Victorinox Swiss Army Farmer Alox

Another iconic design from a company with unsurpassed manufacturing process control and product quality control. The Victorinox Pioneer is a great all-around knife to have at home and afield. I'll not be caught without mine.

Another great all  around knife. This knife is the two layer Victorinox Pioneer with a third layer for an added root saw. In fact, the Victorinox 93mm alox line is known as the Pioneer series. Like the Pioneer, this knife in not just for camping but for everyday use too. This is a bit longer (93mm) and a bit beefier than most Swiss Army Knives. 

It's a five tool/blade scout pattern (main blade, can opener/small screw driver, cap lifter/large screw driver/wire stripper, punch/awl, and root saw). The steel is Scandinavian stainless (on the order of Sandvic 12C27) with the main blade's hardness at 56-58 Rc. Other tools are treated to be softer (52 Rc) so as to be less brittle and less likely to snap with the sideways force/torque they undergo when used as designed.  The root saw is treated to 53 Rc. The tool steel is extremely corrosion resistant as are the aluminum scales. 

Holds an edge yet is easily sharpened. Blade comes very sharp right out of the box. Best knife can opener currently on the market. You push the can opener around a can lid vice pull it as you do with most scout knife beak-type can openers. 

As far as scout knives go, this is about the toughest made. Main blade is thicker at the spine and tang than any other yet it remains a great slicer. This knife is at home doing camp chores or whittling or slicing in the camp kitchen. The awl too is the best in the business and works great striking ferrocerium rods to generate sparks.

The root saw has double offset rows of teeth and will cut through any wood.  Cuts dry wall for squaring holes perfectly. Fit and finish are excellent and uniformly so across production.  None of the blades rub each other or the liners. Extremely little blade crink which is necessary to fit so many blades in a single knife. Good snap on all springs and no side to side blade play. 

The two downsides --- the key ring lanyard and lack of instructions to properly use the wire striper. A standard scout knife bail would be better than the key ring lanyard in that it could be removed if you don't like bails.  Without proper instructions on use of the wire stripper, many just don't know how to use that tool. It isn't intuitive. Note that the wire stripper has no sharpened edge.

Here's how to strip wire with this knife: open the main blade, then open the bottle cap lifter. Place the wire in the wire notch of the cap lifer.  With wire in place close the cap lifter. Now close the main blade on top of the wire. Rotate wire and let the main blade cut the insulation. 

This is a great all around knife to have afield. I'll not be caught without mine.

This can be picked up on Amazon for $30 and I recommend everyone has one for day hikes to long hauls. It and an Exotac fire starter are indispensable! I wouldn't say or recommend it be your only knife, but this is one you should have. I even teamed mine up with a smaller one so I'd have the scissors, toothpick, and tweezers. With those three items there isn't much I can't do in a jam.

I picked mine up on Amazon. As a knife nut it was a must-have. After using it  it quickly became my always-on-me knife when in the woods.

You really can't go wrong on this buy. The saw works well for numerous tasks and the blade sharpens easy. The other tools all come in useful and it's all in a lightweight package.

By no means does this knife take the place of an axe, fixed blade knife, tomahawk, etc., but it should be in your pocket or clipped to you always at your side, because you never know when you and your gear may get separated, but with this knife with you you'll be prepared and with the add-ons I suggested you can tackle most any situation.

Great knife!

This model is my favorite SAK. It has just enough tools to be useful in the woods. The saw, though small does a great job. The Alox handles are far superior to the plastic ones.

What is there to say? They trimmed the BS on this one and put it in a metal case. Leave your other silly knife in your Hummer and just pack this.