How unique is the Crunch - really?

[DaveK]

Whilst I've never really gone out of my way to collect "knock-off tools", I have managed to accumulate a few along the way. Most of the copies I've come across, whilst obviously inspired by more expensive tools (and often clearly showing disregard for copyright), usually have some differences that are easily noticeable, and tend to only pop-up on ebay and other websites.

This one surprised me quite a bit for two reasons:

1. It was for sale in a local reputable shop that I use a hell of a lot, and is an official Leatherman retailer;

2. It is branded "Jack Pyke" - a common brand in the UK that sells hunting, fishing and outdoor gear.

I've become quite friendly with some of the staff in the shop and I commented that this tool was a blatant copy of a patented tool, but unfortunately Whitby and Co (Leatherman's distributor in the UK) are no longer offering the Crunch so they didn't have one for us to compare.

Here's a little comparison to show you what I mean....

Visually, the two tools are identical, barring that the Jack Pyke has a matt finish rather than the Crunch's polished stainless, and obviously the logos.



You'll notice that the tools could have been stamped from the same dies with every detail of the casings identical.





The above picture shows that even the inside workings are identical, as are the grooves on the lock release.



The Jack Pyke lacks the ruler markings, and this is about the only difference in the functions offered.



Tool selection? Identical, although the steel quality is dubious and I wouldn't want to torque those drivers! Even the serrations on the blade use the same pattern.



Although the Jack Pyke functions, the quality of the build and tolerances allowed in the fitting really show what a marvel of engineering the Crunch is. It takes considerable effort to open the pliers and click the JP pliers into place, whereas the Crunch can be "flipped" effortlessly.



The above picture shows how the JP doesn't quite close properly, leaving a small gap between the handles when folded. Because of this, you don't get that satisfying click or crunch from which the Leatherman derives its name.

The JP retails in the UK for £20, as opposed the the Crunch's RRP of £90. Is it a quarter as good? Nah - it's just another example of why the quality manufacturers are worth the cost. I have no confidence that the JP could loosen a bolt much more than finger tight, and in fact all of the tools are suspect in one way or another.

I wonder what the designers at Leatherman Tool Group would make of this tool and whether they would be pleased that their R&D costs have saved "Jack Pyke" the trouble! As I said before, Jack Pyke have a decent reputation in the UK, and their gear can be found in most outdoor / camping shops. I wonder if their importers are even aware that this tool is actually just a cheap knock-off of a design classic. They will when I get around to contacting them with the above pictures

[Tinnie]

Wow...those two a pretty damn similar!

Nice comparison dave

[J-sews]

Nice comparison pics Dave!

It saddens me though that there are no laws or law enforcement to prevent this sort of blatant pirating from happening.   I've read that it took Leatherman (the company) years to develope the Crunch, and the only reason they kept at it was Tim Leatherman's burning drive to make a compact, folding, locking jaw multitool.

....And then these brainless twits come along and perfectly copy the entire thing. No attempt to improve or be unique, just copy it right down to the most minute details.

[Pacu]

When i got my used crunch i was amazed the amount of thinking that had to be done to create it that tight and with the attention to detail it had.
(runon sentence)

90 pounds for a crunch

i thought 90 bucks was high.

[DaveK]

I think the most surprising thing was that I didn't get this from ebay or some dodgy Chinese website, but from a mainstream reputable shop. Jack Pyke are themselves a reputable company:

http://jackpyke.co.uk/index.php

I notice that they don't show this tool on their website, so I wonder if there was a dawn of realisation or something. Who knows?

[Crouton]

I had just convinced myself that I didn't really need a Crunch.  Now I need to start looking for one.

Thanks alot Dave

[Anthony]

I love my Crunch!

It is depressing to see knockoff tools, especially a knockoff of such an original design as the Crunch. 

[Pacu]

My Crunch is one of a few tools that will stay with me till i kick. Now if they would just make a Surge sized one

[Chako]

Nice find. Sad that its a direct rip off of the Crunch. Just amazed at how well they got it copied. There are differences, but they are very subtle.

[Poncho65]

  Man they did copy that quite close Thanks for the comparison pics Dave It is bad when anyone can copy an idea but it gets done all the time

[MultiMat]

Wow that is a bigger rip off than the Sheffield Crocodile is of the Kershaw A100 
Dave I think you could well own a tool that may well be soon unavailable.
I wonder if this shameless copy is branded differently in any other markets  outside of the UK 

Dave did the JP copy also include the bit driver tool  were the adjusting bolt goes on the Crunch.

[Craig]

I've tempted by Jack Pyke stuff in the past. The local gun shop has one of these which I though looked interesting:



If the quality of the Crunch copy is anything to go by I'm glad I didn't.

I've wanted a Crunch for a while and had I seen that copy at any point in the future I would almost certainly have bought it, and regretted it soon after. So thanks, Dave, you've probably saved me £20

[Anthony]

I've tempted by Jack Pyke stuff in the past. The local gun shop has one of these which I though looked interesting:

(Image removed from quote.)

If the quality of the Crunch copy is anything to go by I'm glad I didn't.

I've wanted a Crunch for a while and had I seen that copy at any point in the future I would almost certainly have bought it, and regretted it soon after. So thanks, Dave, you've probably saved me £20

Aitor makes a knife similar to that.

[DaveK]

Dave did the JP copy also include the bit driver tool  were the adjusting bolt goes on the Crunch.

Yup, just the same.

[Nutznboltz]

That's an impressive copy, I'm tempted to get one just to beat around. 
Dave,  the plier head on the JP doesn't protrude through the handle (closed) like the Crunch does, is there a reason for that?.

[AHB]

They will when I get around to contacting them with the above pictures

I really like to see the reply to that...  
I can't believe that "Jack Puke" can get away with producing these counterfeit tools...

[DaveK]

Dave,  the plier head on the JP doesn't protrude through the handle (closed) like the Crunch does, is there a reason for that?.

Yes, Poor build quality! This is the reason that the handles don't close fully, because the plier heads get stuck rather than push through the slot.

I can't believe that "Jack Puke" can get away with producing these counterfeit tools...

I suspect that they have nothing to do with building them, rather that they are offered the tool and add their brand name. I would be very surprised if Jack Pyke were aware that this is a copy of the Crunch.

[turbov21]

Now if they would just make a Surge sized one

Mmmm.  I'd buy that for $100 dollars!

[MultiMat]

Dave did the JP copy also include the bit driver tool  were the adjusting bolt goes on the Crunch.

Yup, just the same.

Those pirates certainly went the full mile copying the Crunch 
Dave I would be interested to hear what Jack Pyke have to say. I reckon you are right that they unwittingly agreed to put there name on a blatant copy. I suspect with a fair deal of embarrassment , now.
Given the trouble the copying company went to , there would be other branded versions of the copy you would think 

[scrappy]

is this wrong? I would buy it if I could.

[Benner]

Personally I'd be amazed if there wasn't one person at Jack Pike that didn't know that was a LM rip off.  Even before I came here I knew what a Crunch was, and they must have looked into it a little bit to see if it was worth their while buying into it.

[Nutznboltz]

Personally I'd be amazed if there wasn't one person at Jack Pike that didn't know that was a LM rip off.  Even before I came here I knew what a Crunch was, and they must have looked into it a little bit to see if it was worth their while buying into it.

+1 on that comment
Sure they know, that's why their name is on a crunch copy and not on some other generic looking multi you can find at the dollar store.

Uh,  having said that I might retract that statement.   Some of these purchasing decisions are made strictly by the company buyers/marketers who may know nothing about tools.  I've worked with many buyers and you'd be surprised how little they really know.
I know a friend of a friend who's a tool buyer at a major home building center and they don't know the difference between a philips and a torx driver.

[MultiMat]

Any updates Dave  ,
Did Jack Pike respond 

[WhichDawg]

maybe they found Dave and he sleeps with the Crunch-Fishes

[DaveK]

Uh - ooops. Check back in a week ?

[AHB]

Uh - ooops. Check back in a week ?

Been busy "Blogging", have we..?   

[DaveK]

Actually, I've been working mostly. (No laughing at the back)!

[AHB]

Actually, I've been working mostly. (No laughing at the back)!

That's an acceptable excuse..   

[1jump2many]

One of the few current production Leatherman tools that I don't own is the Crunch.  For some reason it just never caught my attention.  Lately, I've been thinking about getting one.  I don't know whether it's just to fix my multitool jones or what.  At the least it's a nice addition to my small but growing collection.  I've been wanting to get a couple discontinued Leathermans I don't own like the Flair and Sideclip first but after reading this thread my decision to wait is weakening...............


 

[DaveK]

That's an easy one. Get all three