I just got my new Leatherman Wave a few months ago. When i first got it, everything worked fine. Now the knife blade is getting stuck. I can still open it one-handed, but it's tough. the other blade still opens as it used to, so it's easy to compare and tell the difference. I haven't used the blade for anything other than cutting, so it shouldn't be bent. I tried running it under the tap, adding a few drops of oil, and just working it back and forth, but it's still not opening right. What should i try next? I'm hesitant to use a strong solvent for fear it might corrode the metal. Is it possible to remove the blade? What kind of tool would I need?

It sounds like there's some crud or sticky stuff in there. Even goo from fresh veggies or tree sap can form a kind of glue.

Have you tried a spray lubricant with a little more penetrating power? WD-40 or Liquid Wrench come to mind. I don't think these would hurt the bronze bushings.

BTW, have you been doing any super-heavy twisting with the pliers? That might be a factor, don't know for sure.

It takes a special tool to take the blade out. It's probably not a good idea to try. Leatherman's warranty is first-class; just send it and let them fix it.

My first thought was Customer Service.

I've broken Leatherman tools before, through outright abuse. They were promptly repaired (and upgraded with later-model parts) without question. They've earned my brand loyalty.

Jeff

The serrated blade on my Wave did the same thing a few days ago, right after I accidentally dropped it in the dirt. I dribbled some Breakfree on the hinge, hit it with some pretty high air pressure from a compressor, nothing. Then, after a few days, and a lot of openings/closings, it suddenly started working fine again. I assume that a little grain of sand or something got inside, and is just took a bit for it to work its way out...

i haven't tried WD-40 yet, I'll try that. If that doesn't work, I'll send it to Leatherman CS and let them deal with it.

Not to rain on anyone's parade but I haven't had this problem with the Swisstool I got! XD

Don't say it too loud. I've seen a Swisstool come back from the Middle East that was basically jammed with pliers open, can't imagine the tools are any less likely to gum up.

Yea, just about any multi-tool or folding knife built to tight tolerances can suffer the same problem. It's the nature of the beast.