First a little history: I received a PST when I was 10 or 12, then at some point lost it (which pains me to this day), not long after I started carrying a side clip (surprisingly similar to the CX) but the lack of a locking blade made me nervous, I have an original Wave that still sees use when I can justify the sheath (hunting, skiing, sailing), and a I have a Juice CS4 (the blue one with a corkscrew) that also sees use if I expect to open wine away from home, but this also lacks a locking blade.

About two years ago I bought my father a CX for his birthday, he loved it, his first Leatherman, I also liked it but I couldn’t justify the expense considering the number of multitools I already had. Generally I would carry some kind of folder (Spyderco Atlantic Salt or a bench made griptillion) in my right front pocket and the CS4 in my back left pocket. Not a bad setup.

I received the CX for Christmas from my girlfriend in 2009, in short, we were discussing it yesterday and we’re both afraid she’ll never be able to top it as a gift.

When I first received it, I was awkward. I didn’t know what to do. The CX lacked a lot of things I like such as a can opener, and a file, plus I was hesitant to replace a folder which is likely stronger and has a bigger blade. As a result I’d often carry a folder and the CX, etc. I’ve changed my procedures since. I always carry the CX. I’ve been in tight spots and so far it has gotten me out. If I’m going duck hunting, skiing, sailing, fishing, etc, I’ll supplement with a folder tucked into my waist band and/or the Wave in a sheath on my belt. That said, the Skeletool is carried and used every day and is always up to the task.

Take this past weekend as an example: Saturday it saw heavy use opening beers on the beach. Saturday evening I used it to cut rope to splice together a new mooring buoy tether, and Sunday afternoon it allowed me to close a broken casement window. I can’t even tell you how many other things it cut over the weekend. It has been used like this for roughly 18 months and besides a sharpening now and again has required no maintenance and shows no signs of damage. I have managed to rub a lot of the black anodizing off just from daily carry.

Bottom line – I’m not saying it is a full replacement for a Wave and a folder (or a fixed blade for that matter) but I now know it is sufficient for my regular daily use. It may have down sides, it lacks many tools, but I find what it has extremely useful, sure a S30V blade would be superior, all this aside, I highly recommend the Skeletool CX.

I find the Victorinox Swiss Army Locksmith Multi-Tool ends up making into the leather pouch (all are a perfect fit) more often than the other two. It is a quarter the price I paid for the Skeletool CX, has a more efficient knife blade than the Skeletool, is just lighter to carry etc. In fact I would even probably EDC a British Army knife (it at least has a can opener) over the CX. I find the CX just too much of a compromise. It does very little very well by comparison unless you specifically need pliers or wire cutters.

I had the same concern - and obviously this is a matter of opinion - over time I've found that it does what I need well enough. I do use the pliers all the time, the wirecutters less so, so perhaps that's the difference in our use. I also cannot carry a sheath most days (office job) so the fact that I can clip it inside my pocket or just let it hang out in the bottom of my pocket is a benefit for me. I also find it less bulky than my large frame SAK, thought it does have fewer tools.

It is expensive, I'll give you that, the "regular" skeletool is probably a better value.

R

Light, gorgeous, durable, exceptional pieces of gear. A year ago, I've given a couple out to knife-illiterate friends who abused the absolute Tartarus out of them. One managed to remove part of the coating by repeatedly opening cans of tuna with the blade (and then, presumably, washing the whole frame in the content). Both are still fully functional and both are very sharp.

Don't know about standard, but highly recommend the CX version.

I love the look and concept of the skeletool, but entirely the wrong composition of tools for my needs... No saw makes it a no-no in my book.

People on this forum? I've missed it! I just ran two Google queries: '"Skeletool CX" AND Broke OR Broken site:forums.equipped.org" and '"Skeletool" AND Broke OR Broken site:forums.equipped.org" and I haven't found any reference to the tool breaking. I'm not saying it is untrue, I'd just like to read how they broke so I might avoid breaking mine!

Thanks,

R

Also - re lack of saw: If the tool doesn't have what you need it just won't do! I like the saw on my Wave, but I LOVE the file, that said, I don't need it all that often and carrying it everyday and everyplace doesn't fit my lifestyle, so I try and have it when I need it and make do when I don't have it!

$20 say 90% of the people break plier jaws are doing something they shouldn't do with pliers that size. Compare it with the smallest pair of needle nose you have and you'll realize how small the jaws on multitools are, even the big heavy supersized ones. That plus weaker stainless steel it shouldn't be surprising.

I actually have seen the bit retention spring lost, on my father’s CX (leatherman replaced it) but he had “cleaned it” and while I wasn’t there sometimes my father can be a bit aggressive in cleaning things. So it could be either a design/manufacture problem or some over aggressive cleaning. Either way, I haven’t experienced the issue with my tool. Regarding the pocket clip, I clip it to my pocket everyday and in a year and a half it hasn’t broke. I do worry about the bail on the carbineer, but I almost never use that and so far it hasn’t failed.

The pliers are perhaps the most disturbing issue. They do appear to be some wild amalgamate, not regular stainless steel, though I do not see any air bubbles in that photo. Maybe I need to blow it up or something? Anyways, through relatively normal use I haven’t broken mine. I’m sure I could, but I try not to beat on things too hard unless I’m really in a pinch.

I’ll say this about pretty much everything I own, I have to be relatively careful with it. If I wanted to, I could break just about anything. I guess that is a talent? A talent I bet I share with at least some others on this forum!

All good problems to be aware of, thankfully I’ve experienced none of them on my tool!

Not sure what do you mean regular, but the jaws are casted not rolled sheet metal like other parts. It's the standard methods and there is only one MT on the market I'm aware of that doesn't use casted jaws, but wire EDM cut tool steel jaws, and of course the price reflects that.