I am really liking Aitor SAK-alikes.

[ChopperCharles]

I have had an Aitor with a "Hooters" logo on it and wood scales for a long time. It had a main blade, a little gasket scraper/nail file, a wood saw, bottle opener, can opener, corkscrew and gun cleaning tool of some sort.



Well, I just snagged an Aitor Gran Kampero, which adds scissors and a fork to that list.  The Gran Police is the same but without the fork... but I don't like the police, and I thought the fork was unique, so I got the kampero.  There's a version with fold out pliers, but I'm going to hold out a while and see if I can't find it at a better price when I'm in Europe this summer.

Here'st eh Gran Kampero:



So, I grew up with 85mm Wenger SAKs. I then got into the 91mm Victorinox SAKs, with all their excellent tools. But either knife wasn't really big enough for daily duty. I'd always carry a large sodbuster with me, or sometimes a locking blade. The SAK blade was never big enough to be particularly useful for anything.

But this Aitor is different. The blade has a lot of belly, it's sharp, and I really like the overall shape. The whole knife fits well in my hand, instead of like I'm playing with a toy. The knife is weighty with solid feel and good balance. The blade is a pleasure to use. No side-to-side play at all, and the way the knife fits in my hand makes it feel natural to use. The only detriment is the backspring for the blade is rather on the weak side. Well that, and none of them come with an inline phillips driver.   The can opener is wenger style, and it works even better than wenger, because it takes larger bites with every use. The bottleopener/screw driver is fine. The driver tip is a lot narrower than I'd expect, but it seems robust and I've already pried open paint cans and put on electrical switch covers with no problems. The saw looks like crap, the tooth pattern is just weird... but it cuts fast and leaves a nice wide kerf that the blade doesn't get stuck in. So that's a plus. It might not be as fast as a victorinox saw, but it's longer and that seems to make up for it. But the scissors are the show stopper. Instead of a spring mount like either wenger or vic, there's no spring at all. Instead of working the scissors with your thumb, you work them with your index finger, with the scissor handle UNDER the knife. It's a little awkward at first, but then it becomes second nature. The scissors have one smooth blade and one serrated (like wenger) blade, and the leverage is perfect. They cut through cardboard with ease, and I folded paper up until I could barely fold it anymore and the scissors cut through it. They also cut cellophane, with the caveat that the tips didn't cut the cellophane, I had to use the area from the pivot to about 3/4 the way up the scissor blades.

The sewing awl is overly large and not sharp -- but 5 minutes on a grinder will fix that. It's really just a sewing awl though, it doesn't have the curved edge of the victorinox that makes drilling holes so easy. Lastly, the gun tool is completely useless for me. Even the package carrier  is more useful than this. Maybe I could sharpen it to a spike and use it for something... but not sure what. Skewer for a kabob?

Oh that's not the last. The fork is the last tool. It's... a fork. I kinda thought it was a gas to have, but now that I have it, it's really useful, especially for camping. I don't have to find my camp silverwere at the bottom of my saddlebag and I don't have to use plasticware. I can just pierce my hot right dog off the grill, load it onto my bun, and go. It's also great for pickle jars. It's not something I'd eat with every day, but for a camping knife this is really a nice setup.

The scales are 5mm thick G-10, and they feel completely solid. Not hollow like Vic or Wenger scales. One could probably drill and tap the scales and that'd be enough to hold a pocket clip.

Charles.

[Adam5]

Thanks for the write up, Charles. This makes me interested in Aitor knives.

 

[ChopperCharles]

Yeah, I'm just really liking these things. I wish they were more available in the west. Apparently I have to fly across the pond to be able to buy the cool colors and designs. Or pay out the nose on eBay -- when they're available that is.

Charles.

[Rich S]

Aitor SAK-a-likes are nice. I also like the ISC SAK-a-likes. Still see them around that auction site. They are really ISC versions identical to their Vic/Wenger versions. Made at least until 2004. I finally got the ISC (Endeavor) version of the Vic Apprentice which I love. Shame Vic dc-ed it.

 

isc2004.jpg (Filesize: 176.22 KB)

[Jmoita]

A friend of mine got this one. 111mm like sak.
It seems very well made. (Pic is just ilustrative)

[ChopperCharles]

The ISC knives are made by Schrade, and they're copies of 91mm Victorinox knives. Literally. The blades and liners were provided by Victorinox and they were finished by Schrade. No Wenger in there, unfortunately. I have a few and they're every bit as good as Vic knives. And I actually like the tweezers better.

I had call to use my new Aitor extensively this past weekend. I helped a friend with a motorcycle campground insulate his new cabins, and then put up plywood walls. I used the knife to cut 2" thick foam, to trim expanding foam residue that expanded beyond where it was supposed to go, and some minor prying. The saw I used to cut notches in 2x4s, and to finish-cut corners when cutting inside-rectangles for outlets and breaker panels. I didn't get to use the scissors on anything heavy duty, but I sure put the blade and saw through the wringer. Overall my initial impressions hold. It's a good, sharp, easy-to-use blade, with a backspring that's not stiff enough. The blade will fold up pretty easily, but is still really awesome. I did drill and tap the scales and attached a cheap $5 clip from Amazon with M2.5 screws. That worked perfectly too. Clip stayed tight and attached.

I'm really pleased with this knife.

Charles.

[SAKTaschenmesser]

My understanding is that the Aitor and ISC SAK-alikes were assembled using Victorinox patterned parts by Adler in Germany. There's a couple of threads on the forum around this topic. I also like the all steel tweezers used. If I remember correctly, Adler is no more and Mikov took on their SAK-alike interests?

I still have the Adler and ISC, but gave the Aitor away. The Adler's the keeper, I really like the colour of the scales.

[Rich S]

All my ISC SAK-a-likes are tang stamped "ISC/stainless/Germany"  Good knifes; exact VIC clones.
Never seen an Alder- will certainly start looking.

[ChopperCharles]

Current Aitor knives are made in Spain, by Aitor, and are not copies of Vic. They're much, much larger than victorinox knives.

Charles.

[dks]

My understanding from when I was collecting these ISC was that Victorinox had nothing to do with them.They had no interchangeable parts. They  also had a different feel.

I think this was mentioned in the older threads. There should be links there too. A search for Schrade century or ISC should bring them up.

I used to know their history, but I cannot remember most of it now, nor am I particularly bothered about it these days.

[ChopperCharles]

I have a selection of Scrade Century knives, and I assure you they are identical to Victorinox in every way except for the scales, tweezers, and toothpick. There may be some different tool combinations that do not match Victorinox, but the tools themselves are identical.  The scales, though different, are however interchangeable. For one, you can get a Schrade Waiter equivalent a lot cheaper and easier than the victorinox version. Pop Vic scales on it and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless you looked for the engraving on the blade.

Charles.

[ChopperCharles]

Here are some comparisons. Wenger, Victorinox, Aitor, and Wenger 120mm.

Charles.

[ChopperCharles]

The difference in blade length between the wenger and victorinox is the same as the difference between the victorinox and the aitor - just over a quarter of an inch.  The belly of the blade is much deeper, and it makes the blade that much more useful to me. I really enjoy the shape of the blade and the balance it has in my hand with the larger handle.

Charles.

[ChopperCharles]

Heres' the scissor comparison.

I really like the operation of these scissors. No hot spot on my thumb, and they cut very thick leather or denim easily. Zip ties are a cinch.

Charles.

[ChopperCharles]

Finally, here's a shot of my DIY pocket clip.

I only drilled and tapped the scales. Like Wenger scales, these surround and cover the side plates to the knife. But there is a good 4mm of material to drill and tap, and it's holding quite well so far. If they strip out I'll drill and tap the side plate itself, or pop the scale off and use small nuts on the back side, which I'll sink into the plastic via a torch. But I don't think I'll have to go that route.

Also note that the Victorinox eyeglass driver fits perfectly in the Aitor corkscrew. In fact, it may fit better in there than it does in the Victorinox knives.

Charles.

[ChopperCharles]

And just to finish this off, here are two Schrade Century knives and one Victorinox. The blanks for each tool are identical, but there is variation in the sharpening, polishing, and machining.  The awl for instance is not sharpened or drilled for a sewing eye, it's left dull like a Wenger awl. The caplifter is an early design without the half-stop.The can opener also has the screwdriver part machined so short it's almost not there.

There is some variation in the finishing of the 91mm Schrades. Some blades are profiled slightly differently, some have more material removed, or are sharpened at different angles, or are polished a little more or a little less. Basically, the QC in Schrade's finishing was less precise and perfect than the "every knife is exactly alike down to a thousandth of an inch" way Victorinox handles QC. That doesn't mean the finishing isn't GOOD, mind you. It really is. It's just the shapes after sharpening are not as consistent.


Charles.

[ChopperCharles]

Now, the Schrade Century copies of the Classic are copies of the EARLY classic, and they have the same crosscut nail file with cleaner tip as the early Victorinox Classic knives do. Well, to be clear, the EARLY copies have the cleaning tip. The later copies use the same crosscut tool blank, but add the screwdriver tip that the Classic SD has. The Victorinox classic SD has a diamond file on a stainless blank, but all the Schrade 58mm knives use the crosscut file, whether or not they have the SD tip.

Kawasaki is the Victorinox, the early Schrade is in green. If you want pics of the Schrade 58mm with SD tip I can take that too.

Charles.

[GArBa]

From what I've read in German forums and around the internet:

GML of Leegebruch was a knife manufacturer set up in East Germany after WW2, in the '80s they manufactured Victorinox-clones pocket knives (I've seen examples marked either with "L" - for Leegebruch or "Foron" - brand of houseware). Through a technology transfer from Victorinox they purchased (in West Germany) the same machines and set up the same processes as in Ibach. It has also been confirmed on Facebook and reported on this board by Robert Elsener  that GML (later privatized and renamed ADLER after German reunification) received unfinished parts from the swiss company that were later finished and assembled in the GDR. GML (and then ADLER) contracted pochet knife production for other companies such as PUMA and (possibly, I've read different sources on this) Henckels. There is no doubt that the ISC Century 91mm were indeed ADLER knives. The details in the finishing of the parts ("smoother" than Victorinox) and the peculiar shapes of the awl and the can opener blades are dead giveaways. Incidentally, design-wise the ADLER did not follow Victorinox improvements/updates, remaining alike to early '80s SAKs.

ADLER inventory was later purchased by Mikov, however it should be noted that the latter company already manufactured swiss-style knives, and they only kept assembling ADLER knives as a separate line to their own. To this day, Mikov pocket knives have e.g. wraparound scales (similar to old Wenger), a "claw" type can opener, a more elongated cap lifter/screwdriver, etc. Another peculiar trait of Mikov knives, not shared with ADLER but present on their 90mm as well as 110mm lines is that when present, the wood saw tip rests not on an extension of the backspring but rather on an aluminum "cushion".

Finally, some ADLER-marked knives are still available on ebay as a german reseller of militaria bought off again the dried-up inventory and assembled some knives in the 2010s (he used to sell also spare parts such as pins, bushings, etc. all the parts were interchangeable with 80s-90s Vics, in fact I purchased solid ADLER scales to restore an older Vic huntsman I had)

I think this sums up my current knowledge of the subject, unfortunately the sources are scarce and not well documented.

[Aloha]

Just caught up with this thread.  Thanks for the info and pictures.  I'll have to keep an eye out for them at the fleamarket. 

[GArBa]

I forgot yesterday, I've seen (only in picture, admittedly) late AITOR serie roja sharing the same construction and characteristics of Mikov knives (in particular the quite characteristic aluminum "cushion" below the tip of the wood saw). This would imply an AITOR-Mikov connection and thus get ADLER in the mix.

[hsherzfeld]

I’ve never heard of these SAK-alikes before today. I’ll have to keep an eye out for them from now on.

[Jmoita]

(Image removed from quote.)

A friend of mine got this one. 111mm like sak.
It seems very well made. (Pic is just ilustrative)

Ended up buying it for 15€. Very very nice pliers. After some cleaning and oil endend up nice. Blade was blunt, after some work its in a aceptable condition (cuts paper nicely, but not hair razor sharp). The punch/awl needs a little mod, puting a little edge on it.

[kkokkolis]

What's your opinion about Albainox?
35 euros for their "Cybertool"

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[kkokkolis]

Double post. 

[Jmoita]

What's your opinion about Albainox?
35 euros for their "Cybertool" (Image removed from quote.)

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Never had one. But the reputation his kind of low end. They kind dominate iberian market of tatical-like folders.

[GArBa]

I was going to get an used Albainox on ebay but the seller won't budge from his price which way too high for an old chinese-built knife. From the pictures I've seen most tools seem to be made of thinner gauge steel than Vic or Adler.

[zissu]

(Image removed from quote.)

A friend of mine got this one. 111mm like sak.
It seems very well made. (Pic is just ilustrative)

i think this model is called Alligator.

kindest regards

[BIG-TARGET]

I’m wondering why Aitor hasn’t taken off more than Vic or Wenget