Yeah, you definitely know what you want. I'm sure we all have a pretty good idea what we're looking for in a tool, just have to find somebody who makes it. Or get them to make it, or make our own...

As far as stealth EDC, in my case it's strictly to maintain ability to have useful things handy, without attracting attention so that somebody makes up another stupid rule. It's not like I'm trying to sneak anything by security or metal detectors. Just don't want to put any ideas into the heads of those who like to ban things "for the better good", when usually all it does is promote their job security and hinder others in doing their own jobs. I'm sure you know what I mean. Security needs a proper analysis to implement, not somebody randomly removing "freedoms" that superficially sound like enhancing security.

FWIW, I could not even carry small screwdrivers and electronics-sized wire cutters on domestic Canadian flights 20 years ago, so it's nothing new. Mainly I was afraid of landing at my dest and not having any tools to do anything, something that happened more than once (delayed/lost baggage). But there are ways to do it. A Leatherman is a fairly decent disguise for a useful tool, but may not pass muster everywhere depending on model.

Try the tool store version of the dollar store. I recently found a ratcheting 1/4" hex driver that's about 5" long X 1" dia. & can hold four bits in the handle. IIRC the name of the chain is Tools & More.

I know this is probably blasphemy on this site; but if you don't want to carry a knife and a blade on the multitool (cos of one ounce of redundancy). Why carry a knife?
Survivorman only carries a multi tool and it seems to do everything. It's more defensible in court and in the UK is the only way of carrying a locking blade legally.
Or you could stop worrying about trivia like an ounce of steel extra to carry...
simon

I hate to say this but as a perfectionist, I know exactly what you're going through.

We need to stop worrying, and start living! :-)

Over the years I bought many knives... Moras, countless Victorinox SAKs, a Delica 4, LM Fuse, a Spyderco Bill Moran fixed blade... all pretty cool items, however I realized at one point that the amount of time and money I was wasting on knives was tremendous.

Oh, and umm... my last purchase was a Leatherman Juice S2 and is now my tool of choice for everyday chores and the great outdoors.

Does anyone know what the 'hex bolt construction' that SOG multi tools means. Can you swap blades with a key?
simon

cfraser, I hear your every word. Seems like we've all been through the same situations no matter where we are...

Strange that 20 years ago you couldn't bring small screwdrivers on board a plane. I remember that as short as 15 years ago, I flew across the US with a Buck folder in my pocket. It had a 1.5" to 2" drop-point blade too, not a teeny little Swiss Army penknife. I put it through the x-ray machine and none of the screeners even mentioned it. (I think they were only trained to look for bombs back then.) Interesting that US TSA regulations were more lax than Canadian regulations.

Somebody else just posted something about the actual odds of dying by various means--I find it hilarious that people have a 1-in-5 chance of dying by heart disease vs. 1-in-325 by firearm, and yet they want to ban guns but not Big Macs. And even though suicide is banned, the bans clearly aren't working, with a 1-in-121 chance of dying by self-inflicted injury.

That last fact says a lot about our leaders' ability to "save us from ourselves," both literally and figuratively...

Oh well, until they make the multitool I need, I'll just keep carrying my Charge until they stop me at the checkpoint. These places could make a fortune if they installed coin-op lockers just outside the checkpoints. The Bit Dr. I preordered should be here in about a month and a half, which will prove useful for those more-paranoid clients.

I have a small kit for electronic repair made from the three leatherman squirt's (S2, P4, EL) it gives a lot of redundancy though and I'dreally like a small pair of diagonla cutters instead of scissors.
A flat bit extension would be pretty easy to make by grinding down a regular extension.

Law does not(and cannot) PREVENT crime (this is not the purpose of criminal law in any case, laws DEFINE criminal activity and prescribe penalties for said crimes. (obvious isn't it, yet how many people have never considered this?)

Didn't Gerber at one time let you custom order a multitool and specify which tools your wanted? I can't find any information on their website now, but I think they did at one time. Even if they didn't and still don't, somebody should!

I'm aware of a fairly recent court-case in which someone was acquitted for a Swiss Tool. Was that based on a binding precedent, or did it create one? I wouldn't rely on it myself.