Victorinox "Wenger" knives discontinue?

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PQGK

Joined
Feb 6, 2013
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Hey Guys. I'm just doing a fact check

Yesterday I bought an evolution s111 from a local Victorinox dealer sharpedge

Its was the last one and I was told it's been discontinued
I was also told that Victorinox are eventually discontinuing their "wenger range knives" from the Evolution and Ranger grip range

Has anyone heard anything about this or anything to this effect?
I can't find anything about this on the web
 
Yeah, it wasn't well advertised, but a lot of what were the Wenger knives will likely be discontinued as materials and such run out. I don't know that they will eliminate them all, as there are a few unique ones, but since almost everything that Wenger had was also basically also done by Victorinox, it just makes sense for them to clean up their catalog.
 
Very sad news.

I prefer the extra belly of the Wenger/Delemont large blade. I love the Evolution scales that make the knife so comfortable to hold. They make the corkscrew nearly imperceptible in the palm. The Wood versions are beautiful & lovely to hold: I wish they were standard. I hope the Evolution Wood 14 survives! It is one of my favourite SAKs.

The 5-layer+ Delemont knives have unique yet practical toolsets that I feel are viable alternatives to the 91mm range.

For all their unique & useful features, I imagine the rather high pricing of the Delemont models is a turn-off to most SAK buyers, particularly for models with nearly identical toolset functions to their Ibach counterparts like the E14/Climber & E17/Huntsman.
 
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gadgetgeek said:
Yeah, it wasn't well advertised, but a lot of what were the Wenger knives will likely be discontinued as materials and such run out. I don't know that they will eliminate them all, as there are a few unique ones, but since almost everything that Wenger had was also basically also done by Victorinox, it just makes sense for them to clean up their catalog.
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I'm wondering the same .
Agree there. Hopefully it is just a few from those ranges
 
Sawl Goodman said:
Very sad news.

I prefer the extra belly of the Wenger/Delemont large blade. I love the Evolution scales that make the knife so comfortable to hold. They make the corkscrew nearly imperceptible in the palm. The Wood versions are beautiful & lovely to hold: I wish they were standard. I hope the Evolution Wood 14 survives! It is one of my favourite SAKs.

The 5-layer+ Delemont knives have unique yet practical toolsets that I feel are viable alternatives to the 91mm range.

For all their unique & useful features, I imagine the rather high pricing of the Delemont models is a turn-off to most SAK buyers, particularly for models with nearly identical toolset functions to their Ibach counterparts like the E14/Climber & E17/Huntsman.
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afishhunter said:
daRn. ☹️
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At the moment its just hearsay .
I only have the word of a salesman from the store, but haven't found anything official yet

Was curious since Sharpedge also imports and distributes Victorinox in South Africa
 
I have not heard anything regarding that. Every few years you get rumours about an item gettitng discontinued, then we all rush out to buy it and then they either continue making it or they have so many already in stock they are available for years.
 
Most if not all of the old Wenger models still being produced are collectively labeled 'as The Delemont Collection' by Victorinox. They pretty much ditched using the Wenger brand name. Maybe they're still using it for a few non-knife products?

I can't imagine the Wenger models sell very well. I know that they do have their fans, but I just don't see them very often. I only own one. I believe they're mostly made in a separate factory and the cost of running it must be pretty high.

Wenger made some very interesting innovations in the past. I never thought of them as being equal to Victorinox, but it's still been sad to watch what's happened to them.
 
PQGK said:
Hey Guys. I'm just doing a fact check

Yesterday I bought an evolution s111 from a local Victorinox dealer sharpedge

Its was the last one and I was told it's been discontinued
I was also told that Victorinox are eventually discontinuing their "wenger range knives" from the Evolution and Ranger grip range

Has anyone heard anything about this or anything to this effect?
I can't find anything about this on the web
Click to expand...
What they told you could be true in part because I think the s101-111 & s13 have been discontinued, they're not on Vic websites.

The s101-111 is a really good SAK, sorry to see it go, will probably be available for some time.

The s13, my least carried Evo, not crazy about that set of tools.

The 10, 14, 17, & 18 are all tooooo good to be discontinued, so I doubt it'll happen anytime soon, maybe the wood, but not the actually knives.

The 557, 23, & other thicker Evos, well they're too thick to carry, very cool knives, but one layer too thick.

IMO
 
When vic bought out wenger, my understanding was that they acquired it as a going concern, including equipment and such. That will have a lifespan to one degree or another. Keep in mind that unlike most other makers, they are die-cutting almost all of the parts, and tool dies have a lifespan. So the questions will come up over time as to which dies are worth re-making. The Vic system is pretty amazingly modular, but even still there are limits. So I'm sure that as parts wear out, some knives will go into either limited production, or be discontinued, depending on the overall production capacity of the facilities. I'm sure that knives that are still moving will get new dies made, but it's worth remembering that Vic runs a very low margin business compared to most other cutlery makers, so the economics of your average water-jet or CNC operator don't apply, they are making decisions years in advance, and expect them to pay off over years, if not decades. They have the data as to how many units are getting re-ordered, so they will know which pieces are viable and which are not.
 
gadgetgeek said:
The Vic system is pretty amazingly modular,
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Yeah, they’ve already switched a fair amount of parts to common Vic stamped parts or for some, common machining.

Off the top of my head are:
Openers and awl
Wood saw teeth (cut on same spaced jig?)
Bushings for rivets and scale attachment

Now only if they could go to a Vic style scissor to go in both 85mm and 84mm frames!
 
PQGK said:
Hey Guys. I'm just doing a fact check

Yesterday I bought an evolution s111 from a local Victorinox dealer sharpedge

Its was the last one and I was told it's been discontinued
I was also told that Victorinox are eventually discontinuing their "wenger range knives" from the Evolution and Ranger grip range

Has anyone heard anything about this or anything to this effect?
I can't find anything about this on the web
Click to expand...
Haven’t heard or read anything about Victorinox discontinuing their “Wenger range” SAKs. Asked a local dealer, who said the Delemont series are still orderable from Victorinox. From what I know, when Victorinox took over Wenger, they kept the factory at Delemont, Switzerland to continue production & keep the staff employed. That’s why the Victorinox “Wenger” series were called the Delemont range. If they were to discontinue the entire Delemont range, it would mean shutting down the entire production facility and putting everyone at the Delemont factory out of work. Can’t see that happening, but I guess one never knows in the current economic circumstances..
 
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