VictorinoxSwiss Army Pioneer Pocket Knife, 91mm

My new Swiss Army Pioneer came in the mail Monday. The box it was packaged in was beat up, but the knife was perfect. Very impressed with the workmanship. Four blades/tools in a narrow pocket knife and none of them rub when opening or closing. Easy to open and every thing opens and closes with a solid snap. Blade was pretty sharp, but after carying it for three days and letting a little new wear off I went ahead and put a good keen edge on it with a lanskey and a ceramic sharpener. It seemed to be very easy to sharpen and took an edge almost as sharp as a barber's straight razor, I could have got it even sharper, but that was good enough. I don't expect it will hold an edge as well as more modern stainless steels will, but I think it will be fine for its purpose. Haven't tried out the awl or can opener, but the bottle opener works fine. I've been carying a large stockman pattern pocket knife and this one is much smaller and lighter in my pocket. Very good value for the price. Mine's silver and it looks good.

I've carried Victorinox knives since my teenage years, and that was twenty-five years ago. Started with the monstrous "Champ" 70+ function knife, which rode in a belt pouch and was WAY more than anyone needs for daily carry and use, but it did let me try out most of the functions and find which were my bare necessities.I've gone through two or three since then, all of a similar size to the Pioneer, and my only issue I've ever had has been the eventual loosening of the trademark red scales. I probably should have investigated warranty replacement, but each time the handle scales came loose I decided to try a slightly different model. With the Alox scales, this one looks to be a lifetime purchase.The Alox Pioneer does away with the tweezers and toothpick of the red plastic handle versions. I won't miss either of these. The tweezers might have worked to remove the occasional splinter, but for most other fine work they were not, in my opinion, worth the effort of inclusion. The toothpick, after riding in a pocket and collecting whatever gunk the knife was near, could not be a sanitary option for its purpose! The only reason I wouldn't trash these two items out of hand was the unsightly holes left without them.The blade is typical Victorinox - SHARP out of the box! I mean arm-hair-shaving sharp! I will likely get more use out of the reamer blade than the small blade my other knives offered. And the cap lifter and can opener are old friends - with large and small flathead screwdrivers (and the small can do a good job on most normal-sized Phillips-head screws!) I could, honestly, take or leave the key ring, but it's there.Lockup on all blades is solid, I no longer have any of my old SAK's for comparison, but the mechanism on this one seems stronger. I can agree with other reviewers who observe the main blade seems thicker on the Alox knife than on the red plastic ones, and this one is definitely slimmer. Good grip with the textured handles.

I have had many Swiss army knives, but the one I always come back to for overall usefulness and reliability is the Pioneer. The knife is the almost the same as that issued by the Swiss Army to their soldiers (the Soldier knife) from 1960 until 2008, except for the ring at one end to allow attachment to a key chain. It has Alox handles with a ribbing to add to the ease of gripping it even when conditions are adverse. There are only four blades: major cutting blade, large flat screw driver/bottle cap opener, can opener/small screw driver (that could be used for Phillip screws), and a very useful awl. The main blade takes and hold a sharp edge. It is large enough to give you the sturdiness to enable a firm cut. The can opener design is one of the best I've ever seen on a pocket knife. It is quick, easy to use, and leaves a smooth edge. The large screw driver/bottle cap opener can open half way to give you extra torque when loosening or tightening a screw which at times helps with that stubborn screw.. The awl is very use full, it it is quick and being on the end of the knife and not protruding from the middle of the handle allows you to work in any space you can fit your hand. It is very user friendly. The size of the handle gives you plenty of "heft" when you need it and is not bulky because of any additional blades.I would recommend this knife over most of the other Swiss Army models for every day carry, it contains 99% of the tools you would use on any given day. It is sturdy and you can use it in almost any task you need to use a knife. The cutting blade is less than three inches and does not lock so it should be legal to carry where ever you can still carry a knife. It fits well into the pocket.I would also suggest you use Amazon to purchase you knife, the service and customer care of Amazon is second to done.