Gerber Dime - Purple

[N_N_R]

Alright, the Dime fought an apple A pretty huge apple for a tiny knife, lots of perseverance and it did it, lol.

[AimlessWanderer]

Yeah, it's a decent little blade alright  As for apples, I tent to be quite choosy as to what tools/knives I attack them with these days. I've had too many get all gummed up around the pivot because they're a pain to clean out. 

[N_N_R]

Well, I wash the tools always after using them for food Drying is a pain, though, but fun

[pfrsantos]

Well, I wash the tools always after using them for food Drying is a pain, though, but fun

Forget that, you should wash after using them for blood...

 

 

[rebel]

Well, I wash the tools always after using them for food Drying is a pain, though, but fun

I wash them before using them for food. Remind me not to eat by you

Anyway yeah the tiny scissors are questionable. My Micra is great for cutting fingernails. Anything else I try to cut with it just gets mangled. Looks like you're on a purple binge lately. You must have a good sister, she even got you the right color!

[rebel]

Forget that, you should wash after using them for blood...

Yeah but she keeps cutting herself washing them so it's a vicious circle

[N_N_R]

loool.



rebel, that's my only purple tool, so I wouldn't call it a binge

[rebel]

Yeah but you have other color coordinated purple stuff like your i7R, right? 

[N_N_R]

Today I decided to take the Gerber to a biggish test. We were doing some cleaning, our windows are held together with two screws each, the size of one screw being a little over the length of the Dime itself. So i screwed and unscrewed a total of about 14 such huge screws with the philips and there was no problem at all

[AimlessWanderer]

Good to hear 

I've had a Dime on my house keys for a few months now, and it's been a very useful back up tool. I think it's an overlooked tool and deserves a little more credit, just so long as you remember the pliers aren't as robust as on the LM Squirts. I do think the bottle opener and package opener are really what sets this tool apart from the competition for me, although I think the knife blade is well done too.

I fully appreciate that other people focussing more on other aspects of the tool may be less impressed, but for me I think it's a winner 

[Demel]

It is a winner especially when you want a near full tool set (pliers, scissors, blade, couple drivers) all in a compact package. I carried mine yesterday in sweatpants and didn't know it was there.

The good: pliers, blade,  bottle opener, drivers

The suspect: scissors

The bad: the file horrible. Just plain horrible.

Overall I think it is a great tool. And it looks better than the squirt.

[powernoodle]

This is old news for many of you, but the purple Dime is widely available on Amazon in the U.S. market for $16.85 shipped.  That's a high utility/dollar ratio, and its not hard on the eyeballs either.  I bought one early on when I was not sure if it would be limited availability, and kept it in the clam shell.  Maybe its time to grab another one to actually use.

How much do these puppies cost in European markets?

[N_N_R]

With the recently higher exchange rate, I bought mine for $30 shipped, so... roughly twice more :/

[powernoodle]

Its still better to cry once ($) and then enjoy the Dime for a few years, than to sit on the sidelines.

[ThePeacent]

Hello guys!
I must admit my Purple Dime is cool-looking and I am quite fond of its package opener (best implement in the tool IMO, use it frequently for maaaany things).



But it also is very stiff and finally died on me when trying to twist some not so thick wire.



The plier head bent completely and the jaws are misaligned. No matter what I try (hammer, using other pliers, combining toos and forces...)



I can't get them properly positioned anymore.



It was nice, but I think it's definitely light-use (although I am sure the Squirt would've done it without suffering any issues)

A pity! (but I definitely find it a nice MT, and got another one soon after the incident!)

[N_N_R]

Hmmmmmmmm. I'm sorry to hear about the purple one dying. Long live the new one

[dks]

You know it is genuine when it breaks 

[N_N_R]

 

You know it is genuine when it breaks 

 

[kingsix87]

I am not impressed with my Dime (the red-grey one). To be fair, it looks great. I don't even mind the paint chipping and scratching off - in my opinion it gives it a character. In short, here is what works and what doesn't, at least in mine:

Working:
1.Bottle opener - obviously. This is probably the sturdiest part of the Dime. Always ready.
2.Package opener - primarily used as an orange peeler, opens boxes and plastic bubble packages easier than knifes and scissors.
3.Blade - for the size I don't have any complains. The 58mm Vic blade seems to have more reach, but the thicker Gerber body is easier to hold.
4.Tweezers - very small, didn't use them for any practical reason, but tested them by pulling some hairs from my hand and they seem to work.

Not working:
1.Pliers - in my opinion they are useful as glorified power tweezers. 1+mm play at the tip from absolutely minimal use, I can bend the pliers with just 2 fingers at the end of the handles, they open very hard, due to the design. The inside corners of the handles aren't rounded like the Leatherman's so the handles fight each other every time I attempt to open the pliers. In my opinion this increases the play of the pliers.
2.Scissors - I don't know why they bothered to print a patent number on them. I guess you can patent mediocrity these days. They chew even simple printer paper. If I want them to cut anything, I have to press the scissor hand sideways for better bite. They have a lot of play. The 58mm Vic scissors are worlds above in terms of quality and operation.
3.Screwdrivers - only suitable for light tasks. Any reasonable amount of torque and the whole body of the Dime begins to twist - not confidence inspiring. At one time I had to readjust the height of an aluminium door - its pivots are held in a rail with friction by two philips screws. Tried to use the 2D philips tip, but the entire Dime was twisting and it felt it would break, and I wasn't even trying that hard.
4.File - can't even remove material from my nails. At least they didn't waste a full length slot for it. The Vic file can even scratch metal, as evident on the scratches on my Classic SD Alox blade.

All in all a nice gadget. I think they could've skipped the entire gray side - the one with the screwdriver tips and scissors and made a thinner bottle opener with a blade and package opener. Maybe some screwdrivers in place of the pliers channel. In the beginning I carried it on my keys, but it weights more than all of them combined ( I carry only a small and a large key and one RFID access chip) and added a noticeable amount of bulk. These days I keep it in the house, play with it from time to time and use it to cut stuff when it is at hand. Tried some apples, but the short blade means the handle soaks with apple juise.