VictorinoxWaiter Swiss Army Knife, 9 Function Swiss Made Pocket Knife with Large Blade, Corkscrew and Bottle Opener - Red

Most people have a pretty good idea of what they're getting when they buy a Victorinox Swiss Army knife. I've carried a pocket knife for almost 30 years, have several, and this has ended up being my favorite from a size, usefulness, and price combination standpoint.The Victorinox Waiter has a blade, bottle opener, and corkscrew along with the trademark tweezers and toothpick - What you need and nothing else. (Yeah - one doesn't use the corkscrew often, but it does save you every now and then at office parties, picnics, or when travelling.) This knife is relatively inexpensive. You could get it confiscated at an airport and not cry the blues too hard. However Victorinox has really nailed their metallurgy and for me their knives are the benchmark by which other affordable pocket knife blades are measured. This knife is decent quality, comes with and holds a good edge, and the tool selection is great from a real use standpoint. It is big enough to be useful (3.25 inches long overall with a 2.5 inch blade (very bottom of base to tip) - about .25 inches shorter than the "Camper" Swiss Army knife I grew up with), but still slim, small and light enough to comfortably carry in your front pocket every day. The slimness makes a BIG difference. I really love this knife and can't recommend it highly enough. I've had a couple single-blade penknives that are "nicer" (both prettier and much more expensive), but having the bottle opener/screwdriver and even the tweezers really comes in useful sometimes. People also don't tend to look at you funny when you pull out a medium Swiss Army knife, as they sometimes do when you pull out a little lock-blade. You should enjoy this if you buy it. For me its as close to perfect as I've found for a carry every day pocket knife.Note: The Swiss Army Knife "Bantam" is the same knife without the corkscrew.

OK, I won't totally commit to saying the Waiter is the absolute *best* SAK, but it's certainly in the running.(I don't comment on the quality of SAKs; others cover that; I just talk about what's good -- or not so good -- about particular models)If the Galactic Overlords decreed we could only have one SAK and had to use it all the time, I could be happy with any of these: Spartan, Compact, Camper, Climber Plus, Huntsman, Farmer, Waiter, Rambler, or Manager.Thinking specifically about the Waiter:I hate the name. Waiter. I have nothing against waiters (they bring me food and drink for low pay... I wish they got paid more), but such a lousy name for this knife.It should be called either the Thru-Hiker or the Ultralight.It's the perfect knife for a long-distance thru-hiker or ultra-light backpacker. Its blade is big enough to do actual work, but it's ultra light. It opens packages, bottles. and cans; it unties knots; it cuts stuff that needs cut; its screwdriver can fix a pack or tune a stove: everything a backpacker or thru-hiker needs. It's also terrific for around town and at the office. It's a great low-key gentleman's folder. Very nonthreatening even for hoplophobiacs.The corkscrew is very good at untying stubborn knots in paracord. This is important. If you hike, if you camp, you know this. (It also opens wine bottles; easy way to be a hero.)Can-opener, bottle-opener, wine-bottle-opener... This is important too. At some point -- whether you're a thru-hiker or just a civilian -- you're going to need one of these.The Waiter (Thru-hiker, Ultra-light) has a screwdriver... it can fix a pack or stove. With attention, the multi-tool blade will handle a Phillips screw.Of all the umpteen bazillion models of SAKs, the Waiter (or Thru-Hiker, or Ultralight) has the best ratio of tools to layers. Put in a mini-screwdriver and straight pin, and it's 10 tools (not counting lanyard ring) for one layer. Best of any SAK.The straight pin and and tweezers are what you need for splinters/slivers.The whole point of carrying a Swiss Army Knife is to carry it all the time (or, as close to all the time as you can get with our new and onerous laws... airports, airplanes, courthouses). Its virtues only shine when you always have it with you. Read any SAK review on Amazon... no matter how thick it is (Explorer, anyone?) someone will say "This SAK has all the tools I need but it's thin enough to carry in my pocket." That's only true if you dress a certain way (the Explorer is way fat... so is the Huntsman, which is one of my favorites). This SAK, the Waiter (Thru-hiker, Ultra-light), truly is slim enough to carry no matter what you're wearing.The scissors are great... the saw is great... This knife doesn't have either of those.But, it has way more than a regular slip-joint pocket knife or single blade lock-back, which many people have carried for, like, a century. And it's so slim... and it's so cheap... and it's so good.In general, I'm not a fan of the 84 mm SAKs... I think the Tinker is better than the Small Tinker, I think the Spartan is better than the Tourist. But... in this case, the 84 mm platform makes sense. The thin (and kinda short) Waiter fits on a key chain just fine. Perfect for EDC aficionados.FYI: the springs on the Thru-Hiker (aka Waiter) are stiffer than those on the 91 and 58 mm SAKs. This isn't good or bad... just a fact. If you use the knife often, it's a good thing: good solid open and close; the knife "walks and talks." If you toss the knife into a pack or glove compartment and ignore it for months... not so good. I've handled neglected Waiters that I just couldn't get open.Factoid for Knife Knerds: At one point, Victorinox made a 91 mm Waiter Plus... same knife as we're talking about here, but a little longer, with a ballpoint pen in the handle. Very collectible. If you see one, check the price (multitool.org, bladeforums.com), but be ready to jump on it. (Best tool-to-layer ratio of all SAKs ever made.)If you need/want the scissors, go with the Climber, Compact, Rambler, or Manager.If you need the saw, go with the Camper or Farmer.If you can live without either of those, and you want a versatile and high-value pocket knife you can carry anytime, anywhere, no matter what you're wearing, no matter how liberal the people you hang out with are, go with the Thru-hiker (aka, the Waiter).

Still the king of knives, Vicktorinox produces more knives than any other knife company, How do they do that? They make really good, usedul knives! I bought this waiter to put in my kitchen drawer,it will be at the ready when I open bottles of wine. It doesn't work on boxed wine ! 🤣 It has a nice sharp blade to cut it hrough the wrap and a corkscrew to pull the cork out. It also has a bottle cap remover, a wire stripper and a can opener, also a pair of tweezers, and a toothpick. It is worth every penny I buy different models to keep my happy

If you want a nice knife, that is not too heavy, and has a handy tools for everyday use. This is a good buy.I like mine. I went ahead and bought the little screwdriver too. It comes in handy for those small screws on glasses, hearing aids, etc. I like it.Walter

There is a lot to like about this little Swiss Army Knife (SAK): General purpose main blade, Corkscrew that has never failed to pop a cork, and Combo Tool for opening cans, lifting bottle caps, screwdriver that works with both standard slotted & Phillips screws and wire stripper. The wire stripper feature is used in combination with the main blade, see YouTube for a better description. Last but not least the toothpick and tweezers which are perfect for splinters!

Good SAK, but everything is thinner than other SAKs; the liner, the blade, even the key chain loop. That said, it's significantly lighter and its still high quality and very sharp.