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Knife Blade

Nearly every Swiss Army Knife has at least one knife blade. Maybe surprisingly, there are at least a few that don't. The types of blades available are almost as varied as the knives themselves. Some blades have a serrated or partially serrated edge, and may be straight or curved. The main way to determine if a knife is an original Victorinox is to check the Tang Stamp on the main blade. Shown here is an example of the current official stamp introduced in 2005. Earlier models have different stamps, so the stamp can also be useful in determining the period during which the knife was manufactured. Many of the different blades are described below, grouped by manufacturer and size. Victorinox Blade Comparison #1 Victorinox Blade Comparison #2

Table Of Contents

Victorinox

Victorinox reports: "After hardening at 1,040 degrees and tempering at 160 degrees, the blades have a hardness of RC 56 (RC = Rockwell C, unit of hardness)."

To resharpen the blades, Victorinox recommends using a honing stone, as the alloy from which the blades are manufactured is too hard for a honing steel.

58mm

Pen Blade

This is the knife blade found on nearly every 58mm knife. The back and the edge of the blade slope at the same degree to the point (also known as a Spear Point). The Pen Blade is very well suited to smaller tasks. It is only produced in a straight edge, non serrated, version.

Emergency Blade

This blade is only found on only a few 58mm knives. It has a Wharncliffe shape that produces flatter edge than the standard pen blade. This blade is well suited to small precision straight cuts, and from the factory is considerably sharper than the pen blade. This blade is also well suited to whittling. The Wharncliffe blade was invented around 1832 by Lord Wharncliffe.

Cut & Picker Blade with Scraper

Only found on 58mm knives, according to information from the factory its sole purpose is to cut the plastic tie used to seal a pill bottle cap, and then to pick the cotton filler out of the bottle. see: Cut and Picker Tool Page

74mm

Large Blade - 74mm

Small Blade - 74mm

Orange Peeler with Screwdriver Tip

This is a unique blade only found on the 74mm Executive and Director. see also: Orange Peeler Tool Page

84mm

Large Blade - 84mm

Most 84mm knifes have a large blade. The Large Blade is almost as long as the knife itself, with a cutting edge of 52mm that uses a standard V-grind and a spear point.

Small Blade - 84mm

The small blade is found on a few 84mm knifes. Its shape is very similar to the large blade, with a cutting edge of 35.5mm.

Small Clip Point Blade (Angle Blade)

Some early models have a small blade that is a Clip-Point design. This design was dropped in 1973 in favor of using the more common Spear-Point design. Some Victorinox manuals and catalogues refer to this as an Angle Blade. This blade is discontinued.

Pen Blade - 84mm

A small 'pen' blade is present on some 84mm knives like the Pocket Pal. This blade is thinner than the Small Blade and has the shorter profile of a pen blade.

Electrician's Blade - 84mm

A small blade Sheepsfoot blade with a special insulation cutting/wire scrapper edge near the tang. This blade is quite rare on 84mm knives.

91mm / 93mm

Large Blade - 91mm

Most 91mm knifes have both a large blade and a small blade. The Large blade is almost as long as the knife itself. It has a standard V-Grind edge of 58mm, and a spear point tip. The large blade comes in a straight-edge, serrated-edge, and in a very few knives a combo or partially-serrated edge where approximately half of the blade starting at the tip is straight and the remaining edge to the tang is serrated.

Small Blade - 91mm

The small blade is found on most 91mm knifes. It shape is very similar to the large blade, and has a cutting edge of roughly 36mm.

Small Clip Point Blade (Angle Blade) - 91mm

Some early models have a small blade that is a Clip-Point design. This design was dropped in 1973 in favor of using the more common Spear-Point design. Some Victorinox manuals and catalogues refer to this as an Angle Blade. This blade is discontinued.

Small Pruner - 93mm

A small Pruning blade available on a number of 93mm Alox knives.

Electrician's Blade - 93mm

A small blade Sheepsfoot blade with a special insulation cutting/wire scrapper edge near the tang.

100mm

Sheepsfoot

The Sheepsfoot or Utility blade uses a Chisel, or Flat Grind, that is uncommon on Swiss Army Knives. The straight sharpened edge is 55mm in length. This blade is well suited to precise cuts and is the main blade on the Gardener and Grafter

Grafter

There are actually a few different Grafting blades that are available. The most common one is a special purpose blade designed to aid in the grafting of plant stems. The blade as two sharpened edges, the traditional one on the bottom of the blade and a special Grafting Edge sharpened on the top (base/spine) of the blade. The Grafting edge is available on two similar knife blades, and has a close cousin in a separate small brass blade. The different blades are useful for different plants and trees, and different grafting techniques.

Pruner

Available on the Pruner with the "Chisel" ground edge. Its shape is useful in pruning of flowers and small shrubs or trees. A similar shaped blade is available on the BakersKnife with a serrated edge (non serrated BakersKnife being quite rare) although it does not have a "Chisel" ground edge.

Wharncliffe

The 100mm Wharncliffe blade is no longer in production, and is fairly rare. Photo: Wharncliffe (bottom) shown next to Sheepsfoot.

108mm

Large Blade - 108mm

This is the main blade found on all 108mm Safari type knives. They all have a Plain Edge and a Spear Point as shown.

Gutting Blade - 108mm

The Gutting blade was first introduced on 108mm knives. It was produced in both plain and serrated edge versions. The serrated version of the blade was also used as an emergency/rescue belt cutter blade and was carried over to the 111mm line.

Clip Point Blade - 108mm

The large Clip-Point style blade is only available on the Mauser and Walther models. This style was common in earlier small blades on the standard 91mm sized knives, but the large sized blades are uncommon (see 111mm Clip-Point for an additional example.).

111mm

Large Blade - 111mm

This is a large blade that is found on all 111mm model knives. The 111mm blades come in both a Plain Edge and Serrated edge versions. As of 2008, the main blade on all 111mm knives have a Locking System One Handed Main Blade This blade is the same length and the traditional opening blade. The large oval shaped loop on the spine of the blade near the tang is used as a thumb or finger catch so the blade can be opened with the same hand that is holding the knife. The shape of the hole has changed slightly over the years and is currently more round. This blade is available with either a Plain Edge or Partially Serrated edge.

Belt Cutter / Rescue Blade

This is a serrated blade that appears on several knives. This special blade is non-locking on most models, but Version 3 was introduced in 2010 as a locking blade.

Version 1 – of this blade was first included on the WorkChamp XL, and was identical to the 108mm Serrated Gutting blade. The 111mm Clip-Point blade was also similarly adapted from the 108mm platform.
Version 1a – On some later models of the Fireman and others the blade was given a more curved spine starting at the tang with a large dip, but the cutting edge remained essentially unchanged.

Version 2 – This is the first true 111mm design Rescue Blade, and was first introduced on the Rescue Tool knife. This blade has a lower profile and the cutting edge has more curvature and significantly increases in length from 59mm to 70mm (not including the extra length as a result of the curvature). The nail-nick is replaced with a large catch on the tip of the blade (similar to the woodsaw), and is large enough to catch on the clothing or many materials to allow the blade to be opened one-handed providing you can catch the safety-tip of the blade on something.

Version 3 – One-handed opening and liner-locking, this blade was introduced in 2010 on the DAK-2010 and the Dual Pro. This new 111mm design is the first secondary blade to feature one-handed opening and locking. It's cutting edge is a linear 64mm, and ~68mm true.

Small Gutting Blade

This is a smaller curved serrated blade for use in dressing out an animal. It is used to cut open the stomach cavity of any animal brought down by a hunter in the field. You will find this blade on the Hunter model.

Clip Point Blade - 111mm

The large Clip-Point style blade only appears to be available on the WorkChamp XL. This blade is identical to the 108mm version, and Victorinox likely just adapted the extra 108mm parts to build the WorkChamp XL for collectors. The large Serrated Belt Cutter blade on the WorkChamp XL was similarly adapted from the 108mm platform.

Locking Systems

A Locking System is a mechanism to lock a knife blade, or other blade tool, in the open or fully extended position. Once locked open, to fold the blade closed requires the activation of some lock release. Knives that contain a Locking System are often refered to as Lock Blades, and are often treated differently in govenment knife regulations. Locking Systems used on Swiss Army Knives are described in Knife Blade and Tool Locking Systems.

Wenger

Information needed