Multi tools, huh! What are they good for?

[Pallet Fancier]

My local Go Outdoors is having a pre-renovation sale and lots of odd things are priced right down. I picked up a Leatherman for £50. It's my first ever multi tool (aside from that ancient Swiss Army I played around with as a kid). I'm ambiguous about them. I'm not a small holder or even an American rancher. I don't routinely wander a large tract of land and need something small and convenient always in my pocket: if I find a problem, my small patch of planet Earth is small enough that I go and get what I need. I have a specific tool bag for the "house", for instance. Do I need a multi tool? It's been years since I went camping and never used one, then... I hike a lot but have yet to feel the need for one when in the middle of a field or up a hill. I usually have a set of paramedics shears, the lightest set of combo pliers and cutters I can find and maybe a utility knife, but usually not. And my spork

And yet, I find myself increasingly interested in the designs and ideas and which combinations are best, so much so that the Youtube algorithm has noticed!

What am I missing? Is it like drugs (once you start, you can't stop)?

 

[Etaf]

What am I missing? Is it like drugs (once you start, you can't stop)?

Probably , i have a few
Leatherman
Stanley
other - cant remember

I do take then with me on holiday
1 is in the car all the time

And just purchased some E-bikes this week , so again will be with me on routes

i have used a few times

Legally as the Blades all lock on mine, I'm not sure i'm allowed to carry a locking knife

 

[Rhossydd]

It depends on what you do. I work in TV and my Leatherman Wave is never out of reach and gets used on just about every job. All the parts have been a 'get out of jail' tool at some time.
Yes, it's supplemented by a specialist tool kit for the bits a multi tool can't do, but it's a vital 'one stop shop' for my professional life.

 

[Vulcan]

Probably , i have a few
Leatherman
Stanley
other - cant remember

I do take then with me on holiday
1 is in the car all the time

And just purchased some E-bikes this week , so again will be with me on routes

i have used a few times

Legally as the Blades all lock on mine, I'm not sure i'm allowed to carry a locking knife

This is the problem, and whilst I’d like to carry one I don’t. I carry a SAK instead. All I really need most of the time is a blade and a pair of scissors but I’ve not found anything I like.

 

[Etaf]

whats a SAK, too late to look up

 

[Vulcan]

Apologies, it’s a Swiss Army Knife.

Edit: This is the one I normally carry but I have six or seven others with pliers, saws etc.

 

[Etaf]

cool

 

[Vulcan]

This is my personal favourite SAK. Sadly now discontinued. The pliers although small are surprisingly useful. As are the wood and metal saws.

 

[Etaf]

oh - i had one of those in the 70's i think - it had a tooth pick and tweezers , if i remember correctly

 

[TRITON]

Swiss mini champ.
I got each of my nephews one of these when they turned 16, basically as its a good keyring knife, and as a sign of trust.
And of course proving beyond reasonable doubt that this uncle gets the bestest of gifts.

8+ years down the line they're still in use.

Small but they contain a number of good attachments like fruit peeler, knife and scissors,bottle opener and even a pen. But not sure why Victorinox included a cocaine spoon.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I dislike SAKs as I never found that would hold its edge, and found most of the accoutrements useless. I was bought a Leatherman but I have no idea where it is now as I don't recall ever using it. I do however carry a very good quality illegal lock knife.

 

[ChaiLatte]

With all these multi-tools that poeple are showing, it is not clear to me if they take Starlock or OIS blades or where the blade attaches.

 

[HamsterJam]

At home we have a small toolkit in the kitchen drawer but we regularly hire narrowboats and my Leatherman always comes along too. Small enough to shove in a pocket and useful for fixing bits of boat that have worked loose, undoing covers on torches, remote controls etc to replace batteries and the like.

PS I like the Frankie reference in the title @Pallet Fancier

 

[Sideways]

I own a leatherman wave.
Actually my second, I gifted the first to a colleague overseas who admired it and wasn't in a position to buy one.
I find the wave a good size and the folded steel handles are more comfortable than many other bigger / earlier designs which matters if you need to squeeze hard with pliers.
The newer wave model has interchangeable screwdriver bits using a proprietary shape of bit holder.

I rarely use it in normal life. I'm not far from my toolkit at home, but if you are very limited in what you can carry, it is a compact toolkit. Most of all, I would routinely throw it in my hold baggage when travelling abroad for work. If I had some type of first responder job, I imagine I'd carry one and use it often enough to be picky about which one matched my needs best.

I have carried a penknife most of my life, I find I use a small blade daily, and for me, not quite like Phil above, the superb, original, Spyderco UK Penknife is the ultimate practical and ergonomic choice. One good, small blade gives me the most utility.
I would prefer it to lock. I curse the silly person lawmaker who rendered a shortsighted judgement. But with the UKPK I don't need to empty my pockets before leaving the house.

 

[paulrbarnard]

My local Go Outdoors is having a pre-renovation sale and lots of odd things are priced right down. I picked up a Leatherman for £50. It's my first ever multi tool (aside from that ancient Swiss Army I played around with as a kid). I'm ambiguous about them. I'm not a small holder or even an American rancher. I don't routinely wander a large tract of land and need something small and convenient always in my pocket: if I find a problem, my small patch of planet Earth is small enough that I go and get what I need. I have a specific tool bag for the "house", for instance. Do I need a multi tool? It's been years since I went camping and never used one, then... I hike a lot but have yet to feel the need for one when in the middle of a field or up a hill. I usually have a set of paramedics shears, the lightest set of combo pliers and cutters I can find and maybe a utility knife, but usually not. And my spork

And yet, I find myself increasingly interested in the designs and ideas and which combinations are best, so much so that the Youtube algorithm has noticed!

What am I missing? Is it like drugs (once you start, you can't stop)?

I like my GOAT as it’s customisable for different uses including bladeless. I also got a custom tool 3D metal printed to add to it.

 

[paulrbarnard]

The newer wave model has interchangeable screwdriver bits using a proprietary shape of bit holder.

That’s the custom holder I made for my GOAT tool. The flat bits are really nice.

 

[GuitardoctorW7]

I've had iterations of the Leatherman wave for 30 odd years. They have a 25 year warranty and don't need proof of purchase so when the spring went on the scissors I sent mine back and got a new one for free, which I think is fairly good. Being ex BBC sound crew they have always come in handy when having to improvise on big events, and Security in most venues are happy with them being classed as a tool kit.

 

[niall Y]

I have a Leatherman - somewhere .... and it has been used very infrequently. In fact, Its spent much of its life in that particular kitchen drawer - the one where all the "odds and sods" end up.
Whatever mix there is, they usually only do one of the tasks really well. If they are built around pliers, then this is likely to be the best performing bit, Likewise those built around knives.
There is a certain appeal to them. The "show off" ones are probably no more than gimmicks to advertise the cutlers art, But, the Victorians certainly had liking for them, as did even the ancient Romans. So, there must be something there, that keeps us fascinated by them.

 

[Stigmorgan]

I love my Coast, I have an older model with an LED torch at both ends, it also came with a separate little torch that I lost years ago, working construction I always had one on my belt during work, always put it in the bottom of my bag travelling to and from work, since working at the school I e had to give e up carrying it as the bosses worry about children grabbing it.

 

[Vulcan]

I’ve got a leatherman in the boot of my car somewhere, just in case.