The Cadet is one of my favorite Victorinox knives because it's small and light enough to be barely noticeable in my pocket, and yet it's big and sturdy enough for what I consider "serious" tasks, far beyond the capabilities of the tiny Classic SD. With the slim, elegant but rugged styling of the alox scales, it can be both a gentleman's knife and a utility workhorse. As such, it is my "go-to" knife whenever I need to carry something reliable and robust, but also unobtrusive and urbanite-friendly.
The knife blade is sharp, and has very good cutting and slicing performance thanks to the full flat grind and the high polish finish. It maintains reasonable cutting ability even after the edge is no longer razor sharp. The blade is also just the right size for opening wine bottles with some clever thinking. The bottle opener with the large driver is sturdy enough for light duty prying tasks. The small driver with the can opener can also drive Phillips screws. The nail file is useful for rounding off finger nail edges and removing dirt from under them. The overall finish and build quality of the tool is impeccable, and puts some more expensive knives to shame.
With a little mod, you can turn the Cadet into a shrunken-down version of the classic Soldier knife. Use a sharpening stone to put a chisel edge onto one side of the nail file, near the tip. It becomes another sharp pointy tool that can be used to drill holes or scrape a ferro rod, just as you would with an awl, while retaining all the functionality of a nail file.
Overall, I find this knife offers a practical assortment of tools for a typical day in the city or a weekend getaway. For the times when additional tools like scissors, tweezers, or pen come in handy, I also carry a SwissCard Lite. This combination has worked well in my daily use for over a year now.
| Brand Name | Victorinox |
|---|---|
| Material | Stainless Steel |
| Manufacturer | Victorinox |
| Part Number | 53042 |
| Included Components | Knife |
| Handle Material | Metal |
