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Used Gerber Multi-Plier (Lynn's $15 MT Challenge)

us Offline Lynn LeFey

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Used Gerber Multi-Plier (Lynn's $15 MT Challenge)
on: April 11, 2018, 04:29:30 PM
This tool review is part of a challenge to see what the best tool is I could find for $15, with shipping and tax included. The main thread to the challenge is linked below, if you wish to see the  other competitors.
https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,76694.0.html

This tool was purchased as part of a lot, and was worth about $14 of the value of that lot.

It is stainless steel coated in black oxide, and weighs 215g (7.58oz). The tool can be taken apart with allen keys. Sorry to say I can't identify the sizes, but they were the two smallest on the English Allen key ring.

It came with a belt pouch (not pictured).

This is the original sliding plier head design by Gerber, introduced in 1991(According to the multitool wiki timeline http://wiki.multitool.org/tiki-index.php?page=Multitool+Timeline )

As the mandatory shameless plug, if you like this tool review, and would like a chance at having one (in much better condition), then this month's donation prize is a Multi-plier...
https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,76826.0.html

Around these parts, the tool has earned the nickname 'Mr. Pinchy', because of the way the handles close very near to each other, often catching the meat of your palm between them if the tool slips from an item. I have done it. It's not fun. But to be fair, I've also done it with a Gerber Dime and Leatherman Wave. so... :think:

While the tool shows obvious signs of wear, it has no significant damage.

The tools on the Multi-plier are inside access, and have no locking in the open position. Tool retention while open is about like a well worn 91mm Swiss Army knife, which is to say good, but not great.



Review of tool functions to follow shortly.





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us Offline Lynn LeFey

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Re: Used Gerber Multi-Plier (Lynn's $15 MT Challenge)
Reply #2 on: April 11, 2018, 05:14:05 PM
Let's talk about the pliers on this.

These are blunt nose design. This tool is the original of the sliding plier head design still used by Gerber in many of their designs, and by several other companies as well.

The retention of the plier head in closed position is good. The wear is such that 'flicking' the pliers into open position is easy (and EXTREMELY satisfying). So, these are easy to one-hand-open.

Handle splay is as minimal as can be. I think that feature would make these well suited for people with smaller hands.

I tried using these on the self-tapping screws in my ductwork, where they functioned great, both sideways and nose-on. However, trying to get a pic of a black multitool in a dark basement, even with flash, didn't go well, so no picture.

Next I tried the 3/8 bolts on my storage racks.


Some good and bad here. The good was it gripped easily. The bad was that because of the handle design, grabbing a flush bolt might be a bit difficult. Not here specifically, but it could come up. Still, great ergonomics. In fact, It worked so well, I tried the bolt nose-on, and had no problem that way, either. I felt no torsion flex in the plier jaws at all doing this, which kind of surprised me.

Then I moved on to the 1/2" nut holding my basement stair tread together.


And it was the absolute best tool I've ever tested at this. The previous $10 Challenge had an MP-400 in it, and while I loved that tool, it had both shorter handles and locking tabs on the handles. This tool, with the handles free of any protrusions, coupled with the narrow handle splay made this a tool that actually felt REALLY GOOD at bigger bolts. I could apply as much of my grip strength as I wanted, with no discomfort.

I then gave it a precision test, to see if it could pick a sewing needle off the surface of a table.


Accomplished easily. The jaws on this tool are extremely precisely ground, matching up perfectly, and have no play in the pivot. The only limitation I can see is the obvious problems of simply not being able to get them into all the places needlenose might reach.

The only function left was the wirecutter.


I cut a piece of coathanger and rebent it, then cut a piece of 12-gauge solid copper wire, and tried to put a tight loop in it. The tool had no problem with cutting the heavy coathanger wire (but you have to be careful about that 'Mr. Pinchy' effect), but the blunt nose wasn't able to make a nice tight loop in the copper wire. The wire cutters are fairly short, though, and require care in placing material in their jaws. Hard wire has a tendency to want to slide out of them, so the operation has to be done with some measure of patience.

While pretty precise, the wire cutters were not able to cleanly cut the wire from an old pair of headphones I had. Almost, but not quite.

I have to say... if you need pliers, and every other necessity is a distant second, then I think maybe this is the best MT in existence. Also, understand, it will pinch you. It WILL. Embrace the pinch!  :D

Pliers: PASS with distinction (caveat, they can have a nasty surprise 'pinch', though)
Wire Cutters: Pass


us Offline Lynn LeFey

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Re: Used Gerber Multi-Plier (Lynn's $15 MT Challenge)
Reply #3 on: April 11, 2018, 06:34:16 PM
Next, we have the blades.

BladeS, plural. It has both a drop-point plain edge blade and sheepsfoot serrated blade.

The serrated blade's sheepsfoot shape might allow for a measure of use as a emergency safety cutter, to cut away clothing from an wounded individual or cut jammed seatbelts and such. Since it looks like all of the original black oxide is still on the blade, and it seemed sharp, I have to assume that the blade has been used very little, if at all. Retention on both blades is pretty light. The plain edge had some side-to-side play, but that was removed by slightly tightening the allen screw holding the tool together. Maybe a quarter turn of the screw. Both blades have some forward/back play in open position before the any kind of retention starts. None of this makes them feel particularly unsafe for use, though.

I gave it a few tests against cordage, and it was pretty good at cutting 550 paracord, making a clean cut in one pull.



I also used it to tear through the seam portion of a pair of khakis, which it did with some effort.

Both the khakis and paracord are far from 'clean' cuts, but that's the nature of serrated blades. They're going to chew through more than slice cleanly.

The plain edge drop point blade had obviously been used before, with scratches in the black oxide coating. It was dead dull when I received it. Better than a butterknife, but not by much. I gave it 20 strokes per side on ceramic rods with no effect, then took 20 minutes to sharpen it on stones. As with many knives I've tested, it had an uneven grind that needed to be fixed. Afterward, it would very smoothly cut phonebook paper.

I gave it 10 passes through corrugated cardboard, across the corrugations.



Here, I have to say that ergonomics of this tool while doing heavy cutting were excellent. However, because of the light retention in open position, i would REALLY not want to do a thrust with the plain edge blade. In theory, the blade would collapse into the opposite handle of the tool, not on your fingers, but I'll just not use it that way, thank you very much.

After the cardboard test, it went back to phonebook paper to test edge retention.



It cut the phonebook paper neatly.

The cutting area on both blades are about 2 3/8" (60mm) in length. Being relatively short compared to the overall length of the tool, non-locking, and fairly light retention, I think these are generally adequate, but not great blades.

Blades: PASS for light duty


us Offline Lynn LeFey

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Re: Used Gerber Multi-Plier (Lynn's $15 MT Challenge)
Reply #4 on: April 11, 2018, 07:05:42 PM
On to the screwdrivers.

The tool has FOUR of them, three flatheads of various sizes, and a full 3d phillips.

Before anything else, I think i first have to say that all of these drivers are going to be limited in their usefulness by the fact that they are pretty short. But setting that aside...

The tool has a small flathead driver paired with the cap lifter. It's good for lightswitch faceplates and similar sized screws (and slightly smaller)


It also has a larger flathead. While it will also slot into the screws of lightswitch faceplates, I gave it a try against the larger, and more difficult screws on my door hinges.


The retention on the flathead driver was very solid, and I had no sense of it trying to collapse. One of the benefits of the shorter drivers, I guess... less leverage to collapse the tool.

As it seemed pretty solid after that test, it got a go at the 'crusty paint can pry test'.


It was rock solid, with no sensation of flex in the tool or handles. And as a bonus, the butt end of the tool works as a serviceable light-duty impact tool to bang the can lid back into place.

So, having gotten some sense of the tool's solidity, I skipped lighter tasks, and took the phillips straight to work on the long woodscrews in the bench on my back porch.



And it had no problem with the task. The head slotted into the screw cleanly and had no sense of camming out. And just as with the large flathead, there was no sense of flexing in the tool or the handles.

The last driver will sadly go untested. It sits at the tip of the can opener. It's untested, because I just couldn't find any screws made for its size. It looks overly rounded, and may serve some function, but...  :shrug:

There are only two possible knocks on the drivers on this tool. First, as I mentioned, they're short. Limited reach might make them of limited use. Second, they don't lock. I put pretty serious force on the larger flathead and the phillips, and had no sense of them collapsing, but that doesn't mean they couldn't. Still, all around, it's a good set of very sturdy drivers.



us Offline Lynn LeFey

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Re: Used Gerber Multi-Plier (Lynn's $15 MT Challenge)
Reply #5 on: April 11, 2018, 07:54:55 PM
Miscellaneous functions...

The tool has a bottle opener...



It's 'not great'. I had to pull like 8 or so times to get the cap off, and it mangled the edge of the cap in the process. Also, understand that I test with caps seated by a hand-held cap press. Industrial ones fit the cap's edge closer to the bottle, making them harder to grab. That makes this cap lifter extraordinarily bad. BORDERLINE FAIL.

The can opener...



It works. Not great, but it works. I had a couple times when the hook jumped off the rim of the can, and generally just had to go slow, but it opened the can and didn't create metal slivers or gouges in the side of the can or anything. PASS.

The File...

I was a little disappointed that it was only a 2-sided file, instead of 3-sided, but it is what it is. I put it up against a big nail, trying to file the point off...


While it worked, it didn't have the 'bite' I'm used to from Leatherman and Victorinox files. I'd give it a PASS, but note that it's not the best.


us Offline Lynn LeFey

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Re: Used Gerber Multi-Plier (Lynn's $15 MT Challenge)
Reply #6 on: April 11, 2018, 08:26:04 PM
Let's talk about carry options.

The tool comes with a soft nylon sheath, with a velcro (ok, 'hook and loop') closure. The sheath is set up only for vertical belt carry. It seems to have good, durable stitching. The sheath was in very good condition. One of the benefits of a blunt nosed plier is that it won't wear through the bottom of the sheath as quickly.

I find belt carry with this tool in the 8-o'clock position (4 o-clock for right handed users) to be extremely comfortable. The tool is not ridiculously heavy, and the soft nylon sheath sits well.

The Multi-Plier also has a fold-out lanyard loop. I suppose it could be combined with a pocket clip for front pocket carry. Without it, the tool desperately wants to fall horizontal, and is simply way too big to comfortably carry that way. Similarly, it might be feasible to carry it in a back pocket if the tool could be kept vertical. And as with sheath carry, the blunt nose won't tear through clothes as swiftly as a needle nose plier would.



us Offline Lynn LeFey

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Re: Used Gerber Multi-Plier (Lynn's $15 MT Challenge)
Reply #7 on: April 11, 2018, 08:54:16 PM
So, some closing thoughts.

This tool feels like a tank. Nothing feels flimsy. The sliding plier head assembly rattles in the tool body, but that doesn't have any impact on performance.

The tool is easy to maintain, thanks to the assembly with Allen-head screws. It's not as light as the Leatherman PST, but it also feels way more solid.

If I'm spending the weight to carry a plier-based tool, the pliers had better be good, and they're MORE than good on this. They are fantastic. In addition, the screw drivers are all very good. Add in a functional file, and you've got a good little portable toolbox, and one that feels a good deal more robust than the PST for not a lot of added weight.

That's the good.

The blades aren't anything to write home about, but they do function. The can opener works, but not great. The cap lifter is pretty terrible, but also, probably pretty low priority. Maybe it's best to think of it as a freebie that comes along with the small flathead screwdriver.

This isn't a 'good' basic multitool. It is a pretty exceptional basic multitool.

Considering that the only real upgrade that was made to this tool to create the MP-600 was to add locks to the tools, and that the MP-600 is still going strong today... that says something about this design.

Another point of interest was that over about a month, I found TWO Multi-Pliers at the $15 price range. Both were obviously used, but neither had broken components. So, with at least some frequency, these can be had at this price point.

This tool is, without a doubt, worth $15 in the condition I got it. I'd call this a good contender for best tool at this price point.


 

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