For me, I have always carried a "larger" SAK. Read that Champion, Swiss Champ, and now Tool Chest Plus. If you have a large variety of tools with you, you can do lots of things without having to run for something to fix whatever.
Like many I had never heard about Wenger until late. Mostly Vic's were sold round here, so one thinks that is all there is. My first knife out of service was starting to come apart from way too much use, and was my old Boy Scout special. Lasted for ages, then the the thing started to fail and the pins which held the tools in were going. TO the point that the screwdriver has worked it's way loose from it's moorings. It was time for a new unit.
In the late 70s there wasn't a lot of places to buy things like a good knife around these parts, but there was Hoffritz. So I went over there and looked at SAKs. In the end I wanted a much larger set of tools, and selected a Swiss Champ, in black. Shown below. It still says "HOFFRITZ" , but it is well worn off and hardly readable any more. Along with that unit I also bought about a year later a Champion for non working EDC.
Time passes and this unit worked well on the job for ages. I broke the tip off trying to dig a key out of lock, and bent up everything else, but manged to straighten those tools out. It was a learning experience on how far one could push a SAK.
It is not noticeable but the black unit has a missing 1/4 of an inch on the main blade. Just reground the thing and did the best I could to make it "look better" although it did not make any difference in how it worked. After a good 15 years of service it was time to replace it.
It was now that the internet was available, and I found Wenger. A revelation in new tools available
This is not my original. That one had a solid orienteering tool not a hollow one. That unit went missing on a job. Even with "nobody around" the thing suddenly was gone, and of course nobody knew anything about it. Maybe it was because my original unit was black, and not red it wasn't touched. But the red Wenger seemed to draw eyes like crazy.
Better pliers, and a wrench! Just what somebody who works on small things like locks need. Better - it has a compass. I have hunted and fished most of my life and I don't always remember to take a compass out when I am going afield. Now I have one with me all the time.
Nothing like getting lost on a lake, or worse in the woods and no compass. Fixed that with this unit.
Been reading the Swiss Army Knife Owners manual and it states that these two are the top of the lines for EDC. I would agree. But with the extra tools on the Wenger, it took the prize.
Along the way I have also picked up the XLT and recently a XAVT. Nothing like a boat anchor! Just to fill out my collection of large SAKS.
The Aerojet
-End note. If you notice my avatar is a EVO S54 Tool Chest Plus. It is a Wenger like this unit but one I picked up as things age. I also picked up a Vic unit just like it with their can opener and T + T on it and their shield. Just a spare if my current unit goes suddenly missing. I really wish people would stop grabbing things on jobs when you turn your back or have to run for parts out to the truck and don't take everything with you. You would not believe what I have all lost over the years. From flashlights, to SAK's, to special lock installation tools to almost everything one would leave behind to get a different part. Today I take everything I would not mind losing with me including my SAK.
AJ
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