dear s&w forum, I would like to hear some opinions from my fellow forum members about the victorinox bantam swiss army knife. sincerely and respectfully mg357 a very proud member of the s&w forum. p.s. the reason that im asking opinions about this specific swiss army knife is because im thinking about purchasing this specific knife.

mg, I don't think you can go wrong with a Victorinox knife. I carried the Tinker model for 35yrs. during my career as a firefighter/paramedic and used it more than any other tool at hand. Some of their knifes are so big and have so many tools it would be like carrying a brick in your pocket. The knife you are looking at is quite compact and the Tinker model I mentioned is small also but has a useful array of tools.

Victorinox Swiss Army - Tinker Pocket Knife

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John. SWCA #1586

I still have my Recruit model from when I was a kid in the eighties. The tweezers and toothpick bit the dust ages ago but the rest is still great. With minimal care I think they will last forever. They sell spare parts for them on their website. I also bought the Helmsman model but it's a little bulky for pocket carry. Then I was gifted with the Handyman model but it too is a bit bulky for pocket carry. It's full of gadgets and neat stuff though. Not sure what all it does really... I can't imagine the full on Swiss Champ that's four inches wide...

Victorinox makes a fine knife for the money. I find the bantam lacking in the features which is the hallmark of a SAK. I have about 20 different SAKs from single to six layers ones, but the one that gets the most carry time is the 2 layer 91mm Soldier. Its tool set fits my daily needs perfectly.

Victorinox Swiss Army Soldier Pocket Knife Silver Alox 53929

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

I'm a *huge* fan of Victorinox SAKs. My love affair began over 25 years ago, when as a young infantry lieutenant I borrowed a buddy's "Huntsman," whose saw proved much more effective at the task I was trying to perform than my oversized belt knife.

Since then, if I had pants on there was a SAK in my pocket (unless I was on an airplane post-9/11). I've done everything with them from opening bottles of wine at the homes of friends to performing a field-expedient repair on a HMMWV in a combat zone.

I think the "Bantam" is an excellent choice. IMHO, there's no need for two blades on a SAK, and, arguably, the next most valuable tool is the bottle/can opener combo.

With that said, my own SAK of choice is the "Compact," since it includes scissors--which I can't live without. I've also made use of its eyeglass screwdriver (which nestles neatly in the corkscrew) and straight pin more times than I can recall. I love this model so much that until it became available in the States in the mid-90s I used to ask a British friend to buy them and mail them to me.

Pocket knives of any make, are always a personal choice of the owner. Having said that, the best thing about owning a Bantam model Victorinex, is that it will quickly convince you that you need a different model Victornix with additional features. The Bantam is a good inexpensive beginner's knife, suitable for a young person as their first knife, but it has serious competition with other maker's beginner knives. How many of you can recall their first pocket knife as a kid? Chances are it was a Boy Scout style knife with several "tool" blades, besides the big knife blade! Ed.

I've never heard of the Bantam. Will have to Search for an image. But all Victorinox's are good. Even the tiny Classic is very useful. I sometimes carry one in an inside jacket pocket. It's very handy to open the mail when I'm seated in the car.

I have maybe a dozen SAK's. and the most-carried are an Executive and the basic Spartan. My SwissChamp in its SOS Kit pouch goes in my briefcase.

If this is going in your pocket, I'd suggest nothing thicker than the Hiker or Camper. The difference is that one has a corkscrew, the other a Phillips-head screwdriver.

When I was choosing a SAK for a heroine in a fan fiction, I tried several out by carrying them daily. I settled on a Camper, as she needed a saw to cut a rope holding a cage door shut to imprison a friend in the hands of a tribe based on the Aztecs. Nothing with a saw that was any thicker worked for me, and Finn needed to be able to carry that knife in a pair of little black shorts. (Later, she wore it in a pouch on her gunbelt, having changed her crossbow from the TV show for a S&W M&P .38.)

If you're willing to wear a belt pouch, you can add scissors and get the Climber or Huntsman. The scissors are very useful.

BTW, I also have several Wenger knives, and they are harder to sharpen than the Vic's.

What is the Bantam, and why do you want that model? Just curious. I may learn something.

BTW, if you transfer this topic to The Lounge, I think you'll get more responses. This area is for S&W knives and other stuff.

Boy Scout type, really an official Cub Scout model, probably by Camillus or Imperial. I was eight, I think.

Got my son a fancier Camillus one with imitation (Delrin) stag handle when he was six.

Whenever I carry a Trapper or Stockman pattern, I need a tool on a utility pocketknife.

T-Star

A contrarian opinion: I've found the Victorinox blades to be of soft steel; they lose an edge quickly and if put under stress will bend permanently. I like the tools but the blades leave a lot to be desired. The perfect pocket knife would be a Victorinox with Buck steel blades.

If you're doing something that will bend the blade on a SAK, you're misusing the knife. They aren't prybars or levers.

Some avoid Buck, saying that the blades are hard to sharpen and that they tend to be brittle and break under stress.

But in every case that I've tracked down, the guy who broke a Buck was using the tip as a screwdriver or trying to pound the blade though bone.

I have found this to be a good source for the SAK...........

FelineVet Shop - SOSAK

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