Why is the Victorinox Pioneer / Old Soldier your favorite above them all!

M

mudguard

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Aug 2, 2013
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I personally find the overall utility just flat out handy. I have had to do everything I would have needed to do with any of my tinker or spartans but the pioneer did it and then did it even better (except for opening wine). I find the heftyness and thinness of it to be the best quality. I think it is by far my favorite in town and out of town pocket knife.. I do sometimes feel like it may be too heavy for pocket carry (I carry it loose with my keys in my right front pocket) but then I often change my mind and don't feel it at all.

Do you carry a pioneer / old soldier? Why do you carry that knife and only that SAK (even if you carry another little one on the side)? What is your breakdown of pros and cons?
 
Simple, useful and utterly dependable ....and I guess they age pretty well too. :D

PioneerRain_zps7ed5dce6.jpg




Pioneers/Solders are hard to beat unless you need a saw or a wire stripping blade... :D

PioneerElectClip_zps7b3151ae.jpg
 
I love the old soldier.
Has a great selection of tools, a thin yet robust slicing blade, the awl is like a power drill :D, and it's just the right size, both in use and pocket.
I can open any can or bottle with it, and then there are the screwdrivers, which double as small prying tips, it cuts very, very good, and sharpens with ease, plus, it's a tough build overall, virtually indestructible.
IMG_3164_resize.jpg
 
jacktrades_nbk said:
I love the old soldier.
Has a great selection of tools, a thin yet robust slicing blade, the awl is like a power drill :D, and it's just the right size, both in use and pocket.
I can open any can or bottle with it, and then there are the screwdrivers, which double as small prying tips, it cuts very, very good, and sharpens with ease, plus, it's a tough build overall, virtually indestructible.
IMG_3164_resize.jpg
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Yeah...love the Soldiers too! Nice pics!!:thumbup:
 
The Pioneer and alox Soldier provide most of the tools I want to have with me in daily life. If they had scissors, they would be perfect for me, but I always carry a Classic on the keyring. I could choose the Spartan or Tinker too and have some additional tools, but I like the alox scales more.

This weekend I came home from a trip for work and during the trip I carried a red Pioneer in my pocket, and I kept my new Charge TTi in my laptop bag. It arrived just a day before I left and it is still unused. The Pioneer handled all daily tasks. :)

 
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Really like 2 layer alox, very strong and slim. Love both the Pioneer and the Bushcrafter.
 
A soldier was my first knife when I passed my tote n chip in scouts. Had it with me till I was about 30 and lost it. I had plenty other knives by then so I never really replaced it. 10 more years went by and I started thinking "dang that was the only knife I ever needed". So I bought a replacement (and a couple extras) and carry the pioneer every day and love it again. I concur that it has nothing you don't need on it and thats certainly part of what makes it so great. I do wish i still had my red one with the old cross emblem but alas those are quite spend these days.

 
I've got two soldiers, one newish one and one older than me. Both have seen a lot of miles, and one took nearly a week to clean up. The scales are pitted with corrosion, and the aluminum is nearly raw. The old one's blade was sharpened on a bench grinder it looks like, and is about 2/3s of what it should be. But a bit of re-profiling, and both of them are champs. All that abuse and they are still rock solid. I refer to them as the rescues as it seems appropriate, they were rescued from an airport security bin. I'm very happy to give them a caring home where they get some use, even if they are pretty ugly mutts.
 
I would love to see some pictures!
gadgetgeek said:
I've got two soldiers, one newish one and one older than me. Both have seen a lot of miles, and one took nearly a week to clean up. The scales are pitted with corrosion, and the aluminum is nearly raw. The old one's blade was sharpened on a bench grinder it looks like, and is about 2/3s of what it should be. But a bit of re-profiling, and both of them are champs. All that abuse and they are still rock solid. I refer to them as the rescues as it seems appropriate, they were rescued from an airport security bin. I'm very happy to give them a caring home where they get some use, even if they are pretty ugly mutts.
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gadgetgeek said:
I've got two soldiers, one newish one and one older than me. Both have seen a lot of miles, and one took nearly a week to clean up. The scales are pitted with corrosion, and the aluminum is nearly raw. The old one's blade was sharpened on a bench grinder it looks like, and is about 2/3s of what it should be. But a bit of re-profiling, and both of them are champs. All that abuse and they are still rock solid. I refer to them as the rescues as it seems appropriate, they were rescued from an airport security bin. I'm very happy to give them a caring home where they get some use, even if they are pretty ugly mutts.
Click to expand...

I have an old Pioneer that is kin to your Soldiers! Repeated hot soapy soaks/scrubs followed by 3 weeks in a mineral oil bag. The rivets and keyring are rusted but 2 outta 4 of the blades/tools snap closed and all snap open solid with no play! Scales are rough on the margins but ok. It would not open when I got it!

Despite a broken tip and an edge with chips, it sharpened up nicely and is in my EDC set as a "rough use" work knife.

Pre '85 with brass liners...
REDAlox_zps73b90905.jpg
 
Well it's like a Pioneer, just more, it's a Pioneer Harvester, the like of which you can't find any longer, not sure why, but I think it's pretty keen;

Has several features that I find appealing;

Large main blade, nice, I use that mostly for food, so I relegate other cutting duties to other knives.

Curved hook blade, small, sharp, curved, works great for cutting through wire ties without damaging the wires, slips right in and pull cut out.

Screwdriver, use that a lot for the obvious purpose but also for prying too.

Awl, I use this one a LOT, need to ream out a hole slightly larger? no problem, even metal, albeit as long as it's not harder than the steel, or need to punch through material? does the job.

Wood saw, comes in handy every now and again, on a job site had to cut through some plastic guide rail material, this proved useful!

Surprisingly it didn't have a split ring on either end, so no way to attach a lanyard, but that's not a big deal.

TC_Clip5.jpg~original


G2
 



The 01 was filled with what I think was tile grout! it took a lot of soaking to get it loosened up. The 79 still has the deeper scratches in the blade, as well as a part of the edge that was chewed by the grinder. I probably sharpened it down more than needed to get a cleaner edge, and stopped once I realized I'd sharpen the entire blade away to get rid of the groove, but it was quite narrow to begin with. I probably only took 1mm off it. I also had to trim the kick down so that the tip would sit below the scales, it was quite proud by the time I was done.
 
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Gary W. Graley said:
Well it's like a Pioneer, just more, it's a Pioneer Harvester, the like of which you can't find any longer, not sure why, but I think it's pretty keen;

Has several features that I find appealing;

Large main blade, nice, I use that mostly for food, so I relegate other cutting duties to other knives.

Curved hook blade, small, sharp, curved, works great for cutting through wire ties without damaging the wires, slips right in and pull cut out.

Screwdriver, use that a lot for the obvious purpose but also for prying too.

Awl, I use this one a LOT, need to ream out a hole slightly larger? no problem, even metal, albeit as long as it's not harder than the steel, or need to punch through material? does the job.

Wood saw, comes in handy every now and again, on a job site had to cut through some plastic guide rail material, this proved useful!

Surprisingly it didn't have a split ring on either end, so no way to attach a lanyard, but that's not a big deal.

TC_Clip5.jpg~original


G2
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That's a nice one Gary...I wish I had snagged one of when they were plentiful!
 
All this Pioneer talk is making me want one...
However I already have a Farmer.

Do you guys prefer the Pioneer over the Farmer?

I guess I could live without a saw, but then again why not carry a little more bulk for the saw? But the Pioneer just looks so sweet in a minimalist sense....:confused:
 
parkourdude said:
All this Pioneer talk is making me want one...
However I already have a Farmer.

Do you guys prefer the Pioneer over the Farmer?

I guess I could live without a saw, but then again why not carry a little more bulk for the saw? But the Pioneer just looks so sweet in a minimalist sense....:confused:
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I carry them interchangeably but on most days, the slimmer Pioneer/Soldier gets the nod. Seems like I always am needing a screwdriver but seldom a saw. Usually carry them in a necker sheath....very handy. :thumbup:

PioneerampIXL_zps2d7d536e.jpg
 
This ones got the brass liner, it's just a tank of a tool. They look cool when they get worn in and beat up.
 

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