am I missing Leatherman's point?

I don't own a Leatherman, but I'm looking to get a Charge for myself and a Juice for my wife. As I was looking at the smaller tools, I thought that a smaller one for myself might be a nice addition for times when the Charge might be too obtrusive.

As I was comparing different features of the smaller tools, I got to thinking, what is the point of the cork screw?

I can understand that SAK's originated in a part of the world where wine drinking is ingrained into the culture and that maybe in a time of military conflict a nice bottle of wine would be comforting to someone from those cultures.

But in 21st century America, is the cork screw really that useful?

What else might it be used for instead of opening a bottle of wine?

Maybe it's because I don't care for wine, but some of the tools I was interested in, I won't buy because of the cork screw. Perhaps I'm stubborn, or perhaps I just don't get it, but I don't see how I would ever use it.

Am I missing other applications? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

One good thing about a corkscrew is that it holds the very useful eyeglass screwdriver that comes with some Victorinox models and can also be bought separately aftermarket. Here's a pic of one:

Otherwise, I highly recommend that you consider taking up wine drinking if for no other reason but as a survival strategy...

<img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I think only one of the Juices and the long dead Flair have had the corkscrew. They are there because people ask for them.

If you think the cork screw is silly, you should have seen the Flair's pate spreader and pickle fork. What people can't live without....

i don't know about the strength of leatherman's corkscrews, but i have personally watched my father (of average weight) screw the corkscrew of his SAK into a wooden overhead beam and then hang by the knife. now you're prepared for when the floor suddenly floods with acid! jokes aside, i can imagine similar uses that would be quite practical, such as hauling a large piece of wood that you can't get a grip on.

I was at my first Burning Man, my first day there, and the temperature was 107. I was lying under my shade, misting myself and trying to convince myself this wasn't the disaster it seemed, when a cute 20-or-so woman walked up and said, "Pardon me, did you bring your garlic press? We forgot ours!"

"God in heaven," I thought first. "How can she be out in this heat?" My next thought was, "I don't have a garlic press at _home_. What th' heck is this place all about?"

So, yes -- get the corkscrew. It may be that you never need it, but you will be surprised how often someone will need to borrow yours. I always carry a corkscrew and my own cup at Burning Man. It's not just survival. It's civilized sheltering in place.

ORS,

I bought my wife a Juice. She ended up wanting a Wave instead. She now has both. I suggest you get her a Wave. I'm not sure the Charge is any real advantage over the Wave. The 154CM steel is harder but is a PIA to sharpen. I have the Charge and I think I would like the Wave better.

Whats a Burning man? (apart from the obvious answer)

Kinda like Woodstock.

Official site: http://www.burningman.com/
Our personal site: http://www.cieux.com/bm/bmtoc.html

It's not for everyone.

Welcome to the world of trying to find the perfect multi tool. I'll put money on it to say you will never find it.
As I found when I started with SAK's you keep pulling the implements out until you find something close to do the job.
I've used the end of my corkscrew as a pin punch, to adjust watch bands, to drive into plastic for grip and even to open bottles of wine <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Having the right tool for the job is always the best way to go, but multi tools specialise by giving you something that might work. So the more range on the tool the more things you can do by improvising when the time arises.

I've gotten to where I don't like the Leatherman tools. Mostly flash. I switched to a Gerber and am very satisfied. I'm also looking at a SOG, but I'm not sure I want to put out the money. If I didn't have the Gerber, I'd buy the SOG. And I always have a SAK, if for no other reason than the toothpick!

Thanks ... I'd never herd of it before.

I'm starting to feel the same. My old Wave is getting warn out, but I havent convinced myself that I really like the new wave or the charge yet. I have a couple of swiss tools that I find I'm carrying more and more, but the old Wave is still my first grab.

You don't care for wine - haven't you just ruled yourself out of the demographic for cork screw useage?

Start planning now -- I'll see you there next year? Lots of folks from Japan, and several from Oz. Go back to
http://www.burningman.com/
and enter australia in the search box in the top right corner. :-)

I couldn't see a use for the corkscrew either. Then I was in the desert one hot summer.

There was a young woman and two guys nearby in the primitive campground. There was something wrong with their car and they didn't have much to camp with. The guys had a blue tarp and about twenty feet of clothesline rope, and they couldn't figure out how to make a sun shade with them. There were two raggedy small tree/shrubs in their campsite, but too far apart to use the rope. The woman comes back and stands watching them, hands on her hips. She looks over at me and rolls her eyes. She marches up to them, picks up the rope and demands her brother's SAK. She pulls up the corkscrew, screws it into the trunk of the nearest shrub, ties one end of the rope to it, stretches it over to the car, and ties it to the inside of the car door. Then she mimes putting the tarp over the rope.

Corkscrew = anchor, when you haven't got an eyebolt handy.

Sue

Well, sure, I mean, yeah... you could do that way. But, you know, it's not how they were going to do it. The right way requires planning, prepartion, a schedule, parts list, preliminary design, maybe a prototype, then...

You forgot the most important .... What colour?

If you see me, it wont be next year <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
But I maybe overthere the year after that <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Good point. Color is important. I think we also oughta consider canvas albedo, time of day, lattitude, prevailing wind direction, relative humidity, terrain gradient, soil type, local topography, rope composition and condition, shrub / bush species, age and health (to determine suitablility as temporary anchor point), likely duration of stay, etc.

Civilians think this stuff is easy. Kids, do not try this at home. We're professionals.

Yes, but with the Moon in Aquarius and the Sun Opposing Mars, not to mention Venus waning Jupiter, Is now the right time to be constructing a shelter like this anyway? <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

ref: wine bottle - after tiring yourself out searching for a corkscrew, you could always push the cork into the bottle..... and if you are too sophisticated to leave the cork in then get some string of a reasonable diameter, tie a knot in the end, push it into the bottle, get the string under the cork and when you pull the string make sure the knot is behind the cork. Pull the string hard til the cork is pulled out of the bottle. If you are not sure how this is done, please feel free to bring any unopened bottles to my house and i shall demonstrate how it is done. Then you can practice until you have mastered this technique OR until we cannot focus on the bottles due to the imbibing of the contents.
Garlic press??? In the absence of this implement use a homemade pestle & mortar from the surrounding rocks & stones in the mentioned desert (unless you happen to be in a rock free desert, in which case just flatten the garlic bulbs with the flat of your trusty blade)
If anyone else has any problems, please feel free to ask. Now that I watch daytime TV, I can probably find a fix for just about anything............ Oh god someone help me...where's the off button, Good Morning is just starting.....goodbye cruel world

I have carried a SAK with a corkscrew for years.

While the best use is to get the cork out of a wine bottle, it is also handy for getting knots out of paracord, small rope or fishing line.

I have a Gerber, a Buck and an older Leatherman PST.

I still like the old Leatherman PST better than any of the "improved" versions.

I think the point for Leatherman, Gerber, et al is to keep coming out with new models so folks like us will keep buying "upgrades".

I own an old Wave and I like it, but, there is something I miss a lot and is an awl. Instead of so many flat screwdrivers, they could have one less and incorporate an awl.

That's my only beef with the Wave and Charge; it needs an awl! <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Now see, you're missing the Leatherman's point _again_. Time is just a construct, a figment if you will. Now? Ooops. Now passed. See?

"What time is it?"

"... I dunno... It keeps changing."


<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

A Leatherman isn't just a survival tool.

I don't drink wine often either, but I wanted a multitool with a corkscrew because if I ever did go camping with wine-drinking people, it'd kill me to take a multitool and a corkscrew as well. It'd be like taking a multitool and a set of screwdrivers.

By the way, the Juice range are a bit flimsy. I have the Xe6 and the Cs4; I found the former a bit too big for casual carry. The Cs4 has a good selection of tools and a better size and weight, but it definitely feels like a compromise compared to real tools (or even a bigger multitool such as the Swiss Tool).

Thats why there is a Leatherman on my belt, but a Victorinox in my back of tricks.

Bag of tricks? What else have you got in there? C'mon... dump it out right here and let's have a look...

<img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I passed on a wave and purchased a SOG power lock at wally world for $50. and am very pleased with it. I feel the SOG is very underated and I seldom see anything much mentioned about them.

Regards,
Dreadnought

A lot? LOL

The bag of tricks has been here before, but it has changed a little, so why not? It is a SpecOps Pack-Rat that gets dropped into whatever bag or pack I have for the day, along with a water bottle.

-SAK, not sure of the model
-Leatherman Squirt EL
-Minimaglite, fiber optic adaptor
-Garrety electronic lightstick, red
-DocAllen VersaTool, w/ about 2 dozen bits and a dozen sockets
-micro needle file set
-precision screw driver set, with added 1/16" drill bit
-pin vise drill set w/ a sewing machine needle for a sewing awl, 2 normal sewing needles
-black and white thread rapped around bits of carboard, a couple of buttons, large and small safety pins
-zip ties in various sizes and colors
-twist ties
-6 AAs, 4 AAAs, 2 CR123s, spare Maglite Solitaire bulb, spare Streamlight TwinTask 1L bulb
-bandaids, alcohal wipes, 2x2 pads
-red, black electrician's tape wrapped around tube with jumpers, drive and case screws
-duct tape rewound around popsicle stick
-diagnal wire cutters
-insulated electrical wire, various colors, gauges and lengths, spare resistors and other similiar flotsam
-rubber bands
-paper clips
-5 small binder clips
-bic lighter
-5x24" paracord core lines
-24" gutted paracord
-6' ungutted paracord
-aluminum foil, folded flat and tight
-zipper bags, 2x3, 3x4, sandwich sizes, one gallon size (to put packrat into in heavy wet)
-2 mini keychain biners
-shoulder strap of 3 doubled 12" lengths of paracord (nice flat braid, very comfy)
-TI-83 calculator, 4 laminated notecards with reminders on the advanced functions
-p-38 can opener
-1x2 post-its
-3 black, 2 red, 1 green, 1 blue stick pens
-2 automatic pencils, spare erasers and leads
-pencil sharpener, 3 unsharpened pencils, cut down
-block eraser
-phone card
-tylenol, 2 pairs disposable ear plugs
-notebook, 5x7 spiral bound
-256mb thumbdrive w/ applications and recover data
-128mb thumbdrive w/ personal data
-6' mini tape measure
-protractor
-black mini sharpie
-black dry erase marker
-KNOPPIX CD
-blank CD

in an emergency, the TI-83 comes out, obviously, for some granola bars or something. I will be adding an AOL tin with matches, fishline and hooks, snare wire, some other items.

I also stick in things like a flat nylon webbing sling with double adjust buckles, laser pointer, digital recorder, various forms of digital media (CF, SD) and the readers, USB extensions, cross over CAT5, et al., depending on how the day looks.

And the outside pockets don't get used normally, so whatever might end up in by the end of the week is up to the fates. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I'm also thinking about picking up some Annex clips, and having the option of adding small pouches, particularly if I know I'm going to running it on the shoulder all day and using the webbing sling.

I'm a long time SOG Paratool user - I have always been very satisfied with it as my sole multi-tool (though alas, no corkscrew) - my favorite feature is that it is field serviceable with the pair of tiny optional SOG wrenches that fit right in it's pouch - you can also use them to swap out optional blades.

(I tried a Wave once and found it too flimsy, and especially disliked their proprietary assembly screws - you can't even tweak it at home...)

I'll bet they didn't even check the Farmer's Almanac <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

I was in a rock free PE class in jr. high. The teacher was Baptist and thought rock was the devil's work, so all we could listen to during roller skating was Kenny Rogers <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Here's my line of thinking: My wife often resists my preparing efforts. I'm gently introducing things into her purse; a small Garrity LED, an Altoids tin with assorted band aids, first aid cleansing wipes and Shout wipes (very important with two small children) and I'd like to get her used to the idea of a multitool. I am thinking specifically of the Juice S2. Why? Because it is orange.

I remember the thread a couple of months ago where someone asked for reasons he could present to his wife to convince her to EDC a knife. One post talked about some women being more open to something if there was a cuteness factor involved. My wife is very passionate about the color orange. I think I will have much more success convincing her to carry it if she likes the look of it.

My question about the tarp shelter builders is, why didn't they use the SAK to whittle tent poles to suspend the tarp from?

There is an orange glow in the dark paint designed for gun sights, called Ghost Glow.
Try eBay, the seller "thegunstore" sells it.

Think of all the points you can score if things are orange, even with the lights out <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> .... (insert imagination here)

this thread has ventured far afield of it's original point which is as lost in the wilderness as I am now............

I've had a SOG powerpliers since the early 90's (bought it at Bisley,back when we could own pistols) and its proven itself to be tough and reliable. its given me sterling service over the years and stood up to some terrible abuse. a few scratches and a main blade a bit worn after years of sharpening but still going strong.I would'nt be without it.

The orignal Leatherman was innovative. If you can USE and keep a Leatherman from bending or breaking after a few months, keep it. The best thing to come from Leatherman was the idea of the multitool. It took SOG, Gerber and Victorinox to make it a sturdy, reliable item! I will say it again, I have owned 5 Leatherman tools, all but one broke on limited use. The one intact has never been used for anything except to fill drawer space. Leatherman could design a titanium tool with gold inlay and a geiger counter, I will never own another one!! Oh, and if I have a cork in a bottle that I want out, I will get it out, corkscrew or no corkscrew. It may never go back in, but hey just drink faster:)

To bring this back post back to the point.....I have been a long time gerber tool fan........back from when the first tool was simply called the gerber multi tool, and there was only one model of it. Recently though i have added to my collection a new black leatherman charge ti. Thus far have put this tool throught the mill and it has proven itself a very reliable and sturdy tool. I seen leatherman tools in the past and i tool thought that they were cheap compared to other brands until this new charge came out. For some personal recommendations/personally owned/carried (EDC) models, i like the basic gerber tool, with standard pliers, the compact scout has a needle nose head, but its a very compact, sturdy tool that has proven itself very useful, the leatherman micra is a great little pocket tool..........its a part of my EDC keychain, and finally the new leatherman charge ti (black edition). As agreed with many of the previous posts, i too still love a basic SAK. They are still hard to beat for their specialty tools as well as basic functions and compact size. And hey they are "MacGyver" approved as well!!

Wow.

Ok. That's a Bag of Tricks. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

JUst added a Craftsman fingerdriver for 1/4" bits- better than the VersaDriver or the 1/4" extension with the PcoketWrench I carry with my Leatheramn for very tight locations.

Yeah, my poor Pack-Rat is going to get a belly ache one of these days.

Why the ear plugs , am i missing something <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> or just
being dumb ?

mike

With total disregard for the original thread subject. I know I carry ear plugs for a couple of scenerios.

1)when I fly, I am always seated in the psycotically crying baby section...earplugs keep me out of jail

2) I visted San Fransico for a seminar...wouldn't you know it, the hotel workers were on strike. (I am pro-union)...however I was on offical business and I could not move...(plus I would have just been moving to a non-union hotel anyway). Well I guess one of strike tactics is to BANG-BILLBOARDS TOGETHER until 11:00 pm. which is fine unless you are on East Coast time. Once again ear-plugs kept me out of jail.

3) when you just want peace and quite...and you don't want to go to jail.

Day to day, ear plugs are nice when I have to spend any time in a server room. Some of the new Dell rackmount servers develop thrust, I think. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Loud, anyway. And a whole room full of 'em... yikes.

I always wear a pair when I mow the yard. I'll put 'em to do any hammering or banging I need to do. When I was younger, and cared to go, I'd always wear 'em at concerts to (get this) hear the music better! I don't know why, exactly, although my guess is that at really loud volume levels our ears aren't as sensitive to the differences in frequencies. All I know is that, with the plugs in, the music sounded better.

You never know when you'll be in a dangerous acoustic environment. We talk about goggles for our eyes, a dust mask for our lungs, gloves for our hands... why not throw in a pair (they take zero space) of ear plugs?

1- Might get stranded with the wife <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
2- After use, they can be used as mini survival candles after collecting wax from the ears <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Ok. Ewww.

<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Oh yeah. Server room sucks loud.

So does a water and sprinkler system that carries EVERYONE's music through the building, and all you want is for the headache to stop

The reason for it was not for wine bottles, but for water bottles... At the time, water came in bottles with corks!!!

Believe me, once I got stuck with only a SwissTool.
In the evening one of the kids came with a bottle of wine and no cork screw around- We managed to somehow open that bottle before starting to climb on the walls, but since then, I sweared to never get caught without my Wenger in my pocket.

There was one Leatherman with a cork screw, but is discontinued now.

No worries here: not a fan of Leatherman anyway

Cheers Biggzie i'll EDC a pair from now on.The stranded scenario is the clincher. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
The candle idea is just a bit to gross <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

> There was one Leatherman with a cork screw, but is discontinued now.

The Leatherman Juice Cs2, Cs4 and Xe6 all have corkscrews and are not discontinued.

Just got to thinkin' about another blade that is fading into obsolescence is the bottle opener - how many non-twist-off caps are there anymore?

(Even the can opener - one of my faves is starting to fade with all the alternative packaging - eg: tuna foil pouch)...

Becks still requires a bottle opener, as do several other imports.

Yea, for the most part the cork screw, bottle opener, and can opener are quickly becoming things of the past here in the states. However, it seems every multi-tool or SAK has them. If I could I would get rid of them.

All I really need in a multi-tool is pliers (with wire cutters), a blade, file, saw, extra small/med/large flat screwdrivers (flat works for philips), a true awl, and scissors. I wouldn't mind a regular 1/4 style bit changer either since a lot of stuff today uses Torx, Allen, Robertson, ect.

All I really need in a multi-tool is pliers (with wire cutters), a blade, file, saw, extra small/med/large flat screwdrivers (flat works for philips), a true awl, and scissors. I wouldn't mind a regular 1/4 style bit changer either since a lit of stuff today uses Torx, Allen robertson etc

I think you hit the nail on the head there, most if not all multi tools/knives come with one or more obsolite attachments.Perhaps the forum could come up with the ULTIMATE multitool SAK as designed us <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
Just for fun of course <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> ( although some forward thinking company may just take it seriously)
Mike

Even some good domestics still require the use of an opener.

Adam

The only problem with ditching the can opener is when it is needed it is the only tool for the job.
Are you going to open a can with a knife? Not very practical or safe although I would like to here any stories about opening a can without a can opener.
<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

pliers work just fine for that application

"All I really need in a multi-tool is pliers (with wire cutters), a blade, file, saw, extra small/med/large flat screwdrivers (flat works for philips), a true awl, and scissors. I wouldn't mind a regular 1/4 style bit changer either since a lot of stuff today uses Torx, Allen, Robertson, ect."

My dream version would differ only by keeping the dedicated Philips, ditching all but one flathead screwdriver, and adding some tweezers. A Juice-size version with decent blade steel and I'd be pulling out my wallet right now.

Regards, Vince

A good combat knife, like the military KaBar will do just fine.

I can see it now...Doug Ritter, in collaboration with Leatherman, presents: The ETS Special Edition Multi Tool...available in several sizes of course, to accomodate different preferences.

More royalties for the Foundation <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

lazermonkey,

Guilty! <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

When I was in the army in the 1980s we got C-rations. They had food in cans. I had a small Buck 503 folding knife I kept in my pocket. I would start by stabbing the top of the can by the rim. Then I used a push-rock motion to open the can the rest of the way. It left sharp jagged edges. It was hell on the plastic spoons and forks they gave us. Other than that it worked OK. I don't know that it hurt my knife any. Needed sharpening a little sooner.

When my father used to work laying pipe sometimes they would bring canned soup and such to the jobsite. No one ever had a can opener, so often they would use whatever was in reach. Screwdrivers, knives, pick-axe, almost anything that could stab a hole in the top and pry the metal worked fine enough. I do think they lost a couple cans trying to use the bull dozer to open them though. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Or a non for profit foundation dedicated to preparedness, emergency and survival related issues could have there logo on the side as another money raising idea. (right Doug)

Another reason that some of us like the extra supposedly useless implements is that they can often be used in a way that they were not designed and still get the job done.

Obsolete?

Cans are easier to get than the ever touted wet packed or dehydrated food. I can get them any time, any place, and it is more efficent and safer to use a proper can opener than a knife blade.

Bottle caps are still popular around the world, more so than they are in the US. Slowly we are forcing the twist top upon the globe, but they are just as reusable, and better for long term storage, than twist topped plastic bottles. Stocking up on the caps is easy, compact, and the hand crimpers are easy to use. Give me a bottle opener that doesn't really mangle the caps- you can reform them if the aren't too beat. Also, I find the Vic bottle opener a handy mini pry bar in an emergency.

And the corckscrew is limited by your imagination alone.

Then again, the M-1 Garand, the slide rule, and horses are obsolete to most people. Just like real compasses, wool socks, and a cast iron dutch oven. Or the backsword, the sailed boat, and wine in something other than a box.

Obsolete is a state of mind on the part of the user, not on the part of tool.

That being said, a Vic Huntsman partnered with something like the Mini-Leatherman modified to have a 1/4 hex holder and wire stripping notches would be very, very spiffy. Add a mini Ka-Bar and I'm a happy man.

"My question about the tarp shelter builders is, why didn't they use the SAK to whittle tent poles to suspend the tarp from?"

Watching them work, I assumed the SAK had been a recent gift. They were so inept that I was surprised that they managed to get hold of a rope AND a tarp. I won't even go into their methods of trying to start a fire... (but it was funny!).

Sue

Come on, Sue, we need some comedy in our lives. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

*trying to give Sue the puppy face, forgets that he's built like a rhino*

Maybe not a SAK, but I want a multitool with no blade, just tools. I carry enough knives to choke a horse as it is.

Come on Doug...

I liked my original that I bought when they came out many years ago. I sent it back for repair last year and they just replaced it. I do not like the new version.


I guess I’m not most people. That’s good I think! Cooking in the dutch oven (2) for my son’s birthday party this weekend.


I agree to that. The old Gerber Multitool allowed you to replace the accessories with an allen wrench. In the beginning of its run I think you were able to get the parts and was able to change them out. (Can’t remember for sure though.)

I do carry a Leatherman Micra and it has come in handy. Thought about getting a Leatherman. Don’t know which I would get though

SOG's can have their tools changed out but I don't know if there is enough things out for it to replace the blades.

Bravo sir
you managed to deduce from my comment on multitool/SAK canopeners that i drink my wine from a cardboard box, never use canned goods, hate real compasses and don't wear woolen socks. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />
An amazing feat of deduction worthy of Sherlock Holmes himself <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I'm happy to say that my children are growing up knowing the pleasures of riding and caring for horses. We have three of them, which is pretty rare this close to Chicago, but my wife is a horse fanatic (much like me and camping/survival).

Not having grown up around horses, I'm amazed at how much personality they have. I do wish they'd learn to poop directly on top of the manure pile though. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Anybody need some horse manure???

Back somewhat on topic ... I'm currently somewhat surprised that I find myself leaning away from carrying my LM Charge Ti toward carrying a SAK. The LM is just too heavy to carry around.

Yeah. Contact these guys Vermi-Wonder. They'd be happy to have it. You may have to ship it though <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Part of why I like the LM is becuase you CAN'T swap tools.

*waits for the gasps to be done*

If it a modular tool, the module holding module will be the first module to break, in my experince. The only modular things I own are ALICE and MOLLE based gear, and some screwdrivers with the little interchangable bits. Everything else, solid.

Agreed, sometimes NOT being able to screw with something is a good thing too.

I just want tools in a multitool though. I want my cake and to eat it too.

A multi tool "customized" for the customer, giving choices as to what the buyer wants.

"In this place, you can chose from a), b), c) or d). Here, you can chose from e) or f). Right here, from g) h), i) or j); if you don't want a corkscrew at all, you have the additional choices of k) or l)."

Sue

It shouldn't be terribly hard to do. A menu like this:

Please choose your multitool functions:

1. Pliers: a. Needlenose b. standard c. shears
2. Left side slot 1
3. Left side slot 2
etc.

Then the factory assembles the tool, and you pay an extra $50 or so for a "custom" multitool. Assuming they had the tools I'd want, I'd jump on something like this.

I think you may have something there. I'd certaintly pay a premium to get what I want.

Regards, Vince

Gerber did that for a while. You used to be able to pick the color you wanted, the pliers type, and what tools you wanted in each side (based on different tool packages). I wonder why they stopped? <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

They were probably getting too much flak about the color being a cheap paint coating instead of something more durable.

I prefer the SOG Multi-tool, because it offers a chisel and ratcheting plier-wirecutter. I can always just bore out a cork with the knife blade.