Multitool: redone

[J.Warsoff]

Hello again. i deleted the last thread on this because of the unessacary debating going on in it. Time to get past that and do it simpler.

Anyways, I've narrowed my choices to these multi tools:

-Leatherman Fuse (if i dont need the knife, i can also get a knifeless version)
-Leatherman Blast
-Leatherman PS4

Which one of these would be the best one for mainly electrical but also mechanical work? If there is another one you would suggest in the low to mid price ranges, I'm all ear (or fingers, since this is the Internet)

[ChuckDickerson]

Well since I was in the middle of replying to the last thread when you deleted it here is what I had to say (may be irrelevant now but anyway):

I have a Leatherman Wave in black oxide. I like it and think it is a quality tool. I like the fact that it has 2 knife blades. One is serrated and the other isn't. They both open from the outside rather than having to open the pliers up to get to a knife inside. You can also get a bit kit (flat, Phillips, hex, etc.) for it that is handy. If you are interested in a Wave note that there are a few different models. Stainless vs. black, one with a blasting cap crimper made for EOD, and models with scissors vs. seat belt cutter.

What I would REALLY like is a multi-tool like a Leatherman Wave but with dikes rather than the needle nose pliers. Needle nose pliers are fine and all but I seem to need to cut things like wire and zip-ties more often than I need to pinch things with the pliers. Maybe that's just me. If anyone knows of a good quality multi-tool geared specifically toward electrical/electronics work with dikes, crimpers, and wire strippers please let me know. I've looked for years and never found exactly what I have in mind.

As far as the whole issue of having a knife at school: I am old school. Every guy I knew in high school had a knife in his pocket and during hunting season had at least one rifle or shotgun in his truck in the school parking lot. This was never an issue other than the day the vice-president visited our school and the Secret Service told the Principle to tell everyone to leave their "weapons" at home. Times are different now I guess. My point is a knife is a tool not a weapon. It can be used as a weapon but so can a baseball bat, but schools still have baseball teams. I'm fairly certain you must have access to other tools like screwdrivers, hammers, and other knife blades wherever you build your robot that could be used as a weapon. I wouldn't limit your choices to only multi-tools that don't have a knife blade. If this is a problem at your school just remove the blade. If nothing else you can get some practice with an angle grinder.

[J.Warsoff]

woops my bad man. haha. but yea the black oxide ones are cool. i also added the Fuse Black Oxide edition to the list

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by DeepWater

Every guy I knew in high school had a knife in his pocket and during hunting season had at least one rifle or shotgun in his truck in the school parking lot. This was never an issue other than the day the vice-president visited our school and the Secret Service told the Principle to tell everyone to leave their "weapons" at home. Times are different now I guess.

Yup... I'm not old enough to have experienced it but I know that in some places you can have a gun in your vehicle during hunting season. You know it is ridiculous when, in college, you can't keep your shotgun in the car for skeet shooting if you are on campus despite there being an active skeet shooting club paid for by the university... Stupid zero tolerance.

[PAR_WIG1350]

I have a Victorinox Cybertool 41 and I love it. Its worth it even if you just get it for the screwdrivers. It has eight interchangeable bits and if you remove the bit from the main screwdriver, it functions as two sizes of nut driver, the bottle opener has a large slotted head driver integrated into it and the can opener has a small slotted head, there is an even smaller slotted head on the other side of the tool, and there is a removable screwdriver for eyeglasses.

t also has a chisel (the kind that you push, not the kind you use with a hammer) which is great for cutting the traces on PCBs. It has a great metal/wood file that I use all the time and what is supposed to be a metal saw, but I only use it for thin wood and plastic since it is really just a skinny file and would take forever to cut through metal, but it is great for expanding holes in all three materials. The pliers, crimper, wire cutter, and stripper were designed for thin wire and lack the capacity/leverage for large jobs, but this is the only drawback I have found and the construction is solid.

Unfortunately, Victorinox seems to have stopped producing the multitool in favor of the smaller multitools from the Cybertool series which lack the files and some other tools, but the 41 is still available from some sources. Most of them seem to have raised the price since they stopped producing it, but if you can find it for a reasonable price, It is a great multitool.

[J.Warsoff]

Originally Posted by PAR_WIG1350

I have a Victorinox Cybertool 41 and I love it. Its worth it even if you just get it for the screwdrivers. It has eight interchangeable bits and if you remove the bit from the main screwdriver, it functions as two sizes of nut driver, the bottle opener has a large slotted head driver integrated into it and the can opener has a small slotted head, there is an even smaller slotted head on the other side of the tool, and there is a removable screwdriver for eyeglasses.

t also has a chisel (the kind that you push, not the kind you use with a hammer) which is great for cutting the traces on PCBs. It has a great metal/wood file that I use all the time and what is supposed to be a metal saw, but I only use it for thin wood and plastic since it is really just a skinny file and would take forever to cut through metal, but it is great for expanding holes in all three materials. The pliers, crimper, wire cutter, and stripper were designed for thin wire and lack the capacity/leverage for large jobs, but this is the only drawback I have found and the construction is solid.

Unfortunately, Victorinox seems to have stopped producing the multitool in favor of the smaller multitools from the Cybertool series which lack the files and some other tools, but the 41 is still available from some sources. Most of them seem to have raised the price since they stopped producing it, but if you can find it for a reasonable price, It is a great multitool.

It looks nice, but not what im looking for exactly. the cybertol is more o a swiss army knife, and im looking for a folding multitool like Leatherman. thanks for the suggestion though

[PAR_WIG1350]

Originally Posted by Aerosound

It looks nice, but not what im looking for exactly. the cybertol is more o a swiss army knife, and im looking for a folding multitool like Leatherman. thanks for the suggestion though

Then I recommend a Gerber tool, some even have replaceable blades on the wire cutters. I recommend this due to the reasonable price and locking blades (I've had a bad experience with non-locking blades, not from this company, but it's not a bad feature to have).

[J.Warsoff]

Im not a big Gerber fan. Anyways, i found a place where I can get either a Fuse or a Blast with a cap crimper for under 50 bucks, which is perfect.

[Chris is me]

Get the kinfeless one if you're a student.

[Karibou]

I've had a Blast for about 3 years, and I love it. It's been fantastic for most on-the-fly work, mostly mechanical. I've used it to put on masterlinks and cut zip ties, and many things in betwen. Keep in mind that a multitool will never do as good of a job as the real tools.

I don't do much electrical work at all, but it does an adequate job of cutting and stripping small wires (but you REALLY want to use proper tools for that unless you're desperate). Is there any specific electrical things that you think you would use it for?

With the topic of knives in schools...I can't exactly encourage you to break whatever rule your school has in place (assuming you're using it there, or that your team is based out of a school, or that this is even relevant), but that's your decision to make based on whether or not you want to break rules and how much the school enforces the policy.

[GCentola]

This post has inspired me to consider getting my own! Im thinking about the Leatherman Blast!

[Mk.32]

Yeah this post also got me thinking...
But in my limited experiences with Multitools (mostly really cheap ones..) they are convenient but it is usually better just to get the single purpose tool for the job...
Though the convenience is nice...

[J.Warsoff]

Originally Posted by Karibou

I've had a Blast for about 3 years, and I love it. It's been fantastic for most on-the-fly work, mostly mechanical. I've used it to put on masterlinks and cut zip ties, and many things in betwen. Keep in mind that a multitool will never do as good of a job as the real tools.

I don't do much electrical work at all, but it does an adequate job of cutting and stripping small wires (but you REALLY want to use proper tools for that unless you're desperate). Is there any specific electrical things that you think you would use it for?

With the topic of knives in schools...I can't exactly encourage you to break whatever rule your school has in place (assuming you're using it there, or that your team is based out of a school, or that this is even relevant), but that's your decision to make based on whether or not you want to break rules and how much the school enforces the policy.

Well actually, since robotics takes place afterschool, and the fact that we work in an autoshop, the knife rule does not totally apply. A bunch of my friends on the team have multitools and use it during robotics.

[J.Warsoff]

About the school rules everyone, basically, kids on the robotics teams are allowed to have multitools and such during robotics sessions afterschool. We may work in a school, but it's an autoshop, which is basically filled with knives and dangerous tools.

All I'm saying is that I'm not worried about having the multitool during robotics, because the knife rules don't apply afterschool during robotics for our team.

[Karibou]

Originally Posted by Aerosound

Well actually, since robotics takes place afterschool, and the fact that we work in an autoshop, the knife rule does not totally apply. A bunch of my friends on the team have multitools and use it during robotics.

If you have no need to worry about rules, then get the one with the knife. It's useful, since the scissors aren't always the greatest.

That being said, remember not to bring the tool to school during school hours