Who Remembers These?

Oh Wow, it's been a while since I've seen one of those. I swear, I only remember it having a blade and fingernail tool. Don't remember a screwdriver.
 
jackknife said:
You're very lucky, these are great nostalgia items!

Seeing them takes me back to a more simple time, before the "EDC" thing became an obsession, and a pocket knife was just something the all men carried on them if they had pants on. (And a lot of women had them in purses.) Some kind of little pocket knife, some kind of pocket/keychain screw driver, maybe some black electrical tape (the duct tape of the era) wrapped around an old card or pencil stub that was used to take notes. The short pencil stub was everywhere, like a golf pencil, and used on whatever scrap of paper was in the wallet. The tip could be scraped down for graphite, the finest dry lubricant you can use on locks and fishing reel gears.

When I was growing up, most the men were vets from WW2, and I suspect the majority of them had their old P-38 stashed in the wallet. I know my dad did, as well as my Uncle Charlie, who got his feet wet on a beach in Northern France and walked most the way to Berlin.

The Trim Trio and the like was the SAK classic of the day. It was for people who were not knife nuts, but knew that modern life made a small sharp edge a needed thing on a daily basis. Packages didn't have a 'tear here' tab, but arrived wrapped in a heavy brown paper, that was in turn sealed with that heavy town packing tape that was put on wet and red like an iron brand. Or the [acakge was wrapped in white twine that you needed a knife to cut and unwrap said package. Any small keychain knife would cut through the wrapping if it was sharp. And then there was pencils to sharpen. This was before the ball point pen explosion that made ball points more plentiful than the pencil. The cheap ball point pen did for pencils what the cell phone did for the home land line. The old fountain pens leaked, went dry, so everyone just carried a pencil.

Times and technology have changed what we carry now, but somehow our grandfathers did very well with what they had. A simpler and maybe better time.
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Jackknife this is a fantastic post. Most of the reason why I carry a Bassett Trim Trio is nostalgia. My first pocketknife was a Trim Trio "Aid Association for Lutherans" advertising one that I received from my mom's stepfather. I carried it for years to camp and to school. The knife was chained to my beltloop. As I have posted before, my entire EDC fits into a coin purse. The tiny ballpoint pen in the coin purse is because years ago I was told a lawyer should always have a pen available at all times. EDC to me does not mean carrying a plethora of items. To me, it means useful items that can easily assist someone when needed. I have enjoyed this group immensely and always look forward to the great post here.
 
Joe92 said:
Jackknife this is a fantastic post. Most of the reason why I carry a Bassett Trim Trio is nostalgia. My first pocketknife was a Trim Trio "Aid Association for Lutherans" advertising one that I received from my mom's stepfather. I carried it for years to camp and to school. The knife was chained to my beltloop. As I have posted before, my entire EDC fits into a coin purse. The tiny ballpoint pen in the coin purse is because years ago I was told a lawyer should always have a pen available at all times. EDC to me does not mean carrying a plethora of items. To me, it means useful items that can easily assist someone when needed. I have enjoyed this group immensely and always look forward to the great post here.
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Totally agree with the EDC fitting in a coin purse. Like most things, the whole EDC trip has gotten carried away by internet commando's. Yes, by all means carry a few things needed day to day, but keep it real. Our fathers and grandfathers had it a lot harder working at real jobs often doing things with their hands building and making things. Now the office cubicle youtube guy thinks he needs a day pack loaded down with everything from enough first aid supplies to be a combat medic to a ratchet set.

It all depends on who you are, what you do, and where you are. Yes, some ranch guy in Montana will need a few more items than an office guy in Chicago or L.A.. But not all of us are the high speed low drag operator of fantasy, and we need far less than one thinks. After a while it just gets a bit silly. I watched my dad, not a knife enthusiast by any means, go through most of his life with a little Case peanut and a few things in his wallet or pockets. Later in life when arthritis was bothering his hands and a small springy slip joint with half stops was a bit too much, he switched to a Christy knife and just kept on going. He told me to always remember who you are, what your doing, an where you are doing it.
 
!mprovise said:
I fondly remember gentlemen who carried pen knives and Sears & Roebuck 4-way pocket screwdrivers. It wasn't just the tools, these were renaissance men who could do a lot with very little.
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The greatest generation did not need to be carrying a heavy group of tools to get the job done. Jackknife is exactly right about the internet commandos who would EDC a bazooka if they could. I have been thinking a lot about when EDC went from a nice pocket supply of versatile tools to the gargantuan items that are EDC for some. So many tasks can be done with a minimum of tools, but it is not as "cool" as using the latest multi tool, pistol, etc. 99% of us do not need to carry a Glock as our EDC. We can thrive with a small knife and some good keychain accessories. Unfortunately neither a 58mm SAK nor a Trim Trio attract as much attention as a pistol, lock blade knife or an oversized Leatherman. The vast majority of these items risk being confiscated in any government run area in the post 9/11 world. I respect those who have a vast EDC. I will stick to my coin purse containing my modest EDC.
 
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Joe92 said:
The greatest generation did not need to be carrying a heavy group of tools to get the job done. Jackknife is exactly right about the internet commandos who would EDC a bazooka if they could. I have been thinking a lot about when EDC went from a nice pocket supply of versatile tools to the gargantuan items that are EDC for some. So many tasks can be done with a minimum of tools, but it is not as "cool" as using the latest multi tool, pistol, etc. 99% of us do not need to carry a Glock as our EDC. We can thrive with a small knife and some good keychain accessories. Unfortunately neither a 58mm SAK nor a Trim Trio attract as much attention as a pistol, lock blade knife or an oversized Leatherman. The vast majority of these items risk being confiscated in any government run area in the post 9/11 world. I respect those who have a vast EDC. I will stick to my coin purse containing my modest EDC.
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:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: ...

Its times like this I regret I can only like a post once!

You mention the greatest generation, and its a phrase I too have used. I grew up around those that clawed their way through a Great Depression, then went off and fought a vicious world war, and then came home and got jobs like working in print shop, or working watermen down on the Chesapeake Bay harvesting crabs in summer and oyster in winter, or working as a mechanic at a truck garage, and raising a family like nothing ever happened. They just went and did what needed to be done and got on with their lives. Having a backyard BBQ or helping at the Little League game.

They didn't carry a Bunch of stuff on them. Nothing like the pepper/EDC'ers of today. In fact, most of their pocket stuff would go onboard an airliner these days except for the small penknife they carried. They certainly didn't feel the need for massive firepower or a ton of cutlery on their person. But they did live life to the max, and left children and grandchildren behind with a better world. Its too bd that things have got sooooo out of hand. I blame what I call the Hollyweird effect. The making of the object to be more than it is. The dramatization of the object. And the gun magazines that are the blatant shills of the gun industry that promotes more and more overkill in the guns. They promote the "Cool factor" in what they say is a good carry.

Between Hollywood and the industry fed magazines, there's a lot of sheer bull hockey spread.
 
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I remember them being at the checkout counter of People’s Drug, along with these items:
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I have that exact Trim Trio display. You are really bringing back great memories
 
KenCaz said:
Just got this in today...! It went right on my keychain...

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I’d be interested to see how it would compare to a the SAK classic we’re all familiar with as a keychain tool. Is there a backspring like a slip joint or is it purely held by friction?
 
Joe92 said:
They have a rudimentary back spring similar to the old Leatherman tools. It’s a very hearty knife.
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Yes, they are more hearty than most folks will give them credit for. The ones I had myself and saw in the hands of others held up for some outright abuse that people gave them because if they broke, they were so easy and cheap to replace. The next five and dime you ran across had a cardboard stand up display of them for about 50 cents.
 
KenCaz said:
Just got this in today...! It went right on my keychain...

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Give us all a full report about your opinion of the Trim Trio as an EDC keychain knife. I am biased, but I fully enjoy it as a super dependable knife.
 
Joe92 said:
Give us all a full report about your opinion of the Trim Trio as an EDC keychain knife. I am biased, but I fully enjoy it as a super dependable knife.
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Well, I have to say I luv it... Great little file on this... I do remember having one as a kid. As soon as I found this thread I searched Ebay for one. Although I do carry a knife and a leatherman it is still the most convenient for most tasks...

highly recommended and under estimated tool...



 
KenCaz said:
Well, I have to say I luv it... Great little file on this... I do remember having one as a kid. As soon as I found this thread I searched Ebay for one. Although I do carry a knife and a leatherman it is still the most convenient for most tasks...

highly recommended and under estimated tool...



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Welcome to the Trim Trio club!
 
J Just Tom. that top photo was quite nostalgic for me. In 66/67 I was the shoeshine boy after school at the Proctor Hotel Barbershop, just across from the Pitt County courthouse in my little town. Along with Clubman grooming products, the barbershop had one of those cards for Trim Trio’s (and several styles of combs) for sale. I have one of those Trim Trios somewhere (along with other forgotten stuff from that era). OH
 

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Hickory n steel said:
I've got a couple of these TRIM TRIO's around somewhere.

I have no use for them myself, but I love the Basset TRIM nail clippers.
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Anyway I could get you to sell me one?

My dad had one when I was younger, like 12. He let me have it. I ended up losing it like a moron. Now I can't find them anywhere.
 
Interesting timing for me to come across this thread. I was cleaning out the kitchen junk drawer two days ago and found my own Trim Trio which I've probably had for half a century or more. I think it's got "The Audio Store" embossed into the scales. I used it mostly for "pipe" maintenance if you catch my meaning, if you get my drift (apologies to Firesign Theater). Blade was quite dull but fixed that up in a couple minutes with the Victorinox Dual Sharpener. I also have one of those keychain screwdrivers in my nightstand drawer that I've had for at least that long. Thanks for the memories!
 
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