Leatherman Minitool restoration

mr626 · **on:** May 08, 2015, 12:59:10 AM

Hello all,

After patiently waiting for a long time, I finally scored a Minitool at a price I was happy with ($45AUD shipped). They aren't very common in this part of the world so I'm pretty happy with the find

It's not NIB, seller describes it as having some scrapes. But from past experience with restoring PSTs it should come up just fine. Not rocket science- just clean, polish, sharpen and lubricate and that should be it.

I'll use this thread to briefly document the process, and hopefully remember to take before and after shots (I never remember!).

Stay tuned

captain spaulding · **Reply #1 on:** May 08, 2015, 01:43:12 AM

Can't wait to see it all cleaned up. Remember to take before and after pictures.

mr626 · **Reply #2 on:** May 08, 2015, 01:47:47 AM

Quote from: captain spaulding on May 08, 2015, 01:43:12 AM

Can't wait to see it all cleaned up. Remember to take before and after pictures.

Roger that!

Here's the seller pics for starters

captain spaulding · **Reply #3 on:** May 08, 2015, 01:52:46 AM

Looks a bit rusty on the inside.

Aloha · **Reply #4 on:** May 08, 2015, 01:55:13 AM

Might benefit from a cocacola bath. Congrats on the Mini

mr626 · **Reply #5 on:** May 08, 2015, 02:02:49 AM

Quote from: captain spaulding on May 08, 2015, 01:52:46 AM

Looks a bit rusty on the inside.

I wondered that. It may just be the lighting of the photos, but worst case I think it should still come up ok. The seller didn't mention any rust, but we'll see.

captain spaulding · **Reply #6 on:** May 08, 2015, 02:36:45 AM

Quote from: mr626 on May 08, 2015, 02:02:49 AM

Quote from: captain spaulding on May 08, 2015, 01:52:46 AM
Looks a bit rusty on the inside.

I wondered that. It may just be the lighting of the photos, but worst case I think it should still come up ok. The seller didn't mention any rust, but we'll see.

I can almost guarantee its rust from the picture. Either way doesn't matter. If you are doing a resto job on it then i'm sure you will take care of it.

bounding star · **Reply #7 on:** May 08, 2015, 06:18:16 AM

Could just be some gunk on the file. also, my dad found a minitool (here in aus) with only a broken plier tip which was fixed up by lm

mr626 · **Reply #8 on:** May 19, 2015, 12:58:42 AM

Seller was a bit slow sending this out, will hopefully come in the mail today

neillcurrie · **Reply #9 on:** May 20, 2015, 05:29:26 PM

Quote from: bounding star on May 08, 2015, 06:18:16 AM

Could just be some gunk on the file. also, my dad found a minitool (here in aus) with only a broken plier tip which was fixed up by lm

I guess the plier tips on those must be a bit fragile. Mine broke at the tip, one side only, too. LM warranty fixed it last year, fast.

The plier head appears to be the same as the PST head, and I've not seen a broken tip on a PST, so what gives?

kirk13 · **Reply #10 on:** May 20, 2015, 06:09:33 PM

mr626 · **Reply #11 on:** May 21, 2015, 02:36:36 AM

Being delivered today (finally!). Expect some 'before' pics soon...

dipti · **Reply #12 on:** May 21, 2015, 08:28:48 AM

At last now no more wait.

captain spaulding · **Reply #13 on:** May 21, 2015, 08:45:59 AM

Quote from: mr626 on May 21, 2015, 02:36:36 AM

Being delivered today (finally!). Expect some 'before' pics soon...

Dang. Slow shipping.

mr626 · **Reply #14 on:** May 21, 2015, 01:05:22 PM

Well.

I'll post some pics shortly, but I feel like this will be a bit of an anti-climax.

The Minitool is here. It isn't NIB, but it barely needs 'restoring' at all. A clean, oil and polish should do it.

There's a tiny bit of surface rust on the rear of the plier head, but that's about it.

I'm kind of disappointed actually- I like fixing broken, forgotten stuff!

Sorry for the false advertising all

mr626 · **Reply #15 on:** May 21, 2015, 01:09:36 PM

Pics!

bounding star · **Reply #16 on:** May 22, 2015, 02:40:38 PM

Looks pretty good. I'm curious to know, when you open the handle extensions fully, how straight do they line up with the rest of the handle?

kirk13 · **Reply #17 on:** May 22, 2015, 05:45:28 PM

Gibbs rule 6b: Never apologise for a thread about LM Minis(

)

sawman · **Reply #18 on:** May 22, 2015, 06:29:48 PM

I would take some steel wool to that and some WD-40 and stick it on my keyring.

rishardh · **Reply #19 on:** May 22, 2015, 09:18:02 PM

Not bad at all, that's a 'like new' condition to me. Congratulations! Nothing much to do. Just a WD 40 soak and wipe.

zoidberg · **Reply #20 on:** May 23, 2015, 02:04:11 PM

Quote from: bounding star on May 22, 2015, 02:40:38 PM

Looks pretty good. I'm curious to know, when you open the handle extensions fully, how straight do they line up with the rest of the handle?

See the second pic down. And another here, Leatherman Mini-Tool Review.

bounding star · **Reply #21 on:** May 24, 2015, 04:21:15 AM

Quote from: zoidberg on May 23, 2015, 02:04:11 PM

Quote from: bounding star on May 22, 2015, 02:40:38 PM
Looks pretty good. I'm curious to know, when you open the handle extensions fully, how straight do they line up with the rest of the handle?
See the second pic down. And another here, Leatherman Mini-Tool Review.

I know they should be straight, but the one that I have they aren't quite, and I was wondering if anyone else had the same problem.

mr626 · **Reply #22 on:** May 25, 2015, 12:22:23 AM

Hello again

-I won't be carrying this on a keyring. I try and keep my keyring fairly minimal, and the addition of a Mini-Tool would add quite a bit of bulk.
-Have already given it a good clean / oil. Just need to polish and sharpen it.
-The handles on mine seem fairly straight when opened, but not perfect. Will take some extra pics later

Overall, I can sort of see why the Mini-Tool isn't around any more. It really doesn't have many tools. If I were to redesign it, I'd probably remove the hand extensions and just have more tools instead.

It's still cool though, and I'm glad I finally own one

Edit: probably not the best place to ask, but would anyone on here know where I can get a proper Leatherman sheath for this? The sheath it came with has a hole in it.

Mr Biriyani · **Reply #23 on:** May 25, 2015, 12:36:40 AM

Quote from: mr626 on May 21, 2015, 01:09:36 PM

Pics!

Good luck with the cleaning. It doesn´t look bad at all.
I had to wait a real good time before I got mine too.

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