recommend me a multitool....

[urbex]

I need to replace yet another broken/damaged Gerber MT.  I've been through about a dozen of them over the years, largely due to my own abuse   Yeah, I know I can send them to Gerber to get refreshed, but the problem is more that they just don't quite meet my needs.  The biggest problem I have is nicking the wire cutter sections, which then makes opening/closing the pliers annoying when they bind up or worse, don't cut worth a darn at all anymore.  I've been able to clean the cutters up a bit myself to get rid of the binding, but there's no good way that I see to remove the nicks.  I've also broken the fixed philips screwdriver bit a few times. 

So, the three key features I'd like to have are replacable cutters, the ability to use add on screw driver/nut driver bits, and I'd really one of the setups that use the jig saw blades.  Its not that I expect to be able to cut harder wires with the carbide cutters, just that it gives me a back up plan in the field if I make a mistake and bugger up the cutters)

I've been really happy with the various Gerber tools I've had overall, mainly MP400s and MP600s.  I'd LOVE to find a MP650, but those seem to be like hen's teeth these days.  I've been looking at one of the older Maintenance Kits with the MT and flashlight combo (I've seen two versions - one with the MT and Firecracker flashlight looks like it has the replaceable carbide cutters and remgrit saw attachment, and a different one with a maglight that has the MT with the remgrit but no carbide cutters). 

That said, I'm not against looking at other makers as well.  I did pick up a LM Surge a while back, but the cutters don't seem to work well at all with something like 16 gauge stranded automotive wire that my Gerbers have no issue with.  The LM does seem to work quite a bit better on stiffer wire, like house AC wiring than the Gerbers, though that might be due to comparing a new tool to my well used Gerbers.  I do use the wire cutters a LOT at work, mainly cutting through 16/2 speaker wiring, and 10 gauge power cables. 

Soo, maintenance kit my best option here, or another option?

[AimlessWanderer]

Have you still got any of your old Gerbers with the saw coupler? One option you could consider is to buy a MP600 with the carbide cutters and modify it by taking out something you don't need and dropping in one of your old saw couplers. Add to this the additional bit adapter kit and you're up and running - do be aware however that this will void the warranty, so if you have any other problems, you're on your own

[Lynn LeFey]

Several newer designs, both Gerber and Leatherman, have replacable cutters. it seems that the cutters are something you use a good deal, so these might be something worth looking into.

The Leatherman Rebar might meet your needs. I think the Gerber version with replacable cutters is the Diesel (?). Someone more up on Gerbers will confirm/deny that quickly, I'm sure.

[Nhoj]

The diesel does not have replaceable cutters here is a picture

[Cupboard]

I haven't come across any MT that will cut through three core 2.5mm2 (13AWG I think?) flex without making a mess of it because the cutters just aren't big enough. That's Wave, Rebar, Skeletool and Spirit heads. I haven't tried anything other than the Wave and Rebar on ingle core, but they are both fine with 6mm2 (9-10AWG?) single core flex (tri-rated) and I'd be pretty confident in the others too. I could have a go tomorrow if I remember.

The Rebar pliers are excellent but you do have the massive limitation (for me) of not having the outside opening blades which are really useful to quickly flip open for stripping a sheath. I find the combo blade on the Skeletool (which I expected to hate) works really well for removing the outer sheath of 2.5mm 3 core flex but TBH any blade will do.

For other misc electrical work the SwissTool Spirit is the best of all of mine so it's the one currently on my belt, with the Skeletool in my pocket for the OHO blade - I've become the person I said I never would become, the multi-MT carrier! The reason the Spirit IMO is so good in that role is that it has 1) screwdrivers with good reach and 2) a decent small flat screwdriver. It's the only MT I have that will reliably open up electrical enclosures which often have recessed screws and it's the only MT I have that will cope with DIN rail terminals. The LM interchangeable bits are OK with choc blocks and some enclosures but aren't reliable enough to not require me to have another couple of screwdrivers with me, rather defeating the purpose of carrying the MT in the first place!

So, in conclusion... if you're doing a electrical work other than just cutting fat cables, I'd carry a Spirit along with a pair of cable shears - sorry. If you're actually doing something else entirely, sorry for my long ramble!

[nuphoria]

Plenty of sage advice

Welcome to MTO urbex

[Gareth]

How about a Gerber MP800 Legend?  Add their '10 piece tool kit' and I think you are covered.  The MP800 is a big old MT and opens like a Leatherman rather then a sliding head, big bonus though is that all the tools are accessible from the outside.

[Lynn LeFey]

See? I KNEW there would be some folks much more versed in Gerber's products come along and give useful advice. I... I LOVE you guys! 

Also, Welcome Urbex!

[urbex]

I was probably a bit confusing with the way I worded my post...had a bit of a head injury in my younger years, and now it occasionally results in stuff that seems fine to me, but comes across as near gibberish to others, lol. 

The electrical stuff I'm working with is almost strictly automotive, though I do use a lot of the 16 gauge speaker wire that intended for in wall/in ceiling speakers for things like commercial PA systems.  It's just two runs of 16 gauge stranded wire encased in a plastic jacket, not MC/flex AC wiring.  The 10 gauge stuff is normal automotive grade, so not super tough to cut through either..heck, I've used a stiff pair of scissors in a pinch before, lol.  The kicker though is that it's super fine strands, so any cutting tool with a gap between the cutting surfaces will tend to just bend the wire rather than cut it.  That's what I ran into with the Leatherman I tried, whereas my Gerbers slice right through it without problem. 

Sadly, I do not have Gerbers right now with the saw coupler to transfer over. 

I had completely forgotten about the Legend, thanks for reminding me!    I do remember looking at one before, and thinking that I REALLY do like the sliding plier setup, although I wouldn't be completely against going with the Legend if the pivots will loosen up with some use to the point that I could realistically open it one handed.  Then again, I've also been considering picking up a Leatherman Crunch as well, just for the locking plier feature, so I might be able to use that as my one handed pliers if the need arises.  I don't so much mind carrying two MTs, but three might be a bit much

[jerseydevil]

Unless you do a mod, the Legend is the only tool in Gerber's lineup that has both the saw coupler and the replaceable cutters.  I really need to get my hands on one at some point.....

[Gareth]

Well, there have been MP600 Pro Scouts with replaceable cutters, but they're not common.

[Sparky415]

How about pairing a multitool with a dedicated pair of cutters? 

I find pliers last forever but cutters are almost disposable (after a year or two, I’m very careful only to cut copper and I try never to lend them out    )

I would recommend these, they will cut flex and you can use the notch for stripping (after they have loosened up little  )

http://www.builders-equipment.co.uk/pageview.php?page=show_product&ecommerce_stockcode=BAH2233D160&gclid=CMLHg4347LUCFUTItAodkUAAiw

http://www.screwfix.com/p/cable-cutters-254mm/47997?kpid=47997?cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&gclid=CIvXqtP87LUCFZDKtAodUnUAWg

Ooh and welcome 

[lowtech]

I have a Pro Scout here and i think i might have a MP 600 Needlenose head with replaceable cutters i can put in to show you how teh tool would look - The Pro Scout is even in my trade/sell drawer.
I think i have a Gerber Bit Kit, too.
Would you prefer Needlenose or Bluntnose pliers?

[Grant Lamontagne]

The new MP600ST was the first thing I thought of.



It has some beautiful screwdrivers but you can also use the add on kit with it if you want more.  Unfortunately it doesn't have the replaceable saw doodad though.  Swapping the head from the MP600ST to a Pro Scout would make a just about perfect tool IMHO.

Def

[nuphoria]

You'll probably end up buying more than two, selling a few along the way and then blaming us for all of that

Sorry

Another thing I thought of was the SOG tools with the compound leverage pliers... don't know if there's any with replaceable cutters though.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sadly no, SOG doesn't offer anything with replaceable cutters.  The Compound Leverage is just begging for it though.

Def

[Gareth]

Doesn't the new Surge have replaceable cutters and blade exchanger?


Yes, it does.   Still a big MT that butterflies open though.

Add LM's bit extender and you've got most of what you were looking for I think.

[Nhoj]

MUT bits will also work well for any recessed screws they just won't fold into the tool

[Cupboard]

Sorry, I must have misunderstood your original post.

I don't have a huge amount to add to the tool recommendations other than to say that balisong style MTs like the Wave, Rebar and the Surge do loosen up over time to be extremely easily one hand opening. Not to the point of flopping around all over the place, just to the level of a nice flick and she'll open.

I can't really remember how long it took (if it took any time at all) with my Wave, but the Rebar was like that from the start. I get the impression from my Skeletool and Spirit that MTs with springs and more "snap" to their closure won't be so easily flick-openable.

Nhoj: I might have to pick a set of them up if they're sensibly priced, I love my Rave but not being able to get at screw my Spirit can get to is frustrating.

[urbex]

Yeah, I know...I'm a bit late on the update here  

I was wandering through a local Army surplus store a couple months ago, and found the exact Maintenance Kit I had been looking at for quite some time (same as this one - http://www.toolbarn.com/gerber-07570.html) Replaceable cutters, saw coupler, sliding pliers, made in the USA .  It was tagged at $80, slightly more than I was hoping to pay, but I like supporting local business when I can, so out came the Visa card  

Sadly, I'm rather disappointed with it.  Not with the tool itself, as it's well built like all the US made Gerbers were, but the features I wanted didn't work out nearly as well as I had hoped. 

I find the carbide cutters in the pliers don't like to cut softer materials much at all.  The wire that I work with (10g and 16g stranded automotive wire) tends to get crushed more so than cut.  Smaller wire, 18g and smaller works OK if I cut it on the end away from the circular reliefs meant for hard wire, but anything 16g or larger just gets crushed.  If I bend the wire back and forth a few times, it will eventually get through the heavier stuff, but it's anything but a clean cut, and trying to strip it from that end is a real bear.  The cutters do a beautiful job on hard wire though, such as the smaller piano wire I tried, and even some thin wall aluminum tubing meant for model airplanes and the like, although it obviously flattened the tubing before cutting it.   Ironically, I find myself continuing to carry my old Gerber with the non-replacable cutters, just for wire cutting duties, lol.  I'm thinking I may try to source one of the cable cutting heads to pop in it in place of the pliers for this purpose. 

The replaceable saw coupling - grand idea, and I've used it a few times already, but the big problem is that I've found there are virtually no blades being produced any more with the hole in the shank that is needed for blade retention.  All the modern jig saws I've looked at that still use the U-shank style blades use a set screw for blade retention that snugs up on the shank, thus they don't need the hole, and many more saws have gone to the T-shank design.  The only blades that have the hole that I've been able to source locally are meant for cutting 3/16"-1/2" thick steel, so it's a pretty aggressive tooth.  Works OK for cutting softer materials like plastic and wood, though it's not a very efficient wood blade, and still has the issue of being for thicker materials. 

I'm thinking of picking up a few carbide drill bits and experiment with drilling the shank holes myself in a few blades, or even cutting down reciprocating saw blades to fit (which would be an advantage in that I can get considerably longer recip blades that may be an efficiency gain in that longer strokes can be had on smaller material).  I've also considered this as being the push I need to pick up a mini milling machine, and perhaps making a t-shank adapter myself for the tool

[Gareth]

Cheers for the update urbex.   I know what you mean about getting blades to fit in the exchanger, not a very common style here either.  I picked some up on ebay, but even then I had to open up the hole very slightly with a carbide bit.  I had perhaps assumed that they were a more common style in the US.

[urbex]

I've been hesitant to do the online thing, as I saw a few reviews on Amazon on various jig saw blades where people reported needing the hole, the picture showed a hole in the shank, yet when they showed up - no hole!  One reviewer actually was looking specifically for his Gerber saw coupler as well. 

[detron]

I just got my mp600 back from gerber warranty.

The one that came back has replaceable cutters,  I know this does not meet your needs, but ib did not expect the cutters.   The one I sent in did not have them.

However , I do not care for the different main blade.   The one I sent in had a standard shaped know

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[Goatlord666]

If you would go for the saw coupler and need extra blades, I saw that they still sell replacement blades via ebay at

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?index=0&sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=310383293886

Welcome to mto btw

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