Knife Review: Victorinox Swiss Army Tinker Pocket Knife

If I was high in the Blue Ridge Mountains hunting deer or down in the pine forests of the deep south tracking wild pigs, I'd need a rugged, manly, knife to field dress game. But, that's certainly not my everyday world, knives in my world need to be more practical and less tactical. I'm far more liikely to cut open packaging, cut the tags off of a pair of shoes, check out some electronic gizmo, or open a computer case. The Swiss Army Tinker pocket knife has practical tools for the practical world. The Tinker has a large blade, small blade, Phillips head screwdriver, can opener, small screw driver, large screwdriver,wire stripper, reamer, key ring, tweezers, and a toothpick. I also like the Tinker because it complements my Wenger Swiss Army Watch.

In a world full of Chinese-made products, it's nice to see that this Swiss Army knife was actually made in Switzerland. The Tinker has the rich red color and cross and shield logo expected in a traditionally iconic Swiss Army knife. It is a full-sized pocket knife with an overall closed length of 3 9/16-inch and high quality stainless steel blades. The 2 5/8-inch long large blade is marked "Victorinox Swiss Made Stainless" on one side and "Officier Suisse" on the other. In just a few weeks of ownership, the blade, smaller 1 5/8-inch blade, and screwdriver have already come in handy around the house and on weekend excursions. For example, I was recently found an antique camera in a North Florida Big Bend Goodwill thrift store and used the screwdriver to open the battery compartment to see if there was corrosion.

In carrying this knife, I'm finding that the practical tool blades of a Swiss Army are extremely useful. The normal knife size allows the Tinker to easily and discreetly fit in my front pocket. The Swiss Army Tinker is more practical for more tasks than small single-blade pocket knives like my Buck MiniBuck or Case Sod Buster, Jr. However, the blade does not appear to be as strong and the rich red case seems to pick up little scratches from the car keys and coins that also occupy my pockets. But, this is a working knife and I'm sure that it can resist pocket lint and dust.

It can be dangerous to use a sharp and powerful tactical knife like a Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops Folding Knife for innocuous tasks around the house. If you are just going to cut some price tags off of new shoes, a smaller knife like the Swiss Army Tinker is immensely more practical. For about $20, the Tinker is also very affordable, works well, and provides a good value.