Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Victorinox Swiss Army Soldier Pocket Knife (Silver Alox)

Customer Reviews


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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Victorinox Beats Wenger In Quality, May 3, 2006

I am somewhat of an unqualified expert on the Victorinox Swiss Army Knives, I currently own 4 of them, and one Wenger Executive. If you are going back and forth debating which is better, in my experience the Victorinox is superior in blade quality and construction. The Wenger knives have more "wiggle" in the blade and just don't feel as solid.

The Silver Alox Soldier is a fine looking knife. I really prefer the look and style to any other Swiss Army red or black. It feels heavier, and the handle material isn't going to chip or crack. Good enough to put in your back or front pocket without being too heavy, and a nice mix of tools. I also have the Silver Alox Harvester, which is the same knife with a sawblade added. You wouldn't think it would make much of a difference, but the Soldier is noticeably lighter in your pocket, so if weight is a big deal for you and you can sacrafice the sawblade, this knife would be ideal for you.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Swiss Army Knife Ever Made, January 22, 2006
By D. Routman (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
In my opinion, this is the best Swiss Army knife ever made. It is the sturdiest of all the knives, and has only the necessary tools. Perfect for camping/backpacking, and as a gift to friends and family.


PROS:

-The knife blade is longer and thicker (sturdier) than the knife blades on other Swiss Army knife models.
-Aluminum Handles. The classic red plastic handles on the other models will eventually crack and fall off after a few years of regular use. The aluminum sides on this knife will never break, and they offer superior grip.
-Compact and Lightweight.
-It's the official army knife of Swiss soldiers, so it must be good!


CONS:

1. The reamer may not be very useful for many people. However, it has many other uses if you get creative.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Another absolute gem, June 30, 2006
By Stanley H. Zisk "daman" (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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I bought this knife to replace an older one that I "lost" at an airport security check (forgot to empty that pocket at home.)

It appears to be exactly the same knife as the Swiss Army Pioneer Pocket Knife, which I also bought ("just to see..."), except that this one has a key ring.

They are both absolute gems, each has a small variety of tools that are extremely useful and is not overloaded with "fun" stuff that just add to the weight and awkwardness. The metal is hard & sturdy enough that you can really do some prying without damaging the blades, the knife blade is sharp and will hopefully stay that way for a while (good metal), the can-opener works well, the shape of the small screwdriver lets you wriggle it into the smallest of openings to do the pry thing, and the blade remains un-nicked so continues to work well as a screwdriver afterward.
Also, the handle is metal, not plastic, so I can carry it (for years?) in the same pocket with my keys, with no chipping or loosening of the side plates. A very good design! and I'm grateful that the Company continues to make such a useful piece, when they undoubtedly earn a lot more profit from the big, fancy, multi-mega-bladed tools - which may be good in a toolbox, but not in a pocket!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Knife, December 6, 2006
By nicest of the damned (Salt Lake City) - See all my reviews
I received this knife as a gift from my Swiss sister in law 15 YEARS AGO, and it's a real gem without a trace of rust or wear! The blades are VERY SHARP and although I can't say I use it on a daily basis, I would dare say it would take a lot to dull them, it is surely made of high-quality tempered steel. I have even let friends etch and bore on rocks with the boring tool and it still has a nice pointy tip on it. It doesn't wiggle or slip, the blades stay in place when extended and snap right back into the sleeve the same way they did the first time I opened it it.

If you are looking for a quality knife at a reasonable price I highly recommend this knife for the Scout or outdoorsman in your family.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Essentials, November 3, 2006
This is the definitive basic pocketknife. It's slim and carries the the necessary tools and ONLY the necessary tools. These are: a large (and sharp!) blade, a can opener (with a small screwdriver tip), a bottle opener (with a wide screwdriver tip) and an awl. The durable checkered silver sides offer a secure grip. The knife, while not small, fits comfortably in a pocket or a purse, ready to trim an errant thread or open a non-twistoff beer bottle.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Midsize Swiss Army Knife, November 21, 2007
By Smaug "Jeremy" (Round Lake Beach, IL United States) - See all my reviews
First let me admit that I've loved Swiss Army Knives (SAKs) since my grandpa first brought me one from Switzerland when I was about 10. I've been through about 2 dozen of them. Some, I've lost, some, I've given away. One weakness in the design of SAKs is the plastic handle. If you drop the knife, chances are the handle will crack, fall off, whatever. This is not an issue with the "Silver Alox" (aluminum) handle versions like this one. These handles don't fall off, and they don't break. Also, Victorinox isn't trying to kid anyone by putting that ridiculous little keyring on this one. This is a real pocketknife. Compared to similar size SAKs, this one is not only more durable because of the handle material, but the blade is made from thicker stock. Losing the small blad in favor of an awl is a fair trade. After all, many people break their SAK blades by trying to pry with them. The awl is kind of a multipurpose tool. You can use it to punch holes in things, pry (a bit), dig around in things, widen (ream) holes, and many other things. Sometimes, I do miss the small blade though. That small blade was the one I would always keep sharp, no matter what. The large blade is used for heavier work, and the small one for light duty work that required a razor's edge. I also miss the toothpick sometimes. However, if you're only going to have one pocketknife, it has to be either this one or the Classic. This one for the more heavy duty type of person, the Classic for the more "business casual" type of person.

The can opener works brilliantly. The small screwdriver tip at the end of the can opener was a stroke of genius. The bottle opener works brilliantly as well, and the large screwdriver is as useful as the bottle opener. The "wire stripper" is all but useless. To use it, one has to first cut a ring around the insulation of the wire in question. The problem is that if you're doing it on the appropriate size wire, you're likely to cut yourself while cutting the ring. After one cuts the ring around the wire, one fits the wire into the groove, bends it over 90° while holding onto the piece of insulation to be stripped off, and pulls. It works, but it's clumsy.

I've been carrying mine daily now for a couple months. It's time to get a small classic size one, but with more tools, back into my daily knife rotation. This one is starting to feel heavy at my office job. But I do revel in the glory of always having a tough knife to open boxes with and a bottle opener to open a nice import beer. Heheheh.

Oh, a bit of history. This is the soldier model. Most SAKs have 'Victorinox Switzerland Stainless' on one side of the main blade and 'Officer Suisse' on the other. Those are "Officer's Knives" in other words: not as tough. This one doesn't have the 'Officer Suisse' on the other side. This is the SAK that started it all. Mine has '97' on the other side of the main blade, which was probably the year it was manufactured.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Best knife ever made, November 15, 2005
This is a perfect knife. It is small and very practical, the combination of the blades is very good (blade, screw driver, can opener, and hole maker-carving tool). The size is perfect I have an old champion but is too large and you almost never use any of the tools but the knife and the screw driver. I like this one better is the perfect pocket knife. Plus the silver aluminum is far better than the traditional red plastic and it won't get scratch that easily.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Blade, September 28, 2004
By Chesty "USMCGrunt" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
I love this knife. As a infantry instructor I see my students come through with all sorts of different pocket knives. Most cost between $30-$100 dollars and are no better than my Victorinox Soldier. I have been carrying one for years and found it to have everything I ever need without the high expense. This knife is more rugged than any of the other swiss army knives I've used and has a heavier blade. I don't go anywhere without it. Buy two in case you lose one. You won't regret carrying this knife.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Most rugged Swiss Army Knife, April 14, 2008
By Tom Mahon (Kent, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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I'm a fan of Swiss Army Knives in general and the Soldier is my favorite. Just the basic tools in a very slim package, the Soldier is the knife still issued to soldiers in the Swiss army. Hence the emblem on the side is not the standard Victorinox company logo, rather the national crest of Switzerland.

The main blade I would guess is 50% thicker than the blade on 'regular' SAK models. The knurled aluminum grips have a great non-slip feel to them.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Feels good in the hand, March 31, 2004
By A Customer
I carry this knife every day. Its aluminum handle feels good in my hand. The main blade takes a razor sharp edge and holds it. The grid design on the handle seems to keep it from getting scratched in my pocket. For some reason this feels a bit more solid than the other knife I carry (a MiniChamp on the keyring), and not just because it's bigger.
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