The Classic SD

[Steelej1976]

The Classic SD is always on my keyring.  It the base upon which I bulid my EDC.  An AAA Streamlight Microstream, the Classic SD, and a larger SAK (Usually a Tinker or Cadet).

I think it is interesting that Felix Immler uses a Signature Lite as his main EDC.

[Singh]

The beauty of the Classic SD is that the cost-to-benefit ratio is unbeatable. So many useful tools in such a small, affordable package.

I’ve abused the daylights out of the Classic SD. I've cut wire with it, torqued hard on stuck screws, used the nail the file on metal (it works!), and used the blade for tasks that were too big for it.

I'm a firm believer in using dedicated tools when the job calls for it. That said, I've pushed the Classic SD past its limits to see what it can do, and it it's done the job every time.

[cbl51]

The beauty of the Classic SD is that the cost-to-benefit ratio is unbeatable. So many useful tools in such a small, affordable package.

I’ve abused the daylights out of the Classic SD. I've cut wire with it, torqued hard on stuck screws, used the nail the file on metal (it works!), and used the blade for tasks that were too big for it.

I'm a firm believer in using dedicated tools when the job calls for it. That said, I've pushed the Classic SD past its limits to see what it can do, and it it's done the job every time.

 

As a long term classic user, I have long been a champion for the mighty mini SAK. I was influenced by my wife who I saw torture a classic for months, each day I listened for the sound of pieces hitting the floor as it self destructed. It didn't. So I then sis my own "experiment" or challenge if you wish, and used a classic as my EDC pocket knife. Had a stand-by, but I made it a point to start off using the classic to see if it would do. It did. Very very rarely did I have to bring out the 'bigger' knife.

I find the classic and alox bantam do a great team for EDC. Great over lapping capability. The bantam is for food use and wood whittling. But in my former life in and around Washington D.C. before retirement and moving to Texas in 2015, there were many days the Classic SD was my sole EDC. The world kept on spinning, the sun still rose in the east, and I got by in the urban jungle. Packages got opened, twine cut, cheese sliced, nails trimmed, coupons snipped, and loose screws dealt with. On vacation in Key West were we go every few years, I send one to myself where we stay, and it cuts bait, opens cold beers, slices Key limes for vodka tonics, cuts price tags off souvenir T-shorts, and gets gifted off to the airport shuttle driver when we leave.

The classic is the most under rated and under estimated SAK.

Edit to add; The other big reason I love the classic sooooo much; the price and widespread availability of it. I can walk into a Walmart and for now the outrageous price of 11.95, walk out with a new classic. Thats the price of a chain restaurant lunch. At this price I can give them away to non knife people I see needing a knife. Like the kid at Home Depot trying to unbox a windows fan so it would fit into his little already over packed Honda Civiv going off to college. I've given away a ton of classics that I bought at the gun show from lady that had TSA confiscation at 3 dollars apiece for classics. Had a whole big box of them.

For me, the classic is the Giddeon's bible of pocket knives. The gateway drug for the EDC pocket knife. As much as a love the executive, it was always too hard to find in a pinch, had to be ordered on the 'net, and was like three times the price of a classic.

[hsherzfeld]

I don't carry a Classic, but I do use them...for building model airplanes and ships. It's almost as if the Classic was designed for this hobby.

The nail file is great for sanding and reshaping plastic parts.

The scissors are excellent for trimming small parts off of the plastic parts tree, and for cutting out decals.

The blade serves well as a craft knife-type blade for cutting out decals, scraping off dried paint and glue, and carving off excess bits of plastic (flash) left by the molding process.

The tweezers are obviously essential for manipulating tiny parts. Although the squared-off tips of the Victorinox tweezers aren't ideal for this role, they work well in a pinch (haha, puns) and have good contact area for holding parts in place long enough for the cement to cure.

Finally, the toothpick serves as a precision cement applicator and spatula, decal mover, and all-around poking tool that won't damage plastic model parts.

You can probably imagine what a Classic looks like after helping to build, say, a 1:48 scale P-51 Mustang. The scales, blade, tweezers, toothpick all have various gobs of dried paint and glue. The blade is dull enough to run a finger along with no risk of injury. The file is caked with plastic dust. The scissors are gummy from cutting the specially treated decal paper. So I throw the Classic in a drawer to await disposal (or major overhaul) and get another one for the next project.

[Singh]

The classic is the most under rated and under estimated SAK.

Edit to add; The other big reason I love the classic sooooo much; the price and widespread availability of it. I can walk into a Walmart and for now the outrageous price of 11.95, walk out with a new classic.... At this price I can give them away to non knife people I see needing a knife.

Agreed!

[Jothra]

[...]
The tweezers are obviously essential for manipulating tiny parts. Although the squared-off tips of the Victorinox tweezers aren't ideal for this role, they work well in a pinch (haha, puns) and have good contact area for holding parts in place long enough for the cement to cure.
[...]

You can file an angled end onto the tweezers if you want. I sometimes do.


Stock tweezers and filed tweezers. It's an old picture, but nothing about the process has changed.

[hsherzfeld]

You can file an angled end onto the tweezers if you want. I sometimes do.

(Image removed from quote.)
Stock tweezers and filed tweezers. It's an old picture, but nothing about the process has changed.

I've certainly done it before, but I usually don't bother with filing the tweezers. Sometimes I use the pair that I filed down; other times I use the tweezers from a Leatherman Style PS/CS. By the way, everything I said about the Classic being useful as a hobby tool also applies to the Style PS/CS.