Saturday, August 23, 2008

Swiss Army Farmer and Huntsman Mate - Born is the Stalker

Many years ago, my primary field knives were a Victorinox Swiss Army Huntsman and A Buck Model 102 Woodsman. Those knives have both been replaced many times over, for one reason or another. The primary reason for replacing the Huntsman was solely because I didn't like the cellidor (plastic) scales. The Huntsman's replacement was the alox scaled Victorinox Swiss Army Farmer. Although a huge proponent of the Farmer for field use, I've always missed the utility and heft of the Huntsman.


Enter Bill Evans, aka Scibeer on http://www.knifeforums.com/. Bill has made quite the name for himself as a Swiss Army Knife modification specialist. After seeing some examples of his work, I contacted Bill to mod up a knife for me...



Born is what I've dubbed the Stalker - the best attributes of the SAK Farmer with an added pair of scissors and an HAIII anodization on the Farmer scales. This gives me back the heft and feel of my olde Huntsman, coupled with the sheer strength and utility of the Farmer.


Bill's work is nothing less than AWESOME. Every tool is perfectly aligned and the knife's "walk-n-talk" spring action is right up to par with factory offerings. There are no abnormal tool markings to be found anywhere. Additionally, the dark greyish black HAIII coating is by far and away harder and more corrosion resistant than the factory alox finish. The Stalker's finish is almost a perfect match to the SureFire E1L's finish (shown above). Here's a couple more views of the finished knife...



(Note the added fourth layer)


If you have an urge to have the "perfect" Swiss Army Knife for yourself, I can attest for the high quality of work and excellent service Bill provides. Some of Bill's finished works can be found for sale in Felinevet's Shop at http://www.sosakonline.com/. If you don't see what you're looking for there, you can always contact him through private messaging at http://www.knifeforums.com/...



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