Reviews > Knives > Folding > Victorinox One Handed Sentinel > Test Report by Sam Stamey

VICTORINOX ONE-HAND SENTINEL
TEST SERIES BY SAM STAMEY

INITIAL REPORT

INITIAL REPORT - October 20, 2009

TESTER INFORMATION

Backpacking background: I started backpacking two years ago with my wife and two children (ages 8 and 10 at the time). We have been car camping for 20+ years. Most of our backpacking has been three season camping in the Sierras, 6000 -12,000 ft (1800 m - 3658 m) and on the Northern California Coast. We mostly do a combination of car camping and backpacking. Our family recently switched from one 4 person tent to using two 2 person tents. I usually carry most of the weight and my internal frame pack weighs between 40-50 lb (18-22 kg).

INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Victorinox
Year of Manufacture: 2009
Manufacturer's Website: Swissarmy.com
MSRP: US$ 30.00
Listed Weight: Not listed
Measured Weight: 2.4 oz (68 g)
Listed Length Closed: 4.37 in (111 mm)
Measured Length Closed: 4.38 in (112 mm)
Measured Length Open: 7.75 in (197 mm)
Measured Blade Length:3.38 in (86 mm)

Other details:
One-Hand Serrated Locking Blade (liner lock)
Key Ring
Tweezers
Toothpick

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

This product is a one blade, liner locking, one hand opening knife. Construction is similar to other Swiss Army knives that I have owned or used. Plastic handles with a ring to attach to a key ring or lanyard. The handles on this knife are black instead of the usual Swiss Army red.

Construction seems sturdy while at the same time keeping the knife light.
Blade is shiny and half serrated with a large hole in the blade near the handle to help with one hand opening.

READING THE INSTRUCTIONS

The instructions that came with the knife are minimal. Like most of the products that I purchase these days it seems like the manufacturers assume I know how to use their product or they assume that I have access to their website to view the instructions.
What came with the knife was a small piece of paper that showed me how to close the knife and some general maintenance.

TRYING IT OUT

Picking up the knife for the first time I was surprised how light it was. This is great for a backpacking knife. I found the knife very easy to open with two hands and a little clumsy to open with one hand.



The blade has a hole near that handle where my thumb is able to get a grasp on the blade to push it open. I am able to open the knife with one hand but when the blade is halfway open I need to adjust my grip on the handle so that it is closer to the blade to finish opening the knife. It could be that my hand is small and that makes it a little more difficult. Someone with larger hands may not notice this issue.

While using the knife for cutting and slicing, the handle fits my hand fairly well and is comfortable for the most part. If I am doing a heavy cutting task I find that the liner lock digs into my forefinger and is not comfortable to use for an extended length of time.

The blade is a good length for using around the camp for everything from slicing food to carving a stick for marshmallows. The tip of the knife has an almost blunt shape and I believe it will be good for spreading items on bread such as cheese or Jam. The blade is serrated about three quarters of the way down the blade from the tip and then is smooth the rest of the way to the handle. The edge is sharpened on one side only and came from the factory very sharp.

The liner lock itself locks the blade with at solid "click" sound and holds the blade open very firmly. Closing the blade is the same way that I would close any other liner lock, I simply push the liner towards the center of the handle and close the blade with my other hand. The thing that I have noticed with this knife is the liner lock seems backwards to me. I am a right hander and in order to close the knife I need to reach my thumb to the far side of the liner lock and pull it towards the center of the knife instead of pushing it. If the liner went the other way I believe I would be able to close the knife with one hand.



The toothpick and tweezers are classic Swiss Army accessories and I think that it is great they are on this knife. They are exactly like the toothpick and tweezers in all the rest of the Swiss Army knives and slide into holders on the end of this knife. The toothpick works flawlessly and the tweezers are good for getting small splinters out of my hands.

SUMMARY

This is a practical knife that will fit into a pocket or backpack and should not get in my way or weigh me down. The blade is long enough and sharp enough to do most chores around camp and the toothpick and tweezers are an added bonus.

This concludes my initial report and my field report will have more usage information in about two months when I have had some time to put this knife to work.

Reviews > Knives > Folding > Victorinox One Handed Sentinel > Test Report by Sam Stamey