RovingArcher
09-09-2006, 10:52 PM
This is the current issue German Bundeswehr Field Utility Knife made by Victorinox. Based on the Victorinox one hand Trekker, this knife comes with scratch resistent olive drab nylon handles, one of which has the German Bundeswehr Eagle Crest molded into it.* The tools remain pretty much the same as the OH Trekker, except the German knife loses the tweezers and pick.
Tools included with the knife:
01.* Large one hand opening locking blade
02.* Wood saw
03.* Can opener
04.* Small screwdriver
05.* Bottle opener
06.* Large locking screwdriver
07.* Phillips screwdriver
08.* wire stripper
09.* Reamer/Awl
10.* Key/lanyard ring* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dimensions closed: 4-3/8" x 1 3/8"* x 11/16"
Main Blade: 3 3/8" x 15/16" at widest point
Blade type: Partially serrated spear point w/flat grind
Saw: 3 ½" x ½" with 6 teeth per inch x 2 rows.
I have owned and used Victorinox Swiss Army Knives for years and not one of them has failed to do the task at hand and it would seem from the apparent quality, that this knife will be just as rugged and versatile.
For the testing, I decided to bring the knife to the land where our Sweat Lodge is located.* There is a small wooded area on the property that covers about 5 acres and fortunately for me, it isn’t loaded with poison oak.*
I didn't bother to test the drivers and instead consentrated on the saw and blade of the knife.* I took a walk into the wooded area and came on a likely candidate to test the saw with.* I had cut about an inch and a half into the piece when I took this photo.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/RovingArcher/evaluations/bundevaluation003a.jpg
Three minutes later and I had the shortened limb to a point that I could break it the rest of the way off.* I cleaned the saw's teeth twice during the session and as this was the largest diameter I had cut with a SAK, I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly and easily it did the job.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/RovingArcher/evaluations/bundevaluation004a.jpg
Next I gathered up a few of the smaller diameter limbs that were laying on the ground and headed back to the firepit of our lodge.* Using both the serrated and plain edges of the blade, I shaved enough from one of the small limbs to act as tinder and broke the rest into 4-6" pieces.* I was a bit disappointed in how the serrated part of the blade performed when shaving the wood.* Not that it did a bad job, it just didn't perform as well as the plain edge.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/RovingArcher/evaluations/bundevaluation005.jpg
I placed some dry grass in the firepit and made a not so tidy pile with the shavings and used the back of the saw to strike up sparks with the BSA Hotspark, easily igniting the grass and shavings.* Then I started building up the fire until I had flames working at the larger of the pieces.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/RovingArcher/evaluations/bundevaluation007.jpg
I didn't take any photos of cutting twine, parachute shroud line, 1/4" nylon rope and the 1/2" hemp rope, but I was very pleased with the performance of the serrations in this part of the test.* They easily cut through the cordage.
Overall, I'm very happy with this knife.* I'd like to have the pick and tweezers, but, we can't have everything and the Eagle too.
Tools included with the knife:
01.* Large one hand opening locking blade
02.* Wood saw
03.* Can opener
04.* Small screwdriver
05.* Bottle opener
06.* Large locking screwdriver
07.* Phillips screwdriver
08.* wire stripper
09.* Reamer/Awl
10.* Key/lanyard ring* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dimensions closed: 4-3/8" x 1 3/8"* x 11/16"
Main Blade: 3 3/8" x 15/16" at widest point
Blade type: Partially serrated spear point w/flat grind
Saw: 3 ½" x ½" with 6 teeth per inch x 2 rows.
I have owned and used Victorinox Swiss Army Knives for years and not one of them has failed to do the task at hand and it would seem from the apparent quality, that this knife will be just as rugged and versatile.
For the testing, I decided to bring the knife to the land where our Sweat Lodge is located.* There is a small wooded area on the property that covers about 5 acres and fortunately for me, it isn’t loaded with poison oak.*
I didn't bother to test the drivers and instead consentrated on the saw and blade of the knife.* I took a walk into the wooded area and came on a likely candidate to test the saw with.* I had cut about an inch and a half into the piece when I took this photo.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/RovingArcher/evaluations/bundevaluation003a.jpg
Three minutes later and I had the shortened limb to a point that I could break it the rest of the way off.* I cleaned the saw's teeth twice during the session and as this was the largest diameter I had cut with a SAK, I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly and easily it did the job.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/RovingArcher/evaluations/bundevaluation004a.jpg
Next I gathered up a few of the smaller diameter limbs that were laying on the ground and headed back to the firepit of our lodge.* Using both the serrated and plain edges of the blade, I shaved enough from one of the small limbs to act as tinder and broke the rest into 4-6" pieces.* I was a bit disappointed in how the serrated part of the blade performed when shaving the wood.* Not that it did a bad job, it just didn't perform as well as the plain edge.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/RovingArcher/evaluations/bundevaluation005.jpg
I placed some dry grass in the firepit and made a not so tidy pile with the shavings and used the back of the saw to strike up sparks with the BSA Hotspark, easily igniting the grass and shavings.* Then I started building up the fire until I had flames working at the larger of the pieces.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/RovingArcher/evaluations/bundevaluation007.jpg
I didn't take any photos of cutting twine, parachute shroud line, 1/4" nylon rope and the 1/2" hemp rope, but I was very pleased with the performance of the serrations in this part of the test.* They easily cut through the cordage.
Overall, I'm very happy with this knife.* I'd like to have the pick and tweezers, but, we can't have everything and the Eagle too.