Paul Chen Multi Tasker

[damota]

I have just received a Paul Chen Multi Tasker, first impression= it could have been made by Gerber, very much like a shiny Recoil. Then when you start using it you find the shears can not be flicked out like a Gerber because they are locked in both the open and closed position. To use you have to press the buttons and let it slide open/closed. The shears are 1/8" thick and cut what cable I had laying around very well also paper card plastic sheet a seat belt and some cavas.
When closed the tools available are a one hand opening knife on one limb with a pocket? clip on the other limb. Behind the clip is a file that when you open it comes away from the tool and a 16tpi saw blade. When open there is a Philips screw driver on one of the arms (it takes the Gerber Bit adapter so 1/4" bits can be used with it. On the other arm there is a small flat driver with a tin opener and a medium driver with a bottle opener. The knife blade is held open by a liner lock the other tools are held open in the same way Gerber used to use, a part of the main body pressing down to act as a slip lock. The file is in a world of its own you must open (remove it to get at the saw and slot it back into position when finished, I personally think it would have been better behind the saw. On the other side to the clip is a sprung open pair of piers the spring is riveted in so it will not be lost, so we shall see how long it lasts. The pliers are about half an inch longer than the ones on the Cybertool.
Although the tools are plain unfinished steel as tools should be and the shears and pliers have some sort of black finish (anodised?) the main body is in chrome with Professional on one side and patent pending (no numbers) on the clip.

[damota]

Another shot showing the file atachment.

[J-sews]

The shear jaws, file blade, and phillips screwdriver are carbon steel, with no plating. You will need to keep a film of oil on them to prevent rust.
(The black finish on the shear jaws is a black oxide coating, which offers no corrosion protection.)

Thanks for the pictures and description damota. Mine is identical except for the logo. A suprisingly well-built tool. And with a wide range of functions. Definitely a "multi tasker."

~Bob

[Grant Lamontagne]

Great... there's another one on the list!
Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Mine is identical except for the logo

Does anyone know who designed it then?  Is it really a Paul Chen or just something he stuck his name on?

Def

[J-sews]

I don't know who Paul Chen is, but my guess is he stuck his name on an existing tool.
I first saw these tools 6 or 7 years ago. Fiskars had them made in China, using the Gerber sliding-jaw patent. They were imported under the "Excalibur" name.   

[J-sews]

But again, as damota describes, this is a very capable tool. Fit and quality are much better than every other multi I have seen come out of Asia.

[damota]

But again, as damota describes, this is a very capable tool. Fit and quality are much better than every other multi I have seen come out of Asia.

AFAIK Paul Chen is a Japanese sword manafacturer.
One fault I do have with it = the slightest trace of oil and the chrome finish makes it awkward to grip.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Paul Chen is a well respected knife and sword maker.  I had one of his knives a while back and it was pretty neat.  It was a double edged folder with an innovatve lock mechanism, anodized titanium handles and mother of pearl inlays... pretty darned nice.  I just find it odd that a guy with the kind of credentials as Paul Chen would go and stick his name on a tool made by someone else.
Def

[J-sews]

Here are a couple other tools that came out back then under the Excalibur logo. There is a definite family resemblence. We'll have to see if Paul Chen "introduces" them in the future as well.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Those shears look like they could be a forerunner to the new Leatherman Pruners...

Man, one of these days I'd love to get a look at some of the gems hidden away in your collection!
Def

[zoidberg]

This thread is pretty awesome.      

[Noa Isumi]

Nice necro-thread bump
 

A little Google-fu and I was suprized QVC still has a listing for "Excalibur Multi-Snip by Fiskars"

'Out of stock' of course

So of course we needed screen shots

http://www.qvc.com/%22Excalibur%22-Multi-Snip-Tool-by-Fiskars.product.V8190.html

[magentus]

Nice necro-thread bump
 

A little Google-fu and I was suprized QVC still has a listing for "Excalibur Multi-Snip by Fiskars"

'Out of stock' of course

So of course we needed screen shots

http://www.qvc.com/%22Excalibur%22-Multi-Snip-Tool-by-Fiskars.product.V8190.html

ThePeacent has at least one of those I think 

[ThePeacent]

Nice necro-thread bump
 

A little Google-fu and I was suprized QVC still has a listing for "Excalibur Multi-Snip by Fiskars"

'Out of stock' of course

So of course we needed screen shots

http://www.qvc.com/%22Excalibur%22-Multi-Snip-Tool-by-Fiskars.product.V8190.html

ThePeacent has at least one of those I think 

there you go, compared to Swisschamp





if there are any questions about ir I'll do what I can to answer them. 



Definitely an odd tool, cool but not awesome, different from most mainstream designs. Gerber/Leatherman adaptor fits well on the Phillips, the saw is puny and ridiculous, as is the can opener, the file is detachable and works well, the blade is excellent and the steel absolutely easy to get scary sharp...sorry these two next pics are blurry   



I had three, now only this one left



older pics





you may notice they're different models from the pliers (normal ones), some are black some are grey (version with "Excalibur" engraved)

[Poncho65]

Great old thread and some nice pics from then and now

[ReamerPunch]

The pliers on the original look much better than the Multitasker has.

I was disappointed to see that the pliers are just slapped on the handle. Removing them would make the handles the same thickness. Sure, you'd still have the belt clip on one, but still. As it is, the pliers are on the opposite side of the same handle as the belt clip.

[clown]

Found some on the bay!

https://m.ebay.com/itm/Professional-Multi-Tool-by-Paul-Chen-Hanwei-1008-GT/372190700078?hash=item56a84b622e:g:wsAAAOSwXzNaVoAP

My car is on its way out so no more MTs for me for a while.    But maybe some one will grab one of these

[gerleatherberman]

Got my Chen tool today. I figured it was going to be pretty good, but wow. Maybe my example is a standout, but holy smurf balls the thing exudes an aura of build quality. The shears meet very precisely and can be tightened if they loosen up with a pivot screw. The only thing I believe to be ridiculous is the pliers, but I think that was the only way to get some pliers on it and they are better than no pliers. The can and bottle openers w/ driver tips seem to be o.k, but not amazing.
Mine has superb fit and finish. I certainly feel like, at $25, the tool is more than worth it.

I hope I don't have to eat my shoe when I order another one to carry.

I'll post better photos at some point, but here are a few I took after I opened the package.

[WoodsDuck]

The shears are great, and the blade is half decent. It's let down quite a bit by the pliers, at least on my example. They're pretty flimsy and I have little confidence in them beyond tweezer work. A shame they can't put SAK pliers on there.

[gerleatherberman]

At $25, I don't think theres much of a profit margin. SAK "pliers" would be nice though. The "pliers"(like you said tweezer work) on my example are tight, but not very precise like SAK pliezers. The shears are beefy and strong, but I fear they wouldn't work so well on precise work like Bear & Sons bird shears do. But, heck, for $25 I'm gonna give it a pass.
I have been acquiring odd and special MTs lately. Most have been kind of meh, but the Chen MultiTasker is one I felt like it was a good deal.
I like the fine cut of the file(removable is cool too) and non-agressive saw(machined saws aren't good for fine wood working most of the time).

[ThePeacent]

yes, in my view these are worth the $ and more, compared to the competitors
I like the OHO blade a lot, gets scary sharp 

are your pliers grey or black? 

[gerleatherberman]

Thanks, TP!
Mine are black. Is there a difference in quality?

[mikekoz]

   I have one of these somewhere. The first one I received was damaged and I had to return it. The blade was also pretty dull. The replacement was fine, but still had a dull blade. The "pliers" are more like glorified tweezers. I thought the shears were of good quality, but the tool was not comfortable in my hands. It is different though, and I have to give credit for a unique design.

[WoodsDuck]

Thanks, TP!
Mine are black. Is there a difference in quality?

I'm curious about this as well. Mine are also black.

[ReamerPunch]

The first one I received was damaged and I had to return it.

What was wrong with yours?

Here's mine, from the other thread on it:

Show content

I had gotten one of these. I returned it the next day. I am a fan of scissors and it looked decent enough just to have for the shears.

Every cut-out that formed the backsprings for the tools was cracked. Every single one.


The pliers felt like the cheapest aluminium ever. Might as well abandon them or have them made out of plastic. Absolutely terrible. I was thinking of cutting the little piece that they're attached to with a dremel, which would make the handle thinner.

I liked the design, but I was very disappointed with the poor quality. Even at its low price, it was a rip-off.

[gerleatherberman]

   I have one of these somewhere. The first one I received was damaged and I had to return it. The blade was also pretty dull. The replacement was fine, but still had a dull blade. The "pliers" are more like glorified tweezers. I thought the shears were of good quality, but the tool was not comfortable in my hands. It is different though, and I have to give credit for a unique design.

Thanks for the input, Mike!

The blade on mine is sharp enough to slice paper fairly well. I could make it sharper, but the tool is for my oddball assortment in the collection and not for use. I may possibly buy a second to toy with though.

The first one I received was damaged and I had to return it.

What was wrong with yours?

Here's mine, from the other thread on it:

Show content

I had gotten one of these. I returned it the next day. I am a fan of scissors and it looked decent enough just to have for the shears.

Every cut-out that formed the backsprings for the tools was cracked. Every single one.


The pliers felt like the cheapest aluminium ever. Might as well abandon them or have them made out of plastic. Absolutely terrible. I was thinking of cutting the little piece that they're attached to with a dremel, which would make the handle thinner.

I liked the design, but I was very disappointed with the poor quality. Even at its low price, it was a rip-off.

Sorry your experience with it was so bad. The pliers are mine feel like steel. I wonder if there are production run discrepancies going on? TP and I have had positive impressions, but others have had bad experiences with them. Did the cracks in the spring edges cause reduced tool retention on your Multitasker?
Like I mentioned in my first related post, my observations are of initial quality. You and I may also expect different levels of quality for the price of the tool. If I had paid $50 for it, I would not be excited about it. As said, this tool is for my oddball assortment, but if I buy another, I will do a full usage test on it for a follow up.
I may end up eating my shoe for the praise of my current example of the Multitasker. Hopefully not, but we'll see. 

[WoodsDuck]

About the pliers; WeAllJuggleKnives (YouTube) mentioned he bent his trying to snap the blade off a utility knife. Which is something I can't imagine any MT pliers failing to do. Even the lightest duty tools like a Gerber Dime should at least handle a job that simple. They're pre-cut for smurf's sake 

[ReamerPunch]

Sorry your experience with it was so bad. The pliers are mine feel like steel. I wonder if there are production run discrepancies going on? TP and I have had positive impressions, but others have had bad experiences with them. Did the cracks in the spring edges cause reduced tool retention on your Multitasker?
Like I mentioned in my first related post, my observations are of initial quality. You and I may also expect different levels of quality for the price of the tool. If I had paid $50 for it, I would not be excited about it. As said, this tool is for my oddball assortment, but if I buy another, I will do a full usage test on it for a follow up.
I may end up eating my shoe for the praise of my current example of the Multitasker. Hopefully not, but we'll see. 

The pliers on mine felt like the cheapest pop metal ever made. I did not think metal of that thickness could ever be this soft. I knew they would be low quality, from the reviews I had seen, and I had my expectations low, but apparently not low enough.
Varying degrees of quality and therefore experiences are to be expected. I may have gotten a lemon, the worst tool to have ever left the factory.

The cracks did not reduce retention enough to notice it, but I was afraid a back-spring would just break off eventually. There were cracks all over the tool, and I had paid for a new one, so I was very disappointed in its condition. The shears were nice, but not nice enough to make me disregard its shortcomings. It left a bad taste in my mouth so I did not order a replacement. Maybe yours will prove decent enough, along with other members' reviews, to make me reconsider it.

[ReamerPunch]

About the pliers; WeAllJuggleKnives (YouTube) mentioned he bent his trying to snap the blade off a utility knife. Which is something I can't imagine any MT pliers failing to do. Even the lightest duty tools like a Gerber Dime should at least handle a job that simple. They're pre-cut for smurf's sake 

I had that in my mind when I ordered it. I was thinking of just removing the pliers from it altogether. Alas, it was so terrible I returned it.