used as an utility knife on all kind of nasty cutting and scrapping jobs and got stored together with other metal tools without any care whatsoever to not get scratched or such.

I too prefer the metal shields from Cellidor and this is in fact one of the pros to me for Cellidor over Nylon.