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It’s good to see SOG staying in the multi tool game by teaming up with Paladin Tools, a large producer of professional-quality electrical and telecommunications tools. As the general-purpose multi tool market becomes more and more saturated, I believe manufacturers will begin to target these specialty niche markets in order to sell their products.
The PowerPlay PT-510 is largely based upon SOG’s Pocket PowerPlier model S44. The handles and plier jaws are the same size, but there have been some improvements, along with a few special features for electrical/datacom work.
If you’ve never handled any of the Squirt tools by Leatherman, think of them as a cross between a Juice and a Micra. The handles have brightly colored aluminum scales, with outside opening blades, like the Juice family of tools. But the Squirt is small, like a Micra, and uses the same type of “spring-loaded” jaws as a Micra.
Leatherman continues to dominate the multitool market; this is due in part by two things, advertising not only to its pre-existing customer base but to the newcomers as well and most importantly it’s the drive to continually innovate on the designs of their tools, Leatherman is constantly refining and changing the shape of the tools themselves and how the public as a whole views them. I believe most of Leatherman’s success is just the shear dominance of name brand, they pioneered the market and ever since 9/11 they have become more common place as they are more appealing to the public than a regular pocket knife.
I got this because of the outside opening blade, I thought it could replace my EDC knife only to find it was nigh on impossible to open the blade one handed, the blade looks as though it was stamped out from a sheet and the finger holes are beveled in so my finger could not get a grip secure enough for me to open the blades. I got out the trusty Dremmel and put some cross hatching on the blade above the finger holes and it is now possible to open the tools one handed, when you get the outer blades half open it releases the lock of the inside tool and it too can then be opened easily.
I bought this to replace my first Gerber that was the one of the first models Gerber made that nipped your hand if you were not careful how you used it. I gave that one to one of my sons who still uses it in case he has adjustments to make on his bike while out riding.
I have owned this Tool for over 2 months now and apart from one item I can find no fault with it and it has become my EDC along with the 600 that is soon to be modified to make it more useful for my needs. First the criticism the tin opener is a joke, it is far too short for it’s job, in fact it can hardly look over the top of a can to use it for puncturing a can just to get a start at opening it. The Philips screw driver is made out of the same gauge steel as the one on the Recoil and the Diesel, Gerber have made a bit adapter to fit, so all three can use any ¼” bit including the Leatherman bits and those long double ended bits if you need get in to a deeply embedded screw. I am guessing it will hold the bit magnetically like the standard one now does so the long ones should hold fast, I will be getting the bit holder ASP so will let you all know.
When you first see this tool, all you can think of it “wow.” This is one of the most massive multitools you are likely to encounter in life and that’s something you will be glad for! Based on the 120mm Ranger Series Wengers, the SwissGrip is likely to be one of the most effective plier tools available.
Rather than add to the existing Juice Series Review already posted here I decided that the KF4 was a standout enough tool to warrant it’s own article. Besides, as a discontinued model (the only discontinued Juice model) it really is in a class of it’s own.
When you ask someone to describe what a multitool looks like, most individuals will say Leatherman. Rather than trying to put into words what one looks like, Leatherman has branded the name multitool as the brand; similar to what other companies have done to their products e.g.. Kleenex , Goodyear etc. So the look of most multitools are the same, a pair of pliers where the handles pivot and hide the various tools that the multitool contains. Things were not always like this, there are many brands and designs that predate those made by Leatherman. The original multitool was a traditional style slip-joint pocket knife (similar to what your grandfather carries) and they incorporated a pair of pliers, fixed to the body of the handle. Unlike the small pliers you find on Swiss Army knives, this gave the user a more pocket friendly tool with the power of real pliers.
When I first saw a Juice Polycarbonate sheath I wasn't too sure about it. I thought it might be to easy to lose or scratch the Juice you were carrying. I've carried my Xe6 with it for a couple of weeks and had no problems. Because the tool locks into place with no button snaps it makes it easy to just grab and pull out. I picked up a Cs4 the other day and tried it out it locks into place fine but because the Cs4 is a thinner tool than the Xe6 it doesn't seem to rest in the sheath as good. It's not that much of a problem for me because I got my Cs4 for pocket carrying duties anyway.
When I first saw pictures of the Buck X-Tract I thought it was a cool looking tool but wasn't sure how well it would be. Then when I found out it was selling for just around $30 on most knife and tool sites I thought I would take the risk and get one.
Hi everybody! I may be a new guy but I've been around various forums for years, so what better way to intro myself than my first review?
Overall thoughts; Gee whiz is this thing B I G!!!! Here it is next to my ol' Buck tool
I recently had an opportunity to try out Leatherman’s removable hex bit driver. A friend of mine who works in the cable TV business had bought the adapter kit a few weeks ago. He encounters a variety of Torx and hex fasteners in his job, and figured this would be the best way to adapt his Leatherman Blast to the task.
Well it's been 5 years and many, many miles this tool has been traveling on my side and this is a update of sorts on how it's been holding up.
What kind of people would write collect and review multitools? Quite simple really- we are designers and do-ers, outdoors types and indoor types, mechanics, doctors, problem solvers and problem makers. As such, we have, as a world spanning community, put every type, size and version of multitool, multifunction knife, pocket knife and all related products to every test we could manage in as many places and environments as there are.