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The Swiss Champ Swiss Army Knife
Bob Holder
http://www.knivestown.com
The Victorinox Swiss Champ Swiss Army Knife is one of the higher level Swiss
Army Knives made by Victorinox. It has 33 tools and can provide a wide
variety of useful implements in any given situation.
The Swiss Champ has two cutting blades. A small pen blade and a large main
blade. The steel is high grade mirror polished stainless, although it is
important to remember that stainless steel will "stain less" and still needs
to be cared for. The main cutting blade is about 3 inches long and is a spear
pointed blade. There is also a metal saw on the knife which will cut through
steel like a hacksaw. I have personally sawn through decking screws with
this implement. The saw also has a fine file and a coarse file on its two
sides.
There is a wood saw on the knife which has a very aggressive cutting pattern
and can be legitimately used at a campsite for clearing small saplings and
trees. The knife could be used to fell a 3 inch tree with a little work.
Another fold out tool is a combination hook disgorger, fish scaler and ruler
in both metric and inches. The implement has a scalloped bottom which
functions as a fish scaler and the tip has a "W" shape which is fed down the
fish's mouth to dislodge the hook. The ruler is 7 centimeters on one side
and 3 inches on the other.
Almost all Swiss Army Knives include their famous scissors and the Swiss
Champ is no exception. A robust and substantial pair of scissors, they will
cut any small or medium sized chore. The scissors are followed by a pair of
pliers which are the beefiest tool on the knife. The pliers have a wire
crimper below the pivot and a wire cutter above the pivot. This cutter will
function to sever small gauge wire such as picture hanging wire.
A full sized Phillips screwdriver unfolds from the knife and handles full
sized jobs. There is also a combination flathead screwdriver and bottle
opener which also has a wire stripper on it. This stripper is nothing more
than a notch cut into the screwdriver/cap lifter, however it functions quite
well for small gauge wire. To use, the wire is placed into the notch at the
point desired for stripping and then the knife is aggressively pulled across
the wire to the end. It can sometime take 2 or 3 pulls to fully strip the
sheath off the wire, but it does work well on small wire. The other
screwdriver implement also has a second job as a can opener. A magnifying
lens is also included. This lens can provide close examination of small
items and is best use as an eye loupe, holding the lens close to the eye and
then the object to be viewed up close to the lens. Some say a fire can be
started with the lens if the sun is of sufficient strength.
The Victorinox Swiss Champ Swiss Army Knife carries more tools on the reverse
side. A corkscrew is found here and inside the corkscrew is another
screwdriver with a handle shaped so it fits into the whorls of the corkscrew.
This screwdriver is the smallest of them all and is best used for eyeglasses.
Next is a chisel that can truly carve and peel wood. A small screwdriver is
also found on the back as well as a parcel hook. The parcel hook is a handy
invention inspired by European shops that will box a purchase, then wrap it
in brown wrapping paper, then secure the box wth a string. The parcel hook
was designed to hook under the string and permit the knife to be used as a
handle instead of the string biting into the hand of the one carrying the
parcel.
Finally an awl/reamer and sewing eye makes the final fold out tool, but the
knife isn't done yet. Into the high impact red plastic handle are 4 more
tools. Each of these tools slides entirely free of the handle to be used
independently of the knife. A pair of small tweezers, a toothpick, a straight
pin and a ball point pen. The last item to be counted as a "tool" is the
keyring which some have contended is stretching a point, but nevertheless it
serves a function and therefore qualifies as a tool.
The quality and build of this knife is excellent and the practical
applications are endless. The knife has a lifetime warranty against
manufacturers defects and with proper care will last a lifetime. The knife is
quite reasonably priced for all the features that are on it and it can be
found for purchase at www.knivestown.com.
Article submitted Monday, September 15, 2008
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