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Multitools comes in a vast variety of shapes and sizes and certainly have had a lot of changes to them since the first Leatherman was issued. In spite of all those changes the general look and functionality hasn't deviated much. Tools are usually clumped into two categories; Swiss Army style or plier based which is what most people associate with.
Back in the golden age of multitools; we'll say late 90s early 2000s there was a lot of manufacturers getting in on the game. Everyone from Buck to Kershaw was producing a multitool and some of the designs were very forward thinking. Schrade cutlery was one of those companies and they produced what they called the Tough tools. Both the Tough Tool and the Tough Chip did well for the company and we're proudly made in the USA.
Schrade had some financial struggles and was purchased by Taylor Brands LLC back in 2004. Taylor kept a lot of the lines alive that Schrade had such as Old Timer and Uncle Henry. Manufacturing was moved overseas and we saw quality control take a dip. Schrade continued to manufacture the Tough Tools but they don't have the durability of the once famed brand.
In the first quarter of 2016 Schrade brought some new products to the market which included some multitools. One of those new tools was the Schrade ST11. The ST11 or Schrade Tough Tool Multitool; is an interesting new take on an old design.
We all saw Gerber's marketing surrounding the release of the Center-Drive, and amongst the images of tattooed craftsmen re-imagining old world techniques and blending in modern technology, we saw the Center-Drive compared to both the Wave and the OHT. While Gerber's marketing may have been over the top, I don't think it was any worse than Leatherman showing soldiers carrying the OHT, despite the OHT never having been issues to troops anywhere, despite it having been designed specifically to try an usurp Gerber's hold on sliding head plier tool contracts with the military.
I guess what I am saying, is that when you cut out the marketer bullpoo and actually concentrate on the tools themselves, which one is better? Are they both hype, or are they both on the level? Or, one of each?
Earlier this week Leatherman Tool Group's legal department issued a Cease and Desist letter to the popular tool modification company Texas Tool Crafters regarding the use of Leatherman trademarks. We do not know the exact content of the letter, however there are several issues being speculated on.
Like all the major manufacturers, Leatherman has an exceptional warranty- at least in the USA. Recent issues in the Philippines has brought to light some concerns about Warranty Services outside of the US, and may be of interest to many of our international readers- and a warning to US readers as well, as it brings to light an interesting point that you may not have considered.
You often see those silly little folding shovels from Gerber and SOG, the generic cheapos in Army Surplus stores and eBay and you wonder just how good they are? I mean they are probably okay in sand and soft dirt, but really, what good are they when things get hard? And yes, I mean hard, not difficult. Specifically, I mean rock hard, packed down, super frozen ice. The kind that starts as water (duh) then freezes, then has a huge weight placed on top of it, is occasionally warmed up slightly and refrozen until it is as dense as it can possibly get. In Canada we call it simply "winter."
There are a lot of things in life that I don't like and I could easily fill volumes of books with my complaining about things in general and with alarming specificity. I really could, as evidenced by the fact that this website has completely grown from my ability to complain about things and tell the world what I like and, more often what I don't like.
It has been too long since we did anything, and so we decided today to get out and enjoy the fresh snow. We ended up hiking the Sugarbush Trail in Gantineau Park, a huge woodland park not far from where we live. It wasn't a long trail, so we ended up doing a couple of loops for the fun of it. I had some trepidation from the get go because of a very serious health concern.
It seems to be generally agreed that Leatherman's offerings from SHOT this year are somewhat lacking given the recent excitement of Gerber's Center-Drive and SOG's entire new multitool lineup. Their response is basically simplified versions of what they have been producing for years.
The 2017 SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting and Outdoors Tradeshow) is just about over now and we have seen just about all that was announced there, and in case you have missed some of it on our forum, here's a bit of a recap!
We've seen the 3rd Generation Micro Tool Clip that was released early, we've seen the SYNC II that SOG allowed us to announce, and we've seen leaked photos from the new catalog- now be prepared to see all 54 full color pages of the entire 2017 catalog in this official release from SOG!
2017 is here and with it comes a desire to know what day it is- and now you can do that with our Multitool.org 2017 Calendar featuring photos from our members!
Are you getting tired of all the hoopla surrounding the Gerber Center-Drive yet? I hope not, because we have more Center-Drive news! Following the great showing the Center-Drive had during the 2016 Multitool.org Multitool Of The Year we decided to kick it up another notch!
It is that time again- time to have your say and make your voice heard! I know many of the readers out there may be sick of voting by now, but trust me, this time it's something important! It's the Official 2016 Multitool.org Multitool Of The Year Award, and we want you to help us choose the winner!
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.