Finish on the rubber inserts on Evogrip knives

[jon83]

I've been looking at an evogrip S18 and I noticed that the rubber inserts on a few of the evogrip models I've looked at, show some markings possibly from the manufacturing process. The marks are round sort of like thumb prints usually on the ends of the rubber insert and don't appear to wipe off. I think they are formed from when the rubber is pressed into place, i don't quite know what to make of them. Some have them, others don't. The S18 I'm looking at is the last one at the store and has them.

Looking for input from anyone what to make of these. Does it seem like something that would put you off? From users of the evogrip models, have noticed them on your evogrip, do they go away after a while.

It's purely cosmetic but it's an annoyance to me the finish on these is not consistent.

Here is an example: you can see it on the end of the larger grip and on both ends of the smaller one with the logo. From what I've seem in person they are not always readily visible from certain angles.

Website link in case pic doesn't show up:
https://www.oldetownecutlery.com/product/victorinox-vn24803cx4-evogrip-11/

 

[Piso Mojado]

Wish I could help you with this. The scale inserts are black thermoplastic polyurethane and their purpose is to give a stickier grip when knife and hand are wet. My SAKs with these inserts are original Victorinox designs and the inserts are much smaller.





One-hand Nomad, Victorinox Grip Collection (out of production). The red scales are injection molded polycaprolactam which is called Polyamide 6 in the EU and Nylon 6 in the USA. Nylon 6 is springier than hard nylon, it has a little give when you grip down hard. There are no marks on the red scales or the black inserts. They are very sturdy! These scales are used in the Swiss Army's current production military issue knives.

You posted a photograph of a rebranded and slightly redesigned Wenger knife in Victorinox's Delémont collection. I don't own one of these and I haven't handled one. I don't know whether the red scales are hard nylon or Nylon 6. There are photographs of the Wenger knives in the forums. Some have survived the great software migration and none show fingerprints in the black inserts.

Thanks to Stormdrane for the photo!

Here is my suggestion. Lacking a better answer here, ask Victorinox. If you can, get your own photograph of a new or allegedly new SAK showing this defect. If you are in the USA, attach it to your question and send it to Victorinox from this web page:

https://www.swissarmy.com/us/en/Contact/cms/contact

 

[jon83]

Thanks. I've noticed it on a few photos online only after I started looking at it. Present only on the Evogrip line as far as I can tell and not on the larger knives. It's not really as noticeable on pictures as it is in person, even then, it depends on the angle.
I doubt I would get any response other than "item falls under the tolerances of our qc" or some similar line if I brought it to their attention via online customer service. I have been given the offer to order another one by the store but they can't guarantee it won't have the same thing. Fair enough, it is only a minor cosmetic issue. A bit sloppy if you ask me since aesthetic, as well as fit and finish do factor in to the decision making for some of us buying new knives.

 

[Piso Mojado]

I doubt I would get any response other than "item falls under the tolerances of our qc" or some similar line if I brought it to their attention via online customer service.

That has not been our experience. Without a paid membership, you can't use the forum search which works better than Google. I searched this sub-forum for "Victorinox customer service" and got three pages of links. Here are five from the first page.

https://bladeforums.com/threads/sak-warranty.1741370/#post-19910635

https://bladeforums.com/threads/stellar-vic-customer-service.1736088/#post-19880266

https://bladeforums.com/threads/swiss-army-knife-help.1673204/#post-19137877

https://bladeforums.com/threads/older-swiss-army-tool.1188132/#post-13612242

https://bladeforums.com/threads/vic...ir-60-days-and-counting.909162/#post-10332677

 

[jon83]

Thanks Piso Mojado. I did not intend to imply they had bad customer service, it's just that in my general experience cosmetic issues are usually considered minor and not always a priority. I did already mention their staff at the store had offered to order me another unit which is quite a reasonable expectation under the circumstances.

I don't have a whole lot of experience with their knives but I have been buying their watches, travel gear and cutlery for over 20 years now and my experiences with the official stores and staff have always been very good with sales and on the rare occasions I've needed something serviced.