Cutlery Accessories Reviews

I Think Everyone Should Get The Swisschamp xlt. As Being To Big To Cary In The Pocket I Had No Problem carying A Swisschamp Xxlt.

Has all the tools you could possibly need, and then some.

I have owned a Swiss Army knife for as long as I can remember- from the Camping to the Swisschamp. The Swisschamp has been around the world with me over the past 10 years!

That said, this knife is the best that they offer. While larger than the Swisschamp, it provides every tool that you could need- and it was time for an upgrade...

I would, however, recommend a belt holder with this as it is too large for the pocket- but then this is not really a true "pocket knife"...more a "multi-tool"...!

I really like this for wooden kitchen utensil and cutting boards. Other oils I can find are smelly with solvents, this one is just perfect.

This set of four knives is the same great quality of more expensive knives and they are a fraction of the cost. The knife blades are Chicago Cutlery quality at the best price I've ever paid for a knife (much less a set of four) ever in my life. The sturdy colored handles make it is easy to identify each knife blade, they contour fit the hand well and you can leave in water without the worry of warping. With four knife blades to choose from there is a knife for almost anything you need to do in the kitchen.

I just recently purchased this little knife set at a local department store and paid $10.00 for the set. I love these things! At Amazon's price of $3.99 I added a second set to another order and I am eagerly awaiting their arrival. I would recommend these knives to anyone. They are such a good deal, in my opinion!

I've been looking all over for these! Over the summer my mom bought some at an outlet mall, and we LOVED them! You don't expect much out of something so cheap, but these were probably the best little knives I've ever used. I've been looking for a set for myself for quite some time, and I finally found them! I'm throwing out all the other useless knives I have in my drawer.

Item arrived on time and in excellent condition. It was exactly as I expected.

Samurai Henckels
has forged knives, an alliance:
Axis of barware!

Shearing a ribbon
of peel from humble lime, quick
wakizashi works.

Sing, o katana,
slice fine the celery, we
like bloody marys.

storage is a snap and easy to grap when you need a knife quick

This is a good multitool except for one thing. It does not have a regular knife blade! I was shocked when I received it and could not find a regular pointed knife blade. There is a serated knife blade. But it is rounded at the end.

This is a high quality tool. The fit, finish and action are very impressive. It would be perfect for the handyman, tradesman or anyone that doesn't care about bulk or weight. I especially like the locking feature for the tools. Because it's such a nice tool, I plan on keeping it. It will likely last for many years with minimal care. Having said that, it's probably not for the backpackers out there. The pictures don't capture how large and heavy this tool is relative to most other multi-tools and most swiss army knives. So if you're a backpacker who watches every ounce, there are better alternatives.

I've been on a quest for the best multi-tool for years. Over the last twenty I've had leathermen, SOGs, Schrades, Gerbers, swiss army knives and more. In this review I will put the Spirit up against the Leatherman Charge Ti and the Gerber Legend 800 - what I consider the primary competitors for best multi-tool on the planet at the moment. I owned the Gerber Legend 800 from 2002-2004 - and lost it when the cheesy nylon case broke. I owned the Charge Ti from 2005-2006 and recently had it stolen or lost in my living room by either my kids or a houseguest when I left it out over a vacation week. I got the Victorinox Spirit to tide me over until I found the Charge Ti. As the months pass I'm pretty happy with the Victorinox and can live with the fact this might be a permanent arrangement. I've had it for 3 months now and it has answered every call.

As way of background I'll share that I'm a computer guy and medium-duty handyman. I use multitools to repair electronics, gutters, minor carpentry & electrical; around the house and work stuff mostly. (Work has been a museum construction site for years).

Short and sweet - the Victorinox is smaller and more dainty - yet stands with the big boys in performance. Smaller and lighter than the others, the Spirit is superbly laid out and moves with solidity beyond its size and a fascinating precisions that is ... well... Swiss. Each tool is easily accessible to the thumbnail and comes out smoothly BY ITSELF. Each tool locks with an individual springlock (the spring lock back looks like the musical part of wind-up music box). Lock release is via an intuitive pull latch. Everything is a chromed glossy mirror finish except the pliers head - which is nice unit. Here's the lowdown on the matchup:

Pliers: Winner - Gerber Legend 800. Gerber has spring-loaded pliers that open themselves up. They also have replaceable interchangeable wire cutter blades. These two features are unique and are great. The downside for Gerber is that the pliers don't open quite as far as the other two - limiting their utility for plumbing. Victorinox and Leatherman have similar pliers - but on the Victorinox the jaws are a little stubbier, and the jaws only touch at the tip when closed (they become totally parallel when the jaw are open 2mm) as opposed to most others where the pliers jaws are totally parallel at the point of closure. In practice none of this made a bit of difference. The most controverial part of the Spirit is the curved handle which gives the pliers grip a short finger throw. This is a nice refinement - they make an elegant pair of pliers - but at the cost of the ruler markings on the grip. In the end I prefer the older swisstool style on this score. Put Victorinox #2. The final issue the the grip. The Gerber has all the tools inside, so the pliers grip is wide smooth metal all the way but theres a seam. The Leatherman charge - like the Wave, has the small tools recessed out on the grip side - so your hand grips the smooth back of the 4 long tools (knives, saws, and files). This makes the grip wider than the old-style leathermen, where you gripped only the metal edge, but narrower than the other two offerings. The Victorinox has all the tools inside the grip - and your hand mostly bears down on the smooth spring lock mechanism.

Knives: Winner: Leatherman Charge Ti. The Charge Ti has two knives, a superb smooth bladed clip point in a special hard alloy, and a nice serrated. Both can be opened with one hand without opening the tool. The Spirit has a single blade - a razor shaped aggressively serrated blade that must be opened with two hands. It's wickedly sharp, but serrated blades are harder to resharpen and the razor shape lacks a point. I find I use the awl when I want a knive point. I guess Victorinox figures the serrated blade will stay sharp. We'll see. The Gerber has a single clip point blade with a smooth front half and serrated back half. This sounds like a bad thing - but it actually worked well. It's openable by one hand.

Saw: Winner: Tie Victorinox & Leatherman. Both are wickedly sharp dual action teeth and are the same thickness. The Victorinox has a lower profile, but the Leatherman has teeth all the way to the tip - call it a tie. The Gerber has a cool mechanism that accepts jigsaw blades, allowing you to choose your own and replace as needed. Great concept - but trouble is that there aren't any great jigsaw blades made - nothing comes close the quality of the saws on these other two.

File: Winner Tie for Victorinox and Leatherman. Very close all around. They all give good files. The Victoriox is the sharpest, but the Leatherman is almost as sharp and gives you a bit more surface area.

Philips Screwdriver: Victorinox - for having the longest (gets in the most crannies). Leatherman Charge and Gerber both have interchangeable bits associated witht he philips screwdriver. The Leatherman Charge has the much better interchangeable bit scenario with cool low profile bits that store in the belt case and have a great selection. Gerber takes regular size bits - which is a plus, but the bit holding adapter doesn't mate totally securely with the screwdriver head and must be carried in a separate case. Victorinox also has a bit arrangement - with a cool little rotary ratchet - but its a completely freestanding separtate arrangment. This is bound to get lost.

Scissors: Winner: Victorinox hands down. Like a swiss army knife scissors, but with an upgraded beefy spring that's gonna last and which also holds the scissors closed enough that the blades are just crossed - so you can breeze through paper. The old Leatherman wave had a great scissors, but they upgraded for the new wave and Charge series. The new leatherman scissor is smaller and wimpier and opens too far to cut when the hand is relaxed. Gerber's is too skinny with too tough a spring (hurts to use it) - but compensates by being the only one openable with one hand.

Flat head screwdrivers: Winner Victorinox (but special honor for Charge Ti for glasses screwdriver/tiny philips). Like a swiss army knife, the Spirit has the excellent can opener combo with small screwdriver head, a beefy big screwdriver with wirebending notch, and now a cool sharp small-mid sized flat screwdriver head with a long narrow shaft - great for computers with serial ports. The Charge Ti has the interchangeable bits - which are great but have a very short shaft, a glasses screwdriver as a full tool which you can pull out and reverse to get a tiny precision philips head screwdriver (unique and totally awesome - great for watches and model trains and glasses), and a medium sized stand along screwdriver that is OK, but not particularly well shaped or long or distinguished in any way. The Gerber has the interchangeable bits and three decent built-in flat head screwdrivers.

Can Opener/Bottle Opener: Winner Victorinox - has good toold for both functions - just like the Swiss Army Knife. The Charge has a combo can/bottle opener that just barely tolerable. The Gerber lacks these tools.

Awl: Victorinox is the only one - and a great awl it is. Good for belts and for cutting nylon cable ties. Makes a great and safer box opener too.

Ruler: The Charge Ti is the only one of these three to include this important feature.

Chisel/Wire scraper - Victorinox - unique and great tool. You can always use the wire cutter to strip and scrape wire. The Victorinox has about a half dozen ways - but thise chisel/scraper tool is a really great wire stripper as well a solid chisel for detail work. For model building this is a big plus.

Handle grip: Winner: Charge Ti - the titanium textured grips are totally awesome. The Gerber has big aluminum grips with inset rubber panels. The rubber comes out after a year. The alumninum is light but bulky. The curve is kinda cool - but also kinda dorky. The Victorinox has a super shiny polished grip that looks like it's going to be slippery. In practice the grip is fine (I haven't used it in muddy or oily situations - but that would be bad for any multitool).

Case: Winner Charge Ti - available leather case with snap closure. Snap is more durable than velco. The bad thing about the Charge's case is the stretchy side panels. I wonder about their durability. The Victorinox has solid leather case - very nice - but velcro closure. After the velcro stops working I'll take it to a leather shop to have a snap closure put in. The Gerber only has a nylon case with velcro closure.

Cost - the Victorinox is half the cost of the Charge - but lacks the bits. The Gerber slots between the two. The Victorinox at $50 isn't dirt cheap - but is pretty good value for the money.

Size - the Victorinox is the smallest and lightest by a wide margin.

Fit and finish: The Victorinox is the slickest with the tightest tolerances and smoothest most polished motions. As someone else points out - however, it has dead pins, preventing you from replacing tools down the road. The Charge is a close second and has torx pin closure. The Gerber must be singled out for scorn on the design front. A number of tools cannot be taken out without removing the adjacent tool and the scissors opens and closes in such a manner that you risk a cut each time.

Overall winner depends on your list of priorities. I'd say the Charge Ti is the best overall - most useful in the widest range of situations. Ultimately, any of these tools will serve you well. The Victorinox Spirit with its high utility, great refinement, light weight and low price is real nice pick - expecially well suited to the well dressed, ladies, and anyone who appreciates a nice unit.