Time to balance things out

[tosh]

Well, all this praise bestowed upon the Gerber Balance by 50ft and kirky's recent plug on the amazon deal has just resulted in one gerber balance being shoved through my letterbox.

(Opens packet... Opens box.....out falls a two tone green balance) WTF..  

Okay  okay, I bit so I deserve to choke - right??

Well, a quick run through the balance's meagre tool set and I'm confident I was right all along.

But wait, it's cost me just shy of £30 quid, it's new and it's got 12 months warranty. I'm gonna prove to myself once and for all that I was right about multitools. As lovely and shiny as they are they are basically gadgets. No?? Well, this poor chap is about to prove me right!!

Listen up folks, tosh is actually gonna use an MT - this is history in the making.
I've already noted what looks to be it's weakness (apart from all of it  ). The way the screwdriver flattens out as its connected onto the pivots looks like it will bend as soon as the torque is applied. The plier head, I guess will distort as soon as pressure is used. The knife blade looks as though its either gonna snap or bend. The scissors seem up to the task (1st point to balance).

Right enough of typing, into the pocket it goes (small pocket on jeans) perfect fit!! Tosh bends down and touches his toes (well almost) hmm, no digging in - 2nd point to Balance.

Well that's it folks. I'll keep you all informed as too how it gets on. It's either gonna work or its gonna die tryin'

The box has been kept, it'll either go back to gerber in it or it'll act as it's makeshift sarcophagus as it journeys into its afterlife.

Watch this space

[CanadianLMfan]

 

[bmot]

 

[AimlessWanderer]

This is sounding very much like you intend to "prove" the tool is useless  and I'm sure I could do that too if I was so inclined 

So are you going to give the tool a chance of proving itself as a medium duty tool, or subject it to tasks and conditions which are obviously well beyond it's capabilities so it fails? Remember, if it fails at a task it should handle comfortably, it's the tool's fault - but if it fails through getting abused or used beyond it's capabilities, that means tosh has failed 

[tosh]

This is sounding very much like you intend to "prove" the tool is useless  and I'm sure I could do that too if I was so inclined 

So are you going to give the tool a chance of proving itself as a medium duty tool, or subject it to tasks and conditions which are obviously well beyond it's capabilities so it fails? Remember, if it fails at a task it should handle comfortably, it's the tool's fault - but if it fails through getting abused or used beyond it's capabilities, that means tosh has failed 

I ain't stupid Al.
Obviously I know what it should be able to handle. Remember I work with tools day in day out. Hence my cynicasm towards multitools.

[kirk13]

If you view the Balance as a glorified SAK,or a Wenger Ranger for people with small hands you might find it more rewarding

[3rdpig]

I rather liked it, it's negatives and positives for me were;

Lack of anything to pry with, but I guess that's why I carry a SAK
Crappy CE knife blade, but it is better than most of Gerber's MT blades.
The latch that deploys the pliers is notchy feeling and and sometimes requires me to pull the tip of the pliers to get them out, but that might work out with use. 
I also didn't like that it's not easy to file a notch into it to make the pliers lock in the closed position. 
The green anodizing started wearing off within the first week.
The wire cutters are useless for stranded wire.

The pliers are a good size and shape and grip well
The drivers are good, they'd be excellent if they used a more standard size.
The scissors are good and they cut small stranded wire easily as well as wire ties, cardboard and plastic.
The bottle opener opens bottles.
The tweezers, while not up to Vic standards, are good enough.
The overall fit and finish is good, the roughness of the plier deploy and the thin anodizing detract from the overall good look and feel of it.

I carried the Balance for a week and used it on the job and at home, so I think I've got a decent feel for it.  While I liked it, it's not going to replace a Wave or Spirit (or even the Rebar or MP400) in my EDC.

I'm interested in hearing your opinion Nick after you use it for a week or two.

[tosh]

Well the balance has been in my poicket since I wrote that first post. I used it earlier, I was rounding off the corners on 3x2 a slabs. First the guard came loose on the 41/2" grinder. So, that was the balance's first task. Normally for tightening those up I'd use something like 8mm or 10mm flat bit.  The biggest the balance had to offer was 4mm. Being careful not to distort the tip I gently applied force to the screw.....it turned and tightened up the guard. Later, I was using door stands (used for holding doors upright whilst planing) except I was using them for holding 3x2  2" thick concrete slabs  upright  - worked a treat, until the vibrations caused one of the adjustable screws on stand to fall out. A big headed screw, I'm guessing 12mm/14mm slotted. But I didn't have either with me and I was too far away to get one (all of 18ft). So balance was called upon again, and again it proved its worth, not bad for a little fella!

Tonight we went out and the balance was brought along too, again kept in the small pocket. Never once did it interfere with anything I needed to do. It seems the pebble like contours really does make a difference.

Anyway, I ain't getting soft on it - its a tool and therefore its gotta work for its keep.

The real pain test will begin on monday!

[Goatlord666]

can't wait for monday!

[CanadianLMfan]

 

can't wait for monday!

[AimlessWanderer]

 

[AlephZero]

 

[Rs217]

Sounds interesting already!

[tosh]

Getting impatient aren't we??

Well I've carried the balance every day since it arrived.

Hmm 

As it stands, I'm not impressed. Whilst the balance carries well in the small pocket of jeans - I'm guessing that's because its high up near the wasistband  and relatively snug in 'its' pocket. This week however I've been wearing work trousers - snickers, to be precise. They don't have that small pocket like the ones found on jeans, but they do have large loose pockets for comfort, plus holster pockets on the front - I love my snickers!!

Well, the balance certainly made itself felt. By mid morning break time on Monday I could stand no-more. The balance was moved to the front holster pockets. The problem is its too thick and heavy for what it actually is. The toolset is very meagre. The scissors have been opened several times as I try to become familiar, each time the spring fails to catch and renders them unuseable until I manually force the spring over. The tweezers are now quite literally stuck fast, I can't get them out, I've tried prying them out which in turn left its mark on the plastic. The pliers were called for in attempting to remove the threaded bolt from a air powered nut-sert  tool. They failed miserably, I had to go fetch a real pair. It seems they simply couldn't 'bite' the nut-sert shank. I'm not at all peculiar about blade shapes, so long as they are sharp. But it has to be said, what the hell is the balances blade trying to be.

I'm not going to quit on it. I'll continue to EDC it until I either loose it, break it, throw it or god forbid actually come to love it!!

I can't help but keep thinking how sophisticated the sideclip seems in comparison. Yes, I know they are as different as chalk and cheese, but as an emergency back up - it sure does look tempting.

[CanadianLMfan]

Is there a pocket clip?

[tosh]

It finally happened!!!

After 20 months of edc-ing the Gerber Balance at work today it got my respect...and everyone else's too!

This morning at work a colleague approached me and muttered the immortal line. "Do you still carry that multitool thingamajig"?
For a split second all I could think was wait till I tell 'em all on MT'o !!

Turns out the vernier caliper was too loose to take accurate readings and no one could find a screwdriver small enough to ajust the friction screws. With swelling pride I pulled out my Balance and handed it over. Hmm, by the looks on his face first impressions didn't seem favourable..... Until I pointed out the bit holder and that it was double ended.
Well, having selected the right bit he offered it up to the tiny recessed screws......the tiny slotted driver fitted like a glove  seconds later the job was done. By which time a fair number of colleagues had gathered round to see.

They were all mightly impressed, none more than me!!
2 asked what the tool was called and could they have a look. Like a seasoned pro I casually handed it over and strolled off back to my department.

Yep, the little guy certainly won a lot of respect today!

[kirk13]

Really pleased to hear this Tosh

[derekmac]

Nice one!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tosh]

Really pleased to hear this Tosh

Nice one!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cheers 
But....word is now that tosh carries a little multitool that can do anything!!!  EEK 
I'm thinking maybe I should double it up with something else any ideas??
Because as we all know, the first time it fails to work or do the "deed" scorn will replace praise.

So, any suggestions??
Can't see the point in duplicating the toolset, but what would you all suggest as a good combination.

The balance is carried along with a folding box cutter

[kirk13]

Really pleased to hear this Tosh

Nice one!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cheers 
But....word is now that tosh carries a little multitool that can do anything!!!  EEK 
I'm thinking maybe I should double it up with something else any ideas??
Because as we all know, the first time it fails to work or do the "deed" scorn will replace praise.

So, any suggestions??
Can't see the point in duplicating the toolset, but what would you all suggest as a good combination.

The balance is carried along with a folding box cutter

Vic Manager. Covers so many bases,gets to places no other tool can

[jerseydevil]

+1 to the Manager or Rambler. Nice to see the Balance getting some respect. Could it be that the Balance has more fans here than just Al and myself?

[Lynn LeFey]

I'm not sure there's ever a better feeling than being an MT hero at work.

Well... okay, being the person with cap lifter or corkscrew at a social gathering MIGHT be better.