It's a wonderful item. Congrats on your purchase. There is just one thing i wish they added and that is the Combi tool with the Phillips, bottle opener, wirestripper. It's on the rambler and manager and i love it
Hi AKG, you did well in buying it cheaply & fixing it up. FYI the 74mm Executive is Not discontinued, its simply in very limited production. You will find it still listed on Victorinox's main international website & only current production models appear on the website . In the last few decades it has only been made in small batches every few years & most of the production goes to European SAK wholesalers & its rumored that they are made in a ratio of 3 or 4 red scaled ones to every black scaled one simply because the red one is associated with MacGyver. I have 2 black scaled Executives, one made in 2012 which I keep unused in pristine condition & the other made in 2014 and I occasionally use it as a Gentleman's knife for an evening out when I don't want a larger SAK like a 91mm Huntsman in my pants pocket, so I'll carry it or a 84mm SAK like the Cadet, Sportsman or Tourist or my 85mm Wenger Odyssey . In 2020 Victorinox discontinued 2 of the Pioneer Alox series - the single layer 93mm Swiss Army 2 ( with just a main blade & secondary Hawksbill pruning blade ) & the 2 layer Swiss Army 6 ( with a main blade, awl, screwdriver & Hawksbill blade in place of the can opener ) I have one of each bought in 2020 when I learned that they were discontinued, one or two large SAK wholesalers might still have a few in stock if you are interested, both knives have no key ring & are in silver Alox only.
Good find . You have an older version as it's got the half leaf spring, so I would guess it's before 1980 ! The toothpick and tweezers look like much later ones as the older model had plastic ,from 1973, but the tweezer arms were very flat . The toothpick were shorter too . I have had the executive for years , not a daily carry but, I do use it ,just like macgyver ? They have, I believe, always been overpriced, but that may have been their downfallthey are still for sale in the UK at this time ,2023 but getting harder to find at a realistic price?
Ordered a brand new Executive yesterday. This 74mm will be my new 58mm! The latter is great but a little too small for me. Also, in 🇨🇦 you can carry a blade up to 6 cm aboard a plane (domestic flights or international not bound for the US), so it's very convenient when travelling without checked luggage. Being a discontinued model now (shame) was an added motivation.
Very nice job cleaning up an old beauty. I carry one from the eighties every day, sometimes paired with a larger SAK. I also have a couple Directors and a couple Companions, which is the Executive without the keyring. On my EDC I reshaped the small blade to a sheeps foot for really precise cutting.
Thanks for watching!! I usually pair an Classic SD with my Tinker. But I will probably switch it up and use the Executive instead of the classic for a little bit. I tried to buy a Director a couple months back, but it got expensive. They are hard to find for a good price! But I will keep looking.
I have carried an Executive for over 30 yrs as a companion to a larger frame or liner lock knife with a pocket clip. It perfect for small tasks and the tweezers and toothpick get alot of use. The small pen blade on mine gets more use than the bigger one, if I need a larger blade I pull out my frame or liner lock knife which normally has a 2.5 - 3.5" blade most of the time. The Executive is thin enough that I don't even notice it in my pocket. BTW my tweezers have the plastic end and it is the original. I cannot date exactly when I purchased mine, but it was not long after I got out of the Army in '88, It may have even been early 90's (90 - 91). The only reason I say that is I used the tweezers alot when I started working in Construction in '91 to remove splinters
Thanks for watching!!! Yes! The executive is a fantastic companion SAK. I carry a classic sd as a companion to my tinker usually. But I may switch them up and start carrying the executive . I switch out my edc itmes.
I, too, have carried one of these knives for years. To me it is a gentleman's knife and the orange peeler for me seems to be more of a pipe bowl cleaner. Thanks for the video.
Great video! I don't have an Executive but I once had a Director... traded it off for some Wenger knives. Kind of wished I'd kept it. Thanks for sharing this great find. I like cleaning up old Victorinox knives as well.
That is an earlier version Executive than the several that I have... don't remember what scissors spring my 1st one had that I lost, or the tweezers having a metal head. My first company one that I still have and carried for years, had a similar carbon spring that eventually broke... Victorinox did not carry the same replacement spring, so I ordered the modern one that is on all the Executives that I currently have... I remember having a heck of time getting the new spring in, have to make the hole bigger, and reshape/grind the inner parts to get the spring to fit and still close the scissors... but it works, and I always keep it on my workbench for various uses... it shows the wear and tear on the painted scales, but it's a dear friend that I carried for years before I bought a new regular Executive with black plastic scales.
a better choice than the classic useful and not threating file is great and the orange peeler works like a little saw along with a good little screwdriver
The 74mm Executive has been my favorite EDC knife since I bought my first one in 1977 at an army PX store while visiting a friend who was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC... I lost it at some point, but quickly replaced it, and I have bought a few more over the years as backups. The company that I worked for had an Executive model knife without the plastic scales, painted aluminum, usually black or blue with the company logo on them... I have a couple, and use to buy them at the company store for Christmas presents ($10 each) and give out to family and friends. I have a couple that I customized with Sambar stag scales... and I always attach a suspension clip (Titanium ones are the best) so I never lose a knife again, and help reduce the felt weight when suspended in your pocket. The nail cleaner on the nail file works very well for some Phillips screws !
@@averageknifeguy83 Yes... I bought the scales from an ebay seller... did most of the sanding using a Harbor Freight 1" belt & disc sander, than bought a wider 4" belt & disc sander from Menards. I didn't attempt to make the tweezer and toothpick slots, but I've been thinking on it for some time, and will probably attempt it using my Dremel plunge router that I recently purchased. You have to make inlets for the brass pins on the underside ( use end mill bits in my drill press), and epoxy the scales on... it is possible to remove the scales later if needed.
@@averageknifeguy83 I have also bought a couple brass rock pattern scales for my 91mm Vics... have a 74mm pair that I am waiting for delivery from China... I'm going to put them on one of my Executives.
@@airmojo that sounds awesome!!! I was looking into that myself. I will be attempting a custom SAK (cross between a huntsman, explorer, and compact I think)
I have come to really appreciate the Swiss army knife. In many ways….having young children even makes me appreciate it more!! The amount of times I have used a SAK to assist my children in a task that they have presented to me…..it’s amazing!!
@@averageknifeguy83 I'll have to measure mine to check the size. The small pen blade needs to be replaced and the whole knife needs to be sharpened and cleaned. I may just send it to Victornox.
It's a wonderful item. Congrats on your purchase. There is just one thing i wish they added and that is the Combi tool with the Phillips, bottle opener, wirestripper. It's on the rambler and manager and i love it
As I was watching this video I was thinking how cool it would be to have a 74mm Rambler. I would buy it in a heartbeat.
Hi AKG, you did well in buying it cheaply & fixing it up. FYI the 74mm Executive is Not discontinued, its simply in very limited production. You will find it still listed on Victorinox's main international website & only current production models appear on the website . In the last few decades it has only been made in small batches every few years & most of the production goes to European SAK wholesalers & its rumored that they are made in a ratio of 3 or 4 red scaled ones to every black scaled one simply because the red one is associated with MacGyver. I have 2 black scaled Executives, one made in 2012 which I keep unused in pristine condition & the other made in 2014 and I occasionally use it as a Gentleman's knife for an evening out when I don't want a larger SAK like a 91mm Huntsman in my pants pocket, so I'll carry it or a 84mm SAK like the Cadet, Sportsman or Tourist or my 85mm Wenger Odyssey . In 2020 Victorinox discontinued 2 of the Pioneer Alox series - the single layer 93mm Swiss Army 2 ( with just a main blade & secondary Hawksbill pruning blade ) & the 2 layer Swiss Army 6 ( with a main blade, awl, screwdriver & Hawksbill blade in place of the can opener ) I have one of each bought in 2020 when I learned that they were discontinued, one or two large SAK wholesalers might still have a few in stock if you are interested, both knives have no key ring & are in silver Alox only.
I have had one since 1992. Absolutely love it. It is a great sak to own.
I think the 74mm is great… wish they’d make them again someday soon. ideally I’d like something with the bottle opener/phillips head 👍
Everyday in my pocket ...the black one...best size 👶👏❤️
Good find . You have an older version as it's got the half leaf spring, so I would guess it's before 1980 ! The toothpick and tweezers look like much later ones as the older model had plastic ,from 1973, but the tweezer arms were very flat . The toothpick were shorter too .
I have had the executive for years , not a daily carry but, I do use it ,just like macgyver ? They have, I believe, always been overpriced, but that may have been their downfallthey are still for sale in the UK at this time ,2023 but getting harder to find at a realistic price?
Ordered a brand new Executive yesterday. This 74mm will be my new 58mm! The latter is great but a little too small for me. Also, in 🇨🇦 you can carry a blade up to 6 cm aboard a plane (domestic flights or international not bound for the US), so it's very convenient when travelling without checked luggage. Being a discontinued model now (shame) was an added motivation.
Very nice job cleaning up an old beauty. I carry one from the eighties every day, sometimes paired with a larger SAK. I also have a couple Directors and a couple Companions, which is the Executive without the keyring. On my EDC I reshaped the small blade to a sheeps foot for really precise cutting.
Thanks for watching!! I usually pair an Classic SD with my Tinker. But I will probably switch it up and use the Executive instead of the classic for a little bit. I tried to buy a Director a couple months back, but it got expensive. They are hard to find for a good price! But I will keep looking.
I have carried an Executive for over 30 yrs as a companion to a larger frame or liner lock knife with a pocket clip. It perfect for small tasks and the tweezers and toothpick get alot of use. The small pen blade on mine gets more use than the bigger one, if I need a larger blade I pull out my frame or liner lock knife which normally has a 2.5 - 3.5" blade most of the time. The Executive is thin enough that I don't even notice it in my pocket.
BTW my tweezers have the plastic end and it is the original. I cannot date exactly when I purchased mine, but it was not long after I got out of the Army in '88, It may have even been early 90's (90 - 91). The only reason I say that is I used the tweezers alot when I started working in Construction in '91 to remove splinters
Thanks for watching!!! Yes! The executive is a fantastic companion SAK. I carry a classic sd as a companion to my tinker usually. But I may switch them up and start carrying the executive . I switch out my edc itmes.
I got it before two days! it's really great!
I, too, have carried one of these knives for years. To me it is a gentleman's knife and the orange peeler for me seems to be more of a pipe bowl cleaner. Thanks for the video.
Very classy SAK!! thank you for watching!
According to Victorinox's page, they haven't discontinued the executive.
Great video! I don't have an Executive but I once had a Director... traded it off for some Wenger knives. Kind of wished I'd kept it. Thanks for sharing this great find. I like cleaning up old Victorinox knives as well.
I had a chance to buy a director for a great price. It was near flawless! For some odd reason I hesitated and someone beat me to it. It haunts me!
That is an earlier version Executive than the several that I have... don't remember what scissors spring my 1st one had that I lost, or the tweezers having a metal head.
My first company one that I still have and carried for years, had a similar carbon spring that eventually broke... Victorinox did not carry the same replacement spring, so I ordered the modern one that is on all the Executives that I currently have... I remember having a heck of time getting the new spring in, have to make the hole bigger, and reshape/grind the inner parts to get the spring to fit and still close the scissors... but it works, and I always keep it on my workbench for various uses... it shows the wear and tear on the painted scales, but it's a dear friend that I carried for years before I bought a new regular Executive with black plastic scales.
I appreciate your passion for it!!! Few people understand how a knife (multi-tool) can become a great companion to help you face life’s small tasks!!!
a better choice than the classic useful and not threating file is great and the orange peeler works like a little saw along with a good little screwdriver
The 74mm Executive has been my favorite EDC knife since I bought my first one in 1977 at an army PX store while visiting a friend who was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC... I lost it at some point, but quickly replaced it, and I have bought a few more over the years as backups.
The company that I worked for had an Executive model knife without the plastic scales, painted aluminum, usually black or blue with the company logo on them... I have a couple, and use to buy them at the company store for Christmas presents ($10 each) and give out to family and friends.
I have a couple that I customized with Sambar stag scales... and I always attach a suspension clip (Titanium ones are the best) so I never lose a knife again, and help reduce the felt weight when suspended in your pocket.
The nail cleaner on the nail file works very well for some Phillips screws !
Did you produce the stag scales yourself?
@@averageknifeguy83 Yes... I bought the scales from an ebay seller... did most of the sanding using a Harbor Freight 1" belt & disc sander, than bought a wider 4" belt & disc sander from Menards.
I didn't attempt to make the tweezer and toothpick slots, but I've been thinking on it for some time, and will probably attempt it using my Dremel plunge router that I recently purchased.
You have to make inlets for the brass pins on the underside ( use end mill bits in my drill press), and epoxy the scales on... it is possible to remove the scales later if needed.
@@averageknifeguy83 I have also bought a couple brass rock pattern scales for my 91mm Vics... have a 74mm pair that I am waiting for delivery from China... I'm going to put them on one of my Executives.
@@airmojo that sounds awesome!!! I was looking into that myself. I will be attempting a custom SAK (cross between a huntsman, explorer, and compact I think)
I have come to really appreciate the Swiss army knife. In many ways….having young children even makes me appreciate it more!! The amount of times I have used a SAK to assist my children in a task that they have presented to me…..it’s amazing!!
Show!!!
I have one but the spring is broken on the scissors. What size is the replacement spring?
It’s a 74mm knife so I believe the spring is specific for that model of scissors. But I have to check
@@averageknifeguy83 I'll have to measure mine to check the size. The small pen blade needs to be replaced and the whole knife needs to be sharpened and cleaned. I may just send it to Victornox.