Schrade Tough Chip shears, left handed

parnass

parnass

Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
405
I bought a Schrade Tough Chip today. It is a small multi-tool built around a shears. Think of it as a larger variant of the Micra.

tough-chip-small.jpg


What struck me as peculiar is that the shears are left hand cut. The Micra and our garden variety scissors are right hand cut.

tough-chip-shears.jpg


Are there left hand shears or scissors on other multi-tools and Swiss Army knives?
 
Jeez! I can't believe I've had one these Schrade Tough Chips for several years and never noticed it was left hand cut. Duh! It is indeed strange that Schrade built them this way. I checked my Leatherman Micra and Squirt S4, SOG CrossCut, and Bear Cutlery Shears. All were right hand cut. Even the cheap Chinese pruning multi tools are right hand. The Schrade is the only lefty I found. I wonder why?

~Bob

P.S. - congrats on finding a Chip with the black finish. They are somewhat more difficult to locate than the plain stainless ones.
 
Bob,

Thanks for the reply. The more I use the Schrade Tough Chip, the more I like it. I usually carry a larger multi-tool, so I don't know how often I'll be using the screwdriver or other blades. The shears are longer and perhaps stronger than the Micra's scissors, though they both came very sharp from their respective factories.

The Tough Chip's individual tools lock and are so much easier to access than those on the Micra. I accidently cut my finger while opening the Micra's knife blade once.

I didn't notice the handle color when ordering and was surprised that they were black. My memory of these tools is hazy. I recall seeing them sold at Sears a few years ago, bearing the Craftsman label instead of Schrade.

I have two much larger Schrade multi-tools, but like the Tough Chip best so far because the blades don't "clump" together when trying to open one.
 
I too appreciate the heavy-duty quality of the Schrade multi tools. In my opinion, the Schrade ST1 Tough Tool and ST5 (with slip-joint pliers) were the biggest, toughest tools on the job site until the Leatherman Surge came out a few months ago. Too bad Schrade Cutlery is no longer in business. I would have liked to see the results of their next effort.

Sears has sold a variety of major-brand multi tools under the Craftsman label. (Schrade, Bear Cutlery, Kershaw) Thus the Tough Chip became the "Craftsman 45509," and the Tough Tool ST5 became the "Craftsman Professional Multitool."

In addition to the black model you have, the Tough Chip was also produced in green and red variations. These colored ones are a lot cooler looking than the plain stainless, but not many of them were produced.

~Bob
 
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