Leatherman Wingman with S30v Blade

andyroo54 · **on:** July 30, 2014, 03:52:26 AM

Hiya,

So I really loved/love the Leatherman Wingman, it's a great tool. But I wanted a better knife, see I loved the S30V blade on my charge TTi, and the charge is a very nice tool which I use at home/weekends all the time, but for EDC I wanted something lighter.

So I thought it would be nice to have an S30V blade in a wingman, because for EDC I think a wingman is probably the best tool for me.

So I ordered a S30V Blade of ebay from I think it was "Milwakee tools" or something, it was around $30 and it was a genuine blade.

My plan was to put the S30V blade into the wingman as well as swap the file for the saw from the sidekick and do some kind of mod to the scales? Any advice on that would be appreciated. I saw a video where someone put the scales in water with some aluminium and ran a current through the stainless scale and the foil, and it somehow changed it's appearance, I can't remember the name of this technique?

I really like that heat treated rainbow kinda look..

Anyway I put the new blade in today there was a very very slight difference in microns between the width of the hole for the new blade, watching a video on youtube of someone else who did it, he went to all this hassle of drilling then pressing in a brass ring etc.. I just put it in, and it's fine. Very tight, barely any movement. The lock works perfectly.

It does slightly hit the other end of the sheath when folded in, there is a large washer, that if I can find a narrower width washer I will replace, but the blade still folds in 95% of the way so I'm not too concerned.

Here are some pics:

While I was waiting for the S30v blade to arrive I impluse purchased a Leatherman Skeletool CX and.. well.. I actually think it's my new EDC! I love it. I'm going to keep using both for now and see which one wins. The Wingman has more features obviously but the skeletool is lighter but not by much.

EDIT: I should point out I'm using the latest Wingman model, I did notice it looks like they slightly revised the pliers on the 2014 Wingman? It feels much tighter than my original Wingman which I think must have been old stock from 2011, the original run.

super m · **Reply #1 on:** July 30, 2014, 04:01:24 AM

Nice mod . I think it fits the frame fine from what I can see.

Thanks for showing

andyroo54 · **Reply #2 on:** July 31, 2014, 05:19:11 AM

I added the small serrated blade from the sidekick, replacing the fairly useless file.

Next I'm going to try and "Heat Anodise" the stainless, to give it a cool gold/purple blue look. I'm going to use a butane torch to heat it up. I will be practising on the sidekick first.

So I can't edit the first post for some reason but the person I got the blade off was not "Milwake tools" like I wrote, I have no idea were I got that name. It was "Texas tools" on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/390807478282?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Looks like they mod leatherman tools as well.

andyroo54 · **Reply #3 on:** July 31, 2014, 02:05:52 PM

Well tonight I tried "Heat Anodizing" or "Heat colouring". Basically you heat up stainless steel to discolour it. As the heat increases the colour changes. It starts kind bronze brown then goes purple then blue then I don't know what happens next. I think manufacturers probably go to great lengths to get stainless steel to be bright and shiny but I think the wingman/sidekick look too plain.

SO. Lucky I had the now double file sidekick to test on. I used my gas (mains propane) stove top burners to do this. You have to make sure it is super clean and dry, I think some kind of alcohol would be good to clean it just make sure it is dry or evaporated before you flame on. Maybe theres a better technique? Not sure.

This was the first try:

It's hard to see on camera but it looks cool in real life.

Maybe this one shows it off better, this is after I have put it back together:

This is a comparison to the wingman which hasn't been done yet, you can see how the colour changes depending on the light angle and colour:

And I did the clip too:

I'm going to get a cheap handheld butane torch because you can control the heat much better, and that's needed to get a more even controlled colour. I think with practice you can get nice results based on some youtube videos I've seen. You have to heat it slowly is key I think..

rdub934 · **Reply #4 on:** July 31, 2014, 04:29:04 PM

Wow, this is sweet. I knew a longer thicker blade would fit on the WM/SK but I had no idea the 2.9 inch blade off of a Wave would fit. Really cool, and kudos to you for going for it!

I am actually a really big fan of the WM/SK line. I know they aren't as refined as some of the other Leathermans, but I don't think anyone would claim an MP400 or MP600 was refined - yet they are still among the highest regarded tools ever produced.

sawman · **Reply #5 on:** July 31, 2014, 06:34:56 PM

I don't care for the torching but the blade is pretty cool

Nhoj · **Reply #6 on:** July 31, 2014, 06:36:05 PM

I've had two wingmans (wingmen?) and I would have loved to do that. Great mod!

andyroo54 · **Reply #7 on:** August 01, 2014, 01:05:47 AM

Thanks guys, and yes the heating is not for everyone but I think once I get a butane torch tonight it will be much more precise..

Aloha · **Reply #8 on:** August 01, 2014, 06:15:20 AM

I am also a huge fan of the WM/SK. I love that you added the S30 blade to this under rated MT. Here is a neat video of a guy who totally tricked out his SK.

Metropolicity · **Reply #9 on:** August 01, 2014, 11:15:27 PM

This is awesome. I am so happy to see someone polishing a turd with success

Just joke, I had no idea that you could just pop in the blade, I always thought the length would be an issue.

Great work!!

Raukodur · **Reply #10 on:** August 02, 2014, 01:01:55 AM

Quote from: Metropolicity on August 01, 2014, 11:15:27 PM

This is awesome. I am so happy to see someone polishing a turd with success

detron · **Reply #11 on:** August 02, 2014, 06:17:36 AM

very nice.

andyroo54 · **Reply #12 on:** August 03, 2014, 12:42:39 AM

So here you can see my first attempts at "Heat Anodizing".
The sidekick was done over a gas stove and it didn't look that great, I didn't have enough control. The wingman you see is actually my old Wingman with my new scales. What happened was I tried to heat anodize the new wingman scales but I botched it. I found that if you heat the 'good' side then you get an uneven burnt look especially if it gets too hot. What I found was that if I heated it from 'behind' or the 'inside' of the scale, then I got a really nice controlled colour and it was really even.

Luckily I had that spare old leatherman wingman so I was able to have one more try at it..

And this is how it turned out:

I also did the clip:

It's a really nice almost pearlescent brown/purple it looks fantastic in real life, hard to show on camera. The "Leatherman Wingman" has a blue colour to it because I gave it a little extra heat, again almost impossible to show on camera.

I'm really happy with how this MT turned out. Someone said it's like "polishing a turd" well I don't think so, just because something is cheap doesn't mean it isn't good quality or useful. The wingman is one of my most useful MT and at the end of the day being useful is the entire purpose of a MT. I almost like the wingman more than my Charge TTi.

Special thanks to my Leatherman charge for helping.

That is the torch I used if anyone is interested. Just be sure to use in a ventilated room! Only time will tell how much I use this for EDC compared to my Skeletool but we will see

sawman · **Reply #13 on:** August 03, 2014, 01:05:50 AM

Now THAT I like

captain spaulding · **Reply #14 on:** August 03, 2014, 05:09:58 AM

Oh that looks good! Great work.

Kampfer · **Reply #15 on:** August 04, 2014, 09:57:54 AM

Nice mod, I have an extra 420hc blade and a wingman missing scissors, I am going to try this put in another blade to make it complete.

Metropolicity · **Reply #16 on:** August 04, 2014, 09:56:47 PM

Sorry, I didn't mean to dislike your project. I just don't like the wingman as much as most. It works for you so that's all that matters.

neillcurrie · **Reply #17 on:** August 04, 2014, 10:42:43 PM

Just a word of caution. In some of the pics it looks like a blade or file/saw might have "benefited" from the heat ano process, it's not 100% clear.
If this is the case, then you have probably drawn some of the temper from the blade/file/saw, and that isn't good. I'd make sure the tools, both internal and external, are removed before attempting the heat ano process.

andyroo54 · **Reply #18 on:** August 05, 2014, 01:11:16 AM

Quote from: neillcurrie on August 04, 2014, 10:42:43 PM

Just a word of caution. In some of the pics it looks like a blade or file/saw might have "benefited" from the heat ano process, it's not 100% clear.
If this is the case, then you have probably drawn some of the temper from the blade/file/saw, and that isn't good. I'd make sure the tools, both internal and external, are removed before attempting the heat ano process.

I'm not sure why you think that because the only parts that were heat anodized were the scales and the clip, and that can only be done while they are removed from the multitool. I understand you do not heat the actual tools of the leatherman, because hardening metal makes it more brittle.

Kampfer · **Reply #19 on:** August 05, 2014, 10:18:41 AM

Quote from: Kampfer on August 04, 2014, 09:57:54 AM

Nice mod, I have an extra 420hc blade and a wingman missing scissors, I am going to try this put in another blade to make it complete.

Tried and failed.
The wave blade can "fit" (the tip is a little too long) in without resizing the pivot, but because that it has lot up n down play, and the detent on liner lock won't line up with wave blade.

And wingman blade can't install in scissors slot, it won't close due the the shape of the blade.

I think more R&D can eventually overcome where I failed, but it isn't worth it for me at this point.

Subterranean · **Reply #20 on:** August 05, 2014, 01:53:04 PM

Nice, swapping the default blade for the plain edge one is exactly what I would do to a Wingman.

For me, Leatherman makes some confusing decisions. I personally would swap the blades on the Wingman and the Sidekick.

Wingman has those little scissors, so I I think of it as an urban/indoor tool, I think a plain edge blade would be more appropriate for precise cutting.

Sidekick has a woodsaw, so I think of it as an outdoor multitool, a serrated blade would be better here, for cutting ropes and stuff.