What is SAKWiki?

SAKWiki is an online Swiss Army Knife (SAK) encyclopedia that provides information about Victorinox and Wenger Swiss Army Knives for SAK enthusiasts, collectors, users and the general public. Its aim is to provide information that is accurate, complete, concise and easy to use for our online users.

SAKWiki is strongest and most complete for the modern Swiss Army Knives from the 1960s onwards. However, earlier information is available for very significant models such as the Soldier models and the Officer's Knife. SAKWiki also has historical information in the catalogues, and some historical information is also available for some of the most significant models, such as the Spartan, Climber and Camper.

Organisation of SAKWiki

Model Pages

The majority of pages in SAKWiki describe the individual Swiss Army Knife models.
The model pages are all organised around the current and modern alphanumeric name for the SAK, for instance the Climber. At the bottom of each model page you will also find the product code / identifiers for that model (eg 1.3703), and its various variants.
Typically there is one page per model, however, very occasionally there will be multiple models on a page, when the models belong to a set or family, and have a shared name and history - eg the CyberTools.
Please also see the notes on model evolution, name and configuration changes below.

The model pages are organised by:

1. Manufacturer ie. Victorinox, Wenger or Swissbuck
2. Size (ie length) eg. 85mm, 91mm
3. The number of layers in the Swiss Army Knife - 2,3,4 .... etc
4. The individual model pages themselves

• There is also a page with an alphanumeric model list for each size
• And two additional pages that list other tools or SAK sizes that have been manufactured by Victorinox or Wenger

These pages are all accessible via the Victorinox and Wenger menu pages, or via the menu panel on the right-hand side of your SAKWiki browser screen.
Note: These panels will be below the main screen, if you are accessing SAKWiki from a smartphone.

Additional Pages

SAKWiki also contains a number of other pages containing non-model specific information as indicated below:
These pages cover Victorinox and Wenger features.

Image Galleries

SAKWiki also has a very extensive set of image galleries. These are structured to align with the model and other Wiki pages described above and can be accessed by clicking on the small, square SAK icon in the menu panel on the side of the screen (in the Pics column). Most of the galleries are divided into sub-galleries under the main root gallery to make viewing the images easier and more targeted.

Information Sources for SAKWiki

SAKWiki was founded around 2007 and is maintained by the Swiss Army Knights who are members of the MultiTool website and forum. The information has been created and complied by the Knights from their own knowledge and also drawing information from various sources such as:

• Historical documentation provided by the two SAK manufacturers
• Wenger and Victorinox websites
• SAK Catalogues

And from the members of the following SAK groups

• The former Secret Order of Swiss Army Knights (SOSAK) Board on the Blade Forums website
• The Swiss Army Knights website
• Occasionally Swiss Army Knife groups on Facebook

If there are errors, omissions or suggestions regarding SAKWiki - Please post in the forum link above.

Using SAKWiki

See SAKWiki Help for hints and tips on how best to use SAKWiki.

SAK Model Evolution and History

The notes in this section apply predominantly to Victorinox models.

Model Names and Product Codes

The Wiki user should be aware that the modern names, such as the Climber came in several decades after these models and tool configurations were first manufactured in the early 1900s, for instance the Climber was originally known as Model 235a. SAKWiki lists these earlier model codes for several of the classic and significant SAKs in their Identifiers sections.
Also using the alphanumeric name can be problematic, as historically sometimes models changed names, and sometimes the same name has been used for different models, and sometimes different Victorinox and Wenger models use the same name! To add to the confusion, in earlier times, names were not always consistent across global markets! However names have been pretty much standardised and common since the mid-70s.
For instance the Victorinox Climber (toolset) was earlier known as the Traveller, however the Traveller name was later used for a different Victorinox model!, there is also a Wenger Traveler! and the Climber was known as the President in the US market for a time! Another example is the Craftsman name, which has been used for several different models!

SAKWiki indicates where name changes have occurred, or names reused, with a Name Disambiguation section where appropriate. There may also be information regarding name changes and evolution in the History sections of the model pages.
It is also important to note also that Vistorinox’s naming convention for the model identifiers changed around the 1970s. Please see this page for an explanation of Victorinox's current and historical numbering conventions. The Wenger model numbering also changed somewhat later to a longer format structure.

Model Configuration Changes

The Wiki user should be aware that occasionally a model's tool configuration changes, typically with the addition of a (back) tool.
The most common example of this was the addition of the multi-purpose hook to the back of the scissors. All Victorinox scissor models before 1991 did not have the hook, all scissor models after that date, have the hook. Other examples were the addition of the backspring screwdriver and chisel to various models.
An unusual change happened to the Craftsman and Handyman, where the fish-scaler in the original configuration was replaced by the pliers.
In these examples, sometimes the product code will change, however the textual name of the model remains the same.
In addition to this the tools themselves often evolved as the individual tool designs changed and improved.
- See the individual model (and tools) pages for details of such changes.