Wenger Evogrip T-814 Soft Touch

I was originally browsing for a new watch, with the points from my credit card, and found they had nothing of interest.

So I took a look around and found I can get an Evogrip free!!
I've always wondered how they are, and have been interested for a bit now.

(In process of ordering one now )

http://www.swisscatalogue.com/swiss...op=eq&Master=Master&-max=16&-recid=117&-find=

They had a lower model (without the wood saw) for less, but I'm going for the T-814 soft touch.

I'm confident that I'll be happy with it, how do you guys like yours?

Will post my impressions once I receive it (sometime early next week I figure).

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Aug 7/07
Ok I screwed up on the product code. I've corrected the link.
Sorry for the confusion.

Re: Wenger Evo S 17 Soft Touch

What a surprise. I ordered this thing Mon night and just got it Fri afternoon

I made a mistake in the model #, it's an Evo grip S17 in black.

There's a sticker over the UPC , that says "Evolution Soft Touch #20001"

I'll go over my impressions as detailed as I can. I'm 56k with no digital camera (sorry guys). But I hope the info is useful to some.

Now if this is an Evo "Grip" it should have the textured rubber inserts in the scales. What I have is a velvety soft ergonomic set of scales on it. The scales are a flat black (matte), not glossy in appearance and show oily fingerprints and smudges well.

Tools/Implements list

Key ring (god knows why this is an actual implement, more like a standard feature)
Awl/Reamer
Corkscrew (ok I wanted a philips, that's what I get for a freebie )
Clip point straight blade
Bottle opener (with flat screwdriver on side, with wire stripper)
Can opener (nothing else on it)
Woodsaw (looks good, can't wait to try it out)
Serrated self sharpening scissors (Cool design)
Nail file (with cleaner at tip, no screwdriver here)
Toothpick & Tweezers



Ergonomics are great, while using the various functions. I've held/used the blade and scissors in either hand, and both feel very natural.
I'm not ambidextrous (sp?), but can do a lot with both hands.
The implements feel a tad stiff but spring in/out very smoothly.

Details

Key ring, bigger than the ring on my Vic Classic, not too big but good enough

Awl/Reamer - Rounded point, not sharpened on the edge, great for whatever reamers do with them (shrugs, I never used them other than picking the treads of my shoes). Lack of sharpness may be an issue for some. No hole for threading either

Corkscrew - Same as most corkscrews, only thing I can pick apart here, is the tip is a rounded point, not a sharp point. This may make it more awkward for picking away at knots. I'm sure it digs into a bottle of wine ok (not tested, please send wine to.......lol)

Clip point straight blade - The tip is very sharp, the blade is very sharp as well. Blade does not lock in place.

Bottle opener - The flat screwdriver part I believe locks when in use (unconfirmed).

Can opener - Works ok (on pop cans), would have liked to see another flat bit at the end on it, very well sharpened.

Woodsaw - This looks promising, dbl cut, slightly longer than the woodsaw on my LM wave (old style), if the weather is good this weekend, I'll test it out.

Serrated scissors - Ok I'm new to Wenger here, and the serrations do bug me a bit. i just gotta get used to them I'm sure but the scissors are very good at cutting through tough cardboard. The leverage system seems to be very good as well. There is a limit to how wide you can open them up, which may bother some. For all the cutting I do, it won't be a problem for me personally. The serrations will make a slightly jaggy cut to whatever you cut. Fine for nails if you file them down after like me.

Nail file - I'm a tad disappointed by this one. The implement is about the same length as the file in my Classic. The grated part for filing, however, only runs on part of the blade making it about 3/4 the length of the Classic's file. The Evo's file is wider in the grated surface, leaving a bare space leading up to the point. The texture of the file is a little rougher than the Classic, yet just as useable. I prefer the Classic, but this is almost as good, and I do like the nail cleaner better than the screwdriver.

Toothpick/Tweezers - For a larger form factor, you'd think both would be slightly larger....Nope, they are both a bit shorter. These 2 things are well hidden in the scales.The clips of which reside on the INSIDE of the scales. This means you need good nails to dig them out, yet have less chance of slipping out as on the ol Classic (I find they stay in place well enough on the Classic).
The toothpick feels a tad flimsy compared to the Classic, but useable. I'll stick to my Classic for this one.
The tweezers seem to be a tad fimer than the Classic, but the shorter length makes them about equal with the Classic There is no plastic on the tweezers, just pure fused metal.

Overall

It's a good amount of useful tools in a not-too-big package. 4 layers, excellent ergonomics and a good firm design. Those looking for multiple screw driving bits or more of a household/indoor multitool, might be better served by something else (Cybertool, Tinker, LM Fuse etc....

Any questions? I'll try to rip away with the saw this weekend, and follow up.

Woodsaw review (finally!)

First off I'd like to apologize for the late review on the woodsaw portion. The weekend I was going to check it out I was sick with what I think was a mild case of food poisoning.
The week following was just too hot & humid to be playing outdoors. Well I braved the humidity today and here are my thoughts:

Pre-notes: The only multitools I have are : Leatherman Wave (old style), Victorinox Classic SD (Black), No name cybertool wanna be, Wenger T-814 Evogrip soft touch.
I mention this as my experience is fairly limited. Even knowing the terminology, product lines etc... without the field experience I'm still just a newbie in these things. With the help of many of you, I'll continue to learn and along with experience, I hope to bring something good to the table (for lack of better words).

Thanks to all who have shown interest so far.

Woodsaw (2.75" dbl cut, no locking)

The lack of a locking feature for me isn't a big deal. The saw on the Wave locks, but since the sawing motion is usually straight back and forth, it's more likely to bind the saw to a dead stop than it is to have it fold on you. If it does fold, the wood would be in the way of the saw's teeth and your hand (hopefully).

The teeth are about twice as deep as the old style Wave, and for this I believe to be responsible for a much faster cut. The teeth are also extremely sharp, so much, that I went to one hand close the saw and caught the tip of the middle finger in one of the teeth, leaving a triangle shaped hole with a flap of skin covering it. Yes, the initial bite hurt, but in 2 or 3 days was fine.

The back of the saw has some very sharp edges, not a very round shape as with the other implements. I found that on closing the say, I also cut my hand twice from the friction of the side edge rubbing into the skin of my hand. One slice didn't bleed, the 2nd one, however did. Please be careful when closing ANY tool, not just from wedging your fingers, but also the outside could be rough. I use my pant leg now to close up, fingertips on the scales.

Sawing motion is good, very good. The sharp and deeper teeth definitely make for a faster cut. The Wave's saw is slow but steady, easy to start but can bind near the end a lot. The Wenger is tougher to start but rips through wood MUCH quicker. I didn't time anything, but I would say with confidence, that the Wenger's saw is 25-50% faster than the Wave's (old style). While cutting, you can see 2 streams of saw dust coming from both ends. Being on a trail I was only cutting DEAD branches that were on the ground or off of completely dead trees. The only live stuff I'll cut is for pruning or taking down unwanted bushes etc for neighbours. So please, when you get a new toy to play with, hack up the dead stuffs only unless it's on your own property.

I spent some time cutting small branches (Less than an inch) up to 2 inches in diameter. Some of the deadwood seemed to be pretty hard stuff, and I think it might have been maple.

The smaller branches were toughest to start, having little room to initially bite in. Larger branches were easier to start having more surface room to catch. If you're lucky enough to be in a position to shoulder your weight into the saw, the results are even more impressive. Also be aware, that this much hard work, does heat up the saw rather quickly.So when you go to put it away, you might want to blow on it or wave it around to cool it off first.

The only issue I had with using the saw, was the key ring. As a right hander, the key ring kept rubbing into my index finger at the side. For long cutting sessions (mutiple branches etc...) this could cause cuts or blisters. Some may opt to take the ring off all together. The little nub that the ring is attached to probably won't be an issue for most.
As far as lefties go, I might expect that the key ring might irritate the thumb while cutting. The soft touch ergoniomics are especially nice to have, and I've appreciated them very much for labour intensive tasks, whether I was using the saw, blade or anything else.

Overall

The saw is good. It may be a bit stubborn trying to get it to bite at first, but once it gets going lookout! For stubborn starts you might want to try scoring the branch a few times, using puling strokes. Then let 'er rip. Near the end of the cut, it usually doesn't bind, just cleanly cuts right through.
It cuts well enough with a minimum effort, if you have more than average muscle, you'll likely laugh at the ease of cuts it provides.
Left or right handed shouldn't matter much here, except that pesky key ring. I wonder if a lanyard carefully laced through the corkscrew might provide an alternitive solution.
If anyone tries this with any degree of success please let me know. If the saw on the Wave (old style) was a joy to work with, than the Wenger is a true pleasure.