Leatherman Wave

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about getting my first multi-tool for everyday carry and I went to the store to check out the Leatherman Wave. There's one version with scissors and one with a serrated blade. I tried the one handed opening of the blade and it seems ok although I guess it would be another matter with heavy leather gloves on. I would prefer the blade to be plain but it's serrated as you probably already know. I was surprised by its light weight but I'm aware that the steel is probably not the strongest. The store also sells a leather sheath for the Wave. I'm still hesitating about buying it or not. Is the Wave still considered one of the best choice here? What is your experience?

Thank you
Frankie

Personally, I carry a Gerber. Many people prefer Leathermen. It is definitely larger and heavier than a Leatherman, but I find it sturdier and more functional.

I have a Wave and I love it..goes with me everywhere. You might take a closer look though. My Wave has four external lockable features...a file, a saw, serrated blade and plain blade..plus has scissors on the inside. So check it out again. You won't regret the purchase...I haven't.

In regards to the leather sheath...the only positive thing I can say is the snap closure makes sure it doesn't fall out. If you ever get it wet...it holds the moisture next to the Wave...I prefer a drainable sheath...but other than that, I have not been disappointed!

I have the "old"" wave, the one without the screwdriver bits. I love it!

I also like the leather case, as I find nylon cases to be far less durable. My leather case has been going fine for three years of EDC. If I EDC a nylon case (like my Arc LS case), I get about a year or so out of it.

I enjoyed playing with the Wave during a recent shopping trip, but I didn't actually buy it -- couldn't decide. After I got home and started researching other people's opinions about the Wave, I ran across a reference to the new Surge. Does anyone have a Surge? It sounds like it is similar to a Wave but with beefier scissors. I hate the scissors on the new Wave; it's hard to open them and their action is stiff. I hear that the scissors on the Surge are not only bigger and sturdier, but accessable without unfolding the whole setup.

If I could find an old Wave for sale, I might snap it up.

Here is my review of the Surge from another site:

"I went by target today to pick up one of those 2AAA River Rock flashlights, when I saw a single surge on the rack, so I had to buy it.

First, the tool is $76, not cheap at all. But, you do get a lot of tool for your money. It is roughly the size of a Sog Powerlock and it built like a tank. The steel is thicker then the powerlocks, the pliers are beefier, longer, and more of a needle nose. I really think it is built better then the Sog, I can almost flex the handles together on the sog, the L-mans has barely any flex. It is finished a lot nicer too.

On the outside the knife is huge, bigger then any knife I have ever seen in a multi-tool. It scared me a bit the first time I opened it, it has 3 and 1/4" of cutting area. In total it is almost 3 1/2". The serrated blade is the same size, but is non-serrated for the last 1/2". The scissors are built for leverage, there is only about an inch of cutting area, but I was cutting cans like they were butter, even the tops. The neatest thing is the blade changer. You can switch between a saw and a file (half diamond/half regular). Which means you can use the file to sharpen the blade for the first time ever. The file and saw are both slightly larger then the Powerlocks and a Juice KF4's. They come in a little plastic sheath that you can put in the nylon sheath with the tool. (Though there is no specific space for it.)

The nylon sheath it comes with is a pouch style that can go verticle and horizontal. It is pretty well made, but it isn't that great. I think the best way to carry this would be with the pocket clip from the Charge series (which works in it, but doesn't come with it), then buy the sheath with the bits and carry that on your belt with the file. Then this tool would really shine.

On the inside of the tool there is the standard bit driver and a can/bottle opener with wire stripper. On the other is a nice large thick screwdriver that looks like you can use it for light prying (like a prybaby), a glasses type screwdriver with the new spring to hold it in place, and a awl. The awl is like a SAK awl, but on steroids. It looks like it would be good for sewing with the inner strands from parachute cord or if used like a drill would make a hole big enough for parachute cord.

All in all, this thing is great. If you don't mind the weight this is the tool to buy. It's big, it's tough, it's steel, it's comfortable to use (compared to the Sog, ect.) If you are looking for a multitool for tough jobs this is it."

I have a Gerber, old Wave, and new Charge Ti (like new Wave). The screwdrivers, saw, and knife blade on the Gerber are not good. I gave the Gerber to my son. The old Wave is very good! My wife has the old Wave. She does not like to loan it to anyone. The new Wave and Charge Ti are even better! I love the pocket clip. The blades are much easier to open. I use the Charge Ti like a normal pocket knife. Buy a new Wave or Charge Ti. You will wonder how you ever got by without it. Don’t buy a lesser LeatherMan or Gerber if you can buy the Wave or Charge.

My Charge Ti is clipped to my pocket as my EDC.

I have a Wave that I bought as a lighter alternative to my SwissTool. After a month or so of use the Wave is sitting in a drawer and the SwissTool is back in my daypack.

The SwissTool just seems to be a lot sturdier. My Wave developed a little play (I admit very little) and felt a bit "wobly" after some (admitedly heavy) work. The SwissTool has been by my side for around five years and it shows no signs of wear.

The SwissTool Spirit would be my choice for a lighter multitool. It's built as strong as the original SwissTool but weighs a lot less and is more compact.

The only advantages I see in some Leatherman models are the one hand opening blades and the premium steels, but this features aren't really important for me because the least used tool in my multis are the knife blades. I alway have two other knives on me at all times.

Now there's a phrase I would have never considered to describe my Wave. I've always thought of it as heavy. Maybe the newer ones are lighter, or maybe the Wave is light compared to other multi-tools. I only have a Wave and a Squirt (very small multi-tool) so I have nothing to compare the Wave against. But it's a very nice tool that appears to be high quality. Can't say I use mine often these days. More as an emergency backup when I don't have the tool I need for some quick-fix. I'd always prefer to have a single-use screwdriver, pliers, knife, etc. But the Wave functions quite well in the backup role for me. I do not carry it on me usually (too heavy). Typically it resides in a gear bag, in the car, etc. The Squirt is with me mostly - in a pocket or fanny pack - but even that sees little use compared to my EDC knife. Several of my friends carry multi-tools of various brands and use them constantly. I used to use mine more, but not so much these days. How often you might use one is highly variable depending on your normal day-to-day activities. I doubt you can go too wrong if you stick to quality tools, and I think the Wave is one such item.

I must admit, I am a tool junky. I have an old Wave, a new wqve, the first Leatherman [first month of production, no less] a Leatherman Flair, and a Gerber Recoil [the spring loaded opening one].

My favorite is the new wave with a pocket clip. The old Wave is great, and the tooll adapter is very, very useful, because of the ability to use and 1/4 drive hex or square firve bit with appropirate adapters. I keep that one in my FatBoy.

I'm like Franciso -- I don't use any multitool as my primary blade, but either Wave is competent. The serated sheepsfoot blades are good to have for rough work.

The original and the Flair are much more compact, obviously, and I keep the original in a brief case kit, and the Flair -- well, it's just for the hell of it and I carry it when I don't feel like the bulk of the Wave, or for food. The cocktail fork and the pate spreader just make me smile, I guess.

If your a tool junky, then i'm just crazy.

Lets see I have or had (and i'm sure I missed a few):
Charge Ti
Surge
2 Old Waves (one was a gift from Tim Leatherman, oddly they are both slightly different)
Kick (with clip)
Blast
4 Juice models (Pro, KF4, CS4, KF4 Gray)
Original PST
PST II
Crunch
Sideclip
Micra (which I turned into a single sided tool)
Super Tool
3 Squirts (P4 and 2 S4s)
2 Swiss Tools (BSA Model)
Swiss Tool Spirit (on the way)
Gerber Suspension
Gerber Compact Sport
Gerber 600
Gerber Recoil
Sog Switchplier
Sog Powerlock
Sog Pocketplier
As well as a bunch of cheap knock-offs
I also hae the tool kits, clips, sheaths, you name it.

The ones I like the most are the Charge Ti, Surge, Juice KF4, old wave, and Sideclip. The Gerber Suspension I just bought and I don't think there is a better tool out there for the price, I really like that one now too. The worst two are the automatics. The Sog doesn't open all the way all the time and I could break it if I sqeeze too hard and the Gerber has basically useless tools in it and the pliers don't open very much. I'm not a big fan of the Powerlock either for a few reasons.

OK, OK -- I'll fess up. I omitted my original SOG Toolclip, 2 Micras, 9 SAKs, 2 Coast Mini-Pliers tossed into the consols of cars, and I have no idea how many PSTs and Micra I have given to folks I thought needed them. My ex-wives were/are bottomless pits for tools and flashlights.

We aren't bad - yet. I used to practice law with Bill. Bill is a very prepared, very anal-retentive guy. He and his wife went down to the coast to fish one weekend, and when they came back, somebody had 'accessed' his garage, backed up a truck or trailer and cleaned him out.

Tools, fishing stuff -- salt, fresh, and all -- reloading gear. Bill was so anal-retentive that he had a complete computer inventory of the contents, with pictures. Mind you, they never even got into the house proper -- it was alarmed. Final inventory: $120,000.00, more or less. State Farm actually paid him. Bill spent the entire amount restoring himself. God, he had fun.

It adds up.

Now Paul, if you have not already, you really don't want to discover Swedish/Scandinavian/Finnish knives and tools. I've got a $1,000 knife, but i'm a sucker for 10 good $10.00 knives.

That's just plier type multi-tools, I have shoe boxes full of SAKs, a glass cabinet full of Benchmades, Spydercos, CRKs, and others, and an armoire full of flashlights. Right now i'm on a Surefire/Flashlight kick, so I got a few on order. I am pretty good with money on everything else except for tools/knives/flashlights. It started out years ago looking for the perfect one of each, I still haven't found it. I'm starting to think manufactures could have built the perfect one years ago, but figured out that if they did they would have nothing left to sell. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

BTW, Bill had the right idea. When I started getting pretty bad with this stuff I bought a video camera and took a video inventory of what I have. When I get something new I add to it. I never figured out the total, but I know I could have bought myself a nice sports car by now. <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Paul810, I am also a gear junkie, geardo and gear queer. I have a Leatherman old Wave, ChargeTI, Squirt P4 on my keyring and a Kick. I bought the Kick because it was the cheapest one I found while in Florida visiting relatives. I dont check luggage so I bought it as soon as plane landed. I had a Radio Shack giftcard and bought the Leatheman below. It is a special one made only for Radio Shack, for working on electronice.

Whoops, I forgot I have one of them in my tool kit, I bought it when I was working on the remote control driving lights on my truck. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> I think I need to figure out how to sell stuff on E-bay. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

That's probably because the only one I played with in a store was the Swisstool. It was much more heavy.

Frankie

Actually I have one multi-tool but it's not with pliers, it's a SAK Exporer model that I got as a gift. I thought about buying a sheath for it and also buy a sheath to put a real single needle nose plier but it would be too cumbersome for everyday carry. Actually I'm ready to pay for the compactness of it since I'm going to carry it primarily in the city.

Frankie

Multi-Tools are all about personal preferences.

I havent found the perfect tool yet, and each design has weaknesses/strengths in different situations.

I dont like the new Wave because the screw driver bits dont suit my work. I mostly carry the old style wave, but I'm thinking of getting the new Charge Ti, (slowly waring out my 2nd Wave) and modifying a 1/4 hex magnetic bit driver and my common used bits to fit.

I have built up a collection of multi-tools and I carry which ever suits me at the time.

The easiest to use (Mostly) is my Wave and the pliers seem to suit my work best. They are more needle nose like and I can get into finer areas with them.
The best built I have are my Swiss Tools. I have the original style, X model and the new spirit. These are my second choice to carry. I did file the screw driver ends flat on the Swiss Tools, the polished finish (from manufacturer) rounded them a bit so I squared them up a bit (recomended) The Swiss Tools holds the edge on the blade better as well, but I dont like the spirit blade as much. Leatherman have improved their blades, another reason I'm thinking about the Charge.
The sturdiest pliers are on one of my Gerbers, but I would choose the Swiss Tool pliers for best quality.
I now have the Gerber Military Tech. set with 4 interchangable pliers on the 600 model handle and either a Schrade Vice Grip type multi-tool or Leatherman Crunch etc as a quick grab tool bag.
The Gerbers aren't as nice to use, and I dont like their blade, but they are good quality. I was about to buy the 800 Legend, but after a good long play in the store, I picked it to bits and decided to leave it there. (Unusual for me because impulse usually predicts I buy it)
The Swiss Tool polish also made it hard to create sparks from my flint fire starters, so I filed a square edge on the inside edge of the bottle opener. That worked well.
There are others, but I wont go on.
With local knife Laws I use my multi-tools as my primary blade.

Its ended up as a sort of a hobby to find the ultimate Multi-Tool.

My Wave is fine using leather riggers gloves, but all the others I have to take a glove off most of the time.

You need to ask yourself what you want from it. Then try them all and see which one you like.
I would go through all their websites first, then try the ones you think you like.

I would put money on you liking the Wave, but it doesn't hurt to look around, and I'm sure others will tell you there likes/dislikes of them all. I recomend you have a good look at the Swiss Tools though.

Drool I only have two shrade tools, old leathermen, 2 micras, and an american camper multi tool (1st mulit tool I ever owned.) How many multi tools are there does anyone have a listof all the multi tools from Leathermen, gerber, etc..

That would be like counting how many miles across the universe.
Too many to contemplate <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

When I started looking around for a multitool, I obviously took a good look at the new Wave and Charge Ti/XTi.

I felt they were too expensive and beyond what I needed. I ended up getting the Fuse for less than half the price of the new Wave. It's a great tool, has scissors, and pliers, to name a few. I would consider it! It's weird how people never talk about the Leatherman Fuse. It may be a sub-product if you compare it to the Wave or Charge, but it's a great deal for not a lot of dough! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The kick/fuse/blast are good tools, but they lack a lot of the features that make the Wave/Charge/Surge tools so great. They are more on par with the swiss tool, which most would consider to be better.