broke it

[chevypower33]

well i picked up the old style charge TI less than a week ago and i broke the wire stripper/bottle opener already, doing something really dumb. can i get one somwhere and put it on my self, send it in to LM, or just live w/o it?
Thanks alot this is a great froum
Bob

[Grant Lamontagne]

Good to have you Bob... my suggestion would be to contact Leatherman about a replacement.  They have always been good to everyone I know who has sent stuff in.  I'd suggest calling them first and speaking to them about it.  Be honest when dealing with them because they are more inclined to help if they don't think you are bs'ing them!

Unfortunetaly you'd probably spend more time and effort trying to get the fancy security bits to take the thing apart than it it would take to send it in.  Plus I think you'd have a hard time getting a replacement tool and end up either taking apart another one as a donor or sending it to LM anyway for repair.

Welcome to the forum- glad you like it!

Def

[Raukodur]

btw mind telling what it was exactly that broke it so we can avoid doing it to ours?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Must have been a very tough bottle!

Def

[chevypower33]

well it wasn't a bottle i was trying to pierce a hole in some relativly thin metal and instead of just waiting untill i had the right thing to do it i figured i would try the LM. DOH!

[Grant Lamontagne]

hehehe... oops...

We've all been there- at least you didn't need stitches!

Def

[Raukodur]

I was wondering, has anyone tried using the scissors on the LM charge series as an awl? Not to do the most hardcore awl stuff, but just for piercing medium toughness stuff. I was thinking that due to their short size, and thin shape, and locking nature, maybe they could serve that function in an emergency (i.e. when you dont have another, less valuable piercing tool nearby). Im guessing that if you used the scissors in that way all the time, you'd blunt the end.

[parnass]

I was wondering, has anyone tried using the scissors on the LM charge series as an awl? Not to do the most hardcore awl stuff, but just for piercing medium toughness stuff. ...

I am reluctant to use scissors in that manner because the blade may become twisted.  Good scissor cutting action relies on the two blades moving against each other in the right orientation.  Twist a blade ever so slightly and the scissors is wrecked -- no matter how sharp the blades are.

[znapschatz]

I was wondering, has anyone tried using the scissors on the LM charge series as an awl? Not to do the most hardcore awl stuff, but just for piercing medium toughness stuff. ...

I am reluctant to use scissors in that manner because the blade may become twisted.  Good scissor cutting action relies on the two blades moving against each other in the right orientation.  Twist a blade ever so slightly and the scissors is wrecked -- no matter how sharp the blades are.

The best thing to use for an awl is an awl.  I can't understand why such a useful implement gets so little respect.  Frankly, the lack of one is one of the main reasons I don't own a Charge.  How Leatherman could have omitted an awl in favor of that stupid, all but worthless little screwdriver bit holder is a mystery to me.  There is plenty of heft in the Charge for a good piercing tool, but too much bulk to work on tiny screws with the necessary fine touch.   IMHO, this is a bad tradeoff that is driven more by marketing than tool realities. 

BTW, of several pairs of eyeglasses owned by my wife and me, none have screw heads small enough for the Charge drivers (I tried).  Actually, a Micra works well on some of them, but a dedicated tool is best to avoid stripping the screwhole.

I am sending a copy of this post to Leatherman in hopes it might influence future designs.     

    

[mcniac]

 

i needed to be the first one using this

[J-sews]

I don't know if we're getting too far off topic here, but I really must agree with znapschatz's comments about awl blades. Poking holes in stuff is not a task to be taken lightly. Most folks tend to want to use the tip of their knife blade for this. (And as a result, think about how often you see knives with broken tips!)

Awls should be standard equipment on every multitool, IMO.

[Raukodur]

hopefully there is a solution to putting an awl onto any LM that has a bit driver by creating a custom 'awl' bit, and maybe also a chisel bit. There is thread in the 'general tool forum' where J-Sews is posting pics of his attempts. All very exciting stuff IMO. Not often you figure out a tool can have atleast two extra functions quite easily added on!