Couple of weeks ago my brother-in-law returned from a medical symposium held in Berne, Switzerland, bringing me one black Wenger Evolution ST 10 as a typical present from a country of cuckoo clocks and Swiss Army Knives (SAKs).
As I've learned, there are few versions of this fairly basic model. Mine is formally labelled by Wenger as "Evolution ST 10.814" and it features ergonomically designed grippy matte scales ("ST" standing for "soft touch"), 64mm main clip blade (no small blade!) and polished tools. Overall length is 85mm, width is 25mm, thickness 17mm (measured over the most protruding parts) and weight is 54g. Plates are made of aluminum alloy and pivots are standard brass ones. My Evo 10 was well oiled in the factory and all of its tools operated smoothly. Side play on all tools is non-existent and they open into a correct position. I've used it right away to extract a
tricky cork cap from a bottle of wine - first task well done!
I must say that I'm not really familiar with newer Wenger models (I've previously had
only one of their SAKs, an alox Standard Issue, which I've lost last
year) and therefore I didn't know what to expect from this one. I can remember that reamer on my S. I. had a habit of seizing and showing excessive wear (oiled or dry, clean or dirty), and it did never really broke-in: a kind of behaviour I didn't expect from a Swiss made knife in that price range. Keep reading to find out why did I mention this.
New "ST" scales were a totally different experience compared to classic Cellidor ones: not exactly soft to the touch, but with kind of a "rubbery" feel and nice friction properties (even with wet hands) giving it a secure grip. I believe this matte surface is just a coating, though. Scales are a bit oversized, but comfortable. They fit on the side plates reasonably well, and show no sharp edges.
Cutting ability was good right out of the box, but a couple of minutes spent on a fine carbide stone improved this to excellent. Clip blade (AFAIK it's named "special blade" by Wenger) has a delicate tip and it performs great on fine, precise tasks. I thought that I'd be missing the small blade but it just proved not necessary, considering the geometry of the main blade. Curiously, a small additional separator plate adjacent to the main blade moves freely when the blade is opened or closed, exposing a tiny sharp edge. I haven't noticed this on other SAKs.
Cutting ability was good right out of the box, but a couple of minutes spent on a fine carbide stone improved this to excellent. Clip blade (AFAIK it's named "special blade" by Wenger) has a delicate tip and it performs great on fine, precise tasks. I thought that I'd be missing the small blade but it just proved not necessary, considering the geometry of the main blade. Curiously, a small additional separator plate adjacent to the main blade moves freely when the blade is opened or closed, exposing a tiny sharp edge. I haven't noticed this on other SAKs.
I prefer a true Phillips screwdriver over a corkscrew on my knives, and find Victorinox-style dual purpose can opener more versatile than Wenger's dedicated one, so featured set of tools on my Evo 10 (big clip blade, nail file, bottle cap opener, can opener, corkscrew, reamer, toothpick & tweezers) wasn't really one of my choice. I found them useful anyway.
Toothpick has a retention bump very close to the tip, IMO impairing its functionality to a degree. Tweezers are spot welded, all-metal style. These tiny tools are securely tucked in the rear part of the scales, very unlikely to fall out on their own, but a bit cumbersome to pull out with clipped fingernails. Split key ring (or lanyard ring) is a plain type and has rather sharp edges on both ends. I don't think this is an issue, it just looks kind of cheap. I've never seen this on a Victorinox, no matter which price tag.
Toothpick has a retention bump very close to the tip, IMO impairing its functionality to a degree. Tweezers are spot welded, all-metal style. These tiny tools are securely tucked in the rear part of the scales, very unlikely to fall out on their own, but a bit cumbersome to pull out with clipped fingernails. Split key ring (or lanyard ring) is a plain type and has rather sharp edges on both ends. I don't think this is an issue, it just looks kind of cheap. I've never seen this on a Victorinox, no matter which price tag.
Knife was originally supplied with reamer and nail cleaner both blunt, therefore serving no real purpose. I've sanded the back of a nail cleaner tip (thus making an useful point) and also sharpened one edge of a reamer, carefully using my Dremel tool with its sanding attachments. Large screwdriver also received a touch-up, making it less prone to slippage. As always when working on assembled folding knives, I've used masking tape to avoid contamination of pivots with sanding debris.
According to manufacturer's tool guide supplied with this knife, nail cleaner tip also serves as a small Philips screwdriver, but I'm rather sceptical about that. Good thing is that reamer and nail cleaner now have some scraping potential, so main blade can be spared from unnecessary damage by a rough scraping job (if a need arises, can opener and large screwdriver are also good scrapers).
According to manufacturer's tool guide supplied with this knife, nail cleaner tip also serves as a small Philips screwdriver, but I'm rather sceptical about that. Good thing is that reamer and nail cleaner now have some scraping potential, so main blade can be spared from unnecessary damage by a rough scraping job (if a need arises, can opener and large screwdriver are also good scrapers).
Quite unpleasant surprise ensued with the first cleaning and re-lubricating of my new Evo. I usually clean my multitools, folders and SAKs using soft cotton cloth with a narrow, pointed piece of PET banding strap, and re-lubricate with "Ballistol" oil (proven German-made all-purpose lubricant, which inhibits corrosion and is generally considered food-safe). Cleaning went as usual (I didn't notice any real dirt deposits except for some lint and signs of regular surface wear), but after re-lubricating and a bit of normal "workout" to help the oil spread evenly, tools apparently began to seize, producing a horrid "gritty" feel!
Things got even worse when I tried to expel the applied oil in warm water with a dab of dishwashing liquid - that's when tools almost completely seized, requiring substantial force to open or close them. This had never happened with any of my other SAKs, not even with Chinese or locally produced knock-offs. I'm not sure if this was due to my mistake, since Wenger didn't specify the type of oil for lubricating (they didn't mention rinsing the knife with soapy water, either). Ballistol is a quality oil that has always performed well for me, across the range of knife manufacturers and different materials used.
As far as I can recall, part of a standard maintenance procedure for classic Victorinox SAKs is submerging the knife in warm soapy water and repeatedly opening and closing the tools. I didn't have to perform this procedure on all my Vics, but when I had to, they withstood it cheerfully - so I don't understand the difference in behaviour between Vic and Wenger models, being now the same company and embracing the same quality standards (or not?) Could it possibly be the choice of steels used for springs and implements, different surface hardness or machining? Nevertheless, my Evo has been totaly knocked out of operation, first by a different oil and then by a soap bath...
As far as I can recall, part of a standard maintenance procedure for classic Victorinox SAKs is submerging the knife in warm soapy water and repeatedly opening and closing the tools. I didn't have to perform this procedure on all my Vics, but when I had to, they withstood it cheerfully - so I don't understand the difference in behaviour between Vic and Wenger models, being now the same company and embracing the same quality standards (or not?) Could it possibly be the choice of steels used for springs and implements, different surface hardness or machining? Nevertheless, my Evo has been totaly knocked out of operation, first by a different oil and then by a soap bath...
I've thoroughly rinsed the opened knife, dried it meticulously with paper towels and cotton cloth, blew the remaining water out with a can of compressed air, and let it air-dry for an hour or so. Then I've applied the plain sewing machine oil in small amounts with all tools open, aiming at pivots and springs. Fortunately, after some gentle "exercise", gritty sensation went away and all attachments began to open and close smoothly, as expected.
Excess oil wiped away and back to its working condition, my Evo 10 was ready for its EDC duty. It has since worked well and resided in my pocket, replacing the tiny Sanrenmu 605 lock-blade.
Wenger Evo 10 is a nice little knife to use, but obviously very picky lubricant- and maintenance-wise (I recommend adhering to Wenger's maintenance instructions fully - rinsing the whole knife isn't advised!) I also had to spare some time to bring a couple of blunt tools back to working order on a factory new knife - not a practice that I'm used to with any of its Victorinox counterparts. Other small imperfections (cheapo lanyard ring and a free-moving separator plate, for example) show that there has definitely been some corner-cutting.
After everything said here and considering this model's street price, the final score is 3 out of 5.
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Update (Sep 05, 2015)
Since EVO ST 10 doesn't have a small screwdriver which I frequently use, I've decided to add a Victorinox aftermarket part, which is - according to article on one SAK wiki page - supposed to fit inside the coil of any Wenger corkscrew. Contrary to that claim, mentioned part is not interchangeable between Vics and this knife. Fact is, it protrudes from the corkscrew when tightened, preventing the implement from closing fully. It had to be modified in order to fit correctly: I've carefully heated the corkscrew over the propane burner (steel surface shouldn't change its colour due to heating!) and tightened the screwdriver, using a rag to protect my hand.
Result is shown here:
Unfortunately, Vic management decided to let the Wenger brand down the drain. All hail the globalisation!
Wenger Evo 10 is a nice little knife to use, but obviously very picky lubricant- and maintenance-wise (I recommend adhering to Wenger's maintenance instructions fully - rinsing the whole knife isn't advised!) I also had to spare some time to bring a couple of blunt tools back to working order on a factory new knife - not a practice that I'm used to with any of its Victorinox counterparts. Other small imperfections (cheapo lanyard ring and a free-moving separator plate, for example) show that there has definitely been some corner-cutting.
After everything said here and considering this model's street price, the final score is 3 out of 5.
--------------------------
Update (Sep 05, 2015)
Since EVO ST 10 doesn't have a small screwdriver which I frequently use, I've decided to add a Victorinox aftermarket part, which is - according to article on one SAK wiki page - supposed to fit inside the coil of any Wenger corkscrew. Contrary to that claim, mentioned part is not interchangeable between Vics and this knife. Fact is, it protrudes from the corkscrew when tightened, preventing the implement from closing fully. It had to be modified in order to fit correctly: I've carefully heated the corkscrew over the propane burner (steel surface shouldn't change its colour due to heating!) and tightened the screwdriver, using a rag to protect my hand.
Result is shown here:
Unfortunately, Vic management decided to let the Wenger brand down the drain. All hail the globalisation!
