Victorinox Quattro for NE1's keychain

K

kreisler

Joined
May 11, 2012
Messages
992
Deez latest permanent addition to my edc bunch of keys, the Vinox Quattro screwdriver A.7235 ( a7235 ) from the Vinox SwissCard, available separately for purchase:

Small, weighs nothing (less than 1.0g), flat like a sheet, beautiful enough. Has to be the smallest lightest multitool on planet earth:

A Leatherman "2D-bit" is still 3D, just narrower. This Vinox driver is totally flat, really 2D if you will:



Costs 1.5e (mas 1.5e shipping) from places like schweizer-messer-store.de, which i find affordable. That's less than one jack in the box, my fave US burger joint.

Quick share, thought that maybe you'd want one two instead of the burger. Also a funny gift token for friends!
 
Last edited:
Looks familiar.
I had one just like it stamped "SEARS" and "CRAFTSMAN" from 1963 to 1966. I inherited the one my paternal grandfather carried on his keyring.
I used a 3/4 or 1 inch split ring to put it on the bail of the Demo Knife my uncle Bob gave me in 1960.
(it, the Demo Knife, my bicycle, G.I. Joes, and a bunch of other things I had vanished when my mum and dad divorced in '66.)

They do come in handy.
 
afishhunter said:
I had one just like it stamped "SEARS" and "CRAFTSMAN" from 1963 to 1966. I inherited the one my paternal grandfather carried on his keyring.
Click to expand...
Those are circle shaped and they can often be found on fleabay. The ones from Victorinox are designed to fit into a swisscard and they aren't circle shaped. They're more like a rectangle or a trapezoid. Sometimes people like to carry the Victorinox ones on a lanyard attached to their SAK.

I considered carrying one of the Victorinox Quatros but they're too stubby.
 
Guy McVer said:
I considered carrying one of the Victorinox Quatros but they're too stubby.
Click to expand...
you mean the swisscards, right? yes, they're stubby.
just this screwdriver 'coin' alone isn't, imho.

to international prospects:
it is possible to ship 2pcs from gemani within a normal 20g letter (1.1€ postage), inside wrapped in 2 sheets of DIN A4 xerox paper for wide envelope format, to any international destination. as a private end consumer, i've tested exactly this from gemani to españa, and the 20g letter reached the destinee without problems hooray! I'm confirming this because it is frowned upon (by policy of Deutsche Post operator) to send non-doc items in a normal 20g letter across geman borders, i.e. internationally. Hence geman business owners (like schweizer-messer-store) prolly wouldn't want to risk going down that path in favor of the foreign customer, however one could ask\inquire, they seem very forthcoming.
 
Last edited:
afishhunter said:
Looks familiar.
I had one just like it stamped "SEARS" and "CRAFTSMAN" from 1963 to 1966. I inherited the one my paternal grandfather carried on his keyring.
I used a 3/4 or 1 inch split ring to put it on the bail of the Demo Knife my uncle Bob gave me in 1960.
(it, the Demo Knife, my bicycle, G.I. Joes, and a bunch of other things I had vanished when my mum and dad divorced in '66.)

They do come in handy.
Click to expand...
The Sears 4way is much larger, but also in my opinion not as good for my needs.
I've got one, another slightly different one from a company called Cole, and the Victorinox quattro from the swiss card light I kept in my wallet as a teenager. ( I keep the quattro driver in my pocket organizer now )

The Victorinox is much better if you specifically want to drive screws because the driver tips are better, especially the philips tips.
I don't know where my Sears/ Craftsman went, but this Cole is the same size.
20221003_174458.jpg
The Sears/ Craftsman style is better for general purpose use if you may need to pry and such, but not as good for screws without tip modification.
Sure that's easy to do, but I just think the Vic is better in every way for my needs.

I used to have one of these here that was great because it folded out and you could get a good hold on it, but eventually gave it to my USAF veteran cousin.$_1.jpeg
Mid - late 1970's era I guess, my dad got it from a USAF recruiter before following in his father's footsteps and driving a tank for the Army. ( mim-72 Chaparral in his case )
 
Last edited:
Hickory n steel said:
The Sears 4way is much larger, but also in my opinion not as good for my needs.
I've got one, another slightly different one from a company called Cole, and the Victorinox quattro from the swiss card light I kept in my wallet as a teenager. ( I keep the quattro driver in my pocket organizer now )

The Victorinox is much better if you specifically want to drive screws because the driver tips are better, especially the philips tips.
I don't know where my Sears/ Craftsman went, but this Cole is the same size.
View attachment 1948370
The Sears/ Craftsman style is better for general purpose use if you may need to pry and such, but not as good for screws without tip modification.
Sure that's easy to do, but I just think the Vic is better in every way for my needs.

I used to have one of these here that was great because it folded out and you could get a good hold on it, but eventually gave it to my USAF veteran cousin.View attachment 1948380
Mid - late 1970's era I guess, my dad got it from a USAF recruiter before following in his father's footsteps and driving a tank for the Army. ( mim-72 Chaparral in his case )
Click to expand...
 
Hickory n steel said:
The Sears 4way is much larger, but also in my opinion not as good for my needs.
I've got one, another slightly different one from a company called Cole, and the Victorinox quattro from the swiss card light I kept in my wallet as a teenager. ( I keep the quattro driver in my pocket organizer now )

The Victorinox is much better if you specifically want to drive screws because the driver tips are better, especially the philips tips.
I don't know where my Sears/ Craftsman went, but this Cole is the same size.
View attachment 1948370
The Sears/ Craftsman style is better for general purpose use if you may need to pry and such, but not as good for screws without tip modification.
Sure that's easy to do, but I just think the Vic is better in every way for my needs.

I used to have one of these here that was great because it folded out and you could get a good hold on it, but eventually gave it to my USAF veteran cousin.View attachment 1948380
Mid - late 1970's era I guess, my dad got it from a USAF recruiter before following in his father's footsteps and driving a tank for the Army. ( mim-72 Chaparral in his case )
Click to expand...

Totally agree with this!

I carried the Sears for decades, and was so used to it that I was a bit prejudiced against the quattro. But for the express use of driving Phillips screws, which is the vast majority of use is just a better tool. The Swiss Phillips bits on the quarto are great for driving screws, which is the real use of the tool. I now carry the quattro instead of the Sears 4-way.
 
jackknife said:
Totally agree with this!

I carried the Sears for decades, and was so used to it that I was a bit prejudiced against the quattro. But for the express use of driving Phillips screws, which is the vast majority of use is just a better tool. The Swiss Phillips bits on the quarto are great for driving screws, which is the real use of the tool. I now carry the quattro instead of the Sears 4-way.
Click to expand...
I carry the Quattro and the original 4 way screwdriver (the Powerful Pete) on my keychain.
 
I recall having a Swiss card but I don’t think it had the 4 way screwdriver. Maybe they upgraded since I bought mine (12 ish years ago). That being said I do have a few of the sears ones floating around. Keep one with my hunting gear, it’s perfect for adjusting the scope on my rifle.
 
I recommend getting a Quattro and placing it on your keychain. Tiny, but extremely effective and useful.
 
Daedric Panther said:
I recall having a Swiss card but I don’t think it had the 4 way screwdriver. Maybe they upgraded since I bought mine (12 ish years ago). That being said I do have a few of the sears ones floating around. Keep one with my hunting gear, it’s perfect for adjusting the scope on my rifle.
Click to expand...
Mine came from a Swisscard light that I had gotten in '06-'07, but they were first introduced with the Swisscard Quattro.
I don't think the regular Swisscard ever had it.
 
Ah ok. I wasn’t aware there were different models of the Swiss card. Mine had all the tools a SAK classic had plus a pen and a rotating protector thing on the bottom.
 
jackknife said:
... for the express use of driving Phillips screws, which is the vast majority of use is just a better tool. ... I now carry the quattro instead of the Sears 4-way.
Click to expand...

'Course you could always just upgrade from a Classic to the Rambler! ;)

I carried my Quattro on my keychain for a bit, but A, I never used it and B, I didn't like how it poked me in the leg. That kinda stuff drives me nuts. Now I just carry my Rambler instead (or some other SAK, of course).
 
mnblade said:
I carried my Quattro on my keychain for a bit, but A, I never used it and
Click to expand...
coincidentally i used the Quattro for the real first time yesterday. i was in the neighborhood and wanted to have a quick, superficial look inside an electrical outdoor installation for the first time (that's why i didn't bring any extra tools with me, except my *enis🍆HM61R flashlight — #personallighting is imho the most important tool when you "visit a work spot" for the first time). of course i had my two #realedc items with me.

so i opened the electrical device box with a special commercial key and had a look inside. i got a good look at the backsides of the white modules inside that box. on one module i discovered two potentiometers, one for the microphone, one for the speaker. their set screws had red plastic heads or head covers. maybe i could have turned them with my razor blade (or with my finger nail, almost zero torque!), but the Quattro fit perfectly into the slotted plastic head.

photo stolen from the google search hits, not the very unit i worked on, similar model/type, posted just for illustration:
snap348kfc69.jpg


i just had to make sure that no other part of my key bunch🔑 was making electrical contact/shorts⚡ with the PCB/wiring lol. (i could have just removed the Quattro from the mini-carabiner; i'll do that next time, promised!)
turns out, this tiny bit of work fixed the reported problem with the unit, what a fun and easy repair! 🧰🪛:thumbsup:

I guess it's for those rare unexpected moments 🥳 that i carry the Quattro year round. And the way i wear it, it doesn't poke me.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top