The Leaterman Wave is a very honest multi-tool. Its simplicity in materials, being made solely of stainless steel, and its functionality makes the Wave one of Leatherman's best sellers. Of course it doesn't hurt that the Wave is basically a thumbed down Charge, but at a lower price point. Leatherman made all the right decisions here, and those translated into a resonance with most Leatherman users. The fancy steels, most people do not care. The exotic Handles of the Charge, likewise. I can safely say that the Wave is one of my all time favorite Leatherman Designs. Most drool over the Charges, but the Wave does it all and with equal aplomb.
Just look at the beauty of the original Wave. The newer one is just as handsome.
Leatherman first introduced the original wave way back in 1998. In terms of multi-tool timelines, that is ancient territory. Just to let you know, I do believe the Wave was introduced right next to the Sideclip, which is a hot collector commodity these days. The original Wave did have one glaring fault, at least to my eyes. I believe it featured too many flat head drivers (A total of 4). I am happy to say that Leatherman fixed this issue with its successor, which arrived on the scene in 2004.
The Wave line carries its simplicity right into model differences. I guess this translates into less confusion for the buyer, probably another factor for the Wave being one of Leatherman's top sellers. We know that the original Wave is now discontinued, but you can still find them sometimes for sale online. The newer Wave mostly came in only 4 base versions (discounting all the exclusives and collector versions):
1. Stainless Wave
2. Stainless Wave with cap crimper head
3. Black Oxide (BO) Wave
4. Black Oxide (BO) Wave with cap crimper head
So how can one tell the difference between the older original Wave, and the newer Wave? Well placed side by side, the differences are obvious. The older Wave is slimmer, does not feature lever style locking mechanisms, and once opened, has a whole lot of flat head drivers taking up valuable tool space. Other minor differences also are the shape of the handle cutouts, and the font used on the handles.
Here is an original Wave on top, and the newer Wave on the bottom.
Interestingly enough, I cannot find a BO original Wave. I am hazarding a guess that one does exist somewhere someplace however.
Here is an original Wave in stainless steel. Note the overabundance of flat head drivers. See those scissors...that is a very beautiful design. Probably one of the nicest designs in all of multi-tooldome, but that is a personal opinion.
Of interest to collectors (other than a BO original wave
), is this beautiful 20th Anniversary Wave that is coated in DLC, which stands for Diamond Like Coating...making this very scratch resistant and hard wearing. I know there is also a signature version created in numbered limited quantities, but that has proven impossible to find.
One the plus side, I do have the same as the above, sealed in a blister package.
That is all I have for the Original Wave. Moving now into the newer Wave, all I can say is that they revamped the original Wave so that it closely resembles the Charge Ti. What a coincidence, both the Wave and Charge Ti came out in the same year. So we can easily say that the Wave is the Charge Ti's cheaper cousin.
Here we have a stainless Wave. Note the tool similarity to the Charge lineup. Thank you Leatherman for removing all those useless flat head drivers for two removable ones.
Here is a Danish Wave. Note the lack of blade holes, and the addition of nail nicks. Denmark does not allow one hand opening knife blades (OHO). These require two hands to open a blade, making them legal there. These tools are a bit difficult to aquire outside of Denmark.
The same stainless Wave, but with the cap crimper head.
A BO Wave.
A BO Wave with the cap crimper head.
That is about it for the basic variations of the Newer Wave. However, there are quite a few collector centric Waves.
For Leatherman's 25th Anniversary, not only did they produce a beautiful silver Charge in limited numbers, but they also produced this stunning Wave. Stunning as in super buffed and shiny stunning.
Harder to get and probably in far lower numbers, this beautiful Danish 25th Anniversary Wave in a presentation metal tin.
In 2009, Leatherman came out with a limited edition Damascus bladed DLC (diamond like coated) Wave. A very beautiful wooden presentation box was also included.
Next is a green painted Wave for the Portland Timbers. I believe these can only be bought from the Leatherman company store in Portland Oregon.
This is a green painted Wave which is an exclusive for REI (Recreational Equipment Inc), an outdoor sports store.
This is an orange painted Wave which is an exclusive for Cabela's, a big outdoor hunting/fishing store.
I have several Texas Toolcrafter custome Waves. The first is a very striking laser etched model.
Followed by a BO and gold plated Wave.
Last is a gold plated Wave.
I currently have:
Original Waves - 3
New Waves - 14
Total 17
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