Multitool Designs

[Tom Munch]

I don't envy the multitool manufacturers when they try to decide what to include in a design (actually I do).  Sometimes I don't think they are as clever as they could be. 

I'd like to see a good discussion on features & implements folks would like to see in a tool that aren't in the popular offerings now - such as adjustable wrenches & hammers.  I could see a channel-lock type plier/wrench in a multitool as the standard plier as well as a thickened flat area to use for hammering.

Any other ideas out there?

[Grant Lamontagne]

I hope you don't mind but this idea deserved to be it's own thread

It's funny that you should mention adjustable wrenches and the like since I was discussing something very similar in an e-mail earlier this evening.  I was discussing the LM Crunch specifically and I was saying that it was a neat idea, but I just don't see how a "specialized" vise grip tool keeps in line with multitools, which tend to be more generalized type tools.  Admittedly, if you work in a particular place where you need adjustable wrenches or vise grips often, then it makes sense but I think the basic idea of sticking with a set of "jack off all trades" type pliers is best, simply because you never really know what you are going to be up against.

Of course, there is the idea that the visegrips can be left "loose" and used just like pliers too, but I like the idea of keeping it simple.

Def

[Tom Munch]

Making a new thread is fine.  This is a little off the original thread.  Let me include the list I had of tools that I normally use in week to spur some thought.

Most weeks I need the following tools:

One-handed knife
Pliers & screwdriver combo
Two pliers combo for a bolt & nut (or two wrenches)
Flashlight
Pen
Reading glasses (you'll need them someday too)
Fine screwdrivers
Hex & Star drivers
Prybar
Can & bottle opener
Scissors
File
Nailfile
Tweezers
Toothpick
Emergency cutter (saw or serrated)
Awl
Wire stripper
Large-jaw wrench or plier
Locking pliers
Ruler
Knife sharpener
Hammer
Magnet
Mirror

[Tom Munch]

I think the basic idea of sticking with a set of "jack off all trades" type pliers is best, simply because you never really know what you are going to be up against.

Of course, there is the idea that the visegrips can be left "loose" and used just like pliers too, but I like the idea of keeping it simple.

That's my thinking behind the channel-lock pliers.  I almost never use a regular pliers.  The jaws are never wide enough to grip the stuff I need to, & a non-adjustable jaw grips at an angle instead of flat onto the gripped surface.  Having a non-toothed area with the adjustable jaw would allow a flat grip on a nut that wouldn't chew up the nut like the toothed part of a plier on a multitool.  I would think everyone would see the benefit in this over the standard multitool pliers.  The trick is to machine it tight enough that it doesn't become a rattling mess of a tool.

Now to figure out how to incorporate some of the other tools on my list without making a 20 lb tool.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Most of your list could be accomplished I think, but certain things are just going to be heavy and bulky by nature, like the hammer and the flashlight.  Victorinox did once try to incorporate a flashlight into their AutoTool, but that thing was huge.  If you aren't familiar with the Autotoo, it's the biggest one in the linup on the main page at www.multitool.org and it is perhaps the most massive tool I have encountered.
 Of course, nowadays with superbright LEDs and decent lithium batteries available, it is entirely possible that a flashlight could be added without too much additional bulk, but when the AutoTool came out it was an incandescent bulb and a small, expensive camera battery.
Def

[Tom Munch]

If you aren't familiar with the Autotool...

Yes, that thing is HUGE!

[Grant Lamontagne]

It was a great idea- a series of tools designed for the motorist, but unfortunately it was just too big to work out effectively.  It was however, quite groundbreaking for Victorinox, and paved the way for the SwissTool a few years later.

But I have yet to see another multitool that has half the innovations the AutoTool had.  I mean the thing has a folding ice scraper!  Somebody's noodle was working in overdrive!

Def

[Tom Munch]

Was the SpydeRench as bad as everyone says it was?  That thing had some good tools from my list on it.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I don't know- I still haven't managed to snag one myself.  I think it looked like a good idea, and I can't wait for the new one to show up.  I will definately have to get one and test it out.

I really liked the idea of having the seperate pliers and screwdrivers though- saves you having to carry two tools or a tool and a SAK.

Not that I wouldn't anyways, but the thought is there!

Def

[Tom Munch]

I just bid on one at ebay.  It's a little pricey for my blood though.

[J-sews]

I just bid on one at ebay.  It's a little pricey for my blood though.

So, did you win the Spyderench? They were produced with three different blade styles. Plain edge, fully serrated, and combination. Which type is the one you went after?

[Tom Munch]

No, I gave up at $60. 

It was the fully serrated model.

[Sea Monster]

I could see a channel-lock type plier/wrench in a multitool as the standard plier as well as a thickened flat area to use for hammering.

No-no-no-no-no!

If you want to hammer, carry a damn hammer, carry a set of regular pliers with very sturdy head. Multis (and most every other tool in the world) ARE NOT FOR GENTLE PERSUASION.


On a less likely to cause me an injury issue - Who makes a multi with a Shifting spanner head/function? (Brand, Model, and link if possible please)

[Carthas]

There's a review of one on this (by that I mean multitool.org) web site here: http://www.multitool.org/miscellaneous-tools/medium-tools/spyderco-spyderwrench/-byrdwrench.html 

[Sea Monster]

Read that.

For a brief time I was tempted to get some of them for my store. A brief, brief time.

[WhichDawg]

One of the main reasons I was attracted to SOG is the ability to switch out tools and make your Multitool fit your needs, the problem is they don't have enough tools, options as their are needs and wants. My dream multitool design would be something with many options/tools that I can order and make it the way I need at a given time. Custom jobs are expensive so I don't go that route. I guess theirs more money in us buying many different tools, a marketing shame..

[Tom Munch]

Carthas,

I bought a ByrdWrench in the meantime & I think I did a review on the forum here somewhere.  I EDC'd a ByrdWrench for a while until I tired of it.  It is a solid tool, but it has a high fiddle factor.

Tom

[Sea Monster]

Another item for my Perfect Tool - Half Round file instead of flat file.

[J-sews]

Another item for my Perfect Tool - Half Round file instead of flat file.

That's one I've not heard mentioned before. It would probably take up more space than a regular flat file. Worth it?