Credit Card Tool?

[Rathbone]

Is there a good credit card tool out there? All the ones I see are cheaply priced and look like novelty Christmas stocking fillers.

I'm looking to add something in a credit card wallet that will still lie flat.

[nate j]

If we’re talking about the one-piece credit card shaped pieces of metal, I have yet to find one I think is worth carrying.

I do carry both a Vic Alox Bantam and a PWII in my wallet.  While not expressly designed for this purpose, they are thin and flat enough that they fit in there without a problem.  I also think one of the other members here carries an Alox Bantam in his phone case.

Another option to consider is the Vic Swiss Card.  I carried one in my wallet for a while years ago, until the plastic case split.  I might have expected this if I carried my wallet in a back pocket and sat on it all the time, but as a front pocket wallet carrier I was surprised, and left feeling that the durability of the Swiss Cards was rather suspect.  If you decide to try a Swiss Card, be advised that there are about three different models to choose from, so check the tool load outs of each to figure out which will be most useful for you.

[Grant Lamontagne]

A bit late to the party, but I agree with the above. 

There are no good credit card one piece type tools on the market.  They are all crapola.

That having been said, the SwissCard series from Victorinox was good, although kind of bulky for wallet carry.  Ditto for the slightly lower quality (but still quite good) TooLogic cards, although as Steve Padden, the owner of TooLogic was a perfectionist, I don't know how many actually made it to production and distribution without being recalled. 

He eventually retired and sold the company to SOG, which was run by Spencer Fraser, who was more of a goodenoughist and I think they released a few models under the SOG brand, but I think they were also short lived.

The only other one that I can think of that would have been worth mentioning was the Axem 4.0 from Steel Life in Italy.  It isn't a credit card tool in that it is quite a bit larger than a credit card, and likely wouldn't fit in your wallet.  Also, it has a few jaggedy bits since it's a survival tool and not an EDC tool, so I wouldn't suggest keeping it in your wallet anyway unless you want a very awkward visit to the emergency room.

Someone will probably mention that monkey shaped card and claim it was good, but trust me, they are mistaken.  Just because it's slightly better than all of the other crap on the market doesn't make it good! 

Def

[Andrii Gurskyi]

Is there a good credit card tool out there? All the ones I see are cheaply priced and look like novelty Christmas stocking fillers.

I'm looking to add something in a credit card wallet that will still lie flat.

Hello. You can look at our website and our multitools in the size of a credit card.
We tried to make a variety for different tasks. And they worked on them for almost 10 years.
Yes, they are not cheap. but the quality of materials and workmanship comes at a cost.
We are located in Ukraine, and during the war we restored production and warehouse. Brand  MRF.tools

[King_Gorilla]

I have the Survco "credit card axe".

I have never carried it before.  But I bought it because it was the only "credit card" multi tool that was basically a simple OPT that I thought COULD actually be useful. 

It is not an EDC type of tool that you would find yourself using everyday in the city or the suburbs.  It really is more of a survival item.  If you had it in your wallet and you somehow found yourself completely lost in the woods and you needed to survive for a while, it COULD save your life.  (maybe)  it is designed to be used with a stick.  You notch the top of the stick with the wood saw on the side of the card.  Then you use your shoe lace or some paracord to tie the card to the end of the stick to be used as a hatchet.  there is also a pointy arrow part that can be flipped backwards as a tomahawk pointy thing or used separate to spear fish or something. 

I like the design and concept.  It is very beefy and strong.  But I would certainly never carry it around in a city because it is really an outdoor/woods/camping type of thing.  Also I know that it would be a very bad hatchet compared to a real hatchet.  BUT it IS credit card sized, so you MIGHT actually have it on you when you if you in situations where you wouldn't have a proper hatchet. 

[Andrii Gurskyi]

Hello.
We had an analogue, only more advanced in quality and functions.
We also made them from 440c steel and high-strength titanium
Adventur 3.0
In addition, it has a handle that expands the functionality.
Many of our clients tested it in the forest and on hikes, in Ukraine, the USA, and France. etc.
 

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[King_Gorilla]

Hello.
We had an analogue, only more advanced in quality and functions.
We also made them from 440c steel and high-strength titanium
Adventur 3.0
In addition, it has a handle that expands the functionality.
Many of our clients tested it in the forest and on hikes, in Ukraine, the USA, and France. etc.

I like the idea of the handle part.  Is the idea that you would carry the handle bolted to the card itself in a pocket or wallet and then when you find yourself needing it, you unbolt it and position the handle portion as it is shown connected in the picture???

[Andrii Gurskyi]

Yes.
The idea is that the handle is screwed on so as not to injure the owner with the blade.
And then the arrow-screwdriver is pulled out of the tool card and you can use it to unscrew and screw the handle in different positions, this can be seen in the instructions.

We have a handle in different projects. Universal 3.0, Adventur 3.0, Extreme 3.0. I'll probably talk about them in a separate topic.

 

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[andywork]

A bit late to the party, but I agree with the above. 

There are no good credit card one piece type tools on the market.  They are all crapola.

[…]

I’m intrigued…
I’ve recently been looking for a flat “wallet friendly” wrench/spanner set, for my bicycle repair kit, as well.

Is the Lever Gear Card Pro any good?

To me, it looks a lot better made than most of the other card tools.
And it’s currently only £20 on amazon, which is quite tempting.

[nate j]

I’m intrigued…
Is the Lever Gear Card Pro any good?

To me, it looks a lot better made than most of the other card tools.
And it’s currently only £20 on amazon, which is quite tempting.

Well, I don’t own one.  And I always appreciate when a company stands behind their products with a lifetime warranty.

But I would observe the following:

One of the issues with all credit card tools is that the credit card form factor makes it awkward at best to use as a tool.

Another common issue is that there seems to be some sort of competition to see how many functions can be crammed into a credit card tool.  This results in a lot of “functions” that are either not useful in everyday real life (When was the last time you used a protractor?  For most of us, I’m betting it was high school geometry class.) or simply don’t work very well (I’d be curious how well the can opener on this tool works.  Ditto the nail puller.).

I’m not trying to be a jerk (it comes naturally haha), but I stand by my statement in my initial reply in this thread:

If we’re talking about the one-piece credit card shaped pieces of metal, I have yet to find one I think is worth carrying.

If you do get one, let us know how you get on with it.

[andywork]

Well, I don’t own one.  And I always appreciate when a company stands behind their products with a lifetime warranty.

But I would observe the following:

One of the issues with all credit card tools is that the credit card form factor makes it awkward at best to use as a tool.

Another common issue is that there seems to be some sort of competition to see how many functions can be crammed into a credit card tool.  […]

I totally agree.
I currently own a wallet spanner that works up to a point. Though it needs plenty of room around the bolt heads to use it well, which isn’t always possible. (See picture)

Also, I agree wholeheartedly with the “100-in-1 functions” observation. I can’t understand why the tool card designers don’t think doing fewer things well, is preferable to doing hundreds of things poorly.

Sadly, there aren’t many options.
Though, how well does the Pocket Wrench work for you?
It's definitely on my shortlist of alternatives. Along with the Leatherman Mako Ti. If I can find one?

Thanks for the great discussion.   

[andywork]

P.S. My most used credit card tool only has one function… And I use it daily.


It’s my Go Comb! 

[Chako]

To the OP, here is the majority of my card type multi-tools I have in my collection. I post this here as a visual reference. I will have to agree with everyone in here. I am not even a fan of the Swiss Card let alone most of these. I have never carried any of them as an EDC item simply because I found most of them to be too thick to carry inside my wallet. To each their own. This thread was created back in 2021. I can appeciate them, and definately have a soft spot for Tool Logic's innovative designs, but those are super hard to find these days, and the brand kind of died once SOG aquired them.

https://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=87875.msg2268991#msg2268991

[nate j]

Though, how well does the Pocket Wrench work for you?
It's definitely on my shortlist of alternatives. Along with the Leatherman Mako Ti. If I can find one?

The PWII is a great tool.

It’s got a relative handful of functions by my count, though the package proudly boasts “27 TOOLS IN ONE”.  I can only assume they are counting every different size nut/bolt it could handle as a separate tool.

I’ve used it as a mini-prybar, a flathead screwdriver, a ruler, and of course a wrench.  Not sure I’ve used the bit driver, as I don’t typically carry bits.

The wrench is a unique toothed design, which has some advantages and some disadvantages.  The major advantage is that is can handle just about any nut or bolt head that will fit in it (from 3/16” to 11/16”, or 5 mm to 17 mm), standard or metric, hex or square, etc.  And it does this in a way that is much more compact than those tools that rely on simple cutouts.  One disadvantage is that, given the way the teeth grab the fastener, a fastener might get chewed up over time if the PWII were used on it regularly/repeatedly.  Another disadvantage (though minor IMO), is that there is a handedness to it, i.e. it only grips the fastener securely when being torqued in one direction:  I always forget until I use it, but I want to say (assuming you have a nut/bolt head that is facing up) the engraved side of the PWII has to facing up to tighten it, and the engraved has to be facing down to loosen it.

They have been discontinued for some time now.  I’m not sure about UK availability, but I know they pop up on US ebay from time to time, and usually at reasonable prices.

P.S. My most used credit card tool only has one function… And I use it daily.

It’s my Go Comb! 

While I don’t personally need a comb frequently or urgently enough to carry one on my person, I really like the simple, functional design that does what it is supposed to do well, and without a bunch of extraneous nonsense.

[andywork]

Thanks for the comprehensive review of the PW II.   

It does sound like a great universal wrench.
If I get one (currently some EDC Gear knockoffs available on eBay UK), I’ll certainly keep an eye out for marring on my bicycle’s bolts.

I’ll, also, keep in mind that the writing on the wrench means writey/righty tighty and if I lose the writing it’s lefty loosey.

Thanks again. 

[nate j]

   Andy

If you get one, be sure to come show it off here, and let us know how it works for you.

[andywork]

Will do.

By the way, you mentioned wanting to know how the can opener worked.
 
It looks very much like the bantam-style can opener, in operation.

Here’s a video, from Lever Gear, showing it in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqFJy8EGhCY&pp=ygUeTGV2ZXIgZ2VhciBjYXJkIHBybyBjYW4gb3BlbmVy

[nate j]

Will do.

By the way, you mentioned wanting to know how the can opener worked.
 
It looks very much like the bantam-style can opener, in operation.

Here’s a video, from Lever Gear, showing it in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqFJy8EGhCY&pp=ygUeTGV2ZXIgZ2VhciBjYXJkIHBybyBjYW4gb3BlbmVy

I didn’t make myself quite clear; the question was really how effective the can opener was/how well it would work, as opposed to how it was intended to be used.

Nonetheless, the video is helpful in that regard; it looks like the can opener is more effective than I might have guessed.

[Andrii Gurskyi]

I’m intrigued…
I’ve recently been looking for a flat “wallet friendly” wrench/spanner set, for my bicycle repair kit, as well.

Is the Lever Gear Card Pro any good?

To me, it looks a lot better made than most of the other card tools.
And it’s currently only £20 on amazon, which is quite tempting.

Hello everyone. You can take a look at our Extreme.
It was developed specifically for bicycles and skiing. Made of 440c steel or durable titanium.
and although there are many tools there and not just one. but it was just developed for convenient tightening of nuts, bicycle spokes, also there are Allen keys and screwdrivers

https://youtu.be/lbOH_rnK5tw

 

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[Andrii Gurskyi]

P.S. My most used credit card tool only has one function… And I use it daily.


It’s my Go Comb! 

We also have a similar tool.
It does the same thing well - combs the beard/ or head. but also has some other functions 

 

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[Chako]

You guys do not sell on Amazon.ca I see.

[Andrii Gurskyi]

We have only recently rebuilt our production and warehouse.
and are still selling in our stores

https://mrf.tools/

or ETSY

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MRFtools


We have plans to go to amazon, but it requires resources and time.
However, according to your top discussion - if you need it urgently/amazon. then from our competitors manufacturers.
Levergear is a good brand and tool in design and functionality,
 I also recommend looking at the brand Cha-O-Ha ( if they are sold on amazon or where)
All others are either cheap replicas or Chinese garbage.

[Chako]

Fair enough. I shall wait to see if I can aquire a tool or two from your company in the future. 

[Andrii Gurskyi]

Fair enough. I shall wait to see if I can aquire a tool or two from your company in the future. 

Thank you.  I noticed you collect credit card multitools? We can just send you a couple of our cards as a gift.

We've developed many different multitool cards.
for different audiences, and we're constantly tweaking and refining them. Updating the materials, the coating and the functionality.

Somebody commented that we're trying to maximize the number of functions in the cards and not make sure they do them well. That's not exactly true.

Yes, a high number of functions is primarily marketing. But I designed the tool so that it would first of all perform its main functions well. and then somehow perform other functions.
Of course, not everyone needs a sundial, moon phase calendar, a distance meter, wire cutting, measuring the diameters of drills or opening oxygen or acetylene tanks, measuring the depth of tire tread and so on.
Most people use 80-90% pocket knife, screwdriver, pliers, ruler to measure something and that's it.

Our range of tools, and the functions that they perform, in general:
Universal is primarily a knife + screwdriver (the most popular functions )
Adventur - hatchet and knife.
Extreme - wrenches, hex keys, screwdrivers, spoke wrenches.
Designer and Professional - rulers, compass and protractor.
Lumberjack - comb, screwdrivers.

[WaynejG]

Now if that cycling one was available in South Africa, I would be all over it. A lot of cyclists actually.

[Chako]

No worries. Thank you for the offer but I would feel bad accepting it.