Cheapo Multitools...

[dks]

Schrade century SAK clones are decent!

[user24]

The British army knives and Case knives aren't what I meant by SAK-alikes!

I'd not seen the Schrade century before, good to know if I spot it somewhere

[dks]

I'd not seen the Schrade century before, good to know if I spot it somewhere

Nobody ever looks at the reviews I do 

  have a look I think they are in the Swiss subforum 

[AimlessWanderer]

The British army knives and Case knives aren't what I meant by SAK-alikes!

I'd not seen the Schrade century before, good to know if I spot it somewhere

I was on about the Solingen and Sheffield made knives which most people would refer to as SAKalikes, not BAK's - celidor scales, can opener, bottle opener, corkscrew blah blah blah.. The case is in a similar vein, but a Scout pattern knife with pliers - quite nice actually but a little on the heavy side

[THE_LONGBOW]

Here is a set of Sheffields. I think some one gave this set to me some time ago. Note some of the decals have pealed off. I carry them in my travel trailer as you can see there is a tool for every need. 

[user24]

I'd not seen the Schrade century before, good to know if I spot it somewhere

Nobody ever looks at the reviews I do 

  have a look I think they are in the Swiss subforum 

I'm just not on here as often as I used to be - got a lot of catching up to do

I nearly picked up one of those sheffield tools (the one that looks a bit Al-Mar-ish) a few weeks back in a local junk shop. Might have another look at it.

[batrev]

Seeing that set brings back memories ... mostly of broken tools and foul language 

[Zed]

I'd not seen the Schrade century before, good to know if I spot it somewhere

Nobody ever looks at the reviews I do 

  have a look I think they are in the Swiss subforum 

I'm just not on here as often as I used to be - got a lot of catching up to do

I nearly picked up one of those sheffield tools (the one that looks a bit Al-Mar-ish) a few weeks back in a local junk shop. Might have another look at it.

I can pick up the larger Al-marish one localy new  for £4 if you ever fancy one or this option is cheaper 

[Lynn LeFey]

(Image removed from quote.)

I assume the Sheffield swiss-army type knife above is a copy of a vic or Wenger. Can anyone tell me what model it's copying? I have one of those Sheffield knives, and another no-name knock off that's almost identical, and would like to know what they're copying.

[Grant Lamontagne]

The closest model to that Sheffield would be a Huntsman or a Fieldmaster depending on whether you want to fixate on the Phillips or the corkscrew.

Def

[Lynn LeFey]

Excellent. Thank you.

[Biru]

To give Sheffield its props, I have a keychain Sheffield similar to the one at the lower left bottom of Longbow's pic. It's been a GREAT tool. It isn't curvy like the one in the pic, but is like a miniature Supertool with scissors. It really impressed a bunch of guys in a Radio Shack when I used it to help a little girl build her science project on the counter! 

Maybe it doesn't have a pedigree, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

[Grant Lamontagne]

If it works, use it.  The name on the side doesn't do anything. 

Def

[Zed]

Here is a set of Sheffields. I think some one gave this set to me some time ago. Note some of the decals have pealed off. I carry them in my travel trailer as you can see there is a tool for every need. 

(Image removed from quote.)

the one on the outside is like my one but mine is by trail, these must come from the same factory as all these i see look the same, although i have noticed some have a flat head on the saw and some dont, i think also some dont have a file as well, the smaller one in my pic ( by talon) has just a saw so im not sure if there is different versions of this one 

[Lynn LeFey]

To give Sheffield its props, I have a keychain Sheffield similar to the one at the lower left bottom of Longbow's pic. It's been a GREAT tool. It isn't curvy like the one in the pic, but is like a miniature Supertool with scissors.

Are you talking about the 12010?
http://sheffieldhardware.com/products/show/12010

If you are, I have one as well, and it is AWESOME. I bought mine in a pawn shop for $3, and bought a no-name knock-off of it for a friend recently for $5 new.

[Biru]

That looks like it. It's been a real performer.

[Lynn LeFey]

I totally agree. Best $3 I ever spent.

I've actually been looking for them elsewhere for sale new, and can't find them anywhere but on the net. New, they're about $7 and up (with shipping more like $14). There's a virtually identical tool available at K-Mart listed on their website as the 'Great Neck 12-in-1 Mini Multi Tool'. I bought a copy of it for a friend for $5. The tool is definitely worth $5 IMO, maybe worth $7... NOT worth $14.

[Zed]

Yet another one, sold at tescos uk for £2 with a rather crap torch , MT is actualy good, micra sized but with pliers,

[Lynn LeFey]

I just picked up a Berkley mini fishing tool the other day. What can I say? It was $5, and I was curious.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Berkley-Mini-Fishing-Tool/16637412

Here's a mini review...

Tools and how they functioned:
Ruler: Stamped on outside of frame. English/Metric. Gives about 4 1/5 inches or 12cm measure.
Blade: dull out of package. A little work brought it up to paper-cutting sharpness.
Flathead: drove a heavy screw about 1/2 an inch into pine.
File: fairly aggressive, but doesn't appear to have heat treatment, so I'm guessing not good for metal.
Awl: Punched through a 15oz can with some difficulty, and made great pilot hole in pine for screw.
Phillips head: successfully removed small screws from back of calculator.
Bottle opener: Worked on the first try.
Tiny flathead: Untested, I could probably convert it to fit eyeglass screws with a file in 5 minutes.
Scissors: Not bad. As per my earlier scissors test thread... Failed corrugated cardboard and heavy plastic, barely adequate for khakis and paracord, passed everything else. Score +3
Reference this thread for other scissor results...
http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,36798.0.html

Wirecutters: barely...BARELY cut 12-gauge wire. Cut paperclip without a problem.
Pliers: precise tip, able to pick a needle off a countertop. Flexed frighteningly laterally under the strain of trying to bend 12-gauge copper wire into a loop.

Saw: hahahaaaa... HOLY CRAP IT WORKED! Notched pine and oak nicely... if a little slowly. It's SO tiny, as to almost be a joke, but it actually works if you've got nothing better to do with your time.

Ergonomics: This thing is a little bundle of dangerous pain. Applying pressure with the pliers hurts. turning screws with the screwdriver hurts. The tool retention is almost non-existent, and all the drivers and awl fold if you sneeze at them.

Flex in the handles becomes pronounced after only a very little use, and I fear it's due to screws pulling through the sheet metal where the plier head connects. There is a review on you-tube which also shows one of the tabs that act as a stop for the plier head popping over the plier stop, and screwing up the handles.

It's unfortunate that this thing has some okay tools, but put together in a terrible frame which screws the whole pile up. If you can get past the not-great pliers and poor tool retention, this thing is better than no tool at all.

Recommendation: For the same money, go get one of the types listed in the previous several posts, such as this one:
http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_010W012825630001P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

[misbehave]

Here is the Cheap Chinese tool I own.  I post the review here a while ago.


More pics inside this post:http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,23970.0.html

It's no Leatherman but I actually like it a lot.  It has built-in dual LED flashlight too.
I am keeping this as a backup to my Leatherman Surge.
For $20 bucks, it's a real steal.

[mtool78]

Does anyone know if those KM Crunch knock offs are available somewhere - I'd like to have one to test it? 

[Zed]

Does anyone know if those KM Crunch knock offs are available somewhere - I'd like to have one to test it? 

I would be interested as well, i did see them on ebay a while back ,

[dks]

I remember seeing some Crunch copies for sale in a UK site... maybe amazon or something

[kreisler]

before i trash my old MT (bought from LIDL supermarket for 2.99€ or ~4US$) now --right now after this post!!-- for our/my records and documentation purposes lemme post a few pics of it. if you feel disgusted by such nasty photos or find them repulsive please cover your face quickly with your palm thanks 

otherwise click to enlarge hehe



the Philips driver was made out of plastic (or different material than the rest), and the bottle opener didnt work a bit, for which i hated this MT, and i am sure that the can opener didnt work either.



the scissors were a joke (and i lost the spring) and the bit driver was crooked at the tip and when i tried to unscrew a screw with one of the bits, the bit lost 2 indentations (Philips bit).


i did some work with the pliers but they got all loose in the joint with much play, and it was too hurtful in the hands to exert pressure on the handles. in the end the pliers were good for nothing. didnt cut wires or anything. the blade was 100% unusable because it didnt lock in neither direction (angle movement maybe 210°, i.e. over the standard snapping/locking 180°!)

What i did like about the product:
+ the fact that i owned a MT for the sake of owning one (haha. how silly. i know.)
+ the nylon pouch, 14grams only, wasnt too shabby. i am gifting it to a friend with a brand-new Ganzo-made MT inside
+ it came with a set of bits. i can use the bits with my Spirit Plus, they fit!!
+ i am thankful for the introduction to MT's. the purpose of buying this 4$ cheapo years ago was to test MT's and test myself .. if i really need or like or enjoy MT's, and if they make sense in my modest life. above all i did use the pliers often.. all the other tools, as mentioned, didnt do their job. i really need pliers on my tool (for EDC or at home or ..etc..) therefore a standard SAK wouldnt help me much as replacement for a MT. After spending those 4$ and playing with the MT for a long time i've come to the conclusion that i need and want a real MT (medium duty), and no SAK, ..

.. so today i received my brand-new Spirit Plus (with butter blade, bulky brown leather sheath, and the bit kit w/ wrench).

[Lynn LeFey]

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and predict that you'll find that Spirit Plus an upgrade. 

it's actually probably a better idea to go modest in price on your first MT, as you pointed out, to see if you even like that kind of tool.

[Biru]

kreisler:

That tool must have been made by the same fellows who made my GRIP (or at least they were influenced by them). The handles have those hex cutouts and the weird bulbs at the handle bases. I'd love to know why the GRIP guys put those oddball recesses in the pliers.

[legtu]

here's two of my faves. i'm not sure though if i can still consider them 'cheap' since the mini pliers alone costed me almost $10 (i think).

[Frankctz]

I believe all of us have or had a Cheap MT, some of them made the work (ligth work of couse) but some of them definitely very bad.
 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I love cheap tools- many of them have a character all their own.  Somewhere I have a keychain sized hammer multitool that is just so funny, because who would ever use a hammer that weighs about the same as a nail and has an inch and a half long handle? 

And the removable axe head tool Bob has is priceless.... as long as you aren't standing behind the guy using it!

Def

[AimlessWanderer]

The great thing about moving house is that you come across all kind of stuff you'd forgotten about 

The bad thing about moving house is you come across all kinds of stuff you'd forgotten about 

The good thing about spraining your back and not being able to hump boxes about, is you get to drink beer and take lots of piccies for threads like this 

(I'll apologise in advance if there's any duplication of tools already shown - I didn't trawl back through the thread to check  )

Standard unit of measurement for comparison is this MP400 for no other reason than it was in my pocket  First up is this Bahco ...






Both myself and dks have commented about these before. They're basically a Bear clone (right down to the gargantuan lanyard hole and the diabolical nail nick on the awl) with a spring loaded plier head and a corkscrew. For the price they are actually very good tools, and I have carried this one quite a few times, especially when I needed a decent sized tools but was wary about local knife restrictions due to where I was going. It's an excellent cheap UK legal tool. I also have another which is Silverstone branded (as in the racetrack) which was a gift from my brother. I stripped that down for a little TLC but haven't put it back together yet. Basically same thing with different branding and an unsprung plier head.



Lynn will recognise this next one ...



Sprung plier head again, but in a much smaller frame. This offering is from Sheffield (the brand NOT the city). Despite the pretty dreadful fit and finish on this little thing, it's actually quite useful. The snobs amongst us will all sneer down our noses at it in comparison with a Squirt or Dime, but this ugly little bugger will get you out of a tangle if that's all you have on you. I think it's fair to describe this one as surprisingly useful. There's a nice little touch too with a little hook and eye that keeps the tool shut till you need it. The downside is that the lever for the hook is also the lanyard attachment point, so on a keyring don't hold your breath about it stopping shut





In much the same vein is this little oddity from true utility



I believe this is modelled on some discontinued Gerber that I can't remember the name of, but again it sits well in the "better than nothing" category. Putting a saw in amongst the tool set was ... ambitious ... but otherwise there's a heck of a lot of versatility nestled in that small space. Not a hard use item, but if I needed to snip a loose thread, open a box or even fix my glasses I'd be happy to have this on me. 




Again the lanyard attachment point is a bit of an anomaly on this, as if you have got a split ring fastened to it, there's a good chance it might get in your way as you try to use the other implements.



Next up ... FRED



Nuff said 

These two have never made pocket carry, but they're just cute enough to hang on to.



It's plain enough to see what the knife based tool is paying homage to, but the tiny little toolclip clone is cuter than a cute thing on national cute day.



On to Swisstech, and something else I do not know the name of (roughly translates as can't be arsed to look). Another bit of an odd bod, but again some nice little features. In the first pi you can see a screwdriver/pry tool on the left, a bottle opener on the top and over to the right a teeny weeny eyeglass driver.



Flip it over and open it up for the wrench (never had call to try it out in all fairness), a small Phillips, and the aperture on the far right is the attachment point. This aperture is closed my the Phillips as shown in the first pic ... but I wouldn't trust the tool not opening and coming away to be honest.




Flip it back over and there's a little slippie blade tucked away, which is very reminiscent of the blade on it's sibling ... the Utilikey



I donj't care what anybody else thinks ... the Utilikey is BRILLIANT. No other company has come close to producing so much versatility and function in such a small package. OK the ergos aren't ground breaking, but this is a get you out of the briown and smelly stuff tool, not a primary working tool. Top bit of kit!

Unfortunately it goes a bit downhill from here, as I found this pouch tucked away in the bottom of a box I shifted over recently



The contents kind of look cheap but respectable



Basically your standard SAKalike and generic cheapo pliers based tool. I figured I'd fan the tools to show you guys what it comes equipped with, and when I got to the scissors ... they fell off in my hand  Just sheared clean away under less force than you'd use to get a pair of Vic's scissors out



Good start  The rest of the tools managed to stay attached for a photo opportunity, but I'm not altogether sure they'd stay that way if I actually tried putting the tool to use 




It must also be said that the torch (flashlight) was pretty naff too. Generic incan set up that got us by for a few decades though before things picked up, so not diabolical ... just obsolete.

But that ain't the worst. Yeah, that's right I got one that's even worse than permanantly detachable scissors. Brace your chuckle muscles, this is a corker!!!



How awful is THAT!!! I just had to buy it 

It's certainly not ashamed of it's heritage ...



now lets see what elights this has in store for us ... feast your weary little peep holes on this



FANTASTIC isn't it 

Notice the comparison of the corkscrew to that on the MP400 



That's the worst over with, but I can't close this post without showing something from my home town. Here's a little advertising knife, nothing special



For many years that was pretty much the only knife I carried and it was primary beer accessing tool through my formative years 

This one is a bit different, a Millenium Edition knife which I think is quite cool. It's a slippy blade, but the screwdriver/opener is a backlock 




and finally the knife I've had in my pocket today, a camper knife by Joseph Rodgers. Notice the reduced section on the can opener for piercing, and the hollow ground blade. QUIRKY!!



OK, I've taken up enough bandwidth now I reckon - I'll shut up for a bit. There may be one or two other cheapies kicking around somewhere, but this is the bulk of it