Micra Disappointment

SirVicaLot · **on:** March 02, 2019, 01:10:11 AM

I received my Micra today and went to test it right away. Unfortunately i was quickly really disappointed. Not sure if mine was just flawed, but the scissors were really bad.

While they were somewhat decent cutting paper and thin cardboard, they were not able to cut the plastic shipping sleeve or some cheap Chinese paracord. Instead of cutting the paracord it just got stuck in between the two scissor halves.
I inspected the scissors closely, but could not see any damage. So i decided to sharpen them, but the result was the same. I attached two photos, maybe someone sees something wrong with i do not.

Has anyone had a similar experience? I was really disappointed since the scissors are the main tool on the micra. $:-\$

Happy Gilmore · **Reply #1 on:** March 02, 2019, 02:37:51 AM

That is definitely strange, I've seen them cut through credit cards and other tough things before. I think you might have gotten a bad one possibly.

gerleatherberman · **Reply #2 on:** March 02, 2019, 02:51:49 AM

Sounds like the jaws aren't close enough together. Wonder if that is why the seller let such an old Micra go? Perhaps a little peening is in order?

Happy Gilmore · **Reply #3 on:** March 02, 2019, 02:54:37 AM

Quote from: gerleatherberman on March 02, 2019, 02:51:49 AM

Sounds like the jaws aren't close enough together. Wonder if that is why the seller let such an old Micra go? Perhaps a little peening is in order?

Seems like the perfect warranty send in.

gerleatherberman · **Reply #4 on:** March 02, 2019, 02:58:15 AM

He'll get back one without USA on the pivot.

SirVicaLot · **Reply #5 on:** March 02, 2019, 03:25:41 AM

I checked the jaws and they looked fine to me. Maybe the rivet is too loose so the paracord gets stuck instead of cut?

This one was part of a larger pile of Micras, so no idea how the others are. Maybe i will get a new one and see how that holds up. Are they still produced in the US or is this a „Designed in US, Made in China“ kinda thing?

gerleatherberman · **Reply #6 on:** March 02, 2019, 03:46:52 AM

They are still made in the USA. But, since some of the components come from Mexico and Europe, LM hasn't put USA on the tools(by law) since the early 2000s.

SirVicaLot · **Reply #7 on:** March 02, 2019, 03:53:29 AM

Thanks for the info. I might wait until i find one on a sale. In the mean time i decided to mod this one. Always wanted a completely knife and scissorless tool for those places where you can‘t take either.

cody6268 · **Reply #8 on:** March 02, 2019, 04:01:28 AM

I had one bought new at our local Rural King that had the same problem. Should have sent it in to LM, ended up taking apart. Why I don't know. It's the one thing with used tools--one example might look as if it's never seen a day of use (in fact, one time, I had a Super Tool OG so new, the warning sticker for the lock was still on it) and some that are just horrible with tons of problems.

Sam Lim · **Reply #9 on:** March 02, 2019, 04:07:59 AM

Hmm.. Alot of MT scissor are often wonky. There are often sweet spots that can cut certain material. Micra is a rather longish scissor so flexing is inevitable. You may have to cut the material at some angle so they have lesser chance of folding over the material. Sharpen definitely helps. The angle that they grind the scissors is not steep enough to bite and slice some material. Best value for money for a small scissor, the little craftman branded scissors MT is excellent. I use mine to cut all sorts of nonsense stuff. Never fails. The rest of the tools on it are typical Chinese slippery fanfare though.

gerleatherberman · **Reply #10 on:** March 02, 2019, 04:10:34 AM

Quote from: SirVicaLot on March 02, 2019, 03:53:29 AM

Thanks for the info. I might wait until i find one on a sale. In the mean time i decided to mod this one. Always wanted a completely knife and scissorless tool for those places where you can‘t take either.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

Quote from: cody6268 on March 02, 2019, 04:01:28 AM

I had one bought new at our local Rural King that had the same problem. Should have sent it in to LM, ended up taking apart. Why I don't know. It's the one thing with used tools--one example might look as if it's never seen a day of use (in fact, one time, I had a Super Tool OG so new, the warning sticker for the lock was still on it) and some that are just horrible with tons of problems.

Quote from: Sam Lim on March 02, 2019, 04:07:59 AM

Hmm.. Alot of MT scissor are often wonky. There are often sweet spots that can cut certain material. Micra is a rather longish scissor so flexing is inevitable. You may have to cut the material at some angle so they have lesser chance of folding over the material. Sharpen definitely helps. The angle that they grind the scissors is not steep enough to bite and slice some material. Best value for money for a small scissor, the little craftman branded scissors MT is excellent. I use mine to cut all sorts of nonsense stuff. Never fails. The rest of the tools on it are typical Chinese slippery fanfare though.

Glad to know you're a fan of the Craftsman scissor tool.

I only retired the Craftsman when I bought a couple of CrossCut 2.0s. The CrossCut is a cutting beast if you can handle the uncomfortable grip.

SirVicaLot · **Reply #11 on:** March 02, 2019, 04:12:19 AM

Quote from: cody6268 on March 02, 2019, 04:01:28 AM

I had one bought new at our local Rural King that had the same problem. Should have sent it in to LM, ended up taking apart. Why I don't know. It's the one thing with used tools--one example might look as if it's never seen a day of use (in fact, one time, I had a Super Tool OG so new, the warning sticker for the lock was still on it) and some that are just horrible with tons of problems.

This is the first used one i had issues with. All others were easy fixes so far. Hope this will be the only one with issues.

SirVicaLot · **Reply #12 on:** March 02, 2019, 04:15:44 AM

Quote from: Sam Lim on March 02, 2019, 04:07:59 AM

Hmm.. Alot of MT scissor are often wonky. There are often sweet spots that can cut certain material. Micra is a rather longish scissor so flexing is inevitable. You may have to cut the material at some angle so they have lesser chance of folding over the material. Sharpen definitely helps. The angle that they grind the scissors is not steep enough to bite and slice some material. Best value for money for a small scissor, the little craftman branded scissors MT is excellent. I use mine to cut all sorts of nonsense stuff. Never fails. The rest of the tools on it are typical Chinese slippery fanfare though.

I guess i was just spoiled by the Vic scissors. They have not failed on paper, plastic, wire, paracord and all other i used them on so far.

Sam Lim · **Reply #13 on:** March 02, 2019, 04:48:31 AM

Quote from: gerleatherberman on March 02, 2019, 04:10:34 AM

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

Glad to know you're a fan of the Craftsman scissor tool.
I only retired the Craftsman when I bought a couple of CrossCut 2.0s. The CrossCut is a cutting beast if you can handle the uncomfortable grip.

The craftsmen are hard use scissor!

my feelings for the CrossCut is quite the opposite though.. Personally I find them to be pretty weak in cutting thicker material.. I retired them and went with the craftsmen scissors..

gerleatherberman · **Reply #14 on:** March 02, 2019, 05:10:19 AM

The CrossCuts are hit and miss. The US versions aren't good at all, and half of the 2.0s are not aligned properly. But, after some back and forth with SOG replacements, I ended up with two fantastic examples(one for the collection and one that is always clipped to my belt loop with a backup light[mag solitaire led]).

Imagine cutting through jumbo zip-ties like they were butter.

Sam Lim · **Reply #15 on:** March 02, 2019, 05:28:39 AM

Quote from: gerleatherberman on March 02, 2019, 05:10:19 AM

The CrossCuts are hit and miss. The US versions aren't good at all, and half of the 2.0s are not aligned properly. But, after some back and forth with SOG replacements, I ended up with two fantastic examples(one for the collection and one that is always clipped to my belt loop with a backup light[mag solitaire led]).
Imagine cutting through jumbo zip-ties like they were butter.

What!!

sog! My specimen is probably the missed batch then!

gerleatherberman · **Reply #16 on:** March 02, 2019, 05:34:39 AM

I had one CrossCut that was so bad, that the jaws didn't even make edge-contact until the very tips.

MickeS · **Reply #17 on:** March 02, 2019, 10:31:55 AM

Had my Micra for many years. Used the h_ll out of the sissors. Never had an issue until maybe the last six months. The sissors aren't so tight anymore. Thought about buying a new one but now I wonder if the build quality has gone down over the years?
And is there a way to fix the gap in the sissors? A bit of sentimental value on this one.

gadgetman7 · **Reply #18 on:** March 02, 2019, 01:22:25 PM

Quote from: MickeS on March 02, 2019, 10:31:55 AM

Had my Micra for many years. Used the h_ll out of the sissors. Never had an issue until maybe the last six months. The sissors aren't so tight anymore. Thought about buying a new one but now I wonder if the build quality has gone down over the years?
And is there a way to fix the gap in the sissors? A bit of sentimental value on this one.

Peening it might help.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

AimlessWanderer · **Reply #19 on:** March 02, 2019, 01:32:09 PM

If its any consolation, my brand new 30th anniversary edition Micra, which is supposedly a celebration of many years of producing high quality tools, is absolutely dreadful. The pivot is loose and the tool actually rattles if held by one arm. Peening will likely fix it, but I haven't bothered yet, it just got thrown in a drawer in disgust.

McStitchy · **Reply #20 on:** March 02, 2019, 04:29:02 PM

Quote from: SirVicaLot on March 02, 2019, 01:10:11 AM

I received my Micra today and went to test it right away. Unfortunately i was quickly really disappointed. Not sure if mine was just flawed, but the scissors were really bad.

While they were somewhat decent cutting paper and thin cardboard, they were not able to cut the plastic shipping sleeve or some cheap Chinese paracord. Instead of cutting the paracord it just got stuck in between the two scissor halves.
I inspected the scissors closely, but could not see any damage. So i decided to sharpen them, but the result was the same. I attached two photos, maybe someone sees something wrong with i do not.

Has anyone had a similar experience? I was really disappointed since the scissors are the main tool on the micra. $:-\$

I had two Micras so far and both are fine.
They're both an older generation though.

The pivot on yours looks weird to me

Mine does not show that funny bump.
Is it loose maybe?

Update:

Just made a quick gif.
To reproduce your problem I did use the very end as you did, although that's not ideal in general.

The scissors pushed the paracord a bit forward so missed the very end. But snapped through it fully...

Barry Rowland · **Reply #21 on:** March 02, 2019, 04:44:10 PM

Now I'm wondering about mine...

mtoolman · **Reply #22 on:** March 02, 2019, 04:51:17 PM

The best scissors is the one on the Surge.

Aloha · **Reply #23 on:** March 02, 2019, 04:55:43 PM

Reported recently that my Micra would not cut thread and certainly not paracord. It did cut paper great but

I was not happy. I tweaked them ever so slightly, bent the cutting edge closer together along the whole cutting edge. They were sharp but the space in the center of the cutting surface was gapped.

They work great now and will cut thread along the whole cutting edge.

We are spoiled with Vic scissors. On a side note, my Style CS is flawless as are my Squirt scissors.

SteveC · **Reply #24 on:** March 02, 2019, 05:20:40 PM

Both my Micras cut about the same but one cuts better towards the front and the other better towards the back. I find my Surge scissors the same, they cut better towards the front for fine things.

The best scissors Leatherman ever made IMO are the ones on later PST II's and the OG Wave.