Gerber Center-Drive vs Leatherman OHT

[Padre]

CD is more for mechanics and OHT is more outdoorsy.
It will be hard to compare.

[Grant Lamontagne]

CD is more for mechanics and OHT is more outdoorsy.
It will be hard to compare.

You say that, but there are an awful lot of similarities between them.

Leatherman had the OHT designed and ready to go the very second that the Gerber sliding head patent expired- I know, I had seen it before the patent expiration, and Leatherman made no secret of the fact that they were going to do it.  If Leatherman is going to try and make a Gerber, it only makes sense to compare it to the real thing.  As the Freehand is discontinued, the Center-Drive makes a more fitting comparison since it is more on par size wise with the OHT.

Both tools are larger than the MP600.  I'll try and get a comparison photo for you Gareth.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Part 2- Pliers

Overall:

Both the Center-Drive and One Hand Tool (OHT) have similar pliers in that they are both of the sliding head variety, both have removable/replaceable wire cutters and both are sprung, which means when the handles are released, the pliers spring open.



The OHT head is much thinner than the Center-Drive's head, and seems very disproportionate to the handles.  Additionally, the percentage of the head that is cut out to accommodate the replaceable cutters is more significant on the OHT than the more robust head of the Center-Drive, potentially providing a weak point during hard use.  The first point goes to Gerber.

The Cutters:

The OHT does have a slightly greater surface area on the cutters, which would be an advantage, but the Gerber cutters can be rotated to present a fresh surface when one surface gets dull or damaged.  This provides the Center-Drive with a longer potential lifespan than the OHT cutters.  Another point to Gerber.



When it comes to replacement costs, the Center-Drive cutters cost over twice as much as the Leatherman versions, at $23 for Gerber and $10-$10.50 for Leatherman, depending on whether you want stainless or black oxide.  Given that Gerber has almost three times the potential lifespan, I feel that this evens out.



Both sets of replacement cutters come with two blades (complete set), replacement screws and a #8 Torx Wrench to perform the replacement with.  It is noteworthy that Gerber includes four screws, while Leatherman only includes two.  This could be a benefit, as screws have a habit of falling and getting lost, but could also be considered excessive as you still have the original two screws in the tool to begin with.  This is a marginal point for Gerber.



The Pliers:



The OHT plier jaws open significantly wider than those found on the Center-Drive, giving Leatherman their next point.  Further, the jaws of the OHT themselves, while thinner, do come  to a finer needle nose point, giving Leatherman their second point.



Conversely to the comment above, the OHT handles also open significantly wider than the Center-Drive's handles, which makes them less comfortable to use for those with smaller hands, and limits the benefits of the wider opening plier head.  If one's hands don't stretch that far then the pliers cannot be used in the fully open position.



Further, the Center-Drive's handles are actually thinner than those of the OHT, allowing them to be gripped better, and the width point that Leatherman won in Part 1 for being smaller was actually due to the large lanyard ring adding to the Center-Drive's width.  The Center-Drive takes another point for actually being more comfortable to use.



Given that both pliers are sprung, the Gerber takes another point from the Leatherman as the Leatherman's spring is exposed, and the potential for breakage, gumming up, corrosion etc is much greater than that of the recessed spring in the Center-Drive's plier head.



Plier Access:

Both plier heads slide open with a flick of the wrist- or at least that is what both manufacturers claim.  The mechanism and function of both is very similar, but they are not the same.



The OHT plier head has two release buttons, one on either side, while the Center-Drive only has one.  This in and of itself does not really make one better or worse than the other, but the details will matter in a moment.

In the past, some of Gerber's sliding head plier designs have suffered from sliding open inadvertently, most notably the Octane, which was carried on a pocket clip, with the head pointed down.  This is not an issue with either of these tools, however the OHT has a small lock to ensure that if it should loosen up over time it still won't slide out.  This is a point in Leatherman's favor.

When actually attempting to flick the pliers out, I have personally averaged 2-3 flicks to get the OHT head out, versus only 1-2 flicks for the Center-Drive.  One could say that there is perhaps some technique involved, but I have carried and used the OHT much more than I have the Center-Drive, so the advantage should go to the OHT.  But, in actual practice, the results lean towards the larger, heavier head of the Gerber, and it gets this point.

Score:

Today:
Leatherman 3
Gerber 6

Total:
Leatherman 6
Gerber 6

Part 2 Summary:

It should come as little surprise that the Gerber version of the sliding head pliers function better than Leatherman's- after all, Gerber has been refining the design since the 1990's and they have produced many different versions of it in the MP600 series alone-blunt nose, needle nose, extended fishing pliers, molded cutters, replaceable cutters- they even did interchangeable head versions, although technically speaking those weren't retractable. 

Given that Gerber had a huge advantage in this section, it is a major testament that Leatherman managed to score any points at all.

Tomorrow in Part 3 we look at blades-same multitool time, same multitool channel!

Def

[Monrogue]

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[Gareth]

CD is more for mechanics and OHT is more outdoorsy.
It will be hard to compare.

You say that, but there are an awful lot of similarities between them.

Leatherman had the OHT designed and ready to go the very second that the Gerber sliding head patent expired- I know, I had seen it before the patent expiration, and Leatherman made no secret of the fact that they were going to do it.  If Leatherman is going to try and make a Gerber, it only makes sense to compare it to the real thing.  As the Freehand is discontinued, the Center-Drive makes a more fitting comparison since it is more on par size wise with the OHT.

Both tools are larger than the MP600.  I'll try and get a comparison photo for you Gareth.

Def

[leathermon]

CD is more for mechanics and OHT is more outdoorsy.
It will be hard to compare.

I think this is probably the best simplistic comparison I've heard,  true and straight to the point. Well done sir.

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[Grant Lamontagne]

CD is more for mechanics and OHT is more outdoorsy.
It will be hard to compare.

I think this is probably the best simplistic comparison I've heard,  true and straight to the point. Well done sir.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

I guess I'm wasting my time with all of this then? 

Def

[JP]

Whoa!! Don't go down that rabbit hole.

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[kaput]

Will you please touch on the points of tool access and ease of use. How convenient and efficient it is to access tools?

[Aloha]

My only experience with Gerber is Mr Pinchy and a brief time with a MP400.  I do have some experience with my OHT.  While I cannot compare it to the Gerber CD I don't think its any secret that Leatherman could have done better with the OHT.  There are some observations thus far from this comparison that would swing me toward the Gerber CD.

Plier head.  I have always thought the OHT plier head was odd.  Its so slim for such a beast of a tool.  The area made for the replaceable cutters really is a weak spot.  Looking at the CD plier head its clear they were thinking heavy duty.  I also like the rotating cutters.  Well played Gerber.

Handle Splay.  While the OHT doesn't give my mitts any issues I'm not sure why the splay is so wide?  The

Exposed spring on the OHT.  Mine does get gunked up.  As a matter of fact mine is gummed up as I type. 

The OHT is Leathemans Mr Pinchy.  The flat straight lines create a pinch point along the whole tool in plier mode.  Yes there is a small gap when the pliers are open and fully engaged but not enough for my meaty hands to avoid a pinch or 3.

I do like that every tool is OHO.  I've not had any issues opening all tools one handed.  Like posted, use the middle finger to access tools opposite thumb opening tools.  Easy to do and very effective. 

I wonder if the space where the OHO tools sit could have allowed the tools over lap to make them longer.  The inner frame where the pliers slide is rather thick while the outside of the tool is rather thin.  Seems like it could have been done.  Also opposite the plier end there are two rectangle cutouts.  That would have been a good point for a 1/4 driver to be used.  Beefing up that area seems doable.   

 

[Aloha]

Will you please touch on the points of tool access and ease of use. How convenient and efficient it is to access tools?

I can tell you that on my OHT all tools are easy enough to deploy one handed. I'm pretty ambidextrous so when using the tool left handed I can access the serrated blade with my thumb and the PE blade with my middle finger getting it to the point where I finish fully opening it with my thumb.  Same goes for all tools right or left handed.  Right handed I can deploy the PE blade with my thumb then deploy the SE blade with my middle finger then fully opening it with my thumb. 

Thats my experience. 

[G-Dizzle]

I dont have a cd to compare with so keep that in mind, but I have gotten to be able to open my oht with one motion just about 100% of the time. I dont flick the pliers out, i simply hold each sliding piece and let the tool drop down until it is fully open. To close, i do the same thing while holding the tool against my leg. The point about the plier heads is very good, and for the reasons Grant stated I have never really seen the plier head of the Oht as heavy duty or used it as such unless I really needed to. I use it more as a pair of needle nose pliers. Also a good point by Grant. I am pretty sure that the reason that the space between handles is so large on the oht is actually because they allow the pliers to be that much wider, so if you held the pliers at the same width at the center drive's, the distance between the two handles would be the same. This however does indeed make the tool a little harder to use for those with smaller hands. While I personally have not had an issue with the spring gunking up on my oht, the fact that it is much more likely to than the center drive is completely true and something to be considered for sure. I am enjoying the read Grant and appreciate you taking the time to write all of this up.

[G-Dizzle]

I have a video of my opening/closing techniques but cannot get it to post

[leathermon]

CD is more for mechanics and OHT is more outdoorsy.
It will be hard to compare.

I think this is probably the best simplistic comparison I've heard,  true and straight to the point. Well done sir.

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I guess I'm wasting my time with all of this then? 

Def

First off,  no and secondly no.  I was trying to make the point that sometimes the tool isn't bad it's just how it's being used.  Also you have people like me, who use it in both application, then it's really nice to have this kind of comparison. Can't we all just get along,  they are both winners in my book.

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[ReamerPunch]

Excellent pliers comparison. 
Looking forward to the toolset.

[Dtrain]

CD is more for mechanics and OHT is more outdoorsy.
It will be hard to compare.

I think this is probably the best simplistic comparison I've heard,  true and straight to the point. Well done sir.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

I think that Leatherman geared more towards Law Enforcement/Military while Gerber went with Tradesman myself..Which for Leatherman makes sense seeing that Gerber has had a good amount of Success with Military Personnel/Govt Contracts

[Grant Lamontagne]

Just to address some of the comments so far- yes, you probably can access all of the functions one handed if you are dexterous enough, however, that is a skill that you have developed.  I am reviewing this for someone who has neither and is looking at the two of them on the shelf and trying to decide which one to buy.  Since these two are about as close as tools from these two companies have ever gotten (except maybe the PST and MPT) I thought it was an excellent opportunity to put them together and see how they stack up.  That guy wouldn't have the ability to open the tools using different fingers, and neither would someone like my father, who has lost some of his hand strength and coordination as he gets older.

Will you please touch on the points of tool access and ease of use. How convenient and efficient it is to access tools?

You will see some of that in today's instalment, and more on that tomorrow. 

Def

[G-Dizzle]

Just to address some of the comments so far- yes, you probably can access all of the functions one handed if you are dexterous enough, however, that is a skill that you have developed.  I am reviewing this for someone who has neither and is looking at the two of them on the shelf and trying to decide which one to buy.  Since these two are about as close as tools from these two companies have ever gotten (except maybe the PST and MPT) I thought it was an excellent opportunity to put them together and see how they stack up.  That guy wouldn't have the ability to open the tools using different fingers, and neither would someone like my father, who has lost some of his hand strength and coordination as he gets older.

I apologize if any of my remarks came across  as criticizing your comparison. That was not my intention whatsoever. I thought that others may find it useful to know that there is a way to open with one hand and while it may take some learning, it is possible. I definitely wasn't aiming to offend you, or bash your decision on the comparison of the tools, so again my apologies if I came across that way.

[Grant Lamontagne]

No need to apologise- this is an open forum and we accept the input of everyone.  Otherwise, it wouldn't be a forum, it would be an againstum.   

I just wanted to make the counterpoint that the tool was designed with the standard one handed opening method where the thumb is used to open the tool.  There's a lot of stuff that people can do, or can learn to do, but it isn't the standard and may not be instinctive.  That was my only point.

Def

[G-Dizzle]

No need to apologise- this is an open forum and we accept the input of everyone.  Otherwise, it wouldn't be a forum, it would be an againstum.   

I just wanted to make the counterpoint that the tool was designed with the standard one handed opening method where the thumb is used to open the tool.  There's a lot of stuff that people can do, or can learn to do, but it isn't the standard and may not be instinctive.  That was my only point.

Def

Gotcha. That is a good point. Just wanted to make sure you didn't feel like I was attacking your work or anything! Its hard to tell sometimes if someone is offended by just reading so I thought best just to play it safe

[WoodsDuck]

No need to apologise- this is an open forum and we accept the input of everyone.  Otherwise, it wouldn't be a forum, it would be an againstum.   

I just wanted to make the counterpoint that the tool was designed with the standard one handed opening method where the thumb is used to open the tool.  There's a lot of stuff that people can do, or can learn to do, but it isn't the standard and may not be instinctive.  That was my only point.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Part 3- Blades

Overview:



Both the Leatherman OHT and the Gerber Center-Drive feature one handed opening plain blades and serrated blades.  Each blade came very sharp, and all four are similar varieties of stainless.

Main Blades:

There are a lot of similarities between these two blades- both are one handed opening with holes , both open smoothly, both have a dropped point blades, and both lock open with a satisfying click of their liner locks.



However, there is a very noticeable difference in size between the Center-Drive's 80mm blade and the OHT's 60mm one.  If you don't know how big 20mm is, and it isn't obvious from the photos, that's roughly the width of a thumb.  Also known as a HUGE difference.  I don't see how I could not award this point to Gerber, and honestly, you shouldn't be very surprised about that.



But, if I'm being honest, I find the Center-Drive's blade a bit too large, and I would rather see it a bit smaller- but then I would also like to see the blade on the OHT a bit bigger.  If I'm being totally honest, I would really like a blade somewhere between the two, but I'm still giving that point to Gerber and there's a simple reason why.

I would rather have a bigger blade than a smaller one, especially when you look at the size of the handles versus the size of the blade.  The Center-Drive at least seems to be somewhat balanced- a large tool with a large blade, versus the OHT which is a large tool with a tiny blade. 



It almost seems like Leatherman put it there as a joke.  Surely they could have eliminated one of the flatheads and put in an actual blade worthy of such a large tool.

Serrated Blades:

The serrated blades on each also follow very similar lines- both are sheepsfoot blades with similar serrations- one large scallop, two small scallops and repeat.



But, there are large differences between the two- the most obvious being that the Leatherman serrated blade is able to be opened from the outside, while Gerber's is tucked inside the handle.  The OHT's serrated blade locks open with a liner lock, identical to the one that holds the main blade open, and the Center-Drive's blade is held open by Gerber's SAF-T-LOK system.

But, while it appears that the Leatherman is a serious win for being accessible outside, but not all other things are equal.  For example, the OHT blade is at the thicker end of the handle (Pivot end where the pliers are is thinner) and is one of the “left hand” accessible blades.  That means that right handed people will have to access it in one of the following ways:

Two handed, like a traditional blade opening
Left (non dominant) handed
Using extra fingers and dexterity

The first method negates the one handed opening features of this multitool, and the other two methods potentially compromise grip.



Putting a further nail in the OHT, the Center-Drive's blade is slightly longer, providing more cutting area, and, as I said above, I do like a bigger blade.

I want to call this one a draw, but in the end, I have to give the point to Leatherman here.  The blade on the Center-Drive is just not large enough to justify the extra amount of effort necessary to slide the plier head out, open the handle and extend the blade, then closing the handle and sliding the plier head back in to use it, then repeating the whole mess to put it away.

But, there's one other major issue to the serrated blade- it's on the wrong side.



If you assume that there's a 45 degree angle coming out of the lowest point of the handle and contacting the blade, you notice a HUGE discrepancy, and the lower handle gets in the way of cutting.  The Center-Drive blade may be bigger, but it isn't that much bigger.

Many years ago, Victorinox used that as a metric when promoting their new line of plier tools, with outside accessible blades that were flat, versus the inside the handle blades on Leatherman models.  It appears that Leatherman has learned that lesson well, and used it to score.

Score:

Today:
Leatherman 1
Gerber 1

Total:
Leatherman 7
Gerber 7

Part 3 Summary:

At the end of Round 3 the score is still tied between them.  Personally I am still on side with the Gerber Center-Drive, but, being objective, even I have to admit they still seem very well matched.  The serrated blade competition, when taken solely on the blades themselves would have been awarded to Gerber for being slightly larger, but the relative inconvenience of access really hurt it.  Leatherman didn't so much win that point as much as Gerber lost it.

Tomorrow will be the fourth and final battle, with both contenders going into the fight confident.  Any advantage that one has over the other may be enough to pull off the overall win, but with the score still tied, it is anyone's match. 

Def

[Monrogue]

Great comparison so far Grant

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[Grant Lamontagne]

Great comparison so far Grant

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Sorry, couldn't help it. 

It's not often that you get two such similar tools from different manufacturers to put head to head.  It's actually been kind of fun to pit them against eachother.

Def

[Monrogue]

Great comparison so far Grant

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Sorry, couldn't help it. 

It's not often that you get two such similar tools from different manufacturers to put head to head.  It's actually been kind of fun to pit them against eachother.

Def

I almost did the actually.


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[Sea Monster]

Just gunna give Def a hard time, cause I can

The OHT does have a slightly greater surface area on the cutters, which would be an advantage, but the Gerber cutters can be rotated to present a fresh surface when one surface gets dull or damaged.

I find Gerber cutters shatter rather than dull, but that's not my point today - Larger surface area on hard wire cutters makes sod all difference as I see it - There's no way in hell you're hacking through a 6mm rod with these, so there's no real gain, and the bypass cutters at the base of the plier make them a nuisance for snipping things like cable ties or suchlike anyway.

LM's also encroach on the "gripping" area, meaning they'll likely get damaged doing some other task.

You gave the point to Gerber anyway, I'm just amplifying

Additionally, the percentage of the head that is cut out to accommodate the replaceable cutters is more significant on the OHT than the more robust head of the Center-Drive, potentially providing a weak point during hard use.  The first point goes to Gerber.

Mmm, send me both, I'll put them in the press and see if it makes a measurable difference  - I'm not interested in handing points out for "potential".



(I'll note - I've never used a Centre-drive, but I've used an OHT a few times, and while it has been perfectly up to the task and capable (as it damn well should be for a $$$ leatherman!) I just don't like it)

[leathermon]

Thank you again grant for putting in the time for this,  it's been fun and educational to read.

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[MusicMen]

Nice seeing the camparison as I have a Centre Drive; which I really like.

[jaya_man]

Very nice comparison review Def...

I don't own both and was just wondering, will there be some kind of actual use test comparing performance? Or has anybody done so.

Part 1 got me really curious about the CD and went to look at some reviews over at youtube.

A video by wealljuggleknives says that the serrated blade on the cd is not sharp as compared to a SAK, an MP600 (I think) and some LM tools (don't remember which model) and even shows this with a papercut test.

On another video by someone else, the replaceable wire cutters shattered while trying to cut a stainless steel wire. The CD belonged to this guy's friend.


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[zoidberg]

Very nice comparison review Def...

I don't own both and was just wondering, will there be some kind of actual use test comparing performance? Or has anybody done so.

Part 1 got me really curious about the CD and went to look at some reviews over at youtube.

A video by wealljuggleknives says that the serrated blade on the cd is not sharp as compared to a SAK, an MP600 (I think) and some LM tools (don't remember which model) and even shows this with a papercut test.

On another video by someone else, the replaceable wire cutters shattered while trying to cut a stainless steel wire. The CD belonged to this guy's friend.


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One, cutting paper with a serrated blade is a silly test. Two, wire cutters are for wire and not stainless steel rod.