Multitool.org Forum
Tool Talk => The Mod Squad => Topic started by: mzil on October 09, 2010, 02:03:46 AM
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OK, not exactly a “mod”, per se, but more of a “secret compartment” I've discovered that I suspect Leatherman didn't plan intentionally. What's great is the “mod” is virtually free and requires no tools or special skills to undertake so everyone can do it. I'd also think other multitools will apply so speak up if your multitool works too! [edit to add: A no-go for my Micra, my S4 and P4 are in storage, so I can't test them.]
Some SAKs I've owned have had a dedicated hole for storing a straight pin, a rather useful extra tool for an EDC multitool in my opinion, but I wanted one for my PS4 and thought about how to make one with a kludgey side pocket of duct tape, for instance. I was delighted when I discovered that it has a secret hole, already, which will store a standard, straight pin quite nicely and hold on to it with just the right amount of friction (so it wont fall out from gravity or even if you attempt to shake it out); a fingernail is all it takes to extract it. The pin hides underneath the file and doesn't impede it nor any other function of the tool.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5063149158_837756d250_z.jpg) [exposed for show](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5063148886_28356bef1d_z.jpg)[in normal carry mode]
For reasons I can't understand, not all pins fit; 3 out of 4 pins I tried, all collected from folded dress shirts I've bought over the years, work fine, but for some reason there is this one pin which although it looks just like the others in thickness, it just wont fit, so if you find a pin that isn't going in correctly and easily simply try another pin and you should be good to go. The pins with the silver plastic ball heads work well but I like to carefully crunch off their plastic heads, using the PS4 pliers, to expose their metal flat disc heads underneath, which then allows them to store more flush to the Leatherman.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/5063149706_e6d169369c.jpg)
Note my PS4 is an early model with Torx screw pivots instead of the newer riveted version, but I doubt that matters for this application. Also, there are several holes across the top and bottom of the closed tool but only one is the correct one to use, which resides under the file on the keyring end of the tool. Also, if you come in at the wrong angle you will land in the pliers section instead of underneath the file section (which is where you want to be because it holds the pin firmly in place and without altering any other function of the tool when left in place).
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/5063149288_2c952a6e16.jpg) (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/5062539507_d571bfd7ce.jpg)
I like to pre-magnetize the pin by stroking a strong magnet along one end repeatedly, so in an emergency the pin can be used as an impromptu compass needle by floating it on a leaf or small piece of wood in a puddle or cup of water, allowing it to swing freely and “point” north. Another option some may prefer is to carry a needle instead of a pin. They have a greater accidental finger piercing or clothes snagging potential to them though, but the added function of emergency sewing in the field may appeal to some. [One can use their socks or other clothing as an emergency supply of thread.]
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Very nice mzil, I'll need to look at that when I get my PS4. :tu:
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Good on you for discovering this. :cheers: I tired it with a SAK pin and it worked, with a pit of pin placement. Even with shaking the pin does not move.
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Missed this ::)
Nice discovery and thanks for documenting it for us :tu:
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Nice find :tu:
And thank you for sharing.... we especially like pics :D
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I bought a box of long straight pins at Walmart to put in my SAKs that did not have pins. They fit perfect in my PS4. :D Thanks for the idea. :cheers:
Mike
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^Thank you for the good words, everyone.
Thanks to vladimir, in the main Squirt ES4/PS4 Owner's Club thread, we now have confirmation (along with a photo) that this pin storage "mod" works for the ES4 as well.
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Nice one :tu:
Just like when I discovered the secret lanyard hole on my Wave :D
Must give it a try. On a side note does anyone know where I can get pins for my SAK or is it a case of trial and error from Ye Olde Pin Shoppe? :think:
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The easiest thing to do is walk into any haberdashery with your SAK pin and ask for some exactly the same. There is is no magic in the Vic ones, they are just stainless steel pins :)
A pound or two will by you a pot with a lifetimes supply for you, your children, their children etc. :D
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That's tomorrow's job then; thanks Neil :cheers:
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Any chance something else might fit, like a toothpick?
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A quick visit to my mother's sewing box found a bunch of pins :ahhh
Slightly shorter than the SAK pin but it fits the SAK hole perfect and stays put. Also worked a treat with my PS4 :tu:
Gave it a quick try with my S4 but no luck :-\
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Any chance something else might fit, like a toothpick?
Sorry, don't think so. The "secret hole" (re. the PS4, at least), made of course of metal, grips the pin with just the right amount of tension to secure it nicely without any "slop" or danger of falling out on its own. There's simply no room for a larger diameter object like a wooden toothpick.
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Excellent. ^_^ I'm doing this now.
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That is pretty cool
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Thanks for sharing this :tu:
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I got a new shirt for Chrimbo,with a pin in it.Waste not want not I tried this mod.
I was 100% certain the pin was in correctly.Opened my Squirt and tried to close it again.It would not close so fully,so I opened it and a bent pin fell into my hand ::)
The moral of the story is make doubley sure the pin is in correctly.
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Added to my PS4. Nice! Thanks!
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Just thought to mention, I posted three free "mods" to the LM Style CS I just got and the third one shows a straight pin storage location I found on it, including a video (in 720P HD, where available) showing me moving a pin from the PS4 location I found to the Style CS:
http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,26043.msg466749.html#msg466749 (http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,26043.msg466749.html#msg466749)
Needless to say, I now leave a pin stored in both tools permanently.
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Good one, that's not a mod that's a hack.
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Nice find! Also works with a sewing needle if you loop thread through the end to stop it vanishing inside the body...
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
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Picked up some pins but the plastic "handle" is not hiding any pin head. So I bend the end and that seemed to do the trick. The pin felt a bit like it might fall out so I added a little "squiggle" to it. Works!
Hard to spot! :cheers:
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Thanks everyone! Good to see people liking this free extra tool we can all add to the PS4 without any special skills necessary.
I just posted a new video which shows this pin position I discovered in better, close up detail:
Leatherman Squirt PS4 Secret Pin Storage Hole (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBBRLL_687w#ws)
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If anyone here is having trouble finding a good sized pin to snuggly fit in the Leatherman Squirt PS4's secret pin storage hole I found, I have come to learn that the fairly standard one called 1.25", Singer brand, pin size #20 fits like a champ! :tu:
I bought a small plastic blister pack of them at a supermarket [so they must be common] for a few bucks which should last me the rest of my life.
[I just posted this in another thread, but it mostly applies to this thread.]