PowerPint Overview Mighty Little MT

[Exeter]

Mine arrived today, later I'll put some photos of mine of the tool for those interested. Here's a teaser for now. 

[Wspeed]

Looking good Exeter 
Still can’t believe how small the pint is 

[Sam Lim]

I received mine today!! It came much faster than expected. And the package was really, small.

Out of package, I have to say I am not too pleased with what I have received.Having fortunately/unfortunately handle all the past 2017 models, to be honest, this was expected. I am sorry GLBM and SOG fans..

These are the problems I have...

1) The pliers I have received are misaligned at the tip. I really hate this when it new out of package. I have never had this problems with any of my SOGs before. So this time I am really disappointed.

2) I had very bad tool clumping on one side of the handle. When I pull out the serrated blade, everything else comes out with it. Took a closer look and realise the pivot is stuck with the blade and is moving along. I actually took apart that side of the handle immediately. I was right. The pivot hole of the blade is stuck with the pivot. Its pivot hole is somehow smaller than the rest of the implements. So whoever put this together simply does not care and probably hammered the pivot in. I had to do some filing to sort this out.

3) My serrated blade is slightly warped. Scissors crosses over too much, giving so much resistant that its almost unusable.

4) The back end of the tools that rubs against the locks are very rough. Making it very gritty when opening the tools.

5) Washers between the tools are very poor quality and mostly deformed but probably because they are so thin.

6) Some parts on the handle frame are finger slicing sharp..


There are the rants I have using eyeball and hand-ons inspection. More observations to come when I start using them.

Returning is not an option as I am on the other side of the world and paying for shipping simply does not make sense...

Having said all of the above, most problems are user correctable other than the the pliers misalignment...... I am still liking this tool at the moment and looking forward to using it!

Oh btw, Lynn, if you are reading this, this is a left hand scissors..... 

[Exeter]

I promised some photos, but they turned out pretty bad because of the lighting, they are too yellowish and dark or overexposed and lacking details, so I'll try to make some better ones tomorrow in natural lighting. I included some anyway.

My observations after playing with it for half a day now: there is some tool clumping, but on mine definitely not to the extent as in Sam Lim's case, and I suspect this is by design, as the inner tools come up a bit with the longer tool on the side, but only the ones on that particular side, my guess is to make the opening easier, as they're pretty hard to reach even with my smaller fingers. As for the gritty opening: the bottoms have machining marks, lines, yes, but I see nothing out of the ordinary on mine, I've seen similar marks on my Rebar and Juice too, and these will definitely smooth out with time and use.

My blades are perfectly okay, nothing to note there, but I agree about the scissors, it needs significant amount of force to operate, but hopefull it will break in. I particularly like that you can pop off the top arm from the springbar, probably for easier maintetnance, sharpening. The plier tips don't align perfectly, but for me that 0.1 mm makes no difference, insignificant and I expected something like that.

I'm not too fond of the pocket clip, I took that off, and for me the stonewash finish makes the tool look a bit cheaper than it is, but the surface will definitley age and get a bit more uniform and polished. My biggest gripe is the "file", even though I was prepared for it being bad, it's even worse than I expected. It's laughably bad, unusable. The crosscut side reluctantly filed fingernail, but that's all. It's just a metal bar, a complete waste of tool space. I wish someone would make an aftermarket file for the PowerPint!

The awl is scary sharp and pointy, the drivers are okay, the bit holder works as intended, but the protractor is just a gimmick, I have close to so called 20/20 vision and even in daylight I couldn't make out the markings, even with the Swisschamp's magnifier it took a while to recognize the numbers.

That's all for now.

 

[gerleatherberman]

Thank you Exeter and Sam Lim for posting about your Pints. That is absolutely why I didn't call my thread a review(just an overview). I had a sneaking suspicion that QC problems would have a greater impact in regards to the way this tool is constructed. The tolerances are MUCH tighter than any of their other tools.
I will not write a review now that I know they couldn't make this tool consistently as well as the one I received. 

[Sam Lim]

I think the tool clumping are unavoidable. Since they are just normal washers. Nothing "special" like Gerbers or some leatherman series that are designed for that purpose. I am actually fine with clumping. But what happened in my case was not suppose to happen..  Sog.

BTW, anyone notice there isn't a proper flathead screwdriver on board...  my cap lifter will turn into one soon..

[gerleatherberman]

I think the tool clumping are unavoidable. Since they are just normal washers. Nothing "special" like Gerbers or some leatherman series that are designed for that purpose. I am actually fine with clumping. But what happened in my case was not suppose to happen..  Sog.

BTW, anyone notice there isn't a proper flathead screwdriver on board...  my cap lifter will turn into one soon..

I did mention that you'll need to pocket a few bits with the Pint if you need more than a "jeweler's flat driver."

[Sam Lim]

I think the tool clumping are unavoidable. Since they are just normal washers. Nothing "special" like Gerbers or some leatherman series that are designed for that purpose. I am actually fine with clumping. But what happened in my case was not suppose to happen..  Sog.

BTW, anyone notice there isn't a proper flathead screwdriver on board...  my cap lifter will turn into one soon..

I did mention that you'll need to pocket a few bits with the Pint if you need more than a "jeweler's flat driver."

Ya.. I missed that..    This is quite a strange MT after playing with it for a while.. It feels like a shrunk down power grab.. Rather than a new design... Strange...

[gerleatherberman]

I think the tool clumping are unavoidable. Since they are just normal washers. Nothing "special" like Gerbers or some leatherman series that are designed for that purpose. I am actually fine with clumping. But what happened in my case was not suppose to happen..  Sog.

BTW, anyone notice there isn't a proper flathead screwdriver on board...  my cap lifter will turn into one soon..

I did mention that you'll need to pocket a few bits with the Pint if you need more than a "jeweler's flat driver."

Ya.. I missed that..    This is quite a strange MT after playing with it for a while.. It feels like a shrunk down power grab.. Rather than a new design... Strange...

Do you still have a PowerGrab? I am not getting that feeling...yet.
The PowerGrab seems(to me anyway) more akin to the PowerPlay than anything else. Maybe I am missing something?

Edit:
It does seem like a decent new modding platform. Any ideas for modding the Pint yet, Sam Lim?

[Sam Lim]

I think the tool clumping are unavoidable. Since they are just normal washers. Nothing "special" like Gerbers or some leatherman series that are designed for that purpose. I am actually fine with clumping. But what happened in my case was not suppose to happen..  Sog.

BTW, anyone notice there isn't a proper flathead screwdriver on board...  my cap lifter will turn into one soon..

I did mention that you'll need to pocket a few bits with the Pint if you need more than a "jeweler's flat driver."

Ya.. I missed that..    This is quite a strange MT after playing with it for a while.. It feels like a shrunk down power grab.. Rather than a new design... Strange...

Do you still have a PowerGrab? I am not getting that feeling...yet.
The PowerGrab seems(to me anyway) more akin to the PowerPlay than anything else. Maybe I am missing something?

Edit:
It does seem like a decent new modding platform. Any ideas for modding the Pint yet, Sam Lim?

I sold off the power grab soon after I got it.. Felt that its too bulky. I remember when I first got the power grab, when I open the handle and saw that pliers head, that left a deep impression in me. That thing is beautiful beyond words..

Off my mind, juice/squirt tools look quite promising. Pivot holes looks quite the same I think.. Adding in the package opener from dime will be a great asset I feel. After taking it apart yesterday..

I might pull off another stunt here with a unlocking lever again. The one on the ST work really well. Not liking the lock on this one..

[gerleatherberman]

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Edit: Just saw your edit, Sam Lim.
That plier head is the main reason I kept mine, so I know what you mean. The Grab plier head is possibly the most beautifully machined plier head ever made.


On another note, I am curious to know if the tool tangs on the Pints You and Exeter got are rougher looking than mine. I hope this photo shows it clearly. It feels really smooth, so I didn't give it any thought, but in macro, I can see it.
Does yours look rougher? Does it feel rough to the touch?

[gerleatherberman]

For anyone not sure what Sam and I are talking about in regards to the PowerGrab plier head(Grab left and PAD right).

[Sam Lim]

For anyone not sure what Sam and I are talking about in regards to the PowerGrab plier head(Grab left and PAD right).

GLBM, you and I know the picture doesn't do it justice. I honestly haven seen anything that wows me that much after the PG.. Now u are making me wanting one again... 

Regarding the backside of the tool, some are smooth, some rough. Enough to feel the "gear" effect when pulling it back..

[gerleatherberman]

GLBM, you and I know the picture doesn't do it justice. I honestly haven seen anything that wows me that much after the PG.. Now u are making me wanting one again... 

Regarding the backside of the tool, some are smooth, some rough. Enough to feel the "gear" effect when pulling it back..

Had to try. People might think we're nuts saying the PowerGrab did something excellent.

Thank you, Sam!
It'll be interesting to see if that issue gets worse on newer Pints as tooling at the factory starts to wear out in the future.

[Sam Lim]

GLBM, you and I know the picture doesn't do it justice. I honestly haven seen anything that wows me that much after the PG.. Now u are making me wanting one again... 

Regarding the backside of the tool, some are smooth, some rough. Enough to feel the "gear" effect when pulling it back..

Had to try. People might think we're nuts saying the PowerGrab did something excellent.

Thank you, Sam!
It'll be interesting to see if that issue gets worse on newer Pints as tooling at the factory starts to wear out in the future.

Who isn't nuts over here... 

[Exeter]

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Edit: Just saw your edit, Sam Lim.
That plier head is the main reason I kept mine, so I know what you mean. The Grab plier head is possibly the most beautifully machined plier head ever made.


On another note, I am curious to know if the tool tangs on the Pints You and Exeter got are rougher looking than mine. I hope this photo shows it clearly. It feels really smooth, so I didn't give it any thought, but in macro, I can see it.
Does yours look rougher? Does it feel rough to the touch?

On mine they look like this. There are machining marks, and can be felt when opening, definitely not buttery smooth, but wouldn't call it rough either.

[Exeter]

Also, future owners be aware that the scissors on the PowerPint, although require quite some force to operate, are only good for threads, a couple of layers of normal printer/newspaper, thin zipties, thin regular cardboard. I tried it on corrugated cardboard and it failed miserably. See on the photo: the abandoned cut was made with the PP, the rest for comparison with the same piece of cardboard.

EDIT: Based on the size of the scissors, maybe a Squirt PS4 would be better for comparison, but I wouldn't dare to have a go at cardboard like this with that, so looking at like that, it's a win for the PP.

 

[Sam Lim]

Try cutter with your left hand. This is a pair of left handed scissor like I said before earlier.

I, am, serious.

Btw, the design of the scissors are off. The handles are too short to give it any kind of proper leverage.

[Exeter]

Try cutter with your left hand. This is a pair of left handed scissor like I said before earlier.

I, am, serious.

Btw, the design of the scissors are off. The handles are too short to give it any kind of proper leverage.

Well, I did just that, but saw no difference, it just chewed on the cardboard, it's too much for it. And let me add that I'm ambidexterous, or mixed handed to be precise, so my left is pretty much the same in strength and dexterity as my right, so that variable can be ruled out. For the sake of the experiment, I tried it with my right hand upside down, with the moving arm facing downwards to my pointer finger, but no difference either.

Maybe you scissors are better made, or your hand/fingers are stronger.

[Wspeed]

Yes they are left handed 
You can see it properly in the pic of Sam
Nice one Sam never noticed that before 

[Sam Lim]

Try cutter with your left hand. This is a pair of left handed scissor like I said before earlier.

I, am, serious.

Btw, the design of the scissors are off. The handles are too short to give it any kind of proper leverage.

Well, I did just that, but saw no difference, it just chewed on the cardboard, it's too much for it. And let me add that I'm ambidexterous, or mixed handed to be precise, so my left is pretty much the same in strength and dexterity as my right, so that variable can be ruled out. For the sake of the experiment, I tried it with my right hand upside down, with the moving arm facing downwards to my pointer finger, but no difference either.

Maybe you scissors are better made, or your hand/fingers are stronger.

Without any disrespect, I am serious. Its not my hands are better or anything like that. It's really a left handed scissors. There are scissors specifically made for left handers. And this is one of them. I am not sure why Sog made this decision. The past scissors designs from the powerlock series are right handed.

Well, the scissors from sog had never been great for the record. So.. I am not too surprise that it didn't make the cut this time round.. Mine is terrible as well.

[Exeter]

Try cutter with your left hand. This is a pair of left handed scissor like I said before earlier.

I, am, serious.

Btw, the design of the scissors are off. The handles are too short to give it any kind of proper leverage.

Well, I did just that, but saw no difference, it just chewed on the cardboard, it's too much for it. And let me add that I'm ambidexterous, or mixed handed to be precise, so my left is pretty much the same in strength and dexterity as my right, so that variable can be ruled out. For the sake of the experiment, I tried it with my right hand upside down, with the moving arm facing downwards to my pointer finger, but no difference either.

Maybe you scissors are better made, or your hand/fingers are stronger.

Without any disrespect, I am serious. Its not my hands are better or anything like that. It's really a left handed scissors. There are scissors specifically made for left handers. And this is one of them. I am not sure why Sog made this decision. The past scissors designs from the powerlock series are right handed.

Well, the scissors from sog had never been great for the record. So.. I am not too surprise that it didn't make the cut this time round.. Mine is terrible as well.

Well, I didn't think you're pulling my leg. And I see what you mean with it being left handed, the arms are arranged opposite as on other scissors, I just meant for me it didn't make any difference when trying it left handed. Take thick blades, short lever arms and a too strong spring and you have your PowerPint scissors.

[gerleatherberman]

On mine they look like this. There are machining marks, and can be felt when opening, definitely not buttery smooth, but wouldn't call it rough either.

Thank you for the input, Exeter!

Also, future owners be aware that the scissors on the PowerPint, although require quite some force to operate, are only good for threads, a couple of layers of normal printer/newspaper, thin zipties, thin regular cardboard. I tried it on corrugated cardboard and it failed miserably. See on the photo: the abandoned cut was made with the PP, the rest for comparison with the same piece of cardboard.

EDIT: Based on the size of the scissors, maybe a Squirt PS4 would be better for comparison, but I wouldn't dare to have a go at cardboard like this with that, so looking at like that, it's a win for the PP.

 

The scissors were not a disappointment on the Pint for me either after all, after using them on a bunch of stuff.  Card stock was the thickest material I successfully cut with mine. Corrugated cardboard is tough on little scissors.

Try cutter with your left hand. This is a pair of left handed scissor like I said before earlier.

I, am, serious.

Btw, the design of the scissors are off. The handles are too short to give it any kind of proper leverage.

Well, seeing as the Pint uses the compound leverage pliersand has a tool locking mechanism, that is likely the best handle to cutting end ratio they could have achieved. The spring is stiff, but could possible be removed and over extended to remove some tension. More work to fix another new SOG issue. Though, I should note, the scissors on mine are acceptable in regards to spring tension. Not butter soft like a LM Juice or 91mm SAK, but not as bad as a lot of scissors I've used on cheaper MTs.

I found little difference in using ambidextrously as well, although I concede the point they wouldbe easier to use for a lefty to some degree.



In essence, barring the silly file, the tools were actually better than I had expected considering the tool's nature. IMO of course.

[Sam Lim]

Try cutter with your left hand. This is a pair of left handed scissor like I said before earlier.

I, am, serious.

Btw, the design of the scissors are off. The handles are too short to give it any kind of proper leverage.

Well, I did just that, but saw no difference, it just chewed on the cardboard, it's too much for it. And let me add that I'm ambidexterous, or mixed handed to be precise, so my left is pretty much the same in strength and dexterity as my right, so that variable can be ruled out. For the sake of the experiment, I tried it with my right hand upside down, with the moving arm facing downwards to my pointer finger, but no difference either.

Maybe you scissors are better made, or your hand/fingers are stronger.

Without any disrespect, I am serious. Its not my hands are better or anything like that. It's really a left handed scissors. There are scissors specifically made for left handers. And this is one of them. I am not sure why Sog made this decision. The past scissors designs from the powerlock series are right handed.

Well, the scissors from sog had never been great for the record. So.. I am not too surprise that it didn't make the cut this time round.. Mine is terrible as well.

Well, I didn't think you're pulling my leg. And I see what you mean with it being left handed, the arms are arranged opposite as on other scissors, I just meant for me it didn't make any difference when trying it left handed. Take thick blades, short lever arms and a too strong spring and you have your PowerPint scissors.

 

Though I sounded like I have alot of complains for the power pint, I am still liking this tool alot. Well mainly because how small and compact this is! Lets face it. The scissors are smallish and most likely suited for light task which I think they are ok-ish. Let's look beyond the scissors! There's the wonderful awl, nice blades, butter spreading file, etc etc.... 

[Exeter]

Try cutter with your left hand. This is a pair of left handed scissor like I said before earlier.

I, am, serious.

Btw, the design of the scissors are off. The handles are too short to give it any kind of proper leverage.

Well, I did just that, but saw no difference, it just chewed on the cardboard, it's too much for it. And let me add that I'm ambidexterous, or mixed handed to be precise, so my left is pretty much the same in strength and dexterity as my right, so that variable can be ruled out. For the sake of the experiment, I tried it with my right hand upside down, with the moving arm facing downwards to my pointer finger, but no difference either.

Maybe you scissors are better made, or your hand/fingers are stronger.

Without any disrespect, I am serious. Its not my hands are better or anything like that. It's really a left handed scissors. There are scissors specifically made for left handers. And this is one of them. I am not sure why Sog made this decision. The past scissors designs from the powerlock series are right handed.

Well, the scissors from sog had never been great for the record. So.. I am not too surprise that it didn't make the cut this time round.. Mine is terrible as well.

Well, I didn't think you're pulling my leg. And I see what you mean with it being left handed, the arms are arranged opposite as on other scissors, I just meant for me it didn't make any difference when trying it left handed. Take thick blades, short lever arms and a too strong spring and you have your PowerPint scissors.

 

Though I sounded like I have alot of complains for the power pint, I am still liking this tool alot. Well mainly because how small and compact this is! Lets face it. The scissors are smallish and most likely suited for light task which I think they are ok-ish. Let's look beyond the scissors! There's the wonderful awl, nice blades, butter spreading file, etc etc.... 

Oh yeah, I do like the tool as well for its compactness and versatility, so those who are contemplating buying one, don't let yourselves be turned off by my/our "camplaints", it's still a nice little multitool and I am happy I got one. 

[Exeter]

And I almost forgot: I mentioned I didn't really like the stowash finish, so I polished the middle "panel" on the handles. It came out pretty nice, at least for my eyes. It's not easy to show on camera, but irl it looks quite stylish like this.

[Exeter]

Hm, I just noticed now, that the plier has slightly different typefaces for the SOG logo on the two sides. Interesting. Since this is my first and only SOG product, I can only speculate why this is. Is this something SOG regularly does? Or did the two halves come from a different batch?

[gerleatherberman]

Glad everyone is enjoying their Pints. For me, I like almost everything about it. Except the file, but that was expected.
SOG may have a safety flotation device in the PowerPint. The size and amountof tools are impressive. What really impresses me is that the PowerPint might be the smallest multitool with all locking implements. Aside from the LM Leap possibly. I'll have to check that out this evening. 

Hm, I just noticed now, that the plier has slightly different typefaces for the SOG logo on the two sides. Interesting. Since this is my first and only SOG product, I can only speculate why this is. Is this something SOG regularly does? Or did the two halves come from a different batch?

That is so strange. I'll look at mine wheb I get home. Maybe they had some plier halves cast with a different logo design for early/pre production or something. A mystery that should prove interesting to solve.
Those handles look really nice with the centers polished, DT!

[gerleatherberman]

Dutch_Tooler,
My Pint has the same peculiar difference of branding. Kind of neat.

And I was wrong. The Pint IS the smallest MT with all locking tools that I know of. The Leap has a few tools that don't lock.

The Leap is also more bulky. SOG may have a winner with the PowerPint.

[DeezNittles]

All sites are back to saying preorder... 

Is there anything on your Pints to designate it as a first production run?