Things That Work: Victorinox Swiss Army Knives

Since I was a kid I have had an appreciation for the Swiss Army knife. I have memories of my fourth grade teacher, who was a giant of a man in my eyes, pulling out a gargantuan red handled knife with a gozillion blades on it for some trivial matter. Being a boy, it was natural for me to be fascinated by knives and this one was no different. How cool was a knife was a virtual toolbox? For some reason or another, I didn't get an actual Victorinox until I was 22 when my wife and then fiance brought one back from trip to Europe. It was one of the smaller knives but it did have the scissors and a few other essential tools. Unfortunately, it fell into the small knife category. Small knives have a way of working their way out of a pocket when seated. A larger knife has enough mass and heft that it will tend to fall to the backside of your leg instead of up your leg and out of your pocket.
As you have already guessed, this is what happened to my small knife. Not having a pocket knife is a hard thing to get used too, especially when you find yourself pulling it out of your pocket 4-5 times a day. That was exactly what I was doing with my little Victorinox. So I told my wife my tale of woe, and began looking for a replacement. And I found one, too. In the most unlikely of places, Casino Pawn in Van Buren. The knife they had was fairly close to a "Champ", the top of the line model. I lost the box and paper that came with it, but I do remember at the time looking up the retail value for the and seeing that it was in the $60 range. So I asked the guy behind the counter what he wanted for it and he said $15. I said I'll take it.


That was 5 years ago. I have seldom left my house without it in my pocket since then. I consider it as an extension of my hand; nearly always possessing the correct tool for the job in a pinch. Honestly, I hardly ever use either of the knife blades. The most used feature is most certainly the scissors. I am constantly trimming a kids fingernails, cutting a tag off of a shirt, opening a stubborn bag of candy, or an errant strand of hair with this device. Unfortunately, the little spring that returns the scissors to ready position often comes off track. A small grip to the greater usefulness of an otherwise very useful tool.
If I ever need to quickly amputate a limb, the saw blade should make quick work of it. I can cut through an 1 1/2" diameter bamboo trunk in about 30 seconds with the sharp teeth on this implement. Not that I'm chomping at the bit to cut my or anyone else's arm off- just knowing that I can if I need to is reassuring.
I'm always flipping out one blade or the other to fix something. The screwdriver blades, the can opener, the corkscrew (yes, no wine bottle is safe around me!), the bottle opener (nor is any bottle of beer!). All in all it is the best $15 I have ever spent on anything.