I just bought a Leatherman Wave yesterday. When i first opened it I was surprised at how stiff the tools where,afer some added oil, the tools where better but not as smooth as i had hoped. Maybe it is supost to be this way but i just wanted to ask if everyones Wave is this way? On a seperate note, the smooth blade was already sharp but i sharpened it some more and it was super sharp!! Despite the stiffness of the tool i am extremely happy with the Wave so far.

P.S. has anyone had any problems with rusting on there Wave?

Re: the wave

The clip-point blade on mine is a bit stiff, but I've gotten used to it. Oiling did not help. The sheeps-foot blade is very nice and smooth.

The tools are fairly stiff, but I like them the way they are.

No problems rusting but I don't expose it to moisture all that often.

If looking at the bottom of the Wave when its standing verticly( where the the outer blades point) do the two handles wiggle? On my wave they do this is this bad?

Can't speak for the Wave (don't have one) but FWIW, my experience with several of the Super Tools is that they are a bit stiff initially and become a bit easier to manipulate after some use and a dab of oil. I had one that needed to be returned to Leatherman (my fault, I broke the saw blade) and when it came back, it had apparently been brought up to specs. by Leatherman, not only did they replace the damaged blade, but they resharpened all the other blades and resecured both sides back to the new product stiffness. Needless to say, I was impressed.

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of meeting Tim Leatherman at a trade show and was happy to relate my experience with their customer services and how impressed I was. It was nice to be able to speak with the headman himself. After meeting him, it becomes obvious where they get their great customer service from.

As far as he rusting, yes almost all varieties of stainless steel will rust to some extent if exposed to water, salt water and various acids etc. that they get exposed to. The amount of exposure will obviously vary from owner to owner. In my case my Supertools were exposed to salt water and some chemicals, if not cleaned immediately like any good tool, they would develop spots that were in proportion to the exposure. In virtually every case, a wire brush was able to restore the finish. Any remaining stains are regarded as "character" marks. <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

My gut feeling is that you should not worry about the stiffness, it will diminish some over time and use. One day you'll handle a new Wave and suddenly realize how nicely yours has been "broken in" <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I found that the tools are indeed stiff, some light oil helps. My blades take an edge nicely, and I've found that the tool works great where the "original" leatherman didn't - specifically with the pliers - you can really crunch tight with a wave.
I ALWAYS have mine - I mean ALWAYS.
No rust - and I've been in the Atlantic AND Pacific ocean with it in. I do rinse it off and clean it at least monthly, and ASAP after salt water.

Rusty,

the (inner) tools on my Wave have allways been a bit stiff, but I don't find it a real problem and the handles do have a tiny bit of 'play' but this as far as I know is normal (although I thought Leatherman had rectified this by placing a couple of little clamp/rivet things on the handles...you may have an older model like mine) That being said, I've carried (and used) mine as EDC for a good few years now and have allways been happy with it's performance and never encountered any rust problems...A quality piece of kit IMHO.

Steve.

If not cared for Wave will rust. Some WD40 will take care of that but if rust spots are not treated they will stain your blade. One or two day thing is not a big deal but my first Wave I didn't really cared much for in terms of prevention and maintanance. I was working on the river for 8-9 days, jumping in and out of water with Wave on the belt. 4 weeks later blades were all spoty with rust. From that point on I took care of the tool with some teflon lubricant and WD40. Now I bring it on ocean and sweet water trips, sumberge it and have no problems. It's all in the proper care.

Handles do wigle a bit. And tools inside them were stiff at first but they worked them selves to comfortable tension.

Matt