Plier head upgrades ?

[Old man Chris]

As I see it , the main weakness that most if not all Multitoos share is invesment cast pliers . I would gladly pay a substantial upcharge for either D2, stock removal pliers , or ideally , drop forged / hard chrome plated plier heads . Leatherman has been offering upgraded blade steels , and handle materials for some time . One would presume , at a profit . I personally would pay a significant upcharge , for such plier heads . Am I the only one ? The main reason , is that it would expand the capabilities of an already carried item . Not to mention , increasing the capability of a tool like the Wave/Charge/Spirit in the workplace /service arena .

There are a number of companies that could make the heads , Klein , Knipex , Whia , Channellock , just to name a few . ATM , about the only company I know of that has much upgraded plier , is Multitasker , who uses D2 ( a semi stainless steel) for both plier heads , and the master blade . The only catch with their product , it’s basically AR15 Centric .

Chris

[cody6268]

Seriously, if some maker decided to use a blunt nosed "Combination" (like the Gerber Multi-Plier used) that was a forged tool steel, I'd buy it the day it came out.   To me that's a whole lot better than Leatherman's current "Plus" line which to me, is more of a downgrade than an upgrade--the head is weakened by the milling out of the head for the replaceable cutters, and the fact that if you damage a cutter years down the road, and either Leatherman or Gerber has moved away from that style cutter, or has gone out of business, you're in deep trouble.

I live on a farm, and cutting hard fencing wire (as well as screws and nails occasionally) is a part of the job), and most MTs can't handle that without damage. I've moved to combination type dedicated pliers from Knipex and Elliot Lucas for that.

I feel Wera had the right idea here (even with a forged tool steel head), but never chose to put it into production.   The main problem (and reason for it never having passed the design stage) I feel is that it was with the blade and saw being removable (and thus easily dislodged), attached to the bit driver portion with 1/4 shanks, as opposed to being fold-out tools.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US6643877B1/en?oq=6643877

[gerleatherberman]

Gerber tried the forged pliers on the MP-1. But, since they decided to make the pliers internally-spring loaded, the pivot is weakened and gets loose rather quickly. If they had just not worried about the spring loaded feature, that plier head would have been fantastic. 

That is the only 'big-name' tool that I know has forged pliers.

Gerber should consider an Extra-HD version of the MP600BN, with drop-forged pliers, longer cutters, sharp teeth, thicker handles, and longer tools (I'd pay big $ for that).

[Captain Hook]

I'm game. And to add, I'd like to see a slip joint plier multitool. 

[gerleatherberman]

I'm game. And to add, I'd like to see a slip joint plier multitool. 

Schrade tried that. The tool was MASSIVE. And not in a cool/good way. Look up the Schrade Tough Tool ST5E.

Maybe technology could make that more effective though. 

[Captain Hook]

I'm game. And to add, I'd like to see a slip joint plier multitool. 

Schrade tried that. The tool was MASSIVE. And not in a cool/good way. Look up the Schrade Tough Tool ST5E.

Maybe technology could make that more effective though. 

yikes! That was a clunky tool. But if Leatherman could perfect the vice grip multitool, they can definitely do slip joint pliers. Remember the Kershaw A100? Talk about a clunky MT

[Poncho65]

A lot of us would be glad to see this and happily pay more but I am afraid that the vast majority of people won't I hope that someday one of the bigger companies still end up making one though

[gregozedobe]

I'm game. And to add, I'd like to see a slip joint plier multitool. 

Schrade tried that. The tool was MASSIVE. And not in a cool/good way. Look up the Schrade Tough Tool ST5E.

Maybe technology could make that more effective though. 

While the tool is a bit clunky the Schrade ST5 (and it's relabelled twin the Craftsman 45471) are supposed to have really tough pliers.

Sheffield 12020  (these are bigger than they look in most photos) is another MT with slip joint pliers.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/...Steel-12020-/272899220017

In smaller (less robust) sized MTs there are also Wichard and le Depanneur MTs with slip joint pliers.

[ChopperCharles]

I'm game. And to add, I'd like to see a slip joint plier multitool. 

Schrade tried that. The tool was MASSIVE. And not in a cool/good way. Look up the Schrade Tough Tool ST5E.

Maybe technology could make that more effective though. 

It was massive, and it wasn't well-executed. The slip joint allowed the pliers to open only ever-so-slightly more. From just barely having purchase on a garden hose end, to having slightly more than just barely purchase on a garden hose end. The difference is absolutely laughable, and not worth the extra size of the tool.

Charles.

[Dutch_Tooler]

I'd be in for a plier head upgrade too...