One down, two in reserve and action plans underway

[AimlessWanderer]

On very rare occasions  I may possibly have happened to mention ... just in passing ... a certain liking for the MP700. It was a rough start to the relationship as the first one I got was sold with a vital component missing. Eventually I got this sorted and even sniped a couple of spares as I really got a good feeling about this tool. It's the only tool discontinued or otherwise that I've duplicated.

This morning I got a PM regarding a heads up on a deal on a potential fourth if I was interested. I sat there thinking do I really need a Number 4? I grabbed the one next to me which has been a great pocket tool for several months now, and opened it up to survey how it was holding up to active service. Excellent was the answer, everything in very good order, so I closed it up ... and the plier locking/engagement spring snapped! Bugger!


This is the first time one of these has failed on me - I can't count the one that turned up incomplete, and covert ninja operations  are being planned with a top bloke across the water to address the situation 

Thanks for your help mate 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Wow that's amazing!  I said the other day that you have had an uncanny amount of bad luck with Gerber, and it looks like it's not done yet!

It's strange that the bits you keep having issues with are always pieces that never seem to break elsewhere.  I'll be meeting with the design staff at Gerber in the next day or two (can't remember exactly when the meeting is off the top of my head) and I will have a chat with them about this.

Def

[AimlessWanderer]

I think (hope) this might just be a rogue one. The grain was rather crystaline on the break, not what I'd have expected for a spring component. It almost looked like a casting break ... although that was early this morning with tired eyes, so I'll have another squint when I get back.

As for the bad luck, I've always been a bit of a turd magnet. One of the UK Mods said my Juice CS4 was the worst he'd ever seen. My Squirt P4 had two factory defects too ... so it's not just Gerber I get bad runs with  Thankfully the curse with me seems to be limited to the Portland area and hasn't spread to other manufacturers

My plan is to replace this one, and then see how long future ones last and if there's any repetition to any future issues. I much prefer them to LM's Juice (even though the blade locks) and it would be nice to see them replace it with something close. It would also be interesting to hear if the MP700 was short lived purely due to poor sales or if there were problems in manufacturing/returns.