Leatherman Tool Tales GAW

[Poncho65]

         

[RF52]

Wish you hadn't mentioned it... 
For at least 10 minutes I was fumbling around with the tool and flashlight in front of a mirror next to the toilets where men stand to pee. It was a large restaurant, with many visitors, so also with many men answering nature's call. Nevertheless I blessed my LM's diamond file! (I think a normal file won't do the job, because of the extreme hardness of the crowns ceramics.)

Glad it worked out

Sent fra min FRD-L09 via Tapatalk

[Alan K.]

Family friendly huh? So, I guess the time my Prince Albert got caught in my zipper is right out.

[tango44]

Everyday it's an adventure!

[Raoul Octav]

Honestly, i do like that there are not many contestants, in this manner my odds are higher ...yet on the other hand, i did expect some more tales
Not to change the rules now, yet looking at the topics in the forum, a GAW customised for what you used your LMN today or show us your LMN etc etc, might have drawn more interest.
My2cents
ps: when do we expect the results, i need to do some black magic sh!t to win
pps: the Wave offered by LMN.COM is signed by Mr.T ? i mean Tim Leatherman

[Poncho65]

I may wait and call it sometime this weekend

I did expect more but apparently the LM Forum isn't getting much traffic

[Outback in Idaho]

  Back in my 30's was a volunteer firefighter for Salmon River Rural district, and was taking wildland fire training. Got some experience driving a deuce and a half tanker, strong arm steering, and repaired my first flat with the help of a trust Super Tool. The locking mechanism was so gosh darn rusted shut I had called in for a tow trick, which was going to take like 5 hours minimum. So I got creative with oil, a large rock, and got the dern pin to come loose with the Super Tool.
  Took me line an hour changing that massive tire on the front left, near cliff side, and I was perty proud of myself.

  Later in the year I hooked up with a private contractor, Dave Pitts, and we started fighting fires as a 3 man team. First fire was in Provo, UT. The fires there burned fast and furious for having almost zero dew point, and there were sections that looked like the surface of the moon. Blackened stumps and grey ash over five feet deep. Since was out first official fire we were cold trailing, which meant putting out all the hot spots along the perimeter of the fire, not near the front line, more or less bringing up the rear. We had flare ups like crazy! Had a few spots jump the line, and partnered up with handline crews. Even had to clear the water pump filter, as water had to be trucked in and put in holding tanks, the water was dirty. So was constantly getting the Super Tool a workout there.

  And in one spot it looked like it was flat. Was walking along and POOF! Was in an ash pit about 4 feet deep. Things were getting mighty warm on the feet, and I came out flying and pouring water from my canteen on my boots! Screamed "Aye chihuahua!" when I flew out of that ashen coal pit - the Hispanic crew laughing at me.

  We got that dug out and watered down, and was out. But my new boots had an issue... blew out one instep area near towards the front of the boot. So had to watch myself till I could figure out something. Boss thought we could run into town later if we got lucky, or I would be on pump duty till we could. he kept saying, "Jim... !" and shaking his head.

  Lunch came, was scarfing down vittles and grabbed my web gear pack. Had an S (cadavar) needle I brought, along with a spool of braided Air Force twine that an uncle gave me. Had a few other things I carried around for tent repairs and fort fixing tears in p[ants, but boots?!?

 So, got creative. The needle was nmot sharp enough go go through the thick leather over-lasting, nor through the rubber sole. So used the Super Tool's generic awl & pliers. (Leatherman had no thread loop holes back then on their awls.)  Poked the awl through the lasting, and then through the rubber sole. Guiding the S needle through the lasting, through the boot leather, and through the rubber sole. Got that in as far as I could, twisting the needle with the pliers. Then would pull the needle through the sole's side. Then reversed the process. Was hared to get started, but it seemed to work!
  Knotted off the thread where I could in case in case the braided twine would get burned. Took about 30 minutes to get that 5 inch section sewed on, and was back in business and not on pump duty! Ha! Dave looked at me again, said "Jim, that ain't gonna hold." and shook his head.

  Well, the "jimmy" rigged sewing job got me through the fire season, and took my boots in afterward to get properly repaired. Told the cobbler what happened and how I fixed it. He said he's do what he could, and laughed at me too.    But that Super Tool, the needle, and that crazy twine got me through. Had carried that stuff on every fire there after.

  Had that Super Tool for many years, and bits and pieces would break, and I'd file the screw drivers down. But when the awl broke repairing a tarp during a flood, I was heart broken. Later in the year I sent it to Leatherman for warranty repair. gave them my story. Was like 3 weeks of waiting. A package came in, was dreading the worse, but the tool was replaced with a new Super Tool that had a hole in the awl. Man, could of used it back in the mid 90's fighting that fire in Provo.

  And when the engine boss, Dave, would need a tool he'd holler at me if I had my multitool on me. Fought fires with him for about 8 years, with a Leatherman on my belt every time! Even have an old Wave in my car's tool chest - resting top tray.

  Have carried a Leatherman with me ever since. Won't leave home without one. I did 2 days of computer work back in Riggins to get that original Super Tool, and bought through the local gas station on special order. That tool saved my butt too many times. Had a PST before that, and, well, a few tools since. 

[Poncho65]

Great use and great story, OiO

[EMZ]

YES, great story from Idaho!
Most of the time these multi-tools are for small, unimportant jobs, like fastening or loosening screws and bolt, cutting of material, opening cans or sawing a branch. However these small, unnoticed jobs can change lives, careers, events, and can even prevent disaster.

[LoopCutter]

~
However these small, unnoticed jobs can change lives, careers, events, and can even prevent disaster.

I thought I would now share my story:

Last June I left my full time job, entering my form of retirement. I then took  part time position working maintenance at a YMCA near my house.  A few weeks in, I learning how things work and was assisting a ground crew with a seeding job outside. I noticed that a couple of trees had some dead branches within reach of the children playing nearby and could see them breaking if a youngster was to grab and swing with full weight off the ground.  So, my REBAR’s saw blade was extracted and I made short work of that branch. My efforts were noticed by a young boy (about 5 or 6) and he asked “did you cut that branch with a knife?”   I said, “No, I used a saw blade on my Multitool” and the showed him how it transformed from a little square brick into a pliers, then a screw driver, and then a saw.  He seem surprised and a maybe impressed.

About, 15 minutes later, I found another dead branch on a second tree, looked around, the children were now playing about 25 yards away, so I deployed the REBAR’s saw and begin removing the branch, when a shout went by the young boy I met earlier, “He’s using the MULTITOOL, come on guys!” 
The next ting I knew I had 7 little faces watching me use my REBAR, and when done I answered as many questions.

Now, just last Wednesday, while working at the same Y, I am inside doing a walk through when I noticed on the Foose Ball table a couple of figures were loose. I removed that same REBAR (SS), and opened the large flat driver and began tightening the screws when a shout went out, “HEY GUYS, he is using his Multitool to fix the soccer men! Cool!”   
It was same little boy, a year older, but the same eyes and very same expression of interest.

That is my humble experience using my LM near inquiring minds.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Poncho65]

A great story of how you could possibly be leading a little boy down a path of self reliance

[countrydirt]

I received my first PST in 1988 as a wedding present from my dad.  This tale has nothing to do with the honeymoon!

I was working for a farm organization and we always had our big annual meeting at some big hotel in their ballrooms.  We had lots of big time politicos attend our meeting and speak to the farmers and ranchers to try and convince them that the government was really there to help them.   Long story longer, I always wore my PST in the sheath on my belt, even when wearing a coat and tie.

The Governor was scheduled to speak at the meeting, so as the youngest staff member, it was my job to see that he was met at the door and escorted to the front of the ballroom and making sure that his needs were met.   This particular Governor had been a tractor dealer in an earlier life, so he sort of fit in.  Now, I escorted him to the stage and then stood off to the side to make sure everything was okay.  About 5 minutes into the speech, the Guv twisted the microphone stand around and the clamp that held the mic simply dropped to the floor.  I popped up on the stage, looked around and found the loose screw that fell out of the mic stand, grabbed my PST from my belt and in less than a minute had the microphone securely mounted again so that the Governor could continue on.  As I walked off the stage, the Governor said, "I need people in my administration who can get things done, I ought to offer you a job!"  I smiled and went on about my way, never seeking fame nor fortune.

Thirty years later, I still have that PST, but rarely carry it.  Now I have a Wave and Surge to keep my multi-tool needs covered.

[Poncho65]

Great story  Always a great feeling when you have a MT and it can be used for something like that
Also, welcome to   

[EMZ]

I received my first PST in 1988 as a wedding present from my dad.  This tale has nothing to do with the honeymoon!

I was working for a farm organization and we always had our big annual meeting at some big hotel in their ballrooms.  We had lots of big time politicos attend our meeting and speak to the farmers and ranchers to try and convince them that the government was really there to help them.   Long story longer, I always wore my PST in the sheath on my belt, even when wearing a coat and tie.

The Governor was scheduled to speak at the meeting, so as the youngest staff member, it was my job to see that he was met at the door and escorted to the front of the ballroom and making sure that his needs were met.   This particular Governor had been a tractor dealer in an earlier life, so he sort of fit in.  Now, I escorted him to the stage and then stood off to the side to make sure everything was okay.  About 5 minutes into the speech, the Guv twisted the microphone stand around and the clamp that held the mic simply dropped to the floor.  I popped up on the stage, looked around and found the loose screw that fell out of the mic stand, grabbed my PST from my belt and in less than a minute had the microphone securely mounted again so that the Governor could continue on.  As I walked off the stage, the Governor said, "I need people in my administration who can get things done, I ought to offer you a job!"  I smiled and went on about my way, never seeking fame nor fortune.

Thirty years later, I still have that PST, but rarely carry it.  Now I have a Wave and Surge to keep my multi-tool needs covered.

That was a dangerous situation. Your LM almost got you involved into politics! 

[countrydirt]

That was a dangerous situation. Your LM almost got you involved into politics! 

[Raoul Octav]

Nice stories, kudos2that.
Competition is getting tighter 
Let's keep them stories rollin 
As you saw, from heroic, to casual to goofy like, we use LMN in all kind of situation, so feel free to share.

[eymantia]

It's the playoffs of a FIRST Robotics Competition. We had not had a great day but we just managed to rank high enough to be a backup robot in case a team was unable to compete, and we'd heard that a backup was going to be needed. We were the backup. We were needed. So we had to get this thing in tip-top shape, or as close as one can in an hour. Which actually means jury-rig it so it functions for one round, and repeat that process until you're eliminated. Now in order to be chosen to play for a broken bot, we had to be at the field. We couldn't be in our pit with all our tools. From that sentence you can probably see where this is going.

Now we had lots of 1/8" Allen head screws on our robot, and had had to replace a part under some of those screws. We had removed the piece, replaced it, and were starting to tighten things back down in our pit, when we were informed we had to go if we wanted to be called. And so we left, bound for the field.

But no one had grabbed a 1/8" Allen wrench. We were decently far from the pits now, and we were running out of time if we wanted to be called upon. People were worried, but I'd just gotten my Bit Kit in the day before. My hand instantly went to my hip, popped the snap, and pulled out my Wave and my bits. Pulling the standard bit out of the Wave, I inserted the 1/8" Allen bit, and proceeded to tighten up those loose screws. We were able to fix it in time, in part thanks to the Bit Kit, and we were called on as the backup bot to compete.

Unfortunately we still lost that round and were eliminated from the playoffs, but the reaction from the rest of our team when we were called was worth it alone. We thought we were done; we thought we'd done terribly. But we still managed to compete for one last round in the playoffs, and I have both my incredible team and Leatherman to thank for that.

[Alan K.]

I bought a Supertool 300 a few years ago. Not my first or my most recent Leatherman tool, just another piece of a growing collection.  It is big so I didn't really think I would carry it much, but I found the tool set exceptionally useful, and I liked the solid feel of this big and heavy tool. So, I carried it whenever I thought I might need the advantage of a heavy duty tool.

I live in a hurricane zone so we have to worry about bad storms all summer long. June 1st to November 1st usually, but storms have popped up earlier and later than the official season because nobody gave them a calendar.  Well, it occurred to me that whenever the weather people on TV started interrupting regular shows and talking about storm paths and development I had a routine list of tasks that I always performed and the first thing on the list was (is)  grab my Super Tool 300.

You see, there are things that have to be done outside of the house to prepare for a storm before it gets too windy. I have to bring in anything that might become a missile in high winds and that means partially disassembling lawn ornaments, furniture, and grills. I have all of the shutters to put up and awnings to lower and there are nuts and bolts and screws that sometimes haven't been turned in years. Pliers and screwdrivers will be needed and I reach for the Super Tool 300 every time so I don't have to keep track of a bunch of other tools. I've even used the Super Tool's file to cut the heads off of rusted solid screws in the awnings because I didn't have time to do anything else.   You can't put up shutters in 40 - 50+ mile per hour winds, and driving rains, especially when you're by yourself! It's got to get done before the conditions get that bad.

So, once a storm watch has been issued for a tropical storm or a hurricane, the Super Tool 300 goes on my belt or in my pocket and it stays on me for the duration, 48 hours, or however long the situation remains critical. Seriously, I sleep in my clothes when a storm is coming and if I'm dressed I have the Super Tool on me. If I get any sleep at all I may wake up and need to fix something in a hurry and I don't want to have to search for my tools. I wouldn't want to be without my Super Tool during a storm so I bought a spare just in case.
Pictures,
1 Hurricane Irma Warning 2017
2 Getting ready for a long night
3 checking the flashlights and lanterns
4 standing water in my driveway

[Poncho65]

Great stories eymantia and Alan

If stories continue to be posted I will definitely let this one run til last of the month which is still only a couple more days So if you have a story then you better get to posting it

[Sea Monster]

There's been a few times over the last decade when my Wave has really got me out of a bind, but I'll just go with the latest one....

Setting up rigging and likes and whatnot for a show - an event that necessarily includes a whole load of cable ties, and the odd screw clamp and whatnot.
Not such a big deal really....until you send someone home early and the tools are in his car 

so the Wave spends the next few hours being passed around by everyone to cut tails, tension lights, scrape off old tape, and anything else that needs to happen.

Good thing someone keeps a leatherman in his pocket despite "always" having dedicated tools nearby....

[Poncho65]

Always great to have a LM with you for times like that

[Poncho65]

I am going to go til 9 or 10 PM tonight (my time) and call this one so any last minute entries better hurry Several great stories all and thanks for those that have participated thus far

I will get a winner for this one sometime tomorrow

[Raoul Octav]

What sort of method of picking the winner will you choose?
It's necessary to persuade the woodoodoll 

[Top-Gear-24]

Thank you for this great giveaway Leatherman  .

Hope this is not too late, I've been thinking about posting my story here for some time, since it's not really that spectacular in comparison with the great stories here, but hey, I'm going to post it anyway (since it did save the day that time).

Years ago, it must have been the late 90's or early 2000, since it involves my original Supertool and I stopped carrying that one when I got my first generation Wave (well, the ST still got time on the belt, but not nearly as much as before the Wave).  We (Misses TG-24 and myself) were in the Belgian Ardennes for a long dayhike, and in the evening, we arrived back at the car and wanted to get back home.  Those days we still had to physically use the keys to open the car door, and while doing so, they fell out of my hands, which wouldn't have been a great deal if not for the sewage drain cover that was right next to my car's driver door.

I grabbed for them but it was  too late and down they went, I started freaking out until I noticed that they got caught in some woud and debris that was stuck like 20cm bellow the drain cover.  But there was no way I could get them out using only my hands, so I took my trusty Supertool, opened up the can opener just under half way and the file in the other handle for some extra reach and used it to carefully fish the keys out of the sewage.

Telling this story here made me think about it again, and I immediately thought how stupid I was back then, since if this was to happen now, I would search for a stick with a nice hook on (from a side branch) and use my multitool to saw it to the right length and use that to fish out my keys, and by doing so not risk dropping my tool in there as well ...

Guess it's true what they say: "wisdom comes with age"  .

[GotUCovered]

Setting:  Out of state, family vacation.  All 4 of us traveled in 1 car....loaded down with clothes, beach chairs and umbrellas!  No room for a general toolkit....just my Leatherman Charge in my backpack.

The week was going great, lots of fun, family activities and plenty of relaxation on the coast.  Man was it windy on a couple of days!  On one day in particular the wind kicked up so hard on the beach that several umbrellas and canopies went flying and people went scattering.  Our neighbor's umbrella in particular got a little twisted and wouldn't close.  Crap!  There's $45 down......almost.  With a little work with the pliers head and some careful twisting with the bottle opener implement, she's almost as good as new .  Beach please!  Charge: 1, Mother Nature: 0.

The next day, we were coming back from a little shopping.  After unloading the car, my wife accidentally dropped the keys in the trunk.  Of course we didn't know this until a long search around the house and the car automatically locked itself up.....a part of the security system.  If it wasn't for the bluetooth Tile, we would have never known that they were in the trunk.  BTW, no spare key was brought.

After gaining entry into the vehicle (a story for another time, which also involved the Charge) we learned that the only [normal] way to open the trunk was with a key.  The button inside of the car was electronic....which was disabled by the security system.  Doh!  After some lengthy trial and error and web searching, turns out that someone found a way to disable the security system by accessing the inside of the driver's side door.  Charge to the rescue!

After a little bit of prying, a lot of turning socket head screws with the pliers and some general creativity, BOOM!  Security system disabled and the trunk is open....the keys are free!  I totally felt like William Wallace when he yelled "FREEEEEEEDOMMMMMMMM!!!!".  Charge: 1, Super Duper car security system:.0.


After carrying a multi tool on my hip for years and years, I've come to realize that the joy that I get from them isn't about the ability to fix things, but really about just being able to help people.  Wether it's fixing a beach umbrella or simply opening packages at Christmas time, there's no replacement for the smiles had by simply helping others.  For me, my Leatherman helps me to do that.



-Bryan

[ducttapetech]

Lots of cools stories!

[Poncho65]

Lots of cools stories!

 

I will get a list of the members who put a story and assign each a number and then I will pick a number somehow  haven't gotten that far yet 

[Alan K.]

Great stories! A Leatherman saves the day again and again.

[zoidberg]

Last minute entry from today!

We were coming down the mountain and once below the snow line stopped to remove the chains.
Group of young whipper snappers came up and asked if we had pliers...
All three from our truck reached into our pockets.
We all cracked up laughing because their MTs had been gifts from me.
Anyhoo I rocked over to their vehicle with a SuperTool 300 and made short work of the mangled connector.

High fives all round and both groups got off the mountain safe and sound and I made it home in time for dinner.

[Raoul Octav]

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