Leatherman Rebar: the Eagle has landed.

[J-sews]

I almost hesitate to ask this, but has anyone else encountered problems with unfolding/folding the saw blade on theirs..?

Mine likes to clump with the phillips and it's dang stiff.

Clumping with the phillips is semi-intentional to the design. The knife blades in each handle are designed to NOT clump, everything else in each handle is "okay" to clump.

But the saw blade stiffness.......has been a problem on some Rebars.

[Mercury]

Yea, the saw is what is so stiff.  The phillips comes out by itself, it doesn't drag the saw, but if I pull the saw the phillips definitely comes with it.

[JDO330]

Now I have to decide if I'm going to mess about taking the knives out, or just say screw it, it's going in my EDC bag

I say screw it, just enjoy it!

Atb, Jon

[kinskibrain]

The Rebar is looking really good and it was interesting to see it next to the Spirit. It would be nice to see some comparison pictures with the Wave.

[parnass]

Amici,
Does anyone have a source for the Rebar? So far, all I have been able to find are pre-orders with the earliest shipping out at the end of May.

The local Dick's Sporting Goods store (Illinois) has Rebars with nylon sheaths in stock.

[Gryffin]

The Rebar is looking really good and it was interesting to see it next to the Spirit. It would be nice to see some comparison pictures with the Wave.

Like this?





Charge instead of Wave, sorry. But they're pretty similar except for the handle scales.

My Rebar arrived just tonight; I only ordered it on Monday, pretty impressive shipping speed! I like it; it has the same tools as my FrankenCharge, except an awl instead of scissors, but it's a lot lighter, so it's replacing the FrankenCharge as the base of my EDC tool kit. 

It's pretty stiff right now, needs some lube and some exercise; I plan to order a ClipDraw in black for it, too.

[Metropolicity]

MODDED!

[nuphoria]

Aww, that's the business Eric

[Metropolicity]

Aww, that's the business Eric

I believe there is hope for scissors in a Rebar...Nuph, if you wanted I could help you out with making a SS one..I have a parts Wave that could be parted out for a bit of money help

[kinskibrain]

Like this?

Yes, something like that. Thank you for the images. I have some more questions for you Rebar owners.

How does the Rebar feel in the hand when using the knife cutting into some hard wood? I find the Wave and Charge series to be rather unpractical with woodwork due to the outer blades protruding into my palm.

Is the Rebar lock uncomfortable in hand? 

How does the Rebar saw/blades/file compare head to head with the Wave? How much shorter?

[Gryffin]

How does the Rebar feel in the hand when using the knife cutting into some hard wood? I find the Wave and Charge series to be rather unpractical with woodwork due to the outer blades protruding into my palm.

Is the Rebar lock uncomfortable in hand? 

If you use the knife blade with the handles closed, the outside edges are well-rounded, and there are no protrusions like the Wave/Charge, except for the lock bar. And the lock bar seems to be a little less prominent on the Rebar. Of course, for safety's sake, you should avoid pressing on the lock bar while cutting...

If you use the knife with just one handle open (I do this most of the time), the inside handle edges aren't quite as comfy, but still a damn sight better than the PST/PST-II or Kick/Fuse/Blast handles. They haven't bothered me at all.

How does the Rebar saw/blades/file compare head to head with the Wave? How much shorter?

There's no comparing the knife blades, the ones on the Wave are thicker, a bit longer, and have a more attractive profile; the ones on the Rebar are straighter, since they have to fit in the handles, and a little shorter. They're more like the ones in the Kick/Fuse/Blast line, or the older PST/PST-II/Pulse tools.

(I'm fine with that, personally. I consider MT blades as backups to the "real" knife I'm carrying, although I do expect them to perform well.)

The file doesn't have that excellent diamond coating on one side, sadly, but it cuts well; the coarser side is very aggressive, and the finer side seems comparable to the "normal" side of the Wave file. Both sides are double-cut, though.

The saw seems very comparable, but again, a tad shorter.

I can't take measurements right now, the Rebar is with me here at work, but the Wave & Charge are at home. I'll try to get some pics tonight.

[kinskibrain]

Thanks for some good information.    I have been surprised and annoyed by the almost complete lack of in depth critique of the Rebar. (I'm talking about the internet generally and not this forum specifically).

I have been going crazy with the horrible couple of "reviews" on the tube and everyone and their mother pointing out the relation to the Supertool 300 (stating the obvious). 

I have seen almost no direct comparison with the Rebar's main competitor the Wave or other tools in the comparable 4 inch class (I'm loosing hope in mankind if I see yet another comparison and unimaginative photograph next to an ST300).   

I have seen almost nothing or very little on the design features unique to the Rebar: the effects of the slanted handle profile, the angled locks...

I would also like to see an in depth discussion about the shorter blades of the Rebar vs the Wave and Charge. Where are the dialogues concerning the weight distribution and relationship of the various lines? The Rebar is a full 50 grams lighter than the Wave which means that weight wise it sits exactly in between the Skeletool and the Wave.

Has anyone tried and evaluated this tool in different contexts? Travel context? Bushcraft? Work? EDC? et cetera.

Another constant frustration I have with a lot of reviews is that few online reviewers seem aware of Leatherman's intentional clumping of the non-blade tools. If someone like nutnfancy or the majority of video reviewers are not even doing minimal research then why even bother?

I apologise for my frustrated tone. I really want to read about this new and very interesting tool but there are no reviews anywhere. I don't mean to offend anyone. It's just that now there is this new old design that's been talked about for months and when it arrives there is this little to say? Reflections of new vs old and so on.... Thanks for reading.

P.S. Powernoodle, I enjoy this thread and I really enjoyed your pic showing Rebar pliers holding that bolt. 

[50ft-trad]

Patience please  I got one cooking. Hoping to get a comparison with MP400, MP700, Core, & Spirit up soon. I'm sure others will have others up soon   

[kinskibrain]

Patience please  I got one cooking. Hoping to get a comparison with MP400, MP700, Core, & Spirit up soon. I'm sure others will have others up soon   

aye, sorry for the wee rant. can't wait to hear more. can't wait to get one eventually when there is a good source for us here in europe.

[JimShockz]

Now I have to decide if I'm going to mess about taking the knives out, or just say screw it, it's going in my EDC bag

I say screw it, just enjoy it!

Atb, Jon

Make the best of the worse,I always say.

-JS