Cheapo Multitools...

[Biru]

The "Go to China" thread started my thinking about my cheapo multitools:

"The Grip": Easily the worst-designed tool I own. The handles have hex cutouts for nut/bolt heads. When you close the tool the square ends of the pliers bind on them and you have to fumble to get the tool closed. Someone tell me WHAT those blasted plier recesses are supposed to be? The handle steel is so thin you can't put any pressure on them without an "ouch!". No integral Phillips, just a bit socket. On the plus, the awl is maybe the best I've got. It's deadly sharp.


Here's a surprisingly good $5 Walmart Bear Jaws copy. They showed up around the time Victorinox purchased Bear. Then they disappeared after about 3 weeks... At $5 per tool, I suppose the shop steward used an AK47 to encourage production:



Then there's this thing I call the Whazzit. I guess if you've got nothing else, this will do:



So any interesting cheapos?

Bill

[Lynn LeFey]

I have a number of cheap multitools: The Husky 14-in-1, the Husky Medium, a small Coast, the Sheffield 1200E, the Sheffield 12010 (a keychain size tool, about the best $3 I ever spent), and a Tool Choice mini that's basically a duplicate of the Sheffield 12010.

If you can find a Sheffield 12010 at $5 or so, it's worth it. I'd even say the Tool Choice version is also worth $5. They're very stiff in tool deployment, but otherwise very handy.

I just reviewed the two Huskies I have in this thread...
http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,36420.0.html

[badwolf]

Lots more cheapo tools here that 'Grip' tool has one fancy plier head, I guess its some sort of crimper and at least the bit driver takes standard bits, great pics

[Grant Lamontagne]

Here's one of my many cheapos:









QC is so good with this company that they can't even get the 80's reject puffy stickers on the side straight.  Still, it's better than the current Schrade offerings, as I can squeeze the handles on this without the tool bending.   

I'll get some more photos of some more cheapos soon.  Some actually are kind of neat- or at least have neat concepts in them that would be nice to see on better quality tools.

Def

[Biru]

Grant: That Sheffield looks much like the Whazzit. I don't even know where I got mine. Funny thing is that if weight meant well-built, that Whazzit would be able to destroy a Supertool.

Lynn: If that keychain Sheffield you mentioned looks like a small Supertool, I totally agree! Mine has done excellent duty. Somewhere I have a Sheffield that's a Supertool clone. It's got fairly uncomfortable handles, but it seems a fairly good tool. I've never seen a Hefty or Tool Choice...

Badwolf: The pliers on that Grip are totally deranged! I can't figure for the life of me what the designer meant them for. I tried crimping with them, but they won't really crimp. Then the designer put that weird protrusion on the bottom of each handle just where they jab into your palm.

[Lynn LeFey]

Here's a link to my posted pic of my little Sheffield and the (virtually identical) Tool Choice keychain mini multitool.
http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,33297.msg585368.html#msg585368

The picture in the post directly above it is the same kind of thing, with the same tools on it.

Husky is the sort of 'store brand' you get at Home Depot. I haven't seen them anywhere else.

[badwolf]

Picked this up via ebay UK, for £2.99, will add better pics when it arrives, it looks a bit like your Walmart Bear Jaws copy but with a bit set

[batrev]

Wow I had that whole collection of sheffield multis you showed there! Someone gave it to me years ago. Worked on a farm at the time. All gone now except for the adjustable wrench one. 

[Biru]

Sometimes cheap can be good! Take this fellow, for instance. If you like spending large amounts of time in the garden, this chap might just be your dream tool. The shears work reasonably well enough for small, fragile cinnamon vines, but cut a rose stem or (forget it!) grape vine and the shears will bind and the handles will close up! You'll be fumbling for what seems like an eternity  unclogging your tool for the next cut. The root fork might do a petunia or a violet in a pot, but don't try to use it in anything firmer than sand. The knife does cut (for a while, at least) and the saw doesn't bend too much... On the good side, the rust from the tool might be nutritious for your plants.

[Grant Lamontagne]

My wife absconded with my Leatherman Hybrid for work in the garden.  I sort of wish I had gotten a cheap copy, especially since they are now discontinued! 

Wow I had that whole collection of sheffield multis you showed there! Someone gave it to me years ago. Worked on a farm at the time. All gone now except for the adjustable wrench one. 

My mother in law got me the seven (I think) piece set for Christmas a few years ago.  They were put in the drawer almost immediately and yet still show signs of wear- despite never actually being used.   

Def

[theonew]

My wife absconded with my Leatherman Hybrid for work in the garden.  I sort of wish I had gotten a cheap copy, especially since they are now discontinued! 

My mother in law got me the seven (I think) piece set for Christmas a few years ago.  They were put in the drawer almost immediately and yet still show signs of wear- despite never actually being used.   

Def

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I wish I was making that up....   

Def

[batrev]

They didn't stand up long to farm life. Guess they also couldn't stand up to life in a wooden box either

[Biru]

badwolf, must ask:

Your tool does indeed look like my BJ copy. If it is, I think you'll find it a very good tool. What I'm wondering is where do the bits fit? My tool has no bit receptacle so I just wondered.

I've got to find my Sheffield. All I remember about mine was that the handles didn't close perfectly parallel (but then I have a $50 US Bear Jaws that doesn't either...).

[Zed]

you should add your pics to my cheapo MT picture thread 

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,33297.0.html

[Biru]

I must have used the incorrect search terms originally because I missed that thread somehow. I'm not sure how best to do that, but feel free to move them if you'd like.

Regards, Bill.

[Zed]

I must have used the incorrect search terms originally because I missed that thread somehow. I'm not sure how best to do that, but feel free to move them if you'd like.

Regards, Bill.

mine was more of a picture post to see what cheapo MT's folks have, i actualy like a few of my cheaper MT's , your whazzit is like my trail and my smaller talon, my trail has a file on the saw has the whazzit ? i guess these all must come from the same chinese factory, i like the solid pliers on these, 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Some cheapies are quite good- you just have to wade through a lot of junk to find them, and I don't like to point people looking for a good tool to cheapies because finding a good one can be difficult.

Def

[Zed]

Some cheapies are quite good- you just have to wade through a lot of junk to find them, and I don't like to point people looking for a good tool to cheapies because finding a good one can be difficult.

Def

I agree Def plus its good to have some good ones to compare the cheapos to, the 2 pictured above i like as very well and well worth the money, although drivers are fiddly as not inline, i also removed the springs on both these as dont like spring loaded pliers, for me this is a good tool box tool for use of the hefty pliers and the other tools as backups, the smaller model is a handly pocket carry if you need pliers as these open pretty wide for a smaller tool, and only need drivers now and then, for me as well i like the look of these type of tools and cant afford the sog or Al-mars alternatives,

pros
solid tool with hefty pliers,
good serrated saw

cons
fiddly to use drivers,

[Grant Lamontagne]

Here's another couple of cheapos I had kicking around.  The first is a neat looking one I got at Canadian Tire for about $10 with a knife.  It's pretty crappy.  The hinges actually rotate easier than the plier pivot, so when you try to open the head of the pliers to grab something the handles try to rotate shut.   







I will say this much for it- it has the absolute best Phillips I have ever seen on a cheapo, and it's better than a lot of big brand phillips screwdrivers too.



This next one came in a set that my brother got me a number of years ago.  It came in a giant sheath that also had a lighter and something else in it, although I can't rightly remember what that something else was off the top of my head.

 

It's marked Mountain Gear, although I have seen a number of very similar type tools with a variety of names, and many more that were just blank.



There are a few interesting points on this tool- for example, the rubber handle covering is actually really nice.  Since it's held on with a metal plate screwed into the frame I wouldn't guess it is good for insulating it, but it is quite comfortable in the hand.



It also has a good array of features, and like the blue one above it has all outside opening implements.  Oh yeah, and the whole thing is screwed together, so it's almost as moddable as a SOG!



And yes, you aren't seeing things- it does indeed have two can openers.  It came that way.  I don't know why- it could have been a screw up at the factory, or it could have just been made that way assuming no one cares.



This is the other feature of this one that I like- the wrench is a handy thing to have.  I know most companies assume that pliers are good enough, but they aren't, and sometimes you want a wrench.  While the big names are busy making fancy cutouts to make a tool look nicer, it would be nice if they actually put some thought in and made nice wrench cutouts like this.   

Def

[Lynn LeFey]

Do you have a rough price estimate on that second one?

I've shown some pictures of another Sheffield I own (model 12010). This is the larger version, model 1200E. I'm assuming it's a knockoff of the Leatherman PST, but don't have one for comparison. I got it at a pawn shop for $5 and in all fairness, think it's worth that. Weight is about 5 oz. Every tool I've used on it has performed adequately. It doesn't have the over-rounded pieces common to cheap multitools. Tool retention is fairly good on one side (the side with the blade), and weak on the other. Most everything is okay on this tool, but earning exceptional merit is the can opener. I just put it head-to-head with my cheapo Husky 14-in-1 tool, a SOG Powerlock, and Leatherman Wingman, and it straight up blew them all away. Weird.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I would imagine that if you could find that second one (and I've seen similar but not the same) it would probably be in the $10-15 range.  I didn't buy this one so I can't say for sure, but I think Dan (Chako) has some similar ones, and he may remember what he paid.

It's got some neat design ideas, but it also suffers from someone not thinking things through- like the two can openers.  The scissors also constantly try to jump out of the handle. 

Def

[badwolf]

badwolf, must ask:

Your tool does indeed look like my BJ copy. If it is, I think you'll find it a very good tool. What I'm wondering is where do the bits fit? My tool has no bit receptacle so I just wondered.

I've got to find my Sheffield. All I remember about mine was that the handles didn't close perfectly parallel (but then I have a $50 US Bear Jaws that doesn't either...).

Well, its here, not as nice as your BJ copy, has a fold out standard size bit holder, will add pics asap

[Biru]

From the pic it looks nearly identical. I wouldn't doubt the same manufacturer produced both.

Funny thing about cheapos, when I first got into MTs, my friends who did lighting and truss work all adored the Gerber Multiplier because of its easily-deployed plier. No matter how I try, I just can't get into Gerber (my Legend included). But I did find a $10 Chinese copy which bears the Gerber patent numbers on its side- suggesting that it was not merely a ripoff, but licensed. Later, after Gerber went to Chinese manufacture, I started to wonder whether my Sino multitool might have been a Gerber essay, and that perhaps they were trying this manufacturer to see how they did. One really great thing about that plier- no matter how wimpy the Phillips screw, the faux-Gerber's screwdriver will round off!  It will also pinch the H#*@ out of your hand.

One peculiar quirk I've noticed about these tools is the ubiquitous fish scaler/hook remover they seem to like to put on the tools. It's somewhat like the faux saw on the back of USAF survival knives- it looks like a saw, but that's not exactly its purpose. I've got a LIGHTWEIGHT (read flimsy) "Executive" MT with one of those in it. I suppose even executives go fishing...

[Lynn LeFey]

In order of usefulness in tools on an MT, I think Fish Scaler is dead last, just below corkscrew. I know some folks use corkscrews, and having them on an MT for some folks is actually useful. I have never in my life needed a corkscrew... but I will admit the possibility of needing one somewhere, somehow. I'm dead certain I will never need a fish scaler.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Even if you don't use the corkscrew for opening wine it can still be handy for picking apart knots or carrying a small screwdriver. Victorinox makes on that you can get for almost nothing and it fits in the corkscrews of a variety of different worms from different manufacturers.

Def

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

[dks]

Here are a few..
Apart from the SAK lookalike the rest are quite useable. The Bahco and Ganzos are not that cheap...

The two bigger ones, Ganzo, have been reviewed by me; see the review section for more.

[user24]

Apart from the SAK lookalike the rest are quite useable.

I've yet to find a SAK-alike that's actually any good.

[Sazabi]

Apart from the SAK lookalike the rest are quite useable.

I've yet to find a SAK-alike that's actually any good.

I've found a couple older, mainly Solingen-made pieces, though I didn't get them, they did appear to be rather well-made.

[AimlessWanderer]

My German and British utility knives have been perfectly usable, as was my Case Camper with pliers that I had a while back They don't feel like a Vic or Wenger, but they do exactly what they were meant to - cut things, turn screws, poke holes .... and I'm happy using them.

They're not SAKalikes anyway, we started doing them before them