Swiza...that other Swiss Knife.

[Myron]

So you guys got me curious and I ordered a D07, which is the Swiza equivalent of a Climber. I was most interested in the scissors, obviously. I can confirm that while their size is impressive, operating them hurts your fingertips. On account of this, I cannot imagine many situations where they might fare better than Victorinox' scissors, which are shorter but can be operated with more pressure.

Other than that, the build quality is ok, but not impressive. The can opener in my model has a rather weak snap, which becomes all the more apparent when compared to the bottle opener, which snaps noticeably better. I have made similar experiences with Victorinox SAKs (where, however, it was the other way round: the bottle opener's lack of snap contrasted with the can opener's good snap), but very rarely. The fact that this occurs in the very first Swiza I ever pick up is a bit disappointing. And the scissors do not feel too snappy either.

I do like the scale material though; also, the locking mechanism feels good (even better - more precise - than in my Winemaster if I am honest).

Curious: the picture in the OP had me thinking the Swiza would be about the size of a Delemont (which was part of its appeal to be honest). However, in real life the D07 is slightly longer than a 93 mm SAK.

All in all, I am not overly impressed but not displeased either.

However, there is a big elephant in the room and I don't understand why nobody in this thread has brought it up yet: I bought the D07 for a whopping 42 Euros (which is an okay price for this model - I checked). This is about twice the price of a Climber! For that, the D07 offers about the same functionality, at roughly the same weight and size. Unless you absolutely want a locking blade or something more original than a Victorinox SAK, I therefore just don't see any reason at all to choose a D07 over a Climber.

Which is sad, as I kind of like the D07 and believe Swiza could become the new Wenger (I seem even to remember that Swiza was set up by former Wenger managers) if they tried just a bit harder (and slashed their prices considerably...)

Thank  you, Simon, for saving me my money on a Swiza.  I've been so tempted so many times, but your thorough analysis has convinced me that Vx is still the king and that 42 bucks is too much to spend just to satisfy my curiosity.    Cheers. 

[Simon_Templar]

Thank  you, Simon, for saving me my money on a Swiza.  I've been so tempted so many times, but your thorough analysis has convinced me that Vx is still the king and that 42 bucks is too much to spend just to satisfy my curiosity.    Cheers.

You are very welcome, Myron. If I ever go for Swiza again, it will be for one of their more outlandish propositions without direct competition from Victorinox.

[Etherealicer]

I guess it's not easy to compete with Victorinox, they have years of experience, a lot of machinery that has already been paid for years ago, low R&D costs, and relatively low promotional and advertising costs thanks to brand recognition...

It must be a very frustrating adversary.

Well, at least Swiza - "AUTHENTIC SWISS KNIFE" does heavily profit from the Swiss-Army-Knife reputation that Victorinox has built.
Most people can't tell the difference (it is why in Swiss tourist shop you can even buy Chines knock offs and they are not even cheap double- ).

Which is sad, as I kind of like the D07 and believe Swiza could become the new Wenger (I seem even to remember that Swiza was set up by former Wenger managers) if they tried just a bit harder (and slashed their prices considerably...)

I hope not... remember Wenger went bankrupt (there is of course more than one reason, but mis-managements is at the top of those). That is worrisome, as you are correct, some of the management from Wenger is now heading Swiza.

I would rather suggest they go the other way. Use better materials on their blades, improve fit&finish, improve quality, go more premium, raise the prices.

As it was mentioned above. It is very hard to compete with Victorinox at their own game.

[BobbyRsa]

SO interesting, yesterday at the Co-Op I saw that they were selling these exact same Swiza knives under the brand FELCO. Is there any link between the two swiss companies or was it made by Swiza for Felco. They were on special as no one is buying them. Maybe I should go get one before the special ends. it was like EUR25 (R500) for C05

https://www.felco.com/za_en/our-products/felco-505.html if you are interested in seeing the website

[Rizio Il Ghiro]

Interesting, Bobby - Felco also do Felco branded Victorinox garden knives.

[Don Pablo]

I hope not... remember Wenger went bankrupt (there is of course more than one reason, but mis-managements is at the top of those). That is worrisome, as you are correct, some of the management from Wenger is now heading Swiza.

I bought a HMD Global smartphone because it said Nokia on it and I thought the phone peeps from Nokia were involved.
Turns out it's more apt to say that some former Nokia phone management slapped the Nokia name on some Chinese phones.
Never again.

[Top-Gear-24]

Well, at least Swiza - "AUTHENTIC SWISS KNIFE" does heavily profit from the Swiss-Army-Knife reputation that Victorinox has built.
Most people can't tell the difference (it is why in Swiss tourist shop you can even buy Chines knock offs and they are not even cheap double- ).

During our vacation to Austria, back in 2014, we went on a day trip to Vaduz, Liechtenstein to do some shopping there and see the sights.

At that time they still had some nice Wengers in stock there, and I'm still sad about some of the things I didn't buy...

But even there, in SAK heaven, my brother managed to buy a Chinese "Swiss made" nail clipper/file/knife thingy as a present for his girlfriend back home (now his wife)...  Apparently he asked my father for advice on what to buy  .

Imagine, you're surrounded by shops filled with thousands of real SAKs, you have a SAK collecter by your side, who do you go to for advice on which nail clipper pocket tool to buy as a present for your girlfriend?

Yep, the only person there who knows even less about SAKs as yourself...

 

My sons were 8 and 9 years old back then, and they could've given much better advice.

When my brother showed what he got, which was  a Chinese nail clipper with a Swiss Cross on it, I didn't know what to do, laugh or cry...

[Chako]

Well, here is my running synopsis on these knives. Thus far, I have decided to focus on the scissors model mentioned in my first posting. I am digging it more and more. I do not worry about comparing it to a SAK which it is not. As a stand alone little knife, I am liking it. I still think the scissors need a bit more refinement, but I do like the design. At work I use a lot of scissors and do like having them in my knives if I can. Be that as it may, I still cannot wear this at work due to knife blade restrictions. But I have used it at home, and it works as advertised. Someone mentioned weak back spring, and I will agree, especially on the bottle opener. It certainly isn't as plucky as that on a Victorinox, but it hasn't failed yet either in the week I have had it in my possession.

Frankly, buy it or not. I care not. I am happy I was able to sate my curiosity about them. Does this mean I will buy more and collect them...maybe (They are not that easy to buy up here in Canada as the source from Amazon picked up their wares and left). However, for the price sold here in North America, it is a not that bad of a little knife.

That Felco one is intriguing from a collector viewpoint.

[Jim the Brave]

I am hugely in favor of locking blades, and I wish all folding tools locked in place. If I ever manage to become involved in the design and production of knives, this will be a huge priority for me.

I usually don't get ahold of most knives until they are used and selling well below their msrp, so I may not get ahold of one of these any time soon, but I'd be happy to.

 

[Barry Rowland]

I've never even seen one in person, but I'll hand Swiza this: they managed to eliminate the pesky lock of the Wengers, which always seemed to be in the way. 

[dks]

some Wenger models had a lock similar to Swiza's e.g. ranger

[Simon_Templar]

During our vacation to Austria, back in 2014, we went on a day trip to Vaduz, Liechtenstein to do some shopping there and see the sights.

At that time they still had some nice Wengers in stock there, and I'm still sad about some of the things I didn't buy...

But even there, in SAK heaven, my brother managed to buy a Chinese "Swiss made" nail clipper/file/knife thingy as a present for his girlfriend back home (now his wife)...  Apparently he asked my father for advice on what to buy  .

Imagine, you're surrounded by shops filled with thousands of real SAKs, you have a SAK collecter by your side, who do you go to for advice on which nail clipper pocket tool to buy as a present for your girlfriend?

Yep, the only person there who knows even less about SAKs as yourself...

 

My sons were 8 and 9 years old back then, and they could've given much better advice.

When my brother showed what he got, which was  a Chinese nail clipper with a Swiss Cross on it, I didn't know what to do, laugh or cry...

Laugh, obviously. You got a very funny story out of it and if your brother's girlfriend (wife) doesn't know her SAKs either, she won't know what she has missed.