Walnut wood TT03

This is my latest Swiza knife and it is gorgeous! This model is called TT03 Walnut wood or bois noyer in French. Looking at this sweet knife it is no need to ask if the Swiza construction looks very good in the wood suit. It is an eye popping design in deed. Really nice! The fit and finish is very good with the nice wood grain and warm feeling. When I first found information and a picture on this model I wondered very much about the emblem, mechanism and blade. Could it be a different release mechanism for the lock? Questions like this appeared in my mind and need for education.

The Tick tool function is very well known already, it is a success story. Functions like these can be very helpful and smart to bring in the outdoors with the increasing danger of tick infections. This tool is placed into the construction with the quality knife and several other functions that give you a Swiss versatile ability in the pocket. Personally I feel handicapped without a Swiss knife. When they are eye pleasing and versatile like these then I feel like a gentleman.

Ok, the emblem and answer:

The emblem is made of wood and it is just like on the normal scales with a release for the locking mechanism by pressing the emblem. Swiza have actually used a separate wood piece for the emblem and release function. This requires some advanced precision and machining in the production. Everything is nicely rounded and the surface is very comfortable.

This model is a 2019 evolution for the Swiza knives. I made some pictures that I hope you like and enjoy.

01.11.2019

On the box for this knife it says 100% Swiss made and I intrepid this to include the walnut too.  On the internet you can find some Swiza knives with custom wood scales. Some of these got modified construction in which the locking mechanism is gone.  That is why I am a bit surprised that Swiza did the task by using a separate wood piece for the emblem and release for it. That alone is a factor that shows how important the functionality, safety and the design with emblem represent for this Company.

The prescison is high and the awl is almost touching the blade. The edge on the awl or blade does not touch in any way when closing so all ok!

14:43

The only little detail that I can find on this beautiful Swiss knife is one small gap on the awl side. It is too small to be considered any problem. We that have been around SAKs and Swiss knives know about production variations and so forth. This mean that during the assembly of some models the riveting and assembly can have small variations. This can be that the reamer/awl may have a precision with almost touching or touching the blade for example, regardless of scale material. It is no problem. Over-all the precision is very high and very well in deed. Collecting SAKs with wood scales you know about all the factors with using wood material that usually cannot be assembled completely with the press fit method used on plastic and similar materials. On this Swiss knife the scales are lovely in deed and I am very glad I have one in my hand. You also know about the counter sunk scales used on the Wenger Swiss Army Knife and the type with the edges of the wood made even with the liners too. Usually it requires one or the other for them. Victorinox use both types but usually they use the method with even scales. On the Swiza knife the wood follows the liners or side-liners to be fully correct. It is done very well and I cannot find any sharp edges. Everything is well rounded and comfortable which is a factor worth knowing about. Sometimes on wood handle SAKs and knives special factors and details must be done in the production. As I mentioned the little gap on only one side is perhaps unavoidable because of production variations and that the side-lines or liners must be completely even. It is therefore easier to use other materials.  What I can see is that Swiza have made some advanced scales with the separate piece for the release and emblem as mentioned earlier.

02.11.2019

Here you have a small selection with walnut from my collection of Swiss Army Knives and knives. I have a few others with walnut handles too, some with darker finish and different wood structure. The knives on the picture also show two different methods or designs for the scales with the counter sunk and the even with the liners type. This talked about earlier. I used a Wenger 85mm EvoWood for a long time for EDC purposes and it is very durable. I have not received or heard about any problems with them. The wood is treated very well to take the elements. It is always so in my experience that for hard outdoors use with exposing the wood for much water can affect the wood. This is so on any wood handle knife. While I am at it today I can also mention that I only recommend using oils for the friction parts recommended from the Companies. For example the Victorinox or Wenger oil. Mineral oil or medicinal white oil can be used. I do not recommend using WD-40 because it can affect glue. Typically wood handle scales use strong glue or super strong tape for assembly. In some cases the rivets are not press fitted while some use a light press fit with glue.

20:30

Reflections

I remember from the Wenger history about the EvoWood and RangerWood with Walnut handles, they used the wood from Swiss grown trees. They used a laser engraved emblem. The interesting Swiza emblem got a precise cut cross with a bit different surface inside it compared to the dotted Wenger emblem. I can also mention that when is say that scales are even with the liners it is for sure correct to also mention that they usually is a tiny bit larger.

Countersunk is when the wood scales are machined to hide the side liner inside it. Both are cool and nice. When Wenger introduced the EvoWood 85mm knives this was a real feat of performance. I believe it was mentioned that those scales was produced in Italy. Even so the EvoWood was a serious SAK and the wood was from Switzerland. Swiza is a Company that delivers a very Swiss product too and on the box it says 100% Swiss made.

I am very interested in ergonomics and the reason for why the “even” scales are just a bit larger with variables could be interesting to have in mind. It is probably for several reasons with design, comfort and production variations. There are probably tolerances to have them a bit larger in general that allows the small production variations. I can see that Victorinox does the same. Another factor with this can be for some wear over time. Well wood is wear resistant so it would require much use then. It is also worth mentioning that by using such a design can make the edges of the wood stronger compared to countersunk scales. The edges on such scales can get cracks, then again not from normal use that is. Scales that is even with the liners or just a hair larger is better protected against cracks on the edges. This is because they are naturally resting towards the sides and not over the side-liners edge.

Wenger had very solid handles with countersunk design on the RangerWood SAKs. They used thicker scales compared to the Victorinox Delemont re-designed SAKs. Both are very good! The Wenger RangerWood 55 and the Victorinox RangerWood 55 are design master pieces.

20:50

There are no doubts that the Swiza handle is advanced and it got the design with a natural curve for the grip and ergonomics.  I learned from researching these products how this design works. The handle itself secures safety and a pleasing design. Instead of nail-nicks it is used holes in them so the functions can be opened from both sides. It is a very user friendly design and extra developed.  Above I brushed some factors that arrive by using wood. The walnut Swiza use the same design as on their regular scales which is good. If it should have had countersunk scales the dimensions must have been larger and therefore this could present some problems. One example is the opening for the functions, especially the flat screwdriver. Another function that would be affected is the reamer/awl.

03.11.2019

I would like to continue some more information because I know there are many out there that are interested in how the wood scales designs are. In general SAKs likes flexible materials and this is to be able to take the harder use. In some ways when you use a Swiss Army Knife the handle and construction may flex to some degree depending on how hard it is used.  In the history of SAKs you will find a huge number of different materials and handle materials. The list is very long and including wood as shown. In general I can say that I have never seen any problems on SAKs and Swiss knives. It is so that on models with harder and less flexible scale materials the construction is less flexible and the designated use may have or can have less outdoors focus. I do like counter sunk scales because they are harder to make. It is so with countersunk scales that most of the scale rest towards the side-liners. The edges of the scales go over the edges of the side-liners and can therefore be less protected as mention above in this page. That said I have never seen any problems.  Things like my research above are important knowledge and things that not so many discuss. The Swiza construction is very stable because of stainless steel dividers and liners.