press fit

In the Victorinox under-page «press fit » I have mentioned some about the factors about press fit scales. Victorinox have used this more for private use and so that people may change the handle scales at home. By professionally I do not mean difference in quality but I mean factory policy.

There is much talk around on my page sakhome.com about the Wenger scales in the 2000s. The development Wenger did with the handle scales in this time in history is not only brilliant it is also extra ordinary well. It is a milestone in the knife world!

Wenger has used advertisings and personalizing very much in the history, and well. The new handle and design in the 2000s incorporated this.

In the history you will discover about Wenger how they used a lot of different handle materials. They used almost any type of materials one way or another. For the Mike Horn model when it was introduced they made some very interesting materials for them.  They said it is a material constructed from recycled materials. It also got wood in them and it would not be the first time either that Wenger used substances from different wood industries. I was told that some of the plastic used in the Mike Horn comes from the bottle industry among others.

 Many of the handles made by them are constructed to be press fit on the bushings. This depends on the materials used because wood, metals and many materials cannot be press fit for assembly. I mentioned how they used many materials and also several methods for the attaching. Most of you that collect Wenger SAKs know about this because some of them can be seen from the inside of the side-liner while others are completely hidden. I am not completely sure how they attached the Mike Horn scales yet. The other scales you see on the 130mm Victorinox and Wenger are press fit handles. There are many advantages with this method. One is the fact that it is very durable. When I tested some Wenger knives it was obvious that the handles never came loose in any way. The other advantage is the fact with the possibility of changing or replacing if damage should occur.

It is not completely so with wood that they cannot be press fit for assembly. To a degree they can but will or could be less precise and solid. In combination with adhesives and glue it can be very good. This is so with different materials. Many of the Wenger metal scales you will see glue involved. Other SAKs got open rivets with pinned construction and this is a very sturdy method.

In the history of pocket knives you will find scale materials soldered to the side-liners.

It is very typical for SAKs to have a serious precision. The Dynasty, Titanium, Porsche and several others in history are examples. Pretty much all of the different scales had Swiss precision involved. Other very impressive SAKs are the EvoWood and RangerWood knives. These scales were made so well that they look custom made. Victorinox continued these scales with some alterations. Still highly impressive knives.

Swiza use an interesting method for attaching the scales which you can probably find some information about on the Web. They use a high quality material with a very secure attaching. I am not 100% sure if it can be called press fit completely. You can see the parts on the inside of the side-liners. It could be they do something when the material comes through the slots. On the side with the emblem and release button for the liner lock you can see a lengthwise part too. What is for sure is that the handle material comes through the metal slots and secures the handles completely. Swiza also use a few different methods for handle materials. That is it for today! Good luck..