Black Fire multitool

[Sam Lim]

   I actually just ordered one from Home Depot. I should have it by next Tuesday! I will give my first impressions of it when it arrives! 

  mine is still far far far away!! A week and a half at least!

[cody6268]

One thing I don't get is that fixed Robertson bit. Why not something else? Like an awl?

[mikekoz]

One thing I don't get is that fixed Robertson bit. Why not something else? Like an awl?

    You can put an owl on a multitool??? 

[Sam Lim]

Mine is arriving today today!

[gerleatherberman]

 
Looking forward to reading your review, Sam!

[mikekoz]

Mine is arriving today today!

    I should get mine today also. I am getting too many new multitools at one time. How do I choose which one to play with?? 

[Sam Lim]

  The Black Fire Heavy Duty Multitool have arrived, and it does not disappoint. First off, I paid $50 including shipping to my far away land. A little too high than what I wanted to pay for a relatively unknown tool. $35 to $40 sounds better..

Heavy duty, it is. Sturdy, no wobble, feels comfortable in the hand and have a very nice weight to it. A little big to my liking. I said big, not bulky. Cos there are much lesser wasted space like the Klein's Multitool. File could be longer though. Overall, a very well built tool that give u the confidence it will perform. I am pretty harsh on the quality and standards and will not hold back my words on things I do not like.


An overview on the size and design. Size is very similar to the Klein's and the Workpro's. The Blackfire have a angular edge on the scales but there are no hotspots. Finishing is good. Very smooth and nice feeling to it.  Great choice of colour too. Metallic gun metal grey. 




The two pliers looks to be very similar but are actually different. The Blackfire's is a tiny bit smaller and shorter and have a brushed metal finishing. The klein's have a nicer more polished shine to it. The very large side cutter are precisely machined with the 2 apex exactly meeting each other. I have tried cutting 18 gauge copper stranded and cloth hanger. Works perfectly. 

Jaws opens smaller on the Blackfire.


The drop point knife came very sharp. Firm lockup with the liner lock. Smooth oho and easy to disengage. The thumb cut out was a little sharp though, easily fix with a small diamond file.

I have not use the Robertson bit and the bottle opener. The should have chosen something else though. An awl and a prytool should be a much better choice. I have tried the file, works and cuts mild steel. Quality similar to the one on a ST300. Only complain is that it should be longer and there are room for it, a least half an inch more. All are non locking but the nice backspring will hold them in place.


Here comes the Gem of this tool. The long reach bit driver. It gives you 2 double ended bits by default. Will not fill standard bits as they will fall right in. One solution is to superglue some magnets into one end of that bit holder. So, one end, you have the double ended bits, the other, the standard hex bits holder. Bam! Best of both worlds.  The driver is non locking and held by the back spring. I have tried some heavy driving on it and it will hold. This is one big excellent chunk of bit driver. The 2 handles doesn't twist or flex on high torque either. Excellent. Excellent. Sssooo excellent. Best bit driver I have seen and used in a multitool so far.



Overall, I really like this tool. Good sturdy construction with very functional tools. If you can live with the size of it, I would say its a very good buy. 

Mike, passing the baton to you.

[gerleatherberman]

Very cool, Sam! Looks to be ones of the better new platforms. 

[ReamerPunch]

 
It is so nice to see such quality in this. Absolutely wonderful.
Thanks, Sam!

[comis]

Sam, thank you for the details and a through review, I wonder where this is made and whether it could be purchased from the origin. 

[mikekoz]

   Got mine in yesterday! I will not bore all of you and take a picture of it. We all know what it looks like now, and I could not top Sam's photos anyway! First impressions are very good, but not quite as good as the last tool I got, the Bibury. First of all, I love the feel and weight of it. It really does give you confidence in hand. The knife is razor sharp, tools open up pretty smoothly and snap open, but not real tight. More about that in a bit. The pliers looks strong but are not spring loaded. That actually does not bother me as I read several years ago that the internal spring in some of these multitool pliers weakens them. Not sure if that is true or not, but would make some sense as they would be hollow. Now for the bit driver. It looks and feels very robust. The bits that come with it are very well made. I think this tool would handle screw driving tasks a lot of other multitools would not. The only issue I have with it is the adapter that the bits slide into. if you lose this, it makes the driver useless. I would have preferred a more standard 1/4 driver. The other thing is the Robertson driver. Wut the heck??    I cannot say I own any device that has those type of screws. The other bad thing I would say about it is, with all of the inexpensive tools out there these days with locking components, I do not see why this tool did not have them. Only the blade locks. It obviously does not cost any more money to make them this way. I paid over $50.00 for this tool including shipping. is it worth that? Sorry, but will have to say no. A better price would hav ebeen aorund $25.00.  However, I am still glad I got it as it is a unique design, and that is one of the things I look for when I add one of these things to my collection! So I like it a lot, but do not love it, if that makes any sense!   

[Happy Gilmore]

so sad to see this discontinued...

[Etherealicer]

Looks awesome, Sam! But, $50 is into big-brand territory. So, like you, I would need to see some reviews and what-not to know whether it is worth it or not.
The way the handles are configured, it looks very uncomfortable to use. And the implements(knife only locks) don't lock open. And at $50, that is expected these days.

I feel quite the opposite... unless there is a big brand behind it, then there is a lot higher costs in a new tool.

A new tool that is cheap is a strong indication that they cut corners somewhere

[cody6268]

I feel quite the opposite... unless there is a big brand behind it, then there is a lot higher costs in a new tool.

A new tool that is cheap is a strong indication that they cut corners somewhere

As I understand, Black Fire is a subsidary of Klein Tools, and some of the designs are literally rebadged Klein Tools electrician's gear--like the jab saw advertised as a "outdoor folding saw" and the duct knife they are trying to market as an outdoor knife.

[Adam5]

As I understand, Black Fire is a subsidary of Klein Tools, and some of the designs are literally rebadged Klein Tools electrician's gear--like the jab saw advertised as a "outdoor folding saw" and the duct knife they are trying to market as an outdoor knife.

Almost. The saw has the same handle but a different saw blade. Probably because the drywall saw blade is purposely pointy on the end.

I haven't looked closely at the pocket knife (not the duct knife), but it is probably a rebadged Klein knife also.

[Adam5]

Almost. The saw has the same handle but a different saw blade. Probably because the drywall saw blade is purposely pointy on the end.

I haven't looked closely at the pocket knife (not the duct knife), but it is probably a rebadged Klein knife also.

Yeah, the pocket knife is a rebadged Klein 44223.

[King_Gorilla]

I didn't know they had been discontinued.  I must have snatched mine up right at the end because I got one on Amazon in March for $29.25

I really like it.  I have only carried it for 3 or 4 days, but I didn't buy it thinking that it would replace my Signal. 

-I LOVE the bit driver, and the offset cutters. 
-I Like the liner locking blade, one hand opening blade, and the monstrous pliers.
-I wish the plastic scales were g10.
-I hate that the file is so cheap and bad.  I don't mind the slightly smaller size, but it doesn't lock, it doesn't have the edge teeth, & it doesn't feel like "file metal".
(the other two tools are meh)

I doubt I will ever get around to it, but If you replaced the scales with G10, replaced the file with a Crunch file, and replaced the other two tools with something... I would carry this tool a few days a week.  It's surprisingly solid for <$30.

[Etherealicer]

As I understand, Black Fire is a subsidary of Klein Tools, and some of the designs are literally rebadged Klein Tools electrician's gear--like the jab saw advertised as a "outdoor folding saw" and the duct knife they are trying to market as an outdoor knife.

Yeah, and it appears that Klein stands behind the brand, as the Klein name is in the logo of Black Fire. That is overall a good sign. Often subsidiary are a quick way to make a buck and then when problems arise to be discarded.

[Etherealicer]

I feel quite the opposite... unless there is a big brand behind it, then there is a lot higher costs in a new tool.

A new tool that is cheap is a strong indication that they cut corners somewhere

I think I should be more specific.
To me, the last exiting entry in the MT market were the LM Free P2/4. They bring LM Quality with new innovation. And while LM is well positioned in the MT market, they are not a giant. So, quite understandably, the Free series is not cheap and I'm OK with that (took me a while to realize it though ).
I got to that conclusion when I realized that I don't need a Civivi Elementum, despite it being "good value". Because at the end of the day, the Elementum can't do anything, the knives I already own can't. So, the effective value is very little (unless you simply crave more). Same goes for all those "off-brand entry level MTs". They probably make good gifts (but even then, I probably rather spend the extra money and know what I'm gifting), but to me they add nothing new to the market.

[ChopperCharles]

Where can you get a Wingman for $40? They're $70 everywhere I looked. And it's a crap tool for $70. None of the tools lock and the cutters don't even meet. Not recommended at all. Ozark Trail Multiforce is a far better tool.

Charles.