A couple of years ago my wife bought a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Classic for herself. Because it was pink. I may have first convinced her of the usefulness of the small SAK’s knife blade and scissors, but the years have clouded my memory. She right away attached it to her keychain and has used it countless times since then.
The friendly folks at BladeHQ were kind enough to send over the new robot-motif Victorinox classic for testing. I already have a couple of Victorinox’s keychain-sized Swiss Army Knives, but I felt this one warranted review. It’s got robots on it!
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As you can probably tell, I’m into robots. But I also have a thing for useful EDC tools, especially those that don’t draw too many stares in public.
Victorinox really hit a home run with the robot-motif scales. Even with a little pink thrown in there, the design is cute without being overly feminine.
If you’ve never seen these small Victorinox Classic knives in person before, my thumbnail at the bottom of the photo should give you a feel for its size. The mini SAK really is perfectly sized for keychains.
These mini multi-tools feature:
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- small knife blade
- spring-action scissors
- nail file with slotted screwdriver tip
- mini tweezers
- plastic tootpick
The knife blade is small, but surprisingly usable. Its size means it can fit in places too tight for full-size multi-tool and pocket knife blades. Plus it doesn’t draw stares in offices, subways, city streets, and all the other settings where knives seem out of place these days.
While not razor-sharp, the knife blade is far from dull. It can be used to cut through small wires, plastic packaging, paper, cardboard, and other everyday materials. Because of its thinness, the knife can slice through softer materials cleaner and quicker than larger and beefier knives.
You cannot really make it out in the photos, but the knife engraving says Swiss Made Stainless.
Not much can be said about the nail file. I don’t recall ever using this feature and my wife reports having used the one in her SAK once or twice.
The slotted screwdriver blade comes in handy a bit more often, but like the knife blade it too is a bit small.
These mini scissors are great for small trimming jobs. In the past week I used these on small threads, a label, and paper. And in the week before that my wife used her pink SAK Classic scissors to trim a medical tape corner that was poking into her inner elbow.
I sometimes carry a Leatherman Style CS or other scissors-focused mini tool instead, but Victorinox’s design has never really disappointed me. The spring-action is great, the handles easy to squeeze, and the blades finely sharpened and tuned.
I admit to using the plastic toothpick on more than one occasion. It’s easy to clean, and replacements are available for cheap if you lose it. Unless I’m remembering things wrong, titanium replacements are available via 3rd parties if you look hard enough.
The tweezers are not elaborately designed, but they’re suitable for small plucking and coaxing tasks. They successfully plucked 5 out of 6 hand and arm hairs, and by memory they do an okay job on minor splinters. I’d rather have these tweezers with me on-the-go than none at all.
You can find Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Classic keychain-sized pocket knives for about $12-20 depending on the design. These robot-motif ones are priced under $16 via BladeHQ.
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If you’re into robots but this version is too colorful for you, there’s also the Techno Trash version:
Thank you to BladeHQ for providing the review sample unconditionally. Review samples are typically given away, donated, or retained for benchmark and comparison purposes.
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