A lexicon of knife terminiology


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A lexicon of knife terminology: Section V
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Vanadium:  Vanadium is a carbide former added to steel additive that contributes to wear resistance blade hardness and edge keeping capabilities.  

VG-10: A cutlery quality steel made by Takefu Special Steel co of Japan. Its prpoerties are Carbon:1.0% Chromium:15.0% Molybdenum:1.0% Vanadium:0.2% Cobalt:1.5% The steel is used by Spyderco and Kershaw. It was orginally designed for kitchen cutlery but quickly was adopted for sport and survival cutlery. It is often referred to a "Super Steel" due to its quality.

Victorinox: Victorinox is a knife maker in Switzerland most famous for the Original Swiss Army Knife. It is headquartered in Ibach. Victorinox is the largest producer of knives in Europe, perhaps in the World.

Victorinox acquired Wenger producers of the Genuine Swiss Army Knife in 2005. They continued to use the Wenger Brand for names unitl 2014. At that time, remaining knives from Wenger's Delémont factory became Victorinox, Delémont knives.

Victorinox Original Swiss Army Knives come in a variety of sizes with 58mm, 84mm, 91mm, 93mm, and 111mm being the most common. Other less common sizes include 74mm, 100mm, and 108mm. The 108mm was first developed for a contract for a pocket knife for the German Army. Probably the most recognized and carried knife in the world is the Victorinox Classic SD. See also, multi-tool, camp knife, scout knife, and Wenger.

Victorinox can opener:  A patented can opener blade until recently found only on Victorinox knives that also has a small screw driver tip on the end that will work with many Phillips type screws.

Vintage: Vintage is an ill-defined and therefore meaningless term used to sell knives. It might mean the knife is 20 years old or just no longer in production.  You should view such claims with caution if you’re buying and if you’re selling try to use more specific terms when describing your knife.  Terms such as vintage are used quite often at online auction sites such as eBay.


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