Leatherman Crunch EDC Solution

[Biker_Bob]

Many people appreciate the Crunch I think, but many people also say it's no good as your go-to EDC tool.
I disagree, being a motorcyclist and cyclist I find the locking pliers of the Crunch the killer feature that renders all other multitools as also-rans.
You do have to make compromises it's true, but I find that with a little fiddling I can accomplish any pliers based task with the Crunch and in fact because of the nature of the beast it acts like a compound leverage plier if you tighten up the adjustment screw to prevent the jaws locking shut on your workpiece.

Here's my EDC kit.

I've got the Crunch itself, modded to make it UK legal by moving the blade to the outside and turning it into a Svord Peasant type friction locker. The spare slot inside the handle vacated by the knife blade now carries a pair of scissors from a Vic SD. I've added a Kick pocket clip and the Crunch sits in the back pocket of my jeans, attached to the plaited leather lanyard I made years ago for reasons I can't remember.

Then I've got a "Go System" clip on pouch / extra pocket, this carries a selection of hex bits:
Philips 0,1,2,3
Pozi 1,2,3
Flat 4,6,8
Hex 2,3,4,4.5,5,5,5,6,8
1/4" adaptor and 8,10,12mm sockets.
Hex extension

The other brass and stainless thing is a high torque bit driver I made. It can be used as a stand-alone screwdriver, with or without the hex extension. It's also designed to be clamped in the jaws of the Crunch to give a massive increase in torque.
With this set up I can remove the brake caliper and hence the front and rear wheels from my motorcycle - I think that's pretty damn impressive for an EDC multitool.

[Obi1shinobee]

 

[Mechanickal]

Very nice!

[SteveC]

 

[Poncho65]

Nice mods and setup you have there Bob

[metasyntax]

That is a sweet kit, your driver solution is awesome!

I like to carry my Crunch with a Climber or Delémont 14. One of the best things about the Crunch is how slim it is. Makes it very easy to carry!

[Biker_Bob]

I was determined to get to the situation where I only have one multitool on me, no decisions to make about which one I was going to take out that day, no thinking about carry methods.
Grab the Crunch, clip the bit pouch on and git out the door.

[Padre]

Love your set up!
 

Crunch is ready to go on its own for me, but this looks even better!

[gregozedobe]

Excellent set-up.  I like how you have thought about what you need for the things you need to do     

I'm another Crunch fan - I have one in both my vehicles.  They might be a bit fiddly compared with some MTs, but when you absolutely need locking pliers then regular pliers just can't get the job done.

Probably the most unusual thing I have used a Crunch for is to remove a tent peg from the ground.  It was well and truly stuck and stopping a friend from packing up her Gazebo and taking it home after a dog agility trial.  The reason she couldn't get it out of the ground was because it was pounded into a tree root and the tree got a really tight grip on the peg.  I asked her if it had been difficult to bang into the ground, and her reply was"  Yeah, it was a bit difficult so I got a bigger hammer and hit it harder !  "   

[pietervn]

G'Day,

That is a very cool set-up.

I too have a Crunch on the motorbike and it is a VERY versatile tool as you have shown with the additional bits. It eliminates a number of full size tools which is always a plus on a bike.

Thanks for showing it!!!

Pete

[Spence]

Very impressive set up there Bob, nice one mate. As i've already said to you, i think the Crunch is a massively underrated MT and one of my favourites.

[Biker_Bob]

Thanks chaps.
The particular usefulness to the biker is not to be underestimated.
Examples of occasions where only the Crunch could have saved me:
The earth strap sheared off on my GS750 chop, I was able to ride home with the remains of the strap clamped to the back of the crankcases with the Crunch.
The throttle cable snapped, with the Crunch I was able to clamp the snapped inner to the end of the bar and ride home pulling the throttle cable like a bow string.

[Spence]

How did you do with the Kick pocket clip, did you need a longer spindle? Any pics of it?

[Biker_Bob]

I've replaced the spindle with a bolt, I needed the threaded end for my friction locking lever.
It was necessary to apply a couple of dabs of weld to stop the pocket clip rotating.
I'll organise some pictures and upload later.

[G-Dizzle]

very nice mods!!! I think adding the scissors is great as far as pushing it into the edc world gores.

[Biker_Bob]

Some close up shots of the friction folding knife.
I replaced the barrel pivot with an M5 bolt, it's a close fit.
The knife blade is a much shortened original Crunch blade.
I turned up the brass washer and the brass locking lever.
With the blade extended the lever can be pushed to lock with the thumb. Because the blade is sandwiched between the two pieces of brass, no matter how hard you twist that locking lever, the blade can be pushed closed (to comply with the law).
The other big advantage is that the blade can easily be removed and the Crunch carried bladeless. I did this recently on a trip to London, there were searches when entering many public buildings.

[Poncho65]

Excellent set-up.  I like how you have thought about what you need for the things you need to do     

I'm another Crunch fan - I have one in both my vehicles.  They might be a bit fiddly compared with some MTs, but when you absolutely need locking pliers then regular pliers just can't get the job done.

Probably the most unusual thing I have used a Crunch for is to remove a tent peg from the ground.  It was well and truly stuck and stopping a friend from packing up her Gazebo and taking it home after a dog agility trial.  The reason she couldn't get it out of the ground was because it was pounded into a tree root and the tree got a really tight grip on the peg.  I asked her if it had been difficult to bang into the ground, and her reply was"  Yeah, it was a bit difficult so I got a bigger hammer and hit it harder !  "   

Now that's a woman

 

[Poncho65]

Some close up shots of the friction folding knife.
I replaced the barrel pivot with an M5 bolt, it's a close fit.
The knife blade is a much shortened original Crunch blade.
I turned up the brass washer and the brass locking lever.
With the blade extended the lever can be pushed to lock with the thumb. Because the blade is sandwiched between the two pieces of brass, no matter how hard you twist that locking lever, the blade can be pushed closed (to comply with the law).
The other big advantage is that the blade can easily be removed and the Crunch carried bladeless. I did this recently on a trip to London, there were searches when entering many public buildings.

More great pics I how the blade can be easily removed to fit another need of yours as well

[ToolJoe]

  I've used the pliers on my Crunch to straighten out one of the plug pins for a vacuum cleaner that was bent and out of whack.

[Mike 56]

Excellent set-up.  I like how you have thought about what you need for the things you need to do     

I'm another Crunch fan - I have one in both my vehicles.  They might be a bit fiddly compared with some MTs, but when you absolutely need locking pliers then regular pliers just can't get the job done.

Probably the most unusual thing I have used a Crunch for is to remove a tent peg from the ground.  It was well and truly stuck and stopping a friend from packing up her Gazebo and taking it home after a dog agility trial.  The reason she couldn't get it out of the ground was because it was pounded into a tree root and the tree got a really tight grip on the peg.  I asked her if it had been difficult to bang into the ground, and her reply was"  Yeah, it was a bit difficult so I got a bigger hammer and hit it harder !  "   

Sounds like good sound logic to me. Those are words i live by when in doubt get a bigger hammer.