The difference between a Charge ALX and Ti is painfully clear

[Mr. Whippy]

Decided to give the new to me Ti a test run today on some wiring.

The long and the short of it is, the Charge Ti is much more pinch prone.  The handles on the Ti have less of a gap than the ALX.  Because of this, I kept pinching the palm of my hand. 

Here are some comparison pics:









The Ti goes back in its case and the ALX goes back in my pocket. 

[Benner]

No such probs here.  But I do have girly hands.

[Dunc]

Thats interesting , I done a thread about the distance between the open handles on Swisstools but it never occured to me that a similar thing may be going on with leatherman . I wonder why   I assumed the chassis where the same and just the scales where different .

Dunc

P.S  is that rust on the Ti's plier head 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

P.S  is that rust on the Ti's plier head 

You need to ask?

[WhichDawg]

P.S  is that rust on the Ti's plier head 

You need to ask?

LOL! hey it could be blood! (it is pinching him)

[Mr. Whippy]

Dunno if it's rust.  It's a tool that came from an auction lot.  It was really gummed up with something, possibly pitch.  I soaked it in soapy water for a couple days, rinsed it off and then oiled it with mineral oil.

It's still a little sticky, but it's a good user. 


Some of us are unconcerned about a little scratch or ding. 



(but pinchy-ness is a whole different kettle of fish!)

[Neil]

Would filing the scales back a bit help any?  Seems a shame to sideline such a nice tool 

[Mr. Whippy]

Would filing the scales back a bit help any?  Seems a shame to sideline such a nice tool 

I think the problem is related to the geometry of the plier heads.  The scales on the ALX are actually bigger than the Ti.   The Ti is only slightly sidelined.  But it definitely is on the bench for electrical work. Cutting 12/2 cable and pinching the palm of the your hand---repeatedly gets you benched in my book. 

[Benner]

I think you just have chubby palms 

[Mr. Whippy]

Muscular hands... 

[nuphoria]

Big manly hands eh

I have pinched myself on my Ti too but only once.. it's still one of my top tools.

[Mr. Whippy]

Big manly hands eh

I have pinched myself on my Ti too but only once.. it's still one of my top tools.

I prefer to think of them as "Hands of the Noble Working Class"  as opposed to "Hands of the Snobbish Ruling Class" 


(Ben... )

[ryan1835]

ALX's are just lovely

[Chako]

I just had to go take a look. You are right. The Charge Ti is definately a pincher compared to all the other Charges, which appear to be of the same dimensions when opened (XTI, TTI, AL, ALX).

If you are looking for a user with the titanium scales that won’t pinch as much, then the XTI and TTI are the ones for you.

[J-sews]

What the heck...? This doesn't make any sense. How close the handles come together is a function of only two components: the handle frames, and the plier jaws. All Charges, no matter what version, are designed to use the same handle frames. The jaws - as we all know - are made in two styles; cap crimpers on the XTi, TTi, and ALX, and without crimpers on the Ti and AL.

So if somewhere in the tolerence stack-up the handles on a Ti get closer together, the same should be true with an AL. Nothing about how close the handles get together should be unique to just the Ti.


Another factor to consider however is that the tooling used to produce handle frames on Charges was changed in 2008. Perhaps the differences you guys are seeing has to do with when they were made, not which model they are?


 

[Chako]

I know what you mean. Here are my findings. Photos taken just a few minutes ago.
My Charge Ti date code 0206 compared to every other Charge I have:

Ti versus Silver Charge 0209.


Versus Bass Pro Shop Camo 1008.


Versus Cabela’s Camo 0406.


Versus XTi 0904.


Versus TTi 0209.


Versus ALX BO 0808.


Versus SLV 0807.


Versus  ALX 0708.


Versus AL 0908.


Versus AL 25th 0708.


So there are the date codes and model numbers. As you can see, the Ti is the smallest when fully opened in regards to the handles. Some older tools don’t seem to be as much of a pincher.

I find this rather interesting myself. I wonder if other Ti’s are the same. I never noticed this until this thread.

[J-sews]

There must be a slight difference in the stop point on that one. It wouldn't take much of a change there to result in the handle-closeness differences you are finding.

[Chako]

Yes, bang on Bob.

I took a real close look and couldn't see any visible differences in the plier heads. However, upon inspection, I can see a very subtle difference in the handle plate. It does not look like a manufacturing defect though.

Take a look at the red arrow on the right hand tool. That is the Ti with the smaller handle spread. If you compare that section to the one on the left, you can just note a change in thickness and angle of the steel of the stop point.


 

[J-sews]

Great spot!


Yet another mystery solved by CSI-MTorg

[1jump2many]

Yes, bang on Bob.

I took a real close look and couldn't see any visible differences in the plier heads. However, upon inspection, I can see a very subtle difference in the handle plate. It does not look like a manufacturing defect though.

Take a look at the red arrow on the right hand tool. That is the Ti with the smaller handle spread. If you compare that section to the one on the left, you can just note a change in thickness and angle of the steel of the stop point.

(Image removed from quote.)
 

You're talking about the width between the straight side and the angled side of the steel?

[Chako]

If you continue just past the red arrow, you see that joint where the handle plate takes a bend to form the seat where the plier head will rest. Well on the Ti, it is shallower and thinner than the one on the left which is the XTi. This small change means the Ti, or should I say My Ti's handle do not open as wide.

Before this thread, I never compared them in such a way. I was surprised to find out that mine exhibited the same characteristics as the OP's. This makes me wonder if more Charge Ti's are like this, or even if more models are like this. Did Leatherman make the handle plate, or was it outsourced? Did they make them like this for a short period of time? There are plenty of questions that I don’t have answers to.

[1jump2many]

That is what I thought, the metal the triangle/arrow shape slides into.  Good eye, I know I wouldn't have ever noticed that.

[Mr. Whippy]

Wow!

Less than a day and the phenomenon is nearly completely investigated and explained! That's amazing!

Now, the next mystery:  Why does Ben have girly hands. 


 

[Benner]

Because I use Fairy...

[Poncho65]

Since I don't have any Charges I was wondering how the Wave stacked up to the Ti in terms of the handle width since all it was originally was a fancy Wave

[Dunc]

since all it was originally was a fancy Wave

A Chavy Wave 

[jock1]

Because I use Fairy...

[ratslash7]

On my TTI the area that is being referred to as the "stop point" does not touch when the pliers are closed. If I close the jaws and look at a light I can see through that area.

If I squeeze the handles hard that area closes up as the jaws flex but if I just close the pliers it is the tip of the pliers that touch. I imagine this is to prevent over-flexing the plier head/jaws.

That makes sense to me. I want my pliers jaws to close all the way. I don't want a "stop point" to hinder my ability to squeeze whatever I am pliering (is that a word?).

Sorry to be the only dissenter here but re-check your Charges and see if mine's an oddball. If it is I'm glad mine is this way and it's all of a sudden much more valuable to me.

[Mr. Whippy]

Mine isn't a TTi, it's the older Ti.

I don't think the TTi has the same issue. (But your TTi is still "special" for you... )

 

[Dunc]

Because I am a Fairy...

We know Ben , we kind of guessed along time ago