Leatherman Free P2/P4 Club and Feedback Thread

[Wspeed]

Great uses GLBM 
What happened on your last pic wouldn’t it cut 

[gerleatherberman]

Great uses GLBM 
What happened on your last pic wouldn’t it cut 

Thanks, W!
Cutters work great. The end I cut off is facing me. 
The pliers head geometry works well for the crimping section. Those yellow butt connectors are a bear to squeeze. The Surge does a bit better job with the crimping section, but it is nice the Ps have it.

The OHO tool selection has already proven useful. 

[RF52]

Nice to see some action pics of the Free P

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[gerleatherberman]

Nice to see some action pics of the Free P

Sent fra min FRD-L09 via Tapatalk

Thanks, RF!

More to come.

[gadgetman7]

I had to carry my Skeletool or Charge at work this week because I was working with gear with torx screws. Maybe I can play with it this weekend. Looks like the lack of the bit driver may keep this tool from working well for an EDC.


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[RF52]

Thanks, RF!

More to come.

Cant wait!

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[gerleatherberman]

Gadgetman7,

My solution for the testing phase.

Small bits fit snug in the back of the jaws. Larger bits don't fit snug, but could be used in a pinch.
Smaller bit fit.




Larger bit fit. Not good, but would work in a pinch.

[Blackbeard]

In the Cedric & Ada vid the tools that were popping out when flipping the pliers out were also popping out when he used hard wire cutters on a piece of fence, maybe they need to increase the magnets strength or size?

[gadgetman7]

Gadgetman7,

My solution for the testing phase.

Small bits fit snug in the back of the jaws. Larger bits don't fit snug, but could be used in a pinch.
Smaller bit fit.
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)

Larger bit fit. Not good, but would work in a pinch.
(Image removed from quote.)

Interesting idea but looks a little to fiddley to have to tighten 15 or 20 screws.

This tool has such potential. I hope they just fix the issue with the tools popping out and add the bit driver and a decent file.


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[gerleatherberman]

Indeed, not ideal, but until there is a slip over adapter, it'll have to do.

I'd like to see the SE blade replaced with a longer file, but that said, that little file can eat up some material. Have you tried that thing yet? It is similarly as aggressive as the Rebar file, which is the most aggressive file on an MT right now, due to the width and aggressiveness. The Rebar file would be the one I want in the P4.

[Top-Gear-24]

Had the chance to use my P4 at home for the last two days and I must say that it hasn't failed me yet. 

Okay, I haven't used it for any hard-wire cutting or other "heavy duty" work, so must of the use was from the screwdrivers and the prybar.  The screwdrivers (and especially the Phillips) work better than I expected, I still prefer the Phillips on the ST300 and Rebar (best Phillips screwdriver on a multitool ever, in my opinion), but it did what it had to do.  Used the prybar to open some cans of wood varnish that had been standing in the garage for quite some time and it got the job done, and was fun to use (for some reason I like a prybar on a multitool, like the one on the P4, or the Spirit, oversized and very sturdy).

About the tools popping out, well, I can't say anything about them popping out during the cutting of hardwire, since I haven't done that (yet), but they do occasionally pop out when the pliers locks open.  But I do have to lock the pliers harder/faster than I would normally do to "make" it happen.  And weirdly enough, it happens more on the side of the Phillips/prybar than on the other.  When I hold the side of the awl in my hand while flipping open the pliers and locking them in one fast motion the Phillips/prybar pop out (a bit) like 50% of the time.  But when I hold the side of the Phillips/prybar in my hand while doing the same thing, the awl and the other (thinner) tools only pop out like 10% of the time (maybe even less).

Don't know if the torx screws on this side have been tightened a bit more (I don't notice them being tougher to open, so I doubt that this is the reason), or that these tools stick better to the magnets since they are thinner, and therefore have less weight "pulling" them out while swinging and clicking the pliers open ...

Anyways,  can't say that it has bothered me much, I mean, I've seen a lot worse on other tools ... (the drivers on the Juice KF4 poking my finger right above my fingernail for the 4th time in 10 minutes spring to mind  ).

I'm still not very handy at using the locking mechanism, I mean, I've been using the Wave (or Charge) platform for many years now and the locking on those tools (inside and outside tools) just feels way more natural than the locks on the P4, but in all honesty, I'm comparing years of usage against days of usage, so that might not be completely fair towards the P4 ...

Biggest let down so far has been the tiny file, when you're used to the file on the Wave/Charge, this one is just too small.  But, I knew this when I bought it, so technically this isn't really a let down ...

[gadgetman7]

Indeed, not ideal, but until there is a slip over adapter, it'll have to do.

I'd like to see the SE blade replaced with a longer file, but that said, that little file can eat up some material. Have you tried that thing yet? It is similarly as aggressive as the Rebar file, which is the most aggressive file on an MT right now, due to the width and aggressiveness. The Rebar file would be the one I want in the P4.

I have used it. It’s aggressive but in my experience, the diamond file works better for metal if you need to do some detail work.


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[Sam Lim]

  mine is in my hands today.


Just some initial thoughts. Played around with it. Have not really put it to real use yet.

Pros. -

The QC on this thing I must admit is really really good. I cant find anything wrong with it at all. All the tools locks up perfectly. Surprising light when I first picked it up. A very fresh design indeed. Its a well constructed tool with pretty decent material. Tool set looks pretty functional. They are really thin on one side but the width of the tools should make up for the strength.  The scissors are a big improvement over the previous designs. Second only to the mighty Surge. The file is actually a big surprise for me. I never thought I would say this, while it is short, it is very aggressive. Perfect for rounding off metal or ad-hoc filing. Its way way better than the ones on the wingman. The awl while not really pointy, should work as they are pretty sharp.



Cons. -

Hotspots. Many of them at the handle ends when using the pliers. And they do dig into the palm..... I do not feel the alignment stubs but the ends of the handle is pointy, the lock tab is also pointy and the edges are a little sharp. Enough to shave off fingers nails. Also, my pliers came too tight than I like. It also tightens a little more when I give it squeezing pressure. Its along time since I bought a new leatherman so I really hope it will loosen soon. Hope.


The above are really just my observation on the physical construction. I generally do not have much complains.

Handling is a whole different story.

The pivots that attaches the handles to the pliers moves. While it should not post any issues, its gives the feeling like when we are using undersized pivot posts and there are freeplay. It just doesnt feel nice. I do not like the magnetic closure for the handle. Now I need addition action to dig my fingers between the tool to break the handles apart to using the pliers. I can balisong my wave or charge all day long and the handles still stays shut when I need them to. Internal tools will deploy occasionally when snapping the handle together. The oho deployment of the tools with the thumb? Clumsy. I hope its just because its a new extraction method so there is the learning curve for my thumb and fingers. I say extraction and not deployment because they are just a way the tools comes out easier for you to chose what you want, then fumble to lock that and close back the rest. Its not as easy as they do in the advertisement. I almost laughed at myself trying to do it single handed with my left hand ready to come to my rescue. And there are 2 sharp blades in there, the awl and the large sharp flathead. I am struggling not to brush my finger across them when trying to spread them out. Like many, I never had problems with leatherman nailnicks.


Overall experience, its clumsy to use one handed, the way they touted as "Free". I am not convinced it is a improvement over the wave platform yet. Construction no doubt is excellent but they are using regular material, charging $119 for it is pretty off putting. $90 sounds better. Let's not forget that this is how the quality of a leatherman should be like in the first place.

Purely my own personal opinion in this half any hour of playing with it.. It may change for the better or worse on further usage. Right now, I am just very irritated by the tight pliers......

[gerleatherberman]

We all know LM puts out tight pliers. Sorry to read that they are doing it with the Free, but they will work in eventually. Took months to get my Surge reasonably easy to open.

I'll make a video on techniques I've experimented with opening/closing one-hand, left and right, at some point. Once I figured it out, it was easy as cake.

[gerleatherberman]

Folding one handle out for a real driver experience works a treat since I tightened the pliers mounts pivots up a bit.


Removed the top cover for a Brunswick phonograph. Doing another veneer job.

[Wspeed]

Nice job GLBM 

[gerleatherberman]

Nice job GLBM 

Thank you, Speedy!

[gerleatherberman]

Sorry these are a bit awkward and in portrait mode. Didn't want the boss to figure out what I was doing.

Right hand.


Left hand.


And since a member asked about it using gloves at one point, I'll post a video using work gloves in a little while.

[gerleatherberman]

Using work gloves.

[Wspeed]

Great videos GLBM 

[Poncho65]

Thanks for the vids, glbm

[nwoody]

Hey all, been lurking for a little while now, but decided to post. Ordered a p4 on launch day so have had it for about a week and a half or so. One thing I've found annoying and haven't seen mentioned yet, is I find my scissors usually popping out when I'm deploying the Philips or pry driver, the scissors literally take hardly any force at all to pop up, they also tend to pop up when engaging the handles to open the pliers. Is your guy's magnetic connection the same weakness for the scissors?? I can barely feel it get magnetized at the very bottom of closing. Pretty annoying.

On a more positive note I had contacted Leatherman about when the pocket clip will be available and the response was:

"The FREE Series P4 is compatible with the pocket clip and will be available very soon for purchase on the website.  The Clip Kit will be $9.00 plus tax (where applicable) and shipping/handling and will include the clip, a wrench to install the clip and 2 screws to attach the clip."

So I followed up saying I heard that customers who purchased direct from the Leatherman site would be sent a clip for free and this was the response:

"I have placed the order for the clip, you should see it very soon."

So I guess we'll see if it actually shows up!

[gerleatherberman]

There is something very wrong with your P4, if the scissors are moving with the drivers, nwoody. I'd send them back immediately. The issue would be a defective or damaged barrel pin spinning with the drivers. It won't be, because the tangs are rubbing together, since the spring system separates the tangs of the drivers and long tools. My P4 and P2 have no movement on the long tools when opening the small ones. Nobody else has reported anything like that happening that I know of. Hopefully it is just a minor oversight in QC. Maybe try putting some thin oil in that pivot and see if that helps, but I am betting on a damaged barrel pin.


Welcome to MT.o, by the way!

Oh, and thank you for the clip info!

[gerleatherberman]

Great videos GLBM 

Thank you, W!

Hope it can help anyone who may be confused with the drastically different deployment system.

Thanks for the vids, glbm

You're welcome, Poncho!

I was surprised at how well it worked with gloves on. The OHT is the only other LM that works well with gloves, that I know of anyway. 

[nwoody]

Thanks! I should have worded that better. What I mean is that if my thumb isn't centered just right over the Philips and pry drivers, if it's slightly too far left, then the scissors will deploy with the Philips and pry when pressing the tangs. It just seems like they deploy too easily. Or maybe my thumb is fatter than I thought. How much force is required for your scissors to deploy? And can you get the scissors to deploy easily by pressing on the tang instead of the side cut out?

Here's a video to show what I am talking about:

[gerleatherberman]

Thanks! I should have worded that better. What I mean is that if my thumb isn't centered just right over the Philips and pry drivers, if it's slightly too far left, then the scissors will deploy with the Philips and pry when pressing the tangs. It just seems like they deploy too easily. Or maybe my thumb is fatter than I thought. How much force is required for your scissors to deploy? And can you get the scissors to deploy easily by pressing on the tang instead of the side cut out?

Well, there is an issue, since the scissors and blade are under spring retention while the phillips doesn't engage the lock spring until the driver tips are about 3/4" away from the handles.
I'll try and take a video in a minute. 

[gerleatherberman]

Don't know if this will help, but here is a demo of the usage. I cannot even get the scissors move out by pushing the tang. Only the tools open when I push. I have fat thumbs.
Video of the lock spring system.

[nwoody]

Wow that for sure helps! Something definitely wrong with mine haha. My scissors literally have no spring tension until the same point that the phillips and pry driver do. Check the video I added to my previous post. I was wondering why no one had complained about this yet.. I thought it might be normal operation!

Here's a better video showing the lack of spring retention:

[Monrogue]

Nice to see some usage and more thoughts   I haven’t used mine much, but that’s normal for me.  My scissors do take some effort to deploy though, so no looseness on mine.  The bottle opener works well though, better than any other MT opener I’ve used. 

[gerleatherberman]

Wow that for sure helps! Something definitely wrong with mine haha. My scissors literally have no spring tension until the same point that the phillips and pry driver do. Check the video I added to my previous post. I was wondering why no one had complained about this yet.. I thought it might be normal operation!

Here's a better video showing the lack of spring retention:

That videos answer it well. Thanks for posting them. The tool needs to go back in my opinion. I would be pretty disappointed if mine had that issue. Perhaps a first run problem that was fixed fairly quickly?  But, the example you bought, was part of the bad batch.