Good news/bad news

[rdub934]

The good news: I ordered a red Octane for $14.44 from West Marine I've been carrying Old Gray a bit the last few days, and besides my pliers being slightly weird, the Octane is a sweet tool. Easily my most carried tool since I started carrying a tool everyday. So I decided since it is out of production and discounted so deeply, I needed a red one, too.

The bad news: it is back ordered The email said they expected to receive it 21 June. But since the tool is out of production, I am wondering where they would order from. I just assumed they had Octanes on a shelf somewhere that they were trying to get rid of. But if they aren't stocking them, who is

I am half expecting to get an email saying "sorry, all gone"

[jerseydevil]

I think the Octane is a great pocket tool. Hopefully it comes through for you.....

[rdub934]

Well. How about that?

[Gareth]

Glad it come though mate.   I had some issues with the screwdrivers on mine, but once that was sorted I really rate the Octane.  I certainly prefer it to the Skeletool.

[Poncho65]

That seems like an awesome deal to me Glad you got it and in a very timely manner to be backordered and discontinued

[rdub934]

Baby Red has hung out with me a bit the last few days. Really glad I pulled the trigger on a new Octane. However, it's only "new" in the sense that no one else has owned it and that I freed it from it's packaging (with the package opener of Old Gray ) I can tell this thing has been sitting on a shelf somewhere, in the sun, for a really long time. The packaging on the front was really faded out. All of the Gerber orange had turned into a pastel yellow, except where the Octane had blocked the sun's rays. Even the blade has some funny ovals of slight discoloration (more like shadows), where the slits allowed the sun to penetrate.

Additionally, the lube was affected by the long sit and exposure to sun. Some of the lube that was most exposed had thickened into a sticky paste that I had to scrape off. Some of it was the consistency of honey. While the stuff that was between the implements and in the pivots seemed normal. I got it superficially clean, but I still intend to give her a good soapy scrub down and re-oiling.

[rdub934]

Also, I am noticing that Baby Red has a few differences from Old Gray. Nothing really significant but it's just interesting to me that they did make some changes to the design of the Octane during its production run, but not in the ways that would have really turned the tool into a more universally liked/better selling item. For instance:

1) Notches to prevent the pliers from self-deploying while in pocket would be the most notable (and maybe they did this towards the end).
2) The shape of the Phillips could have been improved easily.
3) The blade stop could have been beefed up (i've never had a problem, but a lot have complained about it).

I'll go into the differences later on, when I get a chance to take pictures

[Mercury]

The Octane is one that I never tried out and always wished I had.  Maybe one day I'll snag one off ebay.  Looking forward to pics!

[rdub934]

I finally put in the effort to get some shots illustrating the minor differences between my two Octanes.

Firstly, the Philips driver seems to have a less extreme angle on the cross-member. However, it is not even on both sides so maybe the person grinding these out was drunk the day he made mine.



 

[rdub934]

Up next, the larger slotted screwdriver on Baby Red has a different shape to it. The nail nick is beefier and actually cuts down into the shank a little deeper than on Old Gray.

[rdub934]

The last thing I've noticed, is the small slotted driver does not begin to taper down until until further down the shank, resulting in a steeper angle the the edge of the driver.



Again, very minor but IMHO it would have been just as easy to fully correct the Phillips so it would work on more screws.

[rdub934]

As I mentioned, it appears to have sat in the sun for a while.

[Poncho65]

That almost looks like something from a horror movie

 

Crazy that there is that much of a difference between the two tool

[rdub934]

That almost looks like something from a horror movie

I know I haven't it yet, but I didn't think it was that bad

[Poncho65]

That almost looks like something from a horror movie

I know I haven't it yet, but I didn't think it was that bad

I was talking about the package I guess I should have quoted that

[Poncho65]

That almost looks like something from a horror movie

I know I haven't it yet, but I didn't think it was that bad

I was talking about the package I guess I should have quoted that

The second part was only about the tools I see that now after I reread it

[rdub934]

That almost looks like something from a horror movie

I know I haven't it yet, but I didn't think it was that bad

I was talking about the package I guess I should have quoted that

  Oh yea, it is kind of freaky looking 

[Poncho65]

That almost looks like something from a horror movie

I know I haven't it yet, but I didn't think it was that bad

I was talking about the package I guess I should have quoted that

  Oh yea, it is kind of freaky looking