Since starting this thread, I’ve replaced the scissors spring on my Victorinox Champion two more times. Last night, the spring broke again. I recall in another thread that someone said the scissors on Wenger Swiss Army Knives are superior, so I looked for a Wenger. In the search, I found this Victorinox EvoGrip, which appears to be identical to Wenger’s.
Questions: Are the two knives the actually same, but with different ‘badging’? (There’s an $18 price difference.) Is that the ‘superior’ scissors I need? How do the scissors work? i.e., They don’t seem to have a leaf spring. What is the mechanism?
Victorinox and Wenger are the same company since 2005 when Victorinox aquired Wenger. I still only buy Victorinox and I am a huge fan of their Swiss Army Knives. I have had less than great experiences with Wenger knives a long time ago but they may be equal now.
That said, Victorinox scissor springs do break with constant use. I have never had one actually break but I have had to bend them back into alignment. Replacing the spring is just something you have to do for occasional maintenance for a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife that gets a lot of use.
You already know how to fix yours but I will give a tip for everyone else. It is hard to break a Victorinox Swiss Army knife but they do have a true lifetime warranty. There is service center in Connecticut that will repair or replace any of their Swiss Army knives for a $5 handling fee (at least that is how much it was the last time I used it). You can also order a kit with a new scissor spring, tweezers and toothpick from their web site for a few dollars. Those are the most common items that get broken or lost.
I wish I knew how the Wenger model scissors worked but I don’t. A better design would be welcome. The leaf spring in the Victorinox models works fine until it gets bent or breaks when you need it most.
The EvoGrip you linked to appears to have the same sort of scissors as on a Wenger. There’s a separate piece of rigid metal that the moving part of the scissors levers against. That separate piece must have some sort of spring somewhere, but it’s fully enclosed in the hinge of the tool, where it folds into the handle. I’ve had mine for about 30 years or so, and the screw that forms the fulcrum of the scissors now comes loose too easily, but the spring still works fine.
Thanks. I thought it might be levered at the bottom like the rest of the blades. Since the Victorinox EvoGrip is the same as the Wenger, I’ll go ahead and get one, and retire the Champion I bought in 1981/82 to the collection.
I got the EvoGrip, and indeed the scissors use the bar on the bottom (like the ones providing tension on the other blades) for tension on the moving blade. It appears to be more durable than the traditional Victorinox scissors spring.
I’ve replaced the spring on my 1982 Champion, and retired the knife to the collection.