Are there any perfect multitools?
- Thread starter daveO
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Well I ordered a Leatherman Rebar in the end, more because it was cheap than because it had everything I wanted. For half the price of a standard Wave I can put up with the lack of scissors.
Rebar is a good choice.
After carrying a Spirit for a while, I was given a Gerber MP400. This has since replaced the Spirit because I have modded it to be bladeless. I wanted something I could carry anywhere without having to worry about it being confiscated or me being stopped by the police (unlikely but you never know).
I'd recommend Gerbers (MP400 and 600) as they are rugged, but mainly because you can easily modify them. Oh, and they have the coolest flick action pliers which means you can open them one handed should you need to. Great scissors by Fiskars (as good as Vic scissors IMO) and you can fit a 1/4 inch hex adaptor on the philips driver for added utility.
Not perfect, but coupled with a Vic Farmer, nigh on.
After carrying a Spirit for a while, I was given a Gerber MP400. This has since replaced the Spirit because I have modded it to be bladeless. I wanted something I could carry anywhere without having to worry about it being confiscated or me being stopped by the police (unlikely but you never know).
I'd recommend Gerbers (MP400 and 600) as they are rugged, but mainly because you can easily modify them. Oh, and they have the coolest flick action pliers which means you can open them one handed should you need to. Great scissors by Fiskars (as good as Vic scissors IMO) and you can fit a 1/4 inch hex adaptor on the philips driver for added utility.
Not perfect, but coupled with a Vic Farmer, nigh on.
Second coolest. My Gerber Recoil is spring loaded, it's the flick knife of the pliers world
In reality it's a gimic to sell what is otherwise a fairly terrible tool but it's perfect for removing hooks when fishing or impressing small children.
Think the Leatherman Super Tool is the way to go, I broke a screwdriver on it, sent it back to Whitby the UK dealer and said the screwdriver is broke and the serrated blade is rubbish and their policy is to send you a new or better one, two weeks later I got the new version, with better tools and pliers with replaceable jaws etc.
If you have a dud Leatherman, send it back to Whitby, you will get a new one
If you have a dud Leatherman, send it back to Whitby, you will get a new one
Lol! There is a horror story over on MTO about someone getting injured when a Recoil 'went off' in their pocket!Second coolest. My Gerber Recoil is spring loaded, it's the flick knife of the pliers world
https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,60732.0.html
Ouch yeah it's not really a pocket safe tool. The 'safety' catch is about as good as the rest of the tool. It can also pinch while closed if you're not careful.
yeah it's not really a pocket safe tool. The 'safety' catch is about as good as the rest of the tool. It can also pinch while closed if you're not careful.
I've had a Super tool since '95 and I wear/use it almost every day, the pouch only failed at the end of 2016! Seen several deployment and I even sent it back to the US to repair the small screwdriver. I think there is a 25 year guarantee, but I couldn't part with it, even if they gave me a new one (they don't make supertools any more).
Started with a SOG and used it till it fell apart years later, it was damned uncomfortable to use as the blades were all on the 'wrong' side and dug into my palms but great worker and the compound pliers really had some grip. When that died I changed to a Gerber which turned out to be a p.o.s Went back to SOG and broke the cutters on it within a couple of months, just in time for the Leatherman Charge Ti to be on discount on Amazon, bought that and it's been love ever since. I made one change to the Charge pliers, I ground down the tips so I could use them to remove circlips which I do a lot of. I managed to break the tiny screwdriver bit by doing stupid stuff with it and haven't managed to keep my wallet open long enough to pay ~£30 for a replacement set of bits yet, but I might.
Also the saw as demonstrated by Adam Savage is awesome.
Went back to SOG and broke the cutters on it within a couple of months, just in time for the Leatherman Charge Ti to be on discount on Amazon, bought that and it's been love ever since. I made one change to the Charge pliers, I ground down the tips so I could use them to remove circlips which I do a lot of. I managed to break the tiny screwdriver bit by doing stupid stuff with it and haven't managed to keep my wallet open long enough to pay ~£30 for a replacement set of bits yet, but I might.Also the saw as demonstrated by Adam Savage is awesome.
Chris, yes the originals are the best, they sent me a new version so I had to buy a new pouch.
I do have the original Super Tool pouch I’m my gun cupboard, lying around, send me your address and I will post it off to you.
Drew
Well my Rebar finally arrived and I've got to say I quite like it. The inboard tools are a bit annoying but not a deal breaker, the pouch is kinda crappy but I don't plan on using it so no problem there. The finish on some of the tools is a little bit rough and will need a tidy up and oil but it is a good bit smaller and lighter than my Gerber though which is a real bonus. For some reason I thought it was going to be larger. I guess I'll have to live with it for a while but I'm quite intrigued now to have a go with a Wave to see why they're twice the price.
I also picked up a SAK officer's knife on an Amazon Warehouse deal for a good discount. It's got my perfect range of tools on a SAK but I prefer the alox scales and blade thickness, and if I'm being picky again I like the awl to stick out straight not perpendicular to the handle.
If anyone is after a SAK then I'd recommend keeping an eye on Amazon as they have deals quite often on various models. Usually the only problem is the box isn't sealed or the packaging has minor damage. There's a couple of Alox Farmers discounted at the moment but not by much sadly https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000MLQOVG/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1JAXQ8HT03MJZ&colid=91ED1M7VR0ED&psc=0
I also picked up a SAK officer's knife on an Amazon Warehouse deal for a good discount. It's got my perfect range of tools on a SAK but I prefer the alox scales and blade thickness, and if I'm being picky again I like the awl to stick out straight not perpendicular to the handle.
If anyone is after a SAK then I'd recommend keeping an eye on Amazon as they have deals quite often on various models. Usually the only problem is the box isn't sealed or the packaging has minor damage. There's a couple of Alox Farmers discounted at the moment but not by much sadly https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000MLQOVG/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1JAXQ8HT03MJZ&colid=91ED1M7VR0ED&psc=0
My Leatherman Wave has served me very well. May not be the absolute best (only one I've ever owned, so have no comparisons), but it's always done what I've asked of it.
Used to be my EDC, till I decided to err on the side of caution, with the locking blades. The swiss army knife is better than nothing, but no where as capable.
If I could have found a 5 point security torx bit, I may have modded it to remove the latches.
Used to be my EDC, till I decided to err on the side of caution, with the locking blades. The swiss army knife is better than nothing, but no where as capable.
If I could have found a 5 point security torx bit, I may have modded it to remove the latches.
I don't know about Perfect but I find one of these pretty handy for the awkward cutting jobs where I can't manage to get anything else into.
You know, like cutting existing skirting board to fit a new kitchen and you don't want to remove the skirting board, a normal handsaw is a pain as you only get a few teeth worth of movement without damaging the floor so a cordless oscillating multi tool is the quickest and neatest way to do the job. Ther's even a delta shaped sanding head for it.
Blade change is pretty easy and power is good.
You know, like cutting existing skirting board to fit a new kitchen and you don't want to remove the skirting board, a normal handsaw is a pain as you only get a few teeth worth of movement without damaging the floor so a cordless oscillating multi tool is the quickest and neatest way to do the job. Ther's even a delta shaped sanding head for it.
Blade change is pretty easy and power is good.
How did we ever live without those? I've got the Makita 18v version and it's already earned its keep several times.
A while ago I was helping to mod an old caravan chassis into a trailer.
By the time I got there, one of the lads had worn himself out hacksawing the chassis. I offered my 3hp disk grinder.
Will it do the job? I was asked. Through like butter. So we agreed that it also warked as a hacksaw.
Later they were having difficulty getting rusty nails out of the woodwork. Again the grinder. So it was now a claw hammer.
Rusted bolts.... It worked as a spanner.
It also got used for cutting the wood, just because I could, so it became a jacksaw (leaving the ends a bit black though)..
Eventually I was cutting some angle iron sections, on the grass, with my foot on the bar. When I went through I caught the soil and it threw a handfull of it at my mate stood behind. I suggested that it now made for a reasonable shovel!
So that's my multitool.
By the time I got there, one of the lads had worn himself out hacksawing the chassis. I offered my 3hp disk grinder.
Will it do the job? I was asked. Through like butter. So we agreed that it also warked as a hacksaw.
Later they were having difficulty getting rusty nails out of the woodwork. Again the grinder. So it was now a claw hammer.
Rusted bolts.... It worked as a spanner.
It also got used for cutting the wood, just because I could, so it became a jacksaw (leaving the ends a bit black though)..
Eventually I was cutting some angle iron sections, on the grass, with my foot on the bar. When I went through I caught the soil and it threw a handfull of it at my mate stood behind. I suggested that it now made for a reasonable shovel!
So that's my multitool.
Aye, its one of those tools that I was fairly disparaging about when I saw them at first but after removing a load of floorboards in a hotel and making neat cuts I'm a convert.
It comes out the van far more than I thought it would.
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