Customer Reviews

Victorinox Swiss Army Soldier Knife Standard Issue

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I finally decided to buy a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife because I knew I would get a lot of use out of it at work as well as home. I've never owned a Swiss Army Knife, just cheap imitations (which this ain't). While browsing their online catalog and searching for the right compromise between features and size, I saw that the new standard-issue soldier knife had just gone on sale for 2009.

I was attracted to the olive drab color scheme, much more businesslike than the Swiss red. Since it's brand new and I'm a geek, I had to have it. Factory site says it's 4 and 3/8" long closed, which is on the big end of the pocketknife scale IMO. Some may even carry this in a belt pouch, but I find it very pocketable. The grips are lightweight, hard plastic with softer black inserts. The matte texture is very easy to hold and won't show fingerprints or smears. Comfortable in the hand.

The size of the knife, along with the tool loadout, make it more suited for outdoorsmen, soldiers (go figure), and assorted "rural adventurers". The knife blade opens easily with one hand, lefty or righty, and locks with a satisfying clink!. The lower 1" of the blade is plain (and sharp!) and the rest out to the tip is serrated. Fun fact: I believe they bill this blade as a "seatbelt cutter" as well. I carry the Swiss knife alongside a plain folding knife, so I don't really miss having a plain blade, but this may be a concern for some.

The bottle opener is the only other tool with a liner lock; it doubles as a big flat screwdriver and it has a little wire-stripper notch onboard (works well on small wires, fyi). The can opener has a small flat screwdriver at the end. The saw is accessed by pulling up on the blunt tip on the blade (it sticks out of the knife just enough to get ahold of but not enough to snag anything). Its ability to fell small trees is limited only by your patience. The keychain attachment point could be used for a lanyard or something too, because it's kind of a big knife for a keyring. The Philips screwdriver is fine but boring, so I won't talk anymore about it. The "reamer" is a fearsome looking sharp little dude, useful for punching reamer-shaped holes in about anything (use your imagination), but be careful because it doesn't lock open.

This knife is all about craftsmanship and good steel, no cheese to be found. It's got the quality you'd expect from Victorinox, especially since they're building these for the military. It comes together like a Swiss watch, or maybe a bank vault. I look forward to slaying a lot of beer bottles and odd jobs with it, and if it turns out to be a lifesaver someday then that's cool too.

OK you have to think if it took them 48 years to decide that they needed a new knife, the old one must have been pretty good. It Was! Buy one while you still can!

So what's up with the new one? Quite a lot, this knife is a lot bigger, the old Soldier's knife being 93mm this new one is 111mm. That may not sound like a lot but it really is in a different size category. Some people would have a hard time carrying this one loose in a pocket because of the size increase and the weight has increased from 70g to 130g. This feels like a very substaintial knife, but has injection molded handles using a non-slip composit material that is also a bit soft. It feels very comfortable to hold, it sort of melts into your hand.

The round hole on top of the blade allows it to be opened with one hand, using your thumb as you grip the knife. Unlike most Victorinox Swiss Army knives, the blade on this new one locks in the open position, so it can take a bit more abuse and using the blade it in a sawing motion won't remove your fingers. Still consider the lock a safety feature, not a license to use bad technique. The large Screwdriver also locks open, this may not sound so interesting, but it really is night and day compared to the non-locking screwdrivers on other models. First it is incredibly solid, you'll feel confident using it. It's actually build extra strong so you can use it as a small prying tool for getting into cans, opening jammed doors, windows, screens, or anything where a little lateral force would help. This way you won't abuse your knife blade for these tasks. This is one of my favorite tools on this knife.

The Soldiers get a saw! Why didn't they have this before? This also makes this knife much more useful for camping and hiking, it can easily allow you to cut small branches for shelters or cooking utensils/grills, or to notch larger pieces for some really fancy structures. It can also be a great tool to cut more fiberous material like maybe that radiator hose.

You have a place to attach a cord which might keep it from getting lost while outdoors, and the can-opener and bottle opener are there and work as great as ever. As mentioned in other reviews the partially seratted knife blade is not liked by everyone, but it really works well.

I won't go over the rest of the tools as there is lots of information on this knife on the internet. At the often ($33) or lower Amazon price. Victorinox is still the Best Value, and the Best Quality in an affordable knife. They offer a liftime warranty because it really can last you a lifetime; maybe sadly, it might even last longer, pass it on.

I carry this knife with me all the time, and I do a lot of outdoors activities, mainly long hikes. I carry a Mora carbon steel as my main knife, but this one is more than adequate for other jobs or as a backup. The saw is smaller than my camp saw, of course, but is capable of some decent sized saplings. This knife is more than capable of everyday jobs, as well as many wilderness tasks. It will not replace a full size blade or a campsaw, but it definitely has its place.

This knife is the modern Swiss army knife.

Switzerland's military only uses the best and this knife is definitely very high quality.

The only unique feature hard to adjust to is the serrated main blade.

However, I have taken this knife swimming, rock climbing, salt water, and it still looks brand new and works perfectly.

I recently received this product, and I could not have been more pleased with it's performance. Upon receiving this blade I immediately noticed the texture of the handle, which was different in that it was rough, and very easy to grip, I guarantee it will not slip out of your hand. My first task for this knife was to cut down a large sized shoot of bamboo. The saw performed beautifully, and I cut down the tree in no time. The lock on the knife is definitely useful, and saved myself from cutting my finger multiple times. I am extremely pleased with the performance of this knife, and I would recommend it for anyone interested in purchasing a new knife to use regularly.

Executive Summary: The new Soldier knife is terrific, but it is not a replacement for my trusty Officier. The Soldier is for the outdoors, the Officier is for the indoors.
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I am a long time Swiss Army Knife (SAK) user. In fact, I own three different traditional SAKs (so that I always have a spare - I never lose them for good - just rotate 'em) and a few of the tiny penknife/scissor/file pocketknives that are cheap and just handy to have around. I also prefer Victorinox over Wenger, but since Wenger was bought by Victorinox recently, this is now a moot point.

I carry a SAK for a lot of reasons. First, I hate being without tools. Watching someone trying to use a paperclip or a fingernail file to do what should be done with an actual blade or screwdriver or whatever is just annoying. SAKs are endlessly useful when you have a problem that requires a real tool (except when you need a wrench or pliers, but that's wandering into multi-tool territory). Second, SAKs are regarded as relatively innocuous by the public - no one is going to clutch their heart and gasp when you pull out a SAK. True, the airport security folk frown on them and that is a whole other discussion that doesn't belong here, but everyone else regard them as tools, which is exactly what they are.

The biggest beef I've had is the non-locking main blade. You should never carry a dull knife, and SAKs are made of pretty good stainless steel which sharpens and holds a fine edge, but working with a non-locking folding blade requires an extra degree of care. I've never had one fold back on me, but it is still something of a concern having your fingers in the path of where a razor sharp blade would fold back. You'd have to be doing something pretty dumb to get yourself into that position, but as they say, fools are ingenious.

Not being a knife fanatic I was not aware that Victorinox was producing locking knives until very recently. When I looked at the new knives, I was impressed and ordered the new Soldier (#53945) to see if it would replace my trusty "Officier".

The Officier (folded) is about an inch shorter than the new Soldier, about 1/4" thicker and about 1/2" less wide (the thumb hole on the new Soldier blade is what sticks out.) I don't have a scale, but the Soldier is somewhat heavier although not by a great deal. The Soldier is a relatively large folding knife -- I have medium size hands and it fits fairly comfortably; someone with large hands would probably find it acceptable. The Soldier will fit in a pocket, but you'll know it's there.

The Officer has the following:
Large blade
Small blade (penknife)
Small scissors
Phillips screwdriver
Magnifying glass
Can opener/small screwdriver
Large screwdriver/bottle opener
(reverse side)
Corkscrew
Hook
Awl (with hole in awl blade, presumably for sewing tarps and leather)
Tweezers
Toothpick

The new Soldier has:
Large locking blade, partially serrated (towards the front of the blade)
This blade is pointed, but not sharp at the tip. It can easily be opened with one hand and locked into place. It can easily be unlocked and folded in the _left_ hand. It is somewhat more difficult to unlock and fold with the right hand, due to the direction you have to push the frame lock. This is a minor issue; simply transfer to left hand, and fold if you can't get the hang of closing it with the right. (Usually lefties get the worst of it, but not this time. Wonder what that's all about?).
Wood saw - very fast cut in live wood
Can opener/small screwdriver
Locking large screwdriver/bottle opener/wire stripper. Nice to finally be able to use the screwdriver without having it fold, ouch!
(reverse side)
Phillips screwdriver
Awl (no hole)
(incidentally, I have no trouble opening and locking the large blade single handed with either hand - perhaps I have stronger thumbs than some)

As you can see, the Officier has 12 functions, the new Soldier has 7. The Soldier lacks a scissors, corkscrew, hook, magnifier, tweezers and toothpick. For some reason, the awl has no hole in it for sewing.

I actually make frequent use of the scissors, some use of the corkscrew and tweezers, no use of the hook and toothpick.

However, the two knives have different jobs to do. The Officier is more of an "indoor, every day" knife, the Soldier an outdoor knife, for more rugged purposes. The large locking serrated blade of the Soldier is about an inch longer, which makes it much more useful for a variety of outdoor tasks, including defensive and offensive tasks. I wouldn't want to have to defend myself with the Officier non-locking blade. The Soldier has a much better handle, giving much better control of the blade, and with its one-handed blade deploy, is far more useful when you are holding something with the other hand and can't drop it to open the knife blade. That doesn't happen so often indoors, but is a fairly common event outdoors.

I wouldn't want to have to make tinder, split kindling, saw branches, etc. with the Officier, but there's a lot of scissoring, fine knife work, cork pulling and tweezering the Soldier can't do indoors. Plus, no toothpick!

Conclusion: Officier for Monday-Friday, Soldier for weekends and holidays. Both are indispensable and you should own both.

This is a well crafted knife. It has the heavy, solid feel of good quality steel, and the main blade is available in either a straight cutting edge or as a serrated blade. The serrated blade does have a small straight edge near the rear for light work, with the serrated part of the blade up front where it belongs. It is well for the buyer to understand his or her intended need before selecting which model to purchase.

For those uncertain of the difference between the two cutting edges, here's the short course. The straight edge blade is used when you want to press the blade into something. It is good for wittling on a piece of wood or sharpening a pencil. The serrated cutting edge is used in a sawing fashion. It will slice through a tomato cleanly, while a straight edge will only squash it. The serrated blade is also used for cutting through meat and just about any other food item. The serrated edge will remain sharp longer than the straight edge will, because each part of the cutting surface individually gets less wear than the straight edge does.

There are two good reasons to consider the purchase of a belt pouch if you are seriously considering this knife. The first is the weight of the knife. As I indicated earlier, this kinfe is heavy. In my hands, it feels almost twice as heavy as the SA Huntsman model and at least 25% heaver than the SA explorer, both of which I own in addition to this new knife. The weight seems to me to be a bit more than I am willing to have in a pocket of a pair of pants. The second reason for a belt pouch is that the blade on this knife is 3 3/10" long, making it illegal in most States to carry concealed in a pocket.

Now then, as to functionality -- the main blade on this knife locks in the open position so that there is no risk of having it fold back on you while in use. Nice. Very nice. And unlike others, I have no problem closing the blade even though I am right-handed. Maybe that's because I don't try to one-hand it on the close. I roll the knife over in my hand, press the release with the right thumb, and then gently fold the blade into its housing with the left hand. No trouble at all.

There is also a saw blade which does an excellent job on twigs and small branches. In a pinch, it can also be used to go through some smaller pieces of lumber and even rubber hoses on a car. It is a shame that this saw blade does not lock open in the same fashion as the main blade does.

Of the remaining tools, only the large, blade screwdriver locks open. I like that it locks, since I have had this blade fold back and pinch my fingers in older versions of the SA knifes. Now I don't have to worry about the torque like I used to.

The awl is always a useful tool for punching through leather, boring a hole through a piece of wood, punching through drywall, or just scratching a mark on a surface. The awl tool on this knife model does not come with the sewing thread hole found on other SA knives. I use the awl a lot, but I've never had to sew canvas or leather with it, so I don't miss that hole.

I have carried a SA knife in my pants, purse, or backpack for more than 40 years, and the one tool that I have had no use for in all that time is the cork screw; but if corkscrews are your thing, this knife does not have one. The phillips screwdriver is also of little value, since you can't put any torque on it without having it fold back on your fingers. It would be better if it folded out toward the end of the knife instead of the side. It also lacks the small 1" blade found on other SA knives. That's too bad, because I've found it to be the very best 1" blade in the industry, and the most useful of all the SA tools.

Bottom line: this knife is more for outdoor use than indoor use. It remains in my backpack, but a smaller, more useful, two layer SA Tinker is in my purse.

I'd like to close with a question. Does anyone know if there is someplace I can order an SA knife specifically tailormade to my specifications - tool wise that is?

When I was in the Cub Scouts so long ago, there was a special pocket knife we carried. Before recent times a pocket knife was a sign of manhood, a necessity that anyone would understand. Today, those of us who still carry on that tradition know what it means to have the right knife for the job. For first of all the pocket knife is a tool, made for many purposes. The Victorinox Swiss Army Soldier Knife Standard Issue just fulfilled my purpose. Starting with a 3 3/8" locking blade, it opens one-handed either left or right. It's serrated edge slices easily through tough, fibrous objects. A large, locking screwdriver/bottle opener/prybar on one end sits opposite a can opener/small screwdriver. Alongside the blade is a functioning saw. Underneath the knife is a reamer and a Phillips-head screwdriver. The handle is a double-density material that feels comfortable while giving a good grip. It is sturdily Swiss-built. I've had a lot of pocket knives, but this one tells you it's for survival. I'm replacing my Victorinox Swiss Army Camping Knife with this big brother. Oh--I recommend a sheath or case for it.

This is an awesome knife to use for everything. The wood saw is very durable and is also long enough to actually be able to cut wood effectively. The screwdriver, bottle opener, etc. are also very useful. The grip, while different then a standard oval-shaped red Victorinox grip, is very easy to hold. The partially serrated, one handed opening, 3.4 inch lockblade is very high quality and very useful for cutting through nearly anything. It is also nice that I can open it with one hand quite easily. I also own a Gerber Answer XL Tanto assisted opening 4 inch blade knife, and, while it definitely looks cool, it is nowhere near as functional as this Victorinox knife. It is also not as high quality. I would recommend the Victorinox 2009 Soldier Knife for anyone looking for something infinitely useful that can fit in to a pocket.

Great little knife. I've had a hundred folding knives and no one was ever used more than the black Tinker I picked up at a pawn shop for a dollar all becuase it had a phillips head screwdriver instead of the leather punch. Immediately I thought "Eureka! they finally put somthing useful on the back of one of these things". However, all greatness is fleeting and after breaking the tip off the blade of my Tinker I was resolved to find a better pocket knife.

The Standard Issue might be a little big for an every day pocket knife but it works great on the jobsite/campsite. The grip is wide and sure feeling. A Swiss knife an American male can hold with all five fingers of his hand is a revolution in and of itself. Also, the locking blade makes working a little safer and can easily be disengaged and folded up with one hand. The serrated blade is a little more difficult to sharpen but the steel holds an edge well and I haven't had to put it on the bench yet in 3 months of moderate use.

Most importantly, the phillips head on the back. I can't quantify the value of that little bit, it has saved the day countless times and I would never carry another pocket/truck/jobsite/campsite knife with out one. Here's hoping someone at Victorinox sees this and they'll get rid of that silly leather punch (for all the leatherworking we do in this millenium, I don't even think my shoes or belt are made out of real leather anymore).