Recently I posted on another forum concerning my Vic Swiss Champ whose main blade is angled in it’s channel causing the tip of the blade to butt up against, and be abraded by the base of the file. Not a big deal I suppose, but I was somewhat concerned by the thought that if I’m not careful when closing the blade that it could hit the file, resulting in a chipped blade. So to make a long story short, I sent it back to Victorinox, with a letter detailing the problem, and my concerns. The results are as follows:
Pros:
1. Victorinox replaced the pen, tweezers, toothpick, mini screwdriver, and straight pin, all of which I had taken out of the knife before sending it in.
2. I had the knife back in exactly two weeks time.
Cons:
Problem not fixed. When closed the main blade is in exactly the same position as when I sent it in.
No response from Victorinox explaining what if anything they thought of the issue, and/or their specific response to the issue.
3. Upon closer examination, it appears that the main blade has been replaced. The blade tang stamp is now the older type, which reads “Victorinox Switzerland Stainless Rostfrei, on one side. On the reverse the tang reads, Officier Suisse, with what looks like an umbrella (bow), and a cross to the left of this symbol. The blade is not scuffed, and appears to be new. Initially I thought that maybe they had mistakenly sent me the wrong knife, but the fact that the blade was canted in the exact same way, combined with the current blade being without blemish, leads me to believe that they replaced the blade. Unfortunately they did so without regard to what I saw as the real problem (blade hitting file).
Also to confuse me further, the scales on this knife while not new, do not appear to be in the same condition as mine originally were. Specifically, my knife had some deeper gouges from keys and such, that are no longer there (I keep looking, but I can't find them & they were pretty obvious to the eye). At the same time, the scales on my knife do have a number of scuffs, so they are not new replacements. They just aren't as beat up as mine were. The rest of the knife appears to be the same (dirt and all).
Summary, I do appreciate that Victorinox replaced the accessories, but I would have liked some note detailing what they did to the knife. Also, although I’m not particularly pleased with a blade replacement that does nothing to address the problem of the blade hitting the file, I'm not totally displeased. I plan to keep it as is. It just isn't enough of an issue to bother sending it back again. That said, this was a bit of a test for me to see how Victorinox would handle the warranty, and quite frankly, I'm not impressed. Fortunately Victorinox seems to make a nice enough product that I shouldn’t have to worry too much about their mediocre warranty service, because of the 10 or so Victorinox knives that I currently own, only this one has displayed an issue.
Do what this what you will. I just wanted to share my experience with those of you who may one day need to send in a knife.
Pros:
1. Victorinox replaced the pen, tweezers, toothpick, mini screwdriver, and straight pin, all of which I had taken out of the knife before sending it in.
2. I had the knife back in exactly two weeks time.
Cons:
Problem not fixed. When closed the main blade is in exactly the same position as when I sent it in.
No response from Victorinox explaining what if anything they thought of the issue, and/or their specific response to the issue.
3. Upon closer examination, it appears that the main blade has been replaced. The blade tang stamp is now the older type, which reads “Victorinox Switzerland Stainless Rostfrei, on one side. On the reverse the tang reads, Officier Suisse, with what looks like an umbrella (bow), and a cross to the left of this symbol. The blade is not scuffed, and appears to be new. Initially I thought that maybe they had mistakenly sent me the wrong knife, but the fact that the blade was canted in the exact same way, combined with the current blade being without blemish, leads me to believe that they replaced the blade. Unfortunately they did so without regard to what I saw as the real problem (blade hitting file).
Also to confuse me further, the scales on this knife while not new, do not appear to be in the same condition as mine originally were. Specifically, my knife had some deeper gouges from keys and such, that are no longer there (I keep looking, but I can't find them & they were pretty obvious to the eye). At the same time, the scales on my knife do have a number of scuffs, so they are not new replacements. They just aren't as beat up as mine were. The rest of the knife appears to be the same (dirt and all).
Summary, I do appreciate that Victorinox replaced the accessories, but I would have liked some note detailing what they did to the knife. Also, although I’m not particularly pleased with a blade replacement that does nothing to address the problem of the blade hitting the file, I'm not totally displeased. I plan to keep it as is. It just isn't enough of an issue to bother sending it back again. That said, this was a bit of a test for me to see how Victorinox would handle the warranty, and quite frankly, I'm not impressed. Fortunately Victorinox seems to make a nice enough product that I shouldn’t have to worry too much about their mediocre warranty service, because of the 10 or so Victorinox knives that I currently own, only this one has displayed an issue.
Do what this what you will. I just wanted to share my experience with those of you who may one day need to send in a knife.
