ZapWizard's Leatherman Free P4 Mods

[Poncho65]

Can't wait to see what you come up with, DT

         

[ZapWizard]

Box from Shapeways...

Your kit looks great.

Any luck with the torque meter?

As for the horizontal carry...

I don't think the torque meter will help, it is easy to just tweak it until the tools move properly. Because they used chemical thread locker, torque is less a factor in holding the screw in place.
I am working on a few ideas for horizontal carry, however it won't include bit holders, as you would only end up with just a few, or an oversized holder. Most who have requested horizontal carry want less bulk above/below the belt line.

Playing around with the holster I conclude it is a very well thought out piece of kit.

Thanks for your nice comments.

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I also got a box from Shapeways, my 2nd prototype of the T-Shank holder arrived. It shows real promise. I will cycle exchanging the blades a few dozen times to ensure the nylon will hold up, but so far it seems to be close to being ready.
I just need to tweak the profile so it closes/opens a bit better, and tweak a bit of the dimensions to make it work out of the box.

[Dutch_Tooler]

Looking great

How much thickness will one have to grind off from a LM shank?

[ZapWizard]

How much thickness will one have to grind off from a LM shank?

Just 0.2mm the Bosh is 2.2mm wide, the LM is 2.4mm wide. (and a bit of the actual T portion) It takes a bit of time and care, but easy enough if you test fit it as you go.
The bigger thing I messed up was cutting the file to length. I cut it a bit short, and it can move out when the pliers deploy. I will have to order another file and try with a more exact measurement, and perhaps a template to keep the cut even.

[Poncho65]

Very good news about the prototype, Zap

[Toolslinger]

My bit holder for the P4 and custom ST300 sheath arrived and I am super happy with how they turned out.

Really excited for the t-shank adapter. Will it fit in the slot with the scissors or just the saw side? Since I carry a SAK for scissors and openers, it would be nice to ditch the scissors on the P4 and replace with a t-shank holder for the LM file...

[hbcorpse]

Got my Flat Bit mod installed yesterday!

Wow! What a difference!

I’ll admit there was a small hint of buyer’s remorse / regret for modifying a perfectly fine Free P4...and voiding the warranty...not to mention the analysis paralysis of wondering if it’s the right modification to make, and lose the stock pry-bar/flat head + cross head inserts...

But the more I think about it, the more I’m happy with the mod, and glad I’ll be able to utilize the Flat Bit kit that I always carry.

Thanks Zap, and all those who have contributed / driven this thread, and sparked the innovation and creation of these mods!

[Dutch_Tooler]

Meanwhile on a different continent, a pocket clip has arrived from over the pond so I could finally complete the holster.

I have used blind rivets (4mm wide, 8mm long) with washers to fix the clip and this works well enough as well as being very stable, more so than Chicago screws probably. There is a slight binding in the more rarely used locks-up position of the P4, but there is enough flex to get the tool out anyway. I might go for Chicago screws if this ends up bothering me more than it does now. No problem in the locks-down position.

The holster carries well, I've had it on my belt for an hour and soon forgot I was carrying it

[ZapWizard]

Very good news about the prototype, Zap

Well don't count your chickens until they hatch. There are a few issues with the current T-Shank holder that I am trying to work out.

• The nylon and metal don't have the same shrink ratio. So despite having identical geometry for say opening/locking, it works perfectly on the metal, and it binding on the nylon. Also the nylon thickness expanded compared to the CAD model by 0.2mm. Small, but big enough that it is causing issues with smooth deployment.
• The nylon spring works, but ends up flexing the whole piece a bit, making smooth operation with a thick blade problematic.
• The stainless steel material used is not highly magnetic, so the T-Shank isn't staying docked as well as it should, exasperated by the low amount of contact surface to the magnet.

I am re-designing it yet again, trying to put more metal against he magnet, and working around the various thickness issues. So no promises on when it will be available.

My bit holder for the P4 and custom ST300 sheath arrived and I am super happy with how they turned out.

Really excited for the t-shank adapter. Will it fit in the slot with the scissors or just the saw side? Since I carry a SAK for scissors and openers, it would be nice to ditch the scissors on the P4 and replace with a t-shank holder for the LM file...

Glad you like the bits. I have been using my black bronze steel version a lot lately. Fixing all sorts of stuff around the house.
The current Rev 2 design would have to be where the saw is only due to the built-in thumb tab (And I need that precious amount of extra material that spots allows)

I’ll admit there was a small hint of buyer’s remorse / regret for modifying a perfectly fine Free P4...and voiding the warranty...

You can probably re-assemble it back to stock if you ever needed a repair if another implement broke.

The holster carries well, I've had it on my belt for an hour and soon forgot I was carrying it

It looks great. You can also use flat-head screws, in combination with the other half of a Chicago screw if you want something even lower profile. You can always sand down the edges of a flat-head to make it not catch/stratch on a belt.

[Dutch_Tooler]

[Rapidray]

That looks great! 

[Poncho65]

  I will be glad when I can carry my Charge or Wave again and get to use my Zap wizard sheath

[Dutch_Tooler]

 

[carl]

great job on the blade adapter!
You kept the original file and removed the can opener.
1)  I wonder if the original short file could be removed and the can opener kept on?
2)  Is there a mod where the P4 can be made wider so it can accomodate the new pieces without getting rid of the original ones?

[Dutch_Tooler]

@carl, if I may butt in:
1) Can opener is .13" IIRC, file is either .07 or .06". Assuming you refer to the situation with the bit holder taking up all of the central position (between the springs) of the handle it sits in, you'd have to remove the file and something else, e.g. the ruler or awl, to make place for the can opener/Phillips in the opposite handle.
2) Unlikely... the width is dependent on the studs in the plier head that slot into the handles when opened - widening the handles to accommodate more tools requires wider plier head stud placement, i.e. a new plier head. Note these are already different between P2 and P4. There has been speculation about a possible "P6" but this has failed to materialise until now.
Hope this helps.

[Dutch_Tooler]

..... I'll probably end up assembling some kit in a small extra holster or pouch.

Got me a small Skinth. Modded the bit cards a little bit to make them shorter so they fit in the Skinth's main compartment while the long bits go into the front pocket. The main compartment also hosts the saw and file blade in preparation for the eventual arrival of a T-shank blade holder. These blades will need to be shortened slightly, BTW, to fold inside the tool, I gather. There is more space for saw blades of all kinds, including diamond powder coated ones, if reasonably short or shortened to fit.

[Rapidray]

Like that set up 

[Poncho65]

 

[Dutch_Tooler]

Thanks guys. It works alright... I just wish there was a more, eh, integrated manner

[hbcorpse]

Hope y’all had a good turkey day!

[Rapidray]

Had two great turkey days! 

[hbcorpse]

Had two great turkey days! 

Ohhhh yeahhhhhhh!

For me, there’s nothing like a cold turkey sandwich the next day.

Plain white bread, lightly buttered with cold butter (something I picked up from my Grandpa), cold turkey slices, some cold gravy, and some cold cranberry sauce.

Hoo-wee!

[schmobodia]

Found this thread while researching the P4!  Ready to throw money at it and some accessories now

I’ve been using a Charge TTi, and I think the P4 will solve my gripes.  But, I use the bit extender constantly.  I work in IT, so their is a lot of appeal to choose the 4mm bit adapter, but I’d really need some sort of bit extender.  Has anyone used a bit extender with this setup?  Ideally if it could be stored inside the P4, that would be great.  If not, perhaps externally like the leatherman bit extender?

This one looks interesting: https://www.wihatools.com/system-4-extension-blade-for-micro-bits  Could he cut to size.

[Matpar_McWolfie]

I got a similar extender at home, waiting for the 4mm bit holder to arrive. I will test and review the setup once I have everything in hand.

Regarding the "in tool" storage, I've been thinking for weeks for a way to store an extra 4mm bit in the frame since I couldn't find a double headed 4 mm bit on the web. No idea si far, so I doubt you could fit an extender in that puppy.

If anyone has any idea, I'm all ears.

[Poncho65]

Welcome to schmobodia and Matpar

[Matpar_McWolfie]

Thanks Poncho, but you already gave me a welcome

[Poncho65]

I try to make it a point to make everyone feel welcome I am just as glad to have you new guys here as the other members 

[ZapWizard]

Sorry for the delayed replies, I am sort of in Christmas/vacation mode. I have been working on the t-shank on and off a bit, I may have to look at adding some other stainless steel spring to make it work well. That means either a custom expensive part.

Don't forget about the Leatherman bit extender, it can be combined with my flat bit holder. I now recommend the flat bit holder over the 4mm, just due to the fact that you don't need to install magnets.
I also have a holder for both the P2 and P4 that has a grip for the bit extender built-in, as Dutch_Tooler shows above.

[schmobodia]

I got a similar extender at home, waiting for the 4mm bit holder to arrive. I will test and review the setup once I have everything in hand.

Regarding the "in tool" storage, I've been thinking for weeks for a way to store an extra 4mm bit in the frame since I couldn't find a double headed 4 mm bit on the web. No idea si far, so I doubt you could fit an extender in that puppy.

If anyone has any idea, I'm all ears.

I may go the flat it route.  However, I have an old SwissArmy knife, that was “tech” oriented, and. Has double sided 4mm bits, not sure if you could find those for yourself.


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[Matpar_McWolfie]

Received my 4mm bit holder and tabs for my P4 and installed everything. Looking good, although I had some issues with the print. The bit holder had the magnet compartment completely filled out with metal, so I had to re-drill it. Testing out the magnets, I ended up going through the magnet stop, but that was mainly because I used slightly weak magnets that needs direct contact with the bit to hold it tight. I glued the magnets in place so they don't move anyway. Plus, since they got deeper into the tool, I managed to cut another magnet to a third of it's length and add it to the stack, just to get a bit more power. If I end up shatter the magnets because of the contact with the bit, I can just replace them (bought a bunch on Ebay).

The other problem I had was the fact that the bits were a bit loose in the slot. That was more of a concern but I threw the bit holder in the vice with a bit inserted and squeezed it enough to bend it. The fit is better now. I'm a bit disappointed with Shapeways's consistency in their prints but hey, this is a custom part and I managed to fix the bugs. It also works well with the extender I had laying at home, which I might shorten (the thing is so long right now, see pictures).

I installed the tabs on the straight and the serrated blade with crazy glue, leaving the saw blade as is. I hit the tabs with rub n' buff of two different colors (bronze and silver) just to give the tool some "panache". The metallic look also makes it feel like the tabs are part of the P4, rather than being an add-on. Since there is so much texture on the tabs, it took the rub n' buff so well I'd be a fool to try and remove it.

You might notice I rearranged the tools on the pictures. I switched the straight and serrated blade to better serve the clumsy lefty that I am. Also, I installed the bit holder where the phillips screwdriver and the pry tool were, but I moved the pry tool to the other side and ditched the file and the ruler.

This is now a damn fine tool. I had to send it for repair though, before the mods (obviously). The pliers were binding the minute I was squeezing them ever so slightly. They replaced it and it now works like a charm! If you have the same problem, don't wait until you break in the tool, as I did. They know it's been an issue since release, and will fix it for you in no time.