What tools MTs shouldn't have

[Mercury]

I'll have to disagree on a few points here.  While I agree that MT blades are usually superfluous for people like us who always carry a SAK or folder, MOST of the rest of the world doesn't want to carry two things, they want the All in One factor.  I am literally the only guy I know locally that carries both a MT and a SAK.  It's for this reason that Leatherman and it's brethren keep blades on their tools.  I rarely use mine but without it my tool feels incomplete. 

I saw a post that mentioned wire cutters needing to be pinch-style.  Big no no on any tool that is not specifically designed as a dedicated cutter.  These are called Anvil cutters and they require a harder heat treatment in order to maintain their integrity.  Most of my dedicated cutters are forged so they don't dimple.  Most multitool plier heads are investment cast and actually very soft as far as cutters go, so the minute you try to cut that coat hanger with your tool, you ruin the cutters.  With anvil cutters that means a dimple that you can't remove, but with bypass cutters you can file down the raised spot(done it on several) and your cutters are salvageable.  I have used MT's with bypass cutters for years with no issues, I mean NO issues at all with pivot compromise.  I REFUSE to buy a tool with Anvil cutters.

I also disagree on the eyeglass driver.  For those of us with Glasses, they are indispensable.  I love mine and honestly I look for something that can do that job when deciding on my EDC for the day.  YMMV but it can make or break an urban tool for some.

Now, for the don'ts:

Corkscrew:  I NEVER use these, and while they are a classic item on a SAK I wouldn't be hurt if they went away.

Zytel: This may shock some as I am a daily blast user, but that is about the only thing I hate about the tool. 

Anvil wire cutters: see above

That silly little package hook on SAK's.  Literally never needed it. 

Can openers as a standard item.  We don't all need a flippin can opener, fill that space on all tools with an awl or scissors, because MT's rarely have both.  I need an AWL!!!!  and SCISSORS!!!

I do love the long dedicated flathead in the Blast, which most people seem to hate.  I use that tool more than anything else just for it's poke/prod ability, and it fits a lot of the common allen heads I encounter daily at work.  Totally isolated to me most likely but it's an awesome addition and I love it.

[Beerplumber]

For sure Merc. To add to the wire cutter talk I believe we get the softer steel for corrosion resistance IIRC. I also use my eyeglass screwdriver for pokey stuff and the flathead as a wedgie bar.

I could do without zytel too. Gimme G10 any day. Also it looks like awls are good and bottle openers bad? I could handle that too.


Stay multi my friends

[Mercury]

For sure Merc. To add to the wire cutter talk I believe we get the softer steel for corrosion resistance IIRC. I also use my eyeglass screwdriver for pokey stuff and the flathead as a wedgie bar.

I could do without zytel too. Gimme G10 any day. Also it looks like awls are good and bottle openers bad? I could handle that too.


Stay multi my friends

I remember something about corrosion resistance being tied to the microhardness of various steels but for the life of me I can't find the reference. 

[gadgetman7]

I usually carry a dedicated knife so the blade doesn't matter to me but I understand the point for other more common people. :-)

I would personally like to see more blameless tools. For example, a Skeletool with scissors instead of a knife would be perfect for me and would likely have a large following in Europe.

I don't care for corkscrews, lights or toothpicks either but I do use the straight pin when available.

[radiotecha1234]

I would personally like to see more blameless tools.

Yea, when I have to stab someone. I don't want that to come back on me either. 

[David]

I usually carry a dedicated knife so the blade doesn't matter to me but I understand the point for other more common people. :-)

I would personally like to see more blameless tools. For example, a Skeletool with scissors instead of a knife would be perfect for me and would likely have a large following in Europe.

I don't care for corkscrews, lights or toothpicks either but I do use the straight pin when available.

?     

[radiotecha1234]

I could not help myself. I am in one of those moods. I have a Spyderco on the way and I am getting a little anxious.

[Styerman]

More and more , I'm thinking I could do without the pliers ! hardly ever use them , mostly carry my SAK . Cast pliers are pretty doubtfull at the best of times .

Bottom line ; at play I don't need them , at work I have better options ( all with Klien or Knipex written on them ) .

Chris

[Lynn LeFey]

More and more , I'm thinking I could do without the pliers ! hardly ever use them , mostly carry my SAK . Cast pliers are pretty doubtfull at the best of times .

In my EDC, I have a keychain size MT that has a plier head, and it has handled everything I've needed pliers for since I started carrying it. Someone in a video i watched said that the pliers at that scale are more like big tweezers in function. I just realized they're kind of like non-locking forceps: useful for either tasks too fine for fingertips, or requiring more applied force in a very small area. And for those tasks, keychain size pliers work fine. So at least for me, I also don't need full-size pliers, and also have a pair of more dedicated tools for bigger jobs.

[Mercury]

I have beat the hell out of my blast's pliers in light to moderate use and they work great.  For heavy jobs I would advise a dedicated plier but I don't do too many heavy jobs in my daily life.  My MT is a first line of defense because it's always on my belt, but if I have a tool box nearby I usually grab a dedicated tool.

[ironraven]

Shouldn't have? Can't answer a question that open, otherwise we've all got the same need and the same enviroment and the same tool.

Corkscrews can be on a multi, if it one set up a sommelier tool. Were I think the Flair went wrong was that it tried to also be a regular multi.

Most folks want a knife becuase they carry the multi and that is it. I carry two SAKs, a pocket knife and often a small fixed blade in my pack- I don't need another blade in my multi.

For the same reason, some people want a pair of scissors. However, they must not suck, but that is because so many scissors suck.

While I agree with the usual logic that light should be seperate from the tool, what if it is a module that you can remove easily but carries in the tool? Is a tiny flashlight like a photon or an eGear EDC hanging off the keyring part of the tool or not? That's an almost philosophical question.

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations of Tools may be the most logical mind set



OK, actually, there is one thing- a pozi driver bit. Who actually uses those things?

[mvyrmnd]

It is a very broad question. One could say, for example, that a chainsaw is an inappropriate tool for a MT...

[Lynn LeFey]

It is a fairly open question, and had no assumption of a clear concensus. Just thought it was a good possible topic of conversation.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

I agree with Sean about how most people don't seem to want to carry more than one tool.  And, I understand this is why most MT's have a lot of the things they do; it's marketing appeal and to try and meet the "all in one" segment of the market, which is obviously the largest part.

That said, I don't see why a company like Leatherman or Gerber can't offer different models of the same tool, but organized differently than they currently are.  With all the different models of the Charge, why not just offer another version, call it something appropriate for a person in construction or civil engineering, etc. and take out the things like the wood saw and scissors, and use that extra room for a beefier plier head, and maybe some bit storage, etc. 

[jzmtl]

It is a very broad question. One could say, for example, that a chainsaw is an inappropriate tool for a MT...

I dunno, if you fit a powered chainsaw in one of the OHO slots in wave, I wouldn't say no to it. 

[mvyrmnd]

It is a very broad question. One could say, for example, that a chainsaw is an inappropriate tool for a MT...

I dunno, if you fit a powered chainsaw in one of the OHO slots in wave, I wouldn't say no to it. 

A simpler way may just be to fit a bottle opener to a chainsaw, officially making it a multitool...

[AimlessWanderer]

There is no right answer to any of this. I was a big "why does everything have a smurfing can opener" guy until last week when I started moving house ... my multitools allowed me to eat when I had no fresh stuff in and didn't get chance to eat till the takeaways stopped delivering.

Awl should be mandatory. Leatherman continues to bewilder me with their continual array of screwdrivers on all their tools, but nothing to get a screw started with, let alone the other benefits of being a scribe and general purpose pokey thing that keeps the other tools in check.

Scissors, same story. I could do pretty much eveything I do with scissors with a knife blade, but scissors are often easier and will cut when they have reached a dullness that would be prohibitive on a knife blade. As for Heinz's comments on no MT's have good scissors, he's obviously yet to discover the Swisstool 

Knife blades themselves ... well carrying a dedicated knife is much better so I don't mind seeing the trend of combo edges mlades on multi's that much, but would like to see more bladeless options.

I have no real use for a multitool saw ... they're too short, but many people swear by them. Some people find the fish scaler and hook usefull too, which for me isn't (normally) the case. A corkscrew is also another great tool, not just for liberating enlightening libations  but for untying knots and other pokey tasks.

Mini eyeglasses driver - great items - I wear specs.

I'm not a fan of 2D Phillips drivers, but they have saved my bacon when that's all I've had on me

[gadgetman7]

...blameless.....

Darn spell check....

[Lynn LeFey]

Don't blame yourself.

[Styerman]

Before getting my MUT , I would have said long driver bits and a hammer .

Guess it's all in what your lifestyle is , and what exigent circumstances .

Chris

[Smaug]

Lots of toothpick haters!

You all should try it. Try not to worry about germs. There are a lot more in your mouth, since they can't survive long inside the knife scales.

Use it to get that popcorn kernel or apple skin out from between your teeth, give it a quick wipe on your shirt, then stick it back in there. Once you get used to this, you'll use it several times per day.

Also, remember that it can be used for other things, much like how we use the corkscrew to help untie knots, and the awl as a general-purpose scraper, poker, or pryer. Some folks use them to clean the pocket lint out of the joints of our MTs. (not me, I use it as a toothpick)

Think of the toothpicks we pick up in restaurants: They're there in a jar that is not sterile. Sometimes, they're set up in a way that someone will touch many of them before getting his own. Maybe right after taking a crap and not washing his hands with soap. At least with a SAK toothpick, we know where it has been and who has touched it.

[Gareth]

Shouldn't have? Can't answer a question that open, otherwise we've all got the same need and the same enviroment and the same tool.

Corkscrews can be on a multi, if it one set up a sommelier tool. Were I think the Flair went wrong was that it tried to also be a regular multi.

Most folks want a knife becuase they carry the multi and that is it. I carry two SAKs, a pocket knife and often a small fixed blade in my pack- I don't need another blade in my multi.

For the same reason, some people want a pair of scissors. However, they must not suck, but that is because so many scissors suck.

While I agree with the usual logic that light should be seperate from the tool, what if it is a module that you can remove easily but carries in the tool? Is a tiny flashlight like a photon or an eGear EDC hanging off the keyring part of the tool or not? That's an almost philosophical question.

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations of Tools may be the most logical mind set



OK, actually, there is one thing- a pozi driver bit. Who actually uses those things?

massively popular over here mate, true Phillips heads are getting to be very rare these days.  Sadly most folks don't know the difference and will still call anything vaguely cross-shaped a "Phillips". 

[theonew]

I usually just wipe the toothpick on my pants leg. Good point about the communal toothpick bowl though.

Keep in mind that smell is a contact sense. So when someone farts in the elevator you are actually inhaling small bits of their feces

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

No, I admit, I don't have a Swiss Tool... given my low level of need for pliers based tools, the relative cost of one, and that with even just 9 different SAKs I already have more than I can honestly use, I just haven't been interested in a Swiss Tool.  Of course, when the time comes for me to get a full size plier based tool, I'd certainly check them out first before deciding...   

I agree with flame-breath on the toothpick thing... more useful than most people realize (I wish they made them out of metal actually as they'd be both more durable and versatile).  And you sure do have more germs in your mouth than are gonna be on that tooth pick... unless you're dipping it in a toilet first before you use it, you're not taking much of a risk with it.

[MeadMaker]

The number of germs on the toothpick as opposed to the number on your mouth is not important.  Its the type of germs that one should be concerned with.  Your body knows how to deal with the ones that are living in your mouth, but the germs or spore that are living on the toothpick could be another story.

As others have said here there probably isn't much danger posed by the germs on an SAK toothpick.  Most of the pathogenic bacteria will die on a clean hard surface within a few hours, others take days or even weeks and C difficile spore can live on your toothpick for up to two years, but you are probably safe if you don't share you toothpick with other people.

[Mercury]

I use the toothpick on my SAK all the time, ALL the time.  I clean it often too.  I have been doing this for years and never got a gum infection once.  Hell, the tweezer/toothpick is one of the main reasons I carry a SAK.  That and they are flippin awesome.

[jerseydevil]

I use the toothpick on my SAK all the time, ALL the time.  I clean it often too.  I have been doing this for years and never got a gum infection once.  Hell, the tweezer/toothpick is one of the main reasons I carry a SAK.  That and they are flippin awesome.

Same here.  I use the toothpick multiple times every day, it's just one of those things that you don't realize you use all the time until you don't have one.

[Mercury]

I use the toothpick on my SAK all the time, ALL the time.  I clean it often too.  I have been doing this for years and never got a gum infection once.  Hell, the tweezer/toothpick is one of the main reasons I carry a SAK.  That and they are flippin awesome.

Same here.  I use the toothpick multiple times every day, it's just one of those things that you don't realize you use all the time until you don't have one.

I can't take my SAK out of my EDC because of it.  Well, not just that I really use my SAK scissors quite a bit, and it's main blade is my EDC food utensil.  I think everyone should be issued a SAK at age 7 and be required to carry it the rest of their life.

[Styerman]

I only use the toothpick for getting gunk out of the the interior of the SAK , guns and other such things . As such it is quite usefull , also good for accurate grease applications to threads etc. I wish they were made out of metal .

Mercury is right , SAK carry should be mandatory after age 7 .

As far as pliers go , I have a number of better options , that I often carry .

Chris

[GForGeep]

I think dedicated drivers (like a large flathead) on a tool with removable bits would be something I could do without. I agree with redundancy, but I would just get another bit driver.