Victorinox Paring Knife and Sheath Update

[Dale Wambaugh]

I have posted photos of the Victorinox paring knives in the past and I knew of the belt sheath that Victorinox has offered for years, but i finally got around to picking on up and getting some weights and information.

The Victorinox paring knives come in several lengths and with plain or serrated blades. Marine supply stores carry them as deck knives or net knives. Others have fully rounded tips and are called tomato knives by some. They are all quite inexpensive, razor sharp and super light. The red-handled 3.25" serrated model shown below is 0.62oz/17.7oz without a sheath.

Carrying a sharp knife like this without a sheath is risky for any other gear in your pack— and the owner's fingers. One option is to use the plastic spine from a report cover as a blade guard, or a slightly heavier version from a cooking supply store. Victorinox started offering the "Little Vickie" a couple years ago, with a simple hard plastic slip sheath bundled with the knife. This is a workable option for carrying the knife in your pack and the combination weighs just 0.84oz/23.9g. The street price is about $9.95.

Victorinox has sold the black nylon sheath for years. I found it at commercial shipping supply stores. It fits the 3"-3.5" paring knives, with a plastic liner inside and the open slip-on style belt loop has a spring metal clip inside. The sheath weighs 0.8oz/24g and has a street price of $5-$6.

I've had a rosewood handled paring knife by Forschner (a division of Victorinox) for some time and I like the look and feel of it. It is a featherweight as well at 0.69oz/19.7g. To my delight it fits the sheath perfectly, making for a handy trail of fishing knife and just 1.6oz total.

The spring clip could be removed from the belt clip without too much trouble and the fabric could be sewn into to a closed loop if you prefer that sort of belt attachment.

This is on a par with the traditional "bird and trout" knives or the AG Russell Woodswalker knife. It has enough handle to grip confidently and is excellent for food prep, cleaning fish, general repairs or trimming line. They can be used for making fuzz sticks and other forms of fire tinder as well.

Both knives with sheath for comparison:

Back side of sheath showing the open-ended belt clip

Little Vickie knife/slip sheath combo above with the Forschner rosewood handled paring knife in the sheath below:

[Gary Dunckel]

Thanks for the post, Dale. It's good to know that there are some other options for a sheath, as I too am a fan of the Little Vicky knives. The cheapest place I've found for the full line of Forster knives is through Tundra.com, a nationwide wholesaler to the restaurant industry (and to the public–for the same price). They happen to be based in Boulder, so I have to pay sales tax, but no shipping. The Little Vickies are just $4, but they don't have the plastic sheath. REI will give away their scraps of 1" tubular webbing, which works great as a protective sheath for the Little Vickies. $4 for the knife, free sheath, what's not to like? Tundra has these knives in black, white, red, and sometimes blue, in either plain, serrated, or rounded tip. Great little knives, for sure–high quality, light, and cheap.

Edit–This is sort of knife-related–does any one know where I can buy 5-10 Derma-Safe razor blade cutters? I've gotten into making cuben things, and these are superb for cutting the cuben. My first one is getting a bit tired, and I only have the one backup that you sold me in that bag of goodies, Dale.

[Dale Wambaugh]

Here's my thread on using report cover bindings for blade edge covers:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=74811

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