Victorinox Swiss Army Spartan II Pocket Knife

I do not undersrand why so many people are complaining about it being a different color and a textured finish on handle. I find the dark red much more manly and unique and the no slip finish a bonus. IT SHOULD ALSO BE POINTED OUT IT IS LABELED SPARTAN II.....IF YOU WANT A BRIGHT RED SMOOTH SPARTAN THEY ARE HERE. I purchased one as a gift for my brother in law as a Christmas gift and liked it so much with the understated styling that I wanted to purchase one for myself but not available. ...the lightning deal wiped out the stock so I purchased a black spartan but wish it had the matte handle. I understand these are the direct descendants oof the original swiss soldiers knife and I am sure they were not all polished and chromed. That is one of the details of swiss army knives that I disliked too much flash to seem functional, the blades need more carbon and less chrome and a cheap shiny plasti bright red handle always turned me off. I always carried the smaller version with the scissors and nail file just for cleaning and trimming my nails but as a Union tradesman I would also carry a nice sharp American made pocket knife with one long thin blade and one shorter blade much easier to sharpen and hold a point. And a SOF power lock kniknife plier combo. But I am going to give the spartan a try, I am retired now but feel like something is missing or forgotten when I do not feel a pocket knife in my front pocket. Vice Grips makes a handy locking plier with a several blades and driver inside the handle.

My go-to everyday pocketknife is a Victorinox Swiss Army Spartan. I have other knives including a stainless Opinel No. 7 and Spyderco Tenacious which both get pocket time, but the one I carry the most is far and away the Spartan. It's my favorite balance of size, weight, capability, cost, and pocket-friendly shape. The blade is not so long that it frightens people, nor is it so short as to be useless. The Spartan may be a jack of all trades and master of none, but it's plenty good enough 90% of the time. It's also durable and reliable. A Swiss Army Climber I've had for 14 years now still works perfectly, and the only evidence of its age is the scratched handle scales.I bought a second Spartan when Amazon had a deal of the day on this model, the Spartan II (and when it arrived my wife asked if she could have my old one--how could I say no?). The only difference between the Spartan and the Spartan II is that the Spartan II has matte nylon handle scales instead of polished "cellidor." Probably because my father carried a Swiss Army knife for years in his back pocket, the polished scales will always look right to my eye, and they have an intangible advantage in feel--I just like the shininess better than the matte. But I love the Spartan II, too, and the nylon feels tougher and grippier. It looks modern and doesn't show surface scratches as much. In my opinion you can't go wrong either way. This may not be the perfect pocketknife for everyone, but it is my faithful companion, and I highly recommend it.

I've owned 3 'Tinker's - one worn out (over-sharpened the small blade way down) and a couple of the larger models. The Tinkers are the perfect size for an urban pocket knife (as well as for light work around the farm) but I always wanted a corkscrew... I sure didn't want to carry around one of the larger Swiss Army contraptions just to get a corkscrew.The Spartan configuration is identical to the Tinker except the Phillips screwdriver is replaced with the corkscrew. Since the Phillips was awkward to use at best and you can use the smaller flat screwdriver on the end of the can opener for most all Phillips head screws you would be tinkering with (pun intended) using your Swiss Army folder, I certainly don't miss it.When I saw these Spartan II's on sale with Amazon Prime for less than $12, I picked up 3 - one for me, one for my better half and a spare for a gift or replacement - I also have a habit of losing pocket knives.As others have said, the plastic finish is a flat matte and a bit darker red. The insignia is embossed in the plastic - not the metal inlay that the normal Swiss Army knives include.I like the matte look/feel and the tools are the same Victorinox quality. A great bargain especially at the sale price.

I've grown up camping and generally carrying a pocket knife with me my whole life. I've bought a lot of them and used more. For some reason though I never liked Swiss Army Knives. The lack of a locking blade made me nervous so I never used them and it's absolutely not a self defense tool. But I finally gave this one a try and fell in love.The new handle material is extremely light weight and thinner than the classic plastic but slightly more grippy. Traction still isn't tremendous but the use of the knife should be remembered. It's a non locking blade. You aren't meant to be doing super hard cutting tasks. You can whittle somewhat if you feel like it but that's about my limit for these guys. The non locking 420hc blade is ideal for edc type tasks though. Cutting string, opening packages, cutting food, etc.I'm not going into detail about every tool but I will say it can be a real life saver to have them when you need them. 80% of the time I use this knife I'm only using the blade but when it's only 2 ounces why not bring along some extras? And victorinox knives are an incredible value. For 10-20$ you can get sooo much for your money.

I've carried one of these for over 30 years now and only had to replace it twice (one I lost and one I broke the main blade on hitting it with a hammer...probable not an "approved" use :). I bought 3 of these to give as Christmas gifts, one for each of the kids and they are exactly the same as the one I've carried all these years. This is your basic Swiss Army knife from the premier manufacturer. Everything you need in a pocket knife without any of the other specialized stuff that makes the larger ones heavier to carry. It was shipped quickly, arrived on time and in the condition and packaging expected. I highly recommend it.