The Spirit experiment: Week 1.

[Mr. Whippy]

A week ago I said:

Well, that tears it.

lovenhim, you've convinced me.  I'm going to carry my Vic Spirit for the next few weeks on the farm and see what I think.  There's plenty of planned wiring and routine work to see how it does. 

This sort of thread is what makes MTO so valuable.  Where else can you find so many unvarnished opinions of tools in the real world.

Well...
I've been using the my Spirit for a week now.  Here are my impressions:

1. The ergos of the handles are great.  Better than the Charge
2.  The onboard Phillips is nice.  The reach is good and for most machine/metal screws, it allows application of enough torque.  The occasional wood screw will defeat it however.
3.  The file is just fine.  It may not be a diamond coat file, but it works very well.
4.  The mini-ratchet works fine, it's just that it's almost easier to bring a miniratchet set with a greater selection of bits.  It's a big time consumer setting it up (relatively speaking) and isn't as "handy" as having the driver onboard
5.  I've gone to carrying a folder because the blade is a hassle to get out.  OHO blades rule--period.  Once deployed, the butterknife works great.  Very sharp. Not so great for plunge cuts, but then again neither is my Razel or Spyderco Captain

Overall, a very impressive tool.  I'm not sure if it will replace the Charge for two reasons:

1.  No OHO blade
2.  The spirit gets extremely slippery when dealing with oil, grease, diesel or wet greasy mud.

However, aside from that, the ergos of the Spirit pliers are great.


One more week to go.

[Dunc]

Sounds like you have been giving it a really good work out and you make some very good points .

Looking forward to next week .

Dunc

[Gareth]

Very interesting Nate, like Duncan I'm looking forward to your thoughts after weeks two. 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

It'll be tough to back to the Charge mate

[cncguy]

How are you carrying it? I assume if your using the mini ratchet set, the spirit plus sheath is what you've got. That's a pretty bulky setup compared to a charge with the flat bit cards.

[Mr. Whippy]

How are you carrying it? I assume if your using the mini ratchet set, the spirit plus sheath is what you've got. That's a pretty bulky setup compared to a charge with the flat bit cards.

Correct.  I'm carrying the sheath on the back edge of my hip, which is helping some, but yes, it's bulky compared to back pocket carry of the Charge.

[cncguy]

Thats a pretty nice package to be carrying though. Covers a lot of bases. Did you remove the corkscrew? I find the tip sometimes bites me when I'm trying to get stuff out of the sheath. Unless you can put in in point first. You know I've never tried 

[scrappy]

The spirit is a nice tool. I haven't carried it much. Thanks for sharing

[MultiMat]

[quote author=Mr. Whippy link=topic=24129.msg441472#msg441472


Overall, a very impressive tool.  I'm not sure if it will replace the Charge for two reasons:

1.  No OHO blade
2.  The spirit gets extremely slippery when dealing with oil, grease, diesel or wet greasy mud.

However, aside from that, the ergos of the Spirit pliers are great.


One more week to go.

[/quote]

Well we have a fix for the OHO , Victorionx follows Bob/J-sew lead  COME ON VIC.





Bit of coarse sandpaper would fix the 'slippery' problem 

[Mr. Whippy]

Overall, a very impressive tool.  I'm not sure if it will replace the Charge for two reasons:

1.  No OHO blade
2.  The spirit gets extremely slippery when dealing with oil, grease, diesel or wet greasy mud.

However, aside from that, the ergos of the Spirit pliers are great.


One more week to go.

Well we have a fix for the OHO , Victorionx follows Bob/J-sew lead  COME ON VIC.

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

Bit of coarse sandpaper would fix the 'slippery' problem 

Yesterday, I needed to rough in a junction box. The wall is sheathed in wood not drywall. I really worked the Spirit.  Lack of a OHO blade is actually a major stumbling block.  To stop, inspect and then two hand open the butter knife is just not convenient--if this were to be routine carry, I would have to have a folder with me at all times.

The other shortcoming I didn't mention (because it is sort of fixable) is the lack of a pocket clip.

Back to the junction box however: After cutting out the hole, I had to clean it up a bit to get the gang box in.  At first I used the saw and file, which were quite good, especially the file.  But then it was down to fine fitment.  The chisel/multi edge tool was simply outstanding.  Leatherman NEEDS a tool like this.  Get rid of the little screw driver/bit holder and put one of these in! Then add the micro bit back as one of the standard bits in the regular bit driver. 

[Mr. Whippy]

Experiment over. 

I had to clear the fuel lines on the diesel tractor.  Add a little diesel onto the surface of the Spirit and it's like trying to hold onto an eel  . Dropped the friggin' thing in the dirt--which means to avoid adding dirt to the clogged fuel line problem,  I had to get another pair of pliers.

Once done, I then had to use my blue Farmer to bleed the lines.  After that, there was tractor work to do.  When I finished, I noticed the Farmer was missing 

I spent an hour walking around the pasture, looking for the lost Farmer 

I finally found it, but the point is, oily stuff and Vic Spirits, just don't mix.  Back to the Charge for farm carry.

[scrappy]

The oho blade and pocket clip are huge. I never knew they would matter to me till I owned the new wave and now I won't dive up the convenience. Also I like the diamond file and the little driver but if the could put it in the larger driver it would add an extra tool. Also the charge plier open wider than most tools which is helpful on the machines at my work. Sog opens wide but than so do the handles and I can't get hand around the handles when that wide.

[Dunc]

What a shame    I ran a similar experiment during the summer with a Wave and a Spirit and the Spirit came out tops for me . To be honest I can't see alot of difference between Clip carry and Sheath carry . One hand opening I have to admit is a problem but this is nicely addressed with a Vic Dual Pro . While I have used the Spirit many times with wet hands without a problem I have never had oily or greasy hands but I can see there could be a problem there .What I really missed was the Awl on the Wave and the reach on the drivers and of course the Chissel on the Spirit is a winner .

Thanks for a good honest comparison . Sounds like the Chrarge is the tool for you but I hope you still carry the Spirit from time to time 

[scrappy]

The clip saves time all day. No opening and closing the sheath. But the biggie is that I don't have to find my belt, put it on and then the sheath. Now I just don't wear a belt unless my craftsman is riding on it. I can carry two tools if I want and only one on my belt.

[Mr. Whippy]

Now that the dust has settled, here is the synopsis of my experience:

1.  Victorinox SwissTool Spirit

Pros:

• Pliers ergos are outstanding. Really amazing.  It's not just the rounded metal, it's the curvature of the handles.  Much more comfortable than the Charge
• The chisel tool.  Leatherman NEEDS this tool.  Extremely handy.

Overall, this would be an excellent tool for a carpenter, drywaller or electrician.  Excellent pliers, good saw, good file and that amazing chisel tool

The big downfall for this tool is actually fixable.  This tool is way too slippery for use in machinery settings.  It's actually dangerous if the thing fell into a gearbox.  Adding grippier inserts into the handles would go a long way to fix this.

Yes, a pocket clip would be a big plus, but really, the slipperiness is the biggest issue for me.

So, in short, a good tool, but in this iteration, just not a Farm tool.

[Sazabi]

Whippy:  what about adding skateboarders' grip tape to the handles and try it for week 2?  That should help quite a bit, I'd imagine.

[kreisler]

Bit of coarse sandpaper would fix the 'slippery' problem 

i found out that taping the handles with (any kind of) film helps a lot to enhance grip. one could use black electrician's tape or plain transparent Scotch adhesive film. the latter has also a protective function similar to protective films on cell phones, iphones, ipods. and also works great to remove greasy fingerprints from the polished stainless steel.

seriously me thinks that vinox should come up with a commercial after-market solution to protect the handles against scratches and to enhance the grip in the closed and deployed position.

for now, adhesive tape works fine. you need 4 stripes only.

[Lynn LeFey]

I just ordered a spirit X. After this review, I think I might really like it, but honestly, any real world work I did with it would be electrician stuff. I'm never dealing with grease or oils.

I absolutely LOVE the high polish finish on it, but I do understand that's not necessarily the best idea for all applications.

While it might wreck the 'pretty' of the tool, do you think something like skateboard deck tape would solve the grip problems? And... ninja'd. Apparently, I didn't read page 2.

[ducttapetech]

I like the Spirit, it is a sweet tool, but like Mr. Whippy, once it get oil, greese, or fuel on it, it becomes a wet bar of soap.

[kreisler]

i was a skater powell peralta stuff. skateboard deck tape sticks nastily on smooth surfaces and tends to leave adhesive residues when one tries to remove the grip tape. well, maybe not too bad as i recall it. there are worse.

spontaneously i would think 'no i would not wanna try this' since any other film (or tape) with less nasty adhesives would do the trick too. whatever one finds in the household. black electrician's tape is harmless, not nasty, and provides a good amount of grip already. skateboard's deck tape would be the ultimate, most extreme measure for 100% guaranteed grip. of course that will work (ouch, your hand palms!!). not the best idea imho but as uttered in some karate kid(?) movie:

Extreme situations call for extreme measures!!

[82brutus]

I spray painted the handles of my user swisstool with truck bed liner tuff coat paint. 

clean it off, tape the pivots, spray a little on.  Gives me a little extra grip.  Don't know if it would work against oil and grease though.

Sent from my MB860

[Styerman]

Good review . Since I always have a folder , the blade is not really a concern for me . A clip should be part of the package , I have often thought of beadblasting the handles , the slipperyness is a real problem .

The ratchet driver thingy is cute , but I have a couple of Mac and Snap On 1/4" setups , + 1/4"hex bits . These are much more practical . I have used the Old skool Leatherman UTA in conjunction with the Spirit .

Chris

[Mr. Whippy]

Yea...

There's no way I'm coating the handles of my Spirit.  I bought it a few kilometers North of where my ancestors lived in Switzerland since at LEAST  the 1600's.  Purchased in Zug in canton Zug (which is north of Walchwil, my ancestral home).

[Singh]

Whippy:  what about adding skateboarders' grip tape to the handles and try it for week 2?  That should help quite a bit, I'd imagine.

 I was thinking the same thing. 

 and as far as sticky residues are concerned; get some Goo Gone and it won't be a problem. Seriously, that stuff is magic!