Wingman

[harronek]

I lent my Wingman to a guy at work today .
It lives in my truck and isn't called on to do much work , but its always there if I or someone else needs a knife .
It is the Multitool that I lend to people because if it ever comes back in two pieces or never comes back at all I won't cry myself to sleep at night .
When he returned it he asked a few questions about it , how much did it cost , where can he buy one etc .
He had experienced a Multitool for the first time and was impressed .
I told him the Wingman is the base model and cheapest Leatherman tool , maybe he should spend abit more and get a better model .
I showed him my Surge , but without even touching it he thought it was to big .
Another guy at work showed him his Wave , and he liked that , but said
" are you going to send it back to get it fixed "
We looked at each other and asked him what he was talking about .
" the spring in the pliers is broken , that's the best part of the whole tool "
We explained that the Real Leathermans don't have that feature .
He said he will buy a Wingman and be happy knowing his cheap tool has better features than ours .

So here's a question .
Why isn't the spring assisted pliers an option on the larger tools .
I have to agree with him , it is a very good feature .

Ken

[babola]

I think it's got to do with two things:

1) The current generation Wave came on market at least 6-7 years before the Wingman, hence the old-style simplistic designed scissors

2) The inside of handles/scales on Wave leave limited space for small tool implements when compared to Wingman. There's more space to "pack" scissors in Wingman as they are considered one of the main (full size) tools, in Wave the scissors belong to 'secondary', smaller tools group.

Wingman scissors follow the Surge design, while Wave doesn't and hence there's a compromise in size.
 

[gregozedobe]

So here's a question .
Why isn't the spring assisted pliers an option on the larger tools .
I have to agree with him , it is a very good feature .

It's a "mandatory option" on the Gerber MP700 and MP800. 

Note that the MP800 handles are bulky and therefore aren't that well suited to people with smaller hands.  Some people like these two tools, some don't, so it may be better to handle them before buying (or be prepared to sell them on after buying if they don't suit)  Also they lack the best Gerber feature of all - FLICKY PLIERS !!     

[pingu]

So here's a question .
Why isn't the spring assisted pliers an option on the larger tools .

Dunno.

Moving on as we do, if there was a single category killer SAK or LM there wouldn't be much to debate in this Forum.

I've used spring-less electrician's pliers and cutters daily for years so not the best person to answer your specific question.  Opening with an inside finger is just not a problem.

What is a Wingman problem IMHO is the very poor performance of its anvil type cutters compared with the by-pass cutter models, in particularly the "almost a Wingman competitor" Rebar's replaceable cutters.

[Lichtbote]

Leatherman OHT - flicky pliers with spring assistance and replaceable cutters. 

[AimlessWanderer]

My initial answer would be cost. It does bump up the price to add spring assistance which could be prohibitive for some people.

Secondly, you have to be careful when and how you apply it technically. The Gerber's tend to opt for having the springs integral within the plier head, which has two inherrent problems. Firstly, the section of steel is reduced, therefore making the head less robust than non-sprung pliers. Secondly, all the forces are focussed on a smaller area, leading to more/quicker wear on the plier pivot. I quite like the sprung pliers on moderate use tools such as the MP700 and Strata, but wouldn't want that same method used on tools I use heavily. The Paul Chen Multitasker has an externally fitted spring under a shroud on the handles, which ensures full strength, but does add a little bulk

I'm not really sure how they do it on the Wingman, Sidekick and OHT as I don't have them

[Lichtbote]

On the OHT it´s a sort of external spring - they made the rear of the pliers with a elongated structure to house a good sized spring, that would not be possible inside the pliers.

I made some pics for explanation.

[ducttapetech]

Are the Wingman and Sidekick springs in the plierhead?

Nate

[pingu]

Are the Wingman and Sidekick springs in the plierhead?

Must be because they are not visible.

[colt 1911]

I don't care for the spring pliers or the wingman. Good loaner tool and I think that's pretty cool you do that.


Sak's  rule !

[Syph007]

We need a poll to see who likes spring loaded pliers.  I know some love them but I cant stand them.

[pingu]

When I broke down Wingman for parts a few weeks ago the cutter performance was so poor I put the plier head in the metals recycling bin.  Was still there so what the heck...

Beats the external spring that el cheapos sport.

I don't have a strong view, happy using my finger to open, most of my non-MT plier tools are spring-less.

[ducttapetech]

Thanks Pingu! Answers that question.

Nate

[zoidberg]

Thanks Pingu! Answers that question.

Nate

+1  That is an awesome pic. 

[Kampfer]

 

[pingu]

I've never given much thought to the pivot pin but here is Wingman's.

I'm guessing a very big press is required and perhaps quite a bit of heating.

[WWW]

I've never given much thought to the pivot pin but here is Wingman's.

I'm guessing a very big press is required and perhaps quite a bit of heating.

I could be so stupidly wrong but I don't think you need to heat it up to get that result. There are orbital riveters that I THINK can do that without any heating. But I strongly emphasize that I could be wrong.

[JBW1]

Assisted opening needle nose is a nice feature on the wave, and really should be implemented into  more models. It makes sense especially in the EOD editions for sure, right? Its probably the best made piece of the wave imho. Maybe its to test the waters to see how its received, that's possibly why its standard on one of the less expensive models. Send some feedback to LM, maybe we will see it some day.

[Aloha]

I have always wondered about the spring in the Wingman/Sidekick thank you Pingu for those pics.

While I like the springy plier in the Wingman I dont miss them on either my Surge or Wave nor Swisstool.