Victorinox Electrician Discontinued?

[hsherzfeld]

I was browsing the Victorinox US website the other day and I noticed that the Electrician is no longer listed in the Alox section.

[Max Stone]

Also gone from their .com site. Could be 

[Rich S]

Still available at Knifecenter.com and SMKW.COM and probably at other US dealers. Maybe old stock??

[Jazz]

They really are getting annoying with all the discontinuing this year. Just a whole lot of Classic flavours to replace everything with. Am I right, people, or just whining?

[Max Stone]

Spot the trend: Classic SD Silver Alox $26.99 ---> Classic SD 2021 LE Orange Alox $39.99 ---> Classic Precious Alox Collection $50.00

Maximizing profits on a low-cost / high-volume product. 

The R&D on new tools / SAKs is high compared to changing scale designs and colors. 

[hsherzfeld]

The R&D on new tools / SAKs is high compared to changing scale designs and colors. 

I’m not asking for new SAKs; I just don’t like seeing them discontinue existing models. There can’t be much R&D involved in maintaining existing product lines.

[andywork]

I remember reading this recently:

A contact of mine living in Switzerland confirmed […] the Electrician is never offered on the website but has always been in stock in just about any store. So not discontinued, but not actively offered either.

Taken from this thread:

https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,86769.msg2234718.html#msg2234718

I’ve no idea if this situation is still the case now,? Though, it would explain the weird availability issues.

Hope that helps. 

[BPRoberts]

I've always enjoyed SAKs, but I only really got into collecting them in the last year or so. It's really frustrating to see all these interesting/useful models becoming harder to find, while they roll out page after page of shinier Classics for 3x retail. I'd love to build up a good sized collection, but I don't want 30 different Classics, I want 30 different models.

Part of me hopes this is just the prelude to a larger revamp, killing off unpopular lines and refreshing with something more interesting. A bigger part of me is afraid that Vic is just going to go the way of a lot of other companies and keep churning out low effort stuff like this until they're just a hollowed out shell of the company they used to be.

[hsherzfeld]

Perhaps Victorinox is simply consolidating the 93mm Alox line to focus on the more popular models like the Pioneer and Farmer. The Electrician is, as its name implies, a rather niche model. I bought one just to try it out, but I don’t carry it. I just don’t like to see knives discontinued. 

[Simon_Templar]

I've always enjoyed SAKs, but I only really got into collecting them in the last year or so. It's really frustrating to see all these interesting/useful models becoming harder to find.

It's a bit like collecting Lego: you have to snatch every interesting model in production as soon as  you get a got deal lest it goes out of production and up in price. But at least with SAKs you don't have to worry about storage space

[Max Stone]

...unless your name is Chako 

[Farmer X]

A bigger part of me is afraid that Vic is just going to go the way of a lot of other companies and keep churning out low effort stuff like this until they're just a hollowed out shell of the company they used to be.

Agreed. It would really be a shame to see them continue to exist in name only, as is the case with Camillus and Schrade.

It's a bit like collecting Lego...but at least with SAKs you don't have to worry about storage space

Or losing little tiny pieces (as much, anyway)!

[Simon_Templar]

Agreed. It would really be a shame to see them continue to exist in name only, as is the case with Camillus and Schrade.

In the US, they would then be known as VINO, correct? 

[hsherzfeld]

In the US, they would then be known as VINO, correct?