Scissors

Grant Lamontagne · **on:** February 02, 2007, 02:15:57 AM

As I mentioned in another thread, I am actually pretty disapointed in the scissors on the Fuse. As you can see from the pics, the Fuse scissors are the smallest of the bunch- smaller even than it's predecessor, the PST II. In fact, the weird thing is that the biggest scissors of all are on the smallest too, the Juice, followed by the largest tool, the Surge.

The Fuse's scissors are not even close to the size of any of the others, despite being a slightly bigger tool than the PST II, and much larger than the Juice.

Def

J-sews · **Reply #1 on:** February 02, 2007, 02:38:26 AM

No question about it, those Fuse scissors are pretty underwhelming.

665ae · **Reply #2 on:** February 02, 2007, 06:32:41 AM

How do the Fuse scissors compare to the ones on the Spirit?

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #3 on:** February 02, 2007, 11:35:26 AM

Poorly. I'll snap a comparison shot later.

Def

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #4 on:** February 02, 2007, 09:44:47 PM

Here is the Spirit and Fuse scissors side by side.

The blades aren't much bigger, but the Spirit stores the scissors with the blades closed, while the Fuse has them open. I don't like that idea as it opens them up to damage from sand or other foriegn objects, plus the Spirit's scissors are more comfortable to use due to the longer reach.

Def

J-sews · **Reply #5 on:** February 03, 2007, 01:08:54 AM

I just don't see Leatherman's motivation for changing their scissor style. From a manufacturing standpoint it does not appear that the new design is any cheaper to produce. The new scissors work "okay" for me, but I like the old Wave and PST II ones better.

So why did they re-invent an item that was already in production, and a better design?

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #6 on:** February 03, 2007, 03:21:32 AM

The only reason I can think of is the same reason anyone ever does something like that- cutting costs.

I would imagine this design is cheaper to manufacture with less moving parts and a smaller cutting surface to grind.

Def

prime77 · **Reply #7 on:** February 03, 2007, 09:57:55 AM

I completely agree with you guys. Leatherman should have stayed with the original scissor design of the PST 2 and Wave. The "new" design scissors are basically the same ones found on the Pulse.

Tom Munch · **Reply #8 on:** February 03, 2007, 05:00:21 PM

I don't mind them as much as you guys do. I've tested them alongside others on some tough cutting jobs, & they don't spread sideways as much as the older LM style. The Vic seems to be the best at cutting tougher stuff without spreading. I'd like to see something that can cut pennies. I think I'll get out the tools today & do some more testing just to make sure which is best.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #9 on:** February 03, 2007, 05:54:50 PM

I was thinking a shootout would be cool, but if you insist on going first...

Def

Tom Munch · **Reply #10 on:** February 03, 2007, 06:04:36 PM

No...really..you go first. You have WAY more tools to choose from. I have with scissors:

Old-style LM
New LM (New Wave, Charge)
Surge
Micra
Squirt
Juice
Vic standard
Vic Classic
Vic Spirit
Vic SwissTool X
Wenger serrated

I don't have a SOG or Gerber with scissors other than the Gerber Solstice.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #11 on:** February 03, 2007, 06:40:51 PM

I dunno- I think we are about even... The Vic Standard should be the same as the STX, and I don't have a Squirt.

I do have the SOG though....

Def

Tom Munch · **Reply #12 on:** February 03, 2007, 06:54:54 PM

Quick informal test.

On a scale of 1 to 5.
I put an "X" next to the best in each category.
The rope is 3/8" poly.
The cardboard is two layers (FedEx mailer).
I figured I had difficulty with fine fishing line before, but I should have also tried even finer line.

Old-style LM
rope - 2 - scissors spread & flexed, folding design flicks lever forward when thumb moved
cardboard - 5 - no flex, clean cut
4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
small wire (twist 'em) - 5 - no flex, clean cut

New LM (New Wave, Charge)
rope - 4 - no flexing, took several cuts
cardboard - 5 no flex, clean cut
4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
small wire (twist 'em) - 4 - no flex, clean cut, harder to get leverage with short lever

Surge
X rope - 5 - no flex, cut first time
cardboard - 5 - the master at this
4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
small wire (twist 'em) - 5 - like buttah

Micra
rope - 3 - some flex, but very clean cut
cardboard - 5 - no flex, clean cut, a little less comfortable in hand
4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
small wire (twist 'em) - 4 - no flex, clean cut, uncomfortable in hand

Squirt
rope - 3 - some flex, good grip in hand
cardboard - 5 - no flex, clean cut, very comfortable
4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
small wire (twist 'em) - 5 - no flex, clean cut, most comfortable

Juice
rope - 2 - scissors spread & flexed, blades too long for rigidity
cardboard - 4 - no flex, clean cut, not enough leverage to cut all the way to tip
4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
small wire (twist 'em) - 4 - no flex, clean cut, took more effort than most

Vic standard
rope - 5 - no flex, clean cut first time
cardboard - 4 - no flex, clean cut, lever a little uncomfortable when applying pressure
4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
small wire (twist 'em) - 5 - no flex, clean cut

Vic Classic
rope - 4 - no flex, took several cuts, surprised it would cut this
cardboard - 3 - no flex, clean cut, very uncomfortable with small lever applying pressure
4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
small wire (twist 'em) - 3 - no flex, clean cut, took a lot of effort with short lever

Vic Spirit
rope - 4 - no flex, took several cuts, comfortable in hand with curved end
cardboard - 4 - no flex, clean cut, short jaws make it harder to get much distance, a little uncomfortable when applying pressure
X 4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
X small wire (twist 'em) - 5 - no flex, clean cut, very nice

Vic SwissTool X
rope - 5 - no flex, same as Vic standard knife scissor (I mistakenly thought it was bigger)
cardboard - 4 - no flex, clean cut, lever a little uncomfortable when applying pressure
4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
small wire (twist 'em) - 5 - no flex, clean cut

Wenger serrated
rope - 2 - scissors spread & flexed, serrations only marginally helped
cardboard - 5 - no flex, clean cut, serrations make it easier to cut cardboard
4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
small wire (twist 'em) - 4 - no flex, clean cut, narrow lever uncomfortable

Gerber Solstice
rope - 5 - no flex, clean cut, very comfortable
X cardboard - 5 - no flex, clean cut, just like a good Fiskars
4 lb fishing line - 5 - clean cut
small wire (twist 'em) - 4 - no flex, took more effort (maybe because of thicker blades?)

[edited for clarity]

J-sews · **Reply #13 on:** February 03, 2007, 09:05:17 PM

Wow, great work Tom! A very thorough job of testing you did there.

Reading through your results, I am for the hundredth time reminded of a simple fact; what is "best" for one person may not be "best" for another person. It applies to scissors as well as multitools in general. (and countless other things in life!) Regarding my opinion of scissors (stated earlier in this thread) it directly relates to what I use them for. I happen to like the Juice scissors best of all, even though they did not fair very well in your well-balanced testing. But because I typically only cut fingernails and paper with them, the long blade length was never a problem for me.

That's why a great shootout like you conducted is always a good idea before deciding which product or feature is the "best."

supratentorial · **Reply #14 on:** February 03, 2007, 09:10:38 PM

Thanks Tom! Very informative.

Tom Munch · **Reply #15 on:** February 03, 2007, 09:16:58 PM

I tried to have a good variety of cutting materials. I don't know if I have enough nails to test all of these tools. I haven't had good luck with scissors in general, & I probably own at least 15 different pairs in looking for the perfect cutting tool. I use a pair of Fiskars for general cutting, & a Sears aviation snip for tough cutting chores. It seems that cutting finer things like paper, plastic, & fishing line is sometimes more difficult than cardboard.

Leatherman123 · **Reply #16 on:** November 21, 2007, 07:54:15 PM

So the SURGE was the best overall?

Tom Munch · **Reply #17 on:** November 21, 2007, 08:02:39 PM

I don't know if I'd say the Surge was the best overall even though it had 5's in each category. They are the most beefy. I'd probably say for me I like the Spirit & Surge scissors about equally. The Spirit are more precise & the Surge tougher.