Is the Multitool.org icon wrong?

[kkokkolis]

It occured to me that the famous Multitool.org icon one can see in the logo and elsewhere in this forum is technically wrong. I mean, look at this 

Once open the two handles should have an open space between them at an angle. Every multitool or pliers I know of has this open space. In the icon the handles are parallel to each other, a contition that is true only when the multitool is closed.
OK, the forum uses this icons for a long time and we are accustomed to them, but shouldn't the members of this forum, as connaisseurs, avoid giving the wrong impression to non enlightened people (one of which was I, until very recently)?
What do you think?

[jerseydevil]

I just took a look at the tool I'm carrying today, and the logo looks good to me.    It just happens to be a Gerber MP600/400! 

[Muro]

I have the same impression. Jerseydevil is absolutely right. The icon just reminds me of my Gerber 400 / compact sport. Nothing wrong, confusing or misleading here. Will post a picture later. Cheers.

[kkokkolis]

I thought that the icon would use one of the common tools, like the ones from Leatherman or Victorinox and not some exception. Not to say, one of the beautiful tools and not one of the ugly ducks (yes, I know, in the eye of the beholder etc).

[Grant Lamontagne]

Odd that you should say something about more common tools. There are more versions of the MP 600 than any other tool on the market.

Right or wrong though this logo has been established over many years and I don't see it changing anytime soon. I hate it when companies change their logo.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[Taxi Dad]

Odd that you should say something about more common tools. There are more versions of the MP 600 than any other tool on the market.

Right or wrong though this logo has been established over many years and I don't see it changing anytime soon. I hate it when companies change their logo.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

I hate change !!! and i hate it more the older i get 

[kkokkolis]

I didn't ask it to change, just noticed the Multitool's geometry. Also, I didn't know that Gerbers are so common on the other side of the Atlantic. On the other hand I am very new here (although moderately old on the face of the earth) so I can understand how much accustomed the older members are to this graphic. Symbols doesn't have to be naturalistic. Usually they are stylized. Islamic flags are totally wrong in an astronomical way as there is no way a star could be visible in front of moon disc (crescent lighting doesn't mean the rest of the moon isn't there) but it would be ridiculous to change their symbolism now (not to mention a potential world war).
I like changes but only bloodless ones.

[Syph007]

I dont think how the tool is open or closed is noticed by many, I sure didnt. 

Its too late now but if I was around back in the early days the reason I would have suggested for change is that it looks like an i.  Before I was a regular here I tried to look up this site a few times and I was sure it was iMultoool.org  At a quick glance at a logo thats what it looks like.  Too late now and not a huge deal, just something I remember from when I first found this site.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I was just about to say that some poor bugger thought it was iMultitool.org for a while there!  I'm glad you chimed in because I couldn't recall who it was that had said that!

I think, if I recall correctly we tried to make the multitool look like the typical plier based tool, but without making it look like a specific plier based tool.  We didn't want it to look like any specific tool so that folks wouldn't think we were biased towards anything is, this wasn't going to be a fan boy site where everything was compared unfavorably to a Spirit or PST.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[nuphoria]

Looks like a generic tool to me.... and why is this in the feedback forum?!

[kkokkolis]

Looks like a generic tool to me.... and why is this in the feedback forum?!

My mistake. I thought  it  was a General Feedback forum and not Trade Feedback. You may move it or clean it, I  got my answers and thank you all.

[Grant Lamontagne]

No problem. We should perhaps move it to General so more folks see it.

Def

Sent from my Motorola Atrix digital multitool.

[enki_ck]

done

[Lynn LeFey]

I have to say, I thought much the same as kkokkolis, that the tool looked... if not 'wrong', at least 'weird'.

I think this is because in my mind, the Leatherman PST is the symbolic plier-based MT.

I don't have a problem with the logo, it's just one of those things that crossed my mind at some point.

[Taxi Dad]

the 'tool' looks 'Wrong' yet the bodyless yellow head holding the holding the five foot tall multi doesn't look 'odd' ? 

[kkokkolis]

the 'tool' looks 'Wrong' yet the bodyless yellow head holding the holding the five foot tall multi doesn't look 'odd' ? 

Is that a joint in it's mouth?

[AimlessWanderer]

As an icon, I'd say it's not wrong at all ... it's clearly a representation of a pliers based multitool. What more do we need? Does it need to be accurate to a specific model - no, and in my mind the site owner wisely opted for impartiality in that respect. Good thing for me really - if it wasn't for Grant's desire to have an open discussion taking all tools on their own merit instead of the narrowmindedness that plagues other parts of the net, my scepticism towards certain commercial entities and their commercial methodologies would probably have gotten my butt hauled out of here long ago 

Is it the perfect icon? Well it does look a little pinchy, so maybe not one I'd carry, but so long as it has scissors and an awl I'm sure it'll be fine 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Wisely?  I'm sure my wisdom is open to a very unflattering debate!  I think we were just lucky in the early days and now we're pointing back at what went accidentally right and saying "see? We knew what we were doing!"

Wink wink nudge nudge.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[AimlessWanderer]

Don't get me wrong mate, I didn't mean it as a universal statement 
You were bound to get one right eventually

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Do enough things and eventually one won't be completely wrong.... 

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[Whoey]

Some additional info... At smaller sizes it's much harder to tell the details of the tool icons. When I started doing/redoing some of the MTo graphics the logo was already established, and Grant didn't want to change it much, so I maintained it as much as possible but cleaned/modified it slightly... before it was more like this on the MTo wiki:

vs my cleaned up version here without a solid shadow as it's on a dark background, and therefore a bit redundant:


I also thought it was a good idea to integrate the tool part of the logo as icons where ever possible... hence the read status icons:


and some of the member badges:


They all use the tool graphic that is part of the original logo, all I've done in most cases is change some colours, the outer border width and add some bevelling to make it look 3D.

[Muro]

....and I like it...

[Grant Lamontagne]

You will notice as well that while the position of the handles may look very similar to the Gerber MP600, the logo icon very clearly has two rivets at the head end, showing that it is in fact a butterfly opener, not a sliding head, thereby differentiating us from being too "Gerber-esque" as well.  All in all I think we achieved what we were going for by making it indicative of all multitools without being too close to any of them.

Def

[Whoey]

here is a blown up version of the logo tool:

[Grant Lamontagne]

I think to me the closest real tool to that is the SwissTool, although the angles of the handles are indeed wrong for that.  Still, the almost completely rectangular handles always reminded me of the good old SwissTool!

Def

[Taxi Dad]

i was just typing that  !

[Grant Lamontagne]

All the ladies say Def is the fastest!

Def

[stealth007s]

I never notice the member badge icons being a MT, a nice touch.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I never notice the member badge icons being a MT, a nice touch.

Those are the kinds of details that we can thank Whoey for.  Before he came along we were pretty well running a default forum here.  Every bit of customization done to the theme was all his doing.  This site owes him a lot. 

Def

[derekmac]

to Whoey!

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