Am I missing something? Vic Classic

Even my girlfriend likes it, nuff said ;-).

On a more serious note, I think it depends on your needs, as others have stated. I think it's a very practical tool and I use it almost daily. The scissors are a gift to run around with, they're just so useful. The blade is ideal for opening mail and such, peeling small fruits,... I also use the nailfile, but not so much. The SD driver on top of the nailfile, I do use a lot. I also wear glasses, and for the small screw on those, the SD driver is too thick. Nothing the Classic can't solve, because the tweezers have the ideal thickness for that. The only thing I don't tend to use is the toothpick... I find it somewhat gross to use it, put it back in that dark little hole, use it again... Even if you'd wash it. But hey, that's just me.

I'd say: go for it, try it out. I usually buy 'em in bulk off the bay. This has lead to an overrepresentation of these guys around the house. On the house keys, on the car keys, in a basic first aid kit in my backpack, somewhere in the car, in a few drawers... They're EVERYWHERE and all of 'em are being used.
 
Mike R said:
Where I think the Classic shines is the scissors, tweezers, and toothpick.
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I'm with Mike on this one. My wife and I have Classic or Classic-size SAKs on all our keychains, have for many years. But I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have used the blade in all those years. I always have a knife in my pocket for work that calls for a blade. But the tweezers, and especially the scissors, are very handy to always have around.
 
I asked a question awhile back about the most popular pocket knife. While I wasn't at all surprised with the answer, it wasn't what I expected. By far, the Vic Classic is the most popular/produced pocket knife around, and for good reason. It's a knife that even non-knife people use, are inexpensive enough to not lose sleep over if lost or broken, and are readily available. It is infinitely handy for everyday chores. I have even cleaned squirrels with one, just to see how it did. While not ideal, it did fine, and would most likely do in a pinch for larger game, although I can't imagine why you'd need to.

I have several scattered about the house, cars, family. I have been carrying a MiniChamp II lately. Same frame, but 4 layers. I like the ink pen it has, and even used it to fill out my last 4473 form. I have a few Micra's scattered about, as well. While they are very handy, they aren't as small. That can be both good and bad.
 
My classic was shelved in favor of the rambler. I rarely use the blade but the philips head, tweezers, toothpick and especially the cap lifter get plenty of use.
 
I buy em off the bay for Xmas stocking filler.
My wife carries one on her keys.Very handy.
BUT
I prefer a MANS knife ...not a cissy little girly knife.
Oh hang on the tweezers ARE useful.
 
I've got a Classic SD which lives in a little first aid kit I made out of an Altoids tin. I occasionally need a bandage out of the FAK but so far I have rarely needed the SAK. I keep a Leatherman Squirt in my pocket which covers most of my tiny tool needs. I've usually got another blade of some sort available so the Classic just doesn't get much work.

Now I suppose if I didn't have the other things along that a small SAK, in particular a Rambler, would also cover most of my needs. Especially for use as a keychain tool, I prefer the Rambler because the blade on the Classic is hinged at the same end as the split-ring which makes it tough to use unless you take it off the keychain. The Rambler is hinged at the opposite end.
 
The Classic is a great knife; small but handy. Work is not very knife friendly, but the Classic sort of slips under the radar for an EDC. I supplement it with a big folder on the weekend. Plus there is a Classic in the seatbag on each of my bicycles.
 
Lately I've been carrying a Buck 302 and a Classic on my keychain. I use the classic if I don't want to give the wrong impression with the "big" knife. The classic usually gets the job done. Scissors get used at work all the time, too. For something of negligible weight and size, you get lots of utility. There is not much hassle to carrying one, so why not?

I was so looking forward to carrying a classic on an airplane, but that is another matter.
 
A few random thoughts to add my two cents to the discussion.
I do think that a small pocket "multitool" is a handy object to keep in my pocket. As others pointed out, scissors, a nail file/cleaner, some SD/small prying tool, eventually a caplifter, all these things make almost no bulk and have the constant habit of solving little problems. So yes, I'm glad to carry some in my pocket.
As for the Vic Classic, maybe aside from box cutters, I could bet it's the most common knife carried around by any sort of people in the world, and for a number of reasons that many folks here already mentioned. Personally, I prefer the "old" Classic (without the SD tip: I prefer the nail cleaner tip), and I do agree with iSaur, I prefer the 74mm SAK's, and I carry an Ambassador on my work keys. I admit I never tried a LM Micra, so I can't make any comparison.
As for the main subject of this thread, I have mixed feelings on it. On one side, I'm aware that the blade of a Classic is more than enough for the majority of my cutting tasks. Yet, I always have another knife in my pocket, and I never grab the SAK when I need to cut something.
I will be honest: I would easily trade the blade on my Classic/Ambassador for another tool (like the caplifter/SD), but I know that the SAK would be enough for most of my tasks, maybe aside from food cutting, for which I rather have a "proper" knife.

Fausto
:cool:
 
quattromori said:
I will be honest: I would easily trade the blade on my Classic/Ambassador for another tool (like the caplifter/SD), but I know that the SAK would be enough for most of my tasks, maybe aside from food cutting, for which I rather have a "proper" knife
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I've actually considered buying a second rambler and snapping the blade off so I could still carry around the other tools in places where even a tiny blade is illegal. On a side note I was at a Bar-B-Q this weekend and the cap lifter and toothpick were a life saver.
 
quattromori said:
I will be honest: I would easily trade the blade on my Classic/Ambassador for another tool (like the caplifter/SD)
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I definitely agree with Fausto on this. The combo tool in place of the blade on a Classic would make a very useful keychain tool.
 
jimmyd1982 said:
I've actually considered buying a second rambler and snapping the blade off so I could still carry around the other tools in places where even a tiny blade is illegal. On a side note I was at a Bar-B-Q this weekend and the cap lifter and toothpick were a life saver.
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I did this with a spare LM Micra so I could fly with it (pre TSA regulation update).

FWIW, it was a wedding party and needing to walk to find a cap lifter that finally convinced me that the Micra (or whatever small tool of choice) belonged in my pocket, not my pack/key ring.

No cap lifter on the Classic is a problem.
 
I understand I'm drifting a bit, but I do keep my Classic, a Brewzer, a USB memory and a flashlight on a small ring that"s always in my pocket (my keys usually aren't), so I have everything at hand. And I have a similar ring with similar items on a small carabiner with my work keys (which, on the other hand, stay in my scrubs pocket all the time).

As for the blade on the Classic, I know it's probably just me, and just a psychological thing, but I rather use the pen blade on my regular SAK's than the blade on my Classic, although the length is very similar. It's wider and a bit thicker and more comfortable in use (even not considering the handle issue).

Fausto
:cool:
 
pinnah said:
I did this with a spare LM Micra so I could fly with it (pre TSA regulation update).

FWIW, it was a wedding party and needing to walk to find a cap lifter that finally convinced me that the Micra (or whatever small tool of choice) belonged in my pocket, not my pack/key ring.

No cap lifter on the Classic is a problem.
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Carrying or not carrying a specific item shouldn't depend on if it has a dedicated cap lifter. There's 50 ways to pop off a beer cap without a 'real' cap lifter. House key, Bic lighter, another beer bottle all work great.

Carl.
 
Rambler is the way to go, its been on my keyring for about a year and a half now. I had to epoxy one of the scales back on but thats not a big deal to me.
Its also small enough to carry a bigger blade without redundancy. And people dont scream in fear when you pull it out :)
My girlfriend and other family members love them too!
 
jimwalter said:
Rambler is the way to go
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Not everyone agrees with me, but I find the toothpick to be the most worthless tool on any SAK this side of the fish scaler and corkscrew. The Manager replaces the Rambler's toothpick with a pen, which for me is considerably more useful.

Of course, if I had teeth I might like the toothpick. Joking.

Here's how I see it. A guy gets a Vic Classic and thinks its pretty darn cool. Then he gets the Classic SD, because it adds that driver tip on the file. Then he figures he might as well get a Rambler to add the bottle opener/screwdriver combo. Then he decides he likes the Manager's pen more than the Rambler's toothpick, so he gets a Manager. Some guys will go beyond that to the Midnite Manager if he likes the LED light more than the tweezer.

After he works his way up to a 5 layer SAK thats too big to carry, he starts over with the Classic SD and discovers that he likes it best of all. Sort of like Odysseus leaving Ithaca for 10 years only to return right back to the arms of Penelope from whom he first departed. And so it goes.


Classic SD.
 
I keep Classics on a couple keyrings, and have an Exec on one. Always have a larger, usualy one-hand-opening, folder in the pocket.
I prefer the Executive for actual use, but since it's a backup the Classic is just the right size. I have 'em mainly for the tweezers and scissors. On minor stuff, I let my daughters use 'em, instead of doing their cutting for them.
It is the one knife I see lots of non-knife people with.
 
The classic is really great to keep on a keyring. That's where mine resides attached by a carabiner for easy removal. Super handy tool. I've used it a bunch. The blade doesn't get a whole lot of use as I usually have another knife in my pocket, but the scissors, tweezers, and screw driver have been very handy.
 
jackknife said:
Carrying or not carrying a specific item shouldn't depend on if it has a dedicated cap lifter. There's 50 ways to pop off a beer cap without a 'real' cap lifter. House key, Bic lighter, another beer bottle all work great.

Carl.
Click to expand...
None work as well as a real cap lifter. I always have one on my person. Usually a SAK or on my Leatherman.
 
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