Having a hinge screw come loose, or fall out, on glasses can be a right pain. Particularly if nothing is to hand that will tighten it up. Victorinox have our back, at last!
“These compact Mini Tools provide on-the-go precision, additional pocket knife functions and everyday solutions for small tasks and quick repairs”
Victorinox press release– 17th January 2021
Victorinox included a corkscrew on the original Victorinox Officer’s Knife in 1897. However it was not until 1983 that they introduced an ingenious ‘mini’ screwdriver with a twisted thread on its small plastic handle that enabled it to be screwed on to any Victorinox or Wenger knife with a corkscrew. Being so small they can easily be lost. Fortunately spares can be purchased as a stand-alone item. The small 1.5mm flat tip screwdriver is ideal for tightening small slot-head screws, especially those found on some glasses and sunglasses. .
There has been a constant stream of requests to Victorinox over the years asking that other tools be developed that can be wound on to the corkscrew found on some knives. In January 2021 Victorinox answered the call with the release of their Mini Tools. At least intially, the little tools are only available as an over-priced four-piece set- Item No. 2.1201.4.
The four tool set comprises:
- Mini flat tip screwdriver
- Phillips screwdriver 000
- Torx screwdriver T4
- SIM card ejector pin
If wound onto the corkscrew on a knife, only one of the four tools can be included. Any of the four mini-tools will fit any Victorinox knife with a corkscrew in their 84mm, 85mm, 91mm, 108mm and 111mm ranges. None of the small knives from Victorinox, such as their 58mm, 65mm and 74mm ranges, come with corkscrews so the Mini Tools do not fit any of these.
To be honest, this is not a good set. The mini flat tip is exactly the same as what has been available since 1983. The T4 Torx could be useful on some electronic devices so could suit urban carry, and a paper clip works perfectly well for ejecting SIM cards. The Phillips screwdriver is a useful addition.
While the Torx screwdriver fits the small screws on some mobile phones, I cannot see why anyone would want to remove the back of a phone while backpacking. This leaves just one of the four tools as an appreciated addition- the mini Phillips head screwdriver.
It may be that even if I am carrying my favoured Leatherman Squirt S4 on longer, multi-day, hikes, I might consider adding the little 0.6g Phillips screwdriver to my ditty bag, if I am wearing glasses that have cross head instead of slot head screws.
It may be that your glasses require a flat tip screwdriver, in which case fine, continue using the old standard, and cheaply available, flat tip mini-screwdriver. But increasingly, many glasses come with tiny Phillips screws so this new release from Victorinox is timely.
Mini Tool handles are a hard durable plastic and the tool shanks are stainless steel. Each tool is 25mm long. About the only other thing to note with this set is their respective colour.
Up to now the mini flat tip screwdriver has only been available with a grey plastic handle, other than a white version that came with the limited edition Victorinox ‘White Christmas’ Sportsman knife in 2018. The flat tip screwdriver in the new set of four Mini Tools is still grey, however the new Phillips is green, the Torx blue and the SIM pin is red.
This four piece set is an expensive way to add a limited additional capability. It is a bit of a rip-off by Victorinox really. These Swiss-made tools need to be available as stand-alone, individually available, products- pronto.
Three Points of the Compass has looked at quite a few knives and multi-tools that may, or may not, be suitable for backpacking, day treks or Every Day Carry. Links to these can be found here.
Three Points of the Compass 
I just saw this, and you are right that the 4 tool kit is overpriced (about 7x the price of just the screwdriver), and the SIM ejector is useless (paper clip works fine). But, the other 3 tools are worthwhile, since SAK’s are a go-everywhere tool, not just for ultralight hiking. I use my SAK at home quite often. Its scissors are the best nail trimmers I have, for example.
The small Philips screwdriver is useful for: a) eyeglasses as you mention, b) changing batteries in Photon II flashlight, c) changing blade in Ultrafire knife/firestarter, d) changing battery in older Timer Caps (if you don’t know about these, they are brilliant: timercap.com); e) opening up Nitecore Tube flashlight because contacts inside keep breaking; f) probably more.
The tiny Torx is mostly for mobile phones and I agree that opening one on the trail seems unlikely, though I guess you could carry a spare phone battery instead of a powerbank. It would only be for emergencies since swapping batteries in most phones is a pain. I would like to work out a way to power a phone from an external 18650 cell instead of a powerbank, since that would allow more efficient charging, especially from a small solar panel.
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