Been a bit since I had this one wrote out just haven't put it in here


The Bear and Son Super Bear Jaws Sportsman 157SM and Gardener 157GT aka the Crescent brand Toolzall Maintenance Pro

This tool is based around a tin snip or shears head

The Tool




The tool itself is 4 1/2 inches closed and around 8 inches open. It dwarfs both my LM Super Tool and my Vic Swisstool.  That in itself is impressive.  It is a very handy tool for me because I use it mainly as a band cutter.  It slices right through most bands with ease but the downfall is that sometimes it nicks the shears. It is held together with T10 regular torq pins and is very easy to take apart loosen or tighten. In fact the instructions that come with the tool actually mention this. Also worth mentioning is that you can interchange tools from other models to better suit your needs.

The Shears Head



These shears are a welcomed variation on the reg plier head design.  Being one of only a few (very few) others designed around this head. It swings open with ease and has a latch to keep it from accidentally opening.  The shears are also spring loaded, another feature that I really like about this tool.  Be careful not to try and close it without latching it closed though or you might lose the spring.

The Blade


Well of the three variations/models that I know of I believe that they all come with the combo  clip point blade plain/serrated edge knife. Not being a fan of this type of blade it is still serviceable.

The Saw


Well I like the saw that this company makes.  It is a beefy saw with fewer teeth than most of the other big brands. The fewer teeth mean more aggressive cutting which I find a plus in this multi.
 

The Screwdriver


I believe that all of the models come with a single straight bit med screwdriver.  It is a good driver but a phillips head would have been more preferable to me.  On the other hand you could always double it as a small prybar.  All in all at least there is a screwdriver and not 3 or 4 of different sizes.

The Different Tools of Each Model

Here the tools differentiate from one another.

The Toolzall Version has a file


-The File


While I love there saw I really don't care much for there file.  It is a useable file but lacks surface.  It doesn't go anywhere near the bottom (the filing surface I mean). Also the most versatile of the tools offered on the different models.

The Bear Jaws Gardener 157GT has a grafting tool

-The Grafter


This tool can be used for grafting.  It can also be used to scrape different things and be used as  a cutter.  This is a nice tool in the garden but too specialized for a everyday multi.




The Bear Jaws Sportsman 157SM has a bird disgorging hook

-The Hook


This hook has an interesting use it is said to be a bird hook,  which is used to pull the guts and innards out of a bird for lack of a better way to put it.  Also to specialized of a tool for an everyday carry multi.

Also of note is the lack of a lanyard ring on these models.

Pros

-Nice to be able to carry a compact band cutter
-Good multi to compliment another multi due to it's specialized uses
-Very compact to what it unfolds like

Cons

-Some models can be considered to specialized
-Some of the tools are subpar to there counterparts of other brands
-The spring can fall out if not careful how you close it
-Not a wide tool selection

Overall I would not carry this as a standalone tool but it does compliment another multi very well.

Plus all the bad pictures are taken by me but All the nicer (professional looking) pictures were taken by our own J-sews (Bob) with his permission of course

If you see any mistakes or anything that needs to be added please tell me

Then I can have one of the mods help me correct it

Looks fine to me. Good summary of the different variations Ponch!


Y'know, it seems like Bear almost got it with this tool. Almost. The shear jaws are first rate, and the handles are plenty stout. The blades are outside opening. All good things.

But why oh why did they only include four blades?? Why the big white spacers? Load that puppy up with a full array of knives, saws, screwdrivers and scissors and they would have had a real winner.

Yeah I know

  I know they could have fit a few more tools in there The shears make it a bit limiting on space but they could have figured something out

Yeah I know

  I know they could have fit a few more tools in there The shears make it a bit limiting on space but they could have figured something out

Sure seems like it to me.


First rate shears though don't you think? What's the toughest thing you've cut with yours?

Great write up! I am interested in hearing how tough the shears are too... 

I have cut a dozen metal bands with mine. it does nick th blade but it does well. I like it a lot

Fine review that Ponch

Nice one Poncho. 

Good review/s   

I'm not surprised at the lack of a lanyard.  Having one on a tool this weight would be like putting one on a crowbar

Neil

I have cut a dozen metal bands with mine. it does nick th blade but it does well. I like it a lot

Yeah I have cut several metal bands with mine as well and get the same result the nicks I mean  But they keep on cutting

Good review/s   

I'm not surprised at the lack of a lanyard.  Having one on a tool this weight would be like putting one on a crowbar

Neil

It is heavy but with the lack of a lot of tools not as heavy as one might think Still much lighter than the Surge but just a little lighter than a crowbar

Top stuff Ponch  . I like the look of those big shears .The metal bands you guys talk about , what are they exactly  .

Plus all the bad pictures are taken by me but All the nicer (professional looking) pictures were taken by our own J-sews (Bob) with his permission of course

Haha. Now you see, if you hadn't mentioned that noone would have known, and Bob is far too much of a gent to rumble you

It's an excellent review that, of a tool I knew nothing about, but now feel i know lots about

Nice one ponch.

Top stuff Ponch  . I like the look of those big shears .The metal bands you guys talk about , what are they exactly  .

A metal band that I am talking about is probably about a half inch by a sixteenth inch steel band that is used to hold thinkgs banded together like 2x4's bundled together and brick held together stacked up

If that helps any

Quote from: MultiMat on February 02, 2009, 04:18:51 PM

Top stuff Ponch  . I like the look of those big shears .The metal bands you guys talk about , what are they exactly  .

A metal band that I am talking about is probably about a half inch by a sixteenth inch steel band that is used to hold thinkgs banded together like 2x4's bundled together and brick held together stacked up

If that helps any

Y'know, metal banding:

Quote from: Poncho65 on February 02, 2009, 07:24:27 PM

Quote from: MultiMat on February 02, 2009, 04:18:51 PM

Top stuff Ponch  . I like the look of those big shears .The metal bands you guys talk about , what are they exactly  .

A metal band that I am talking about is probably about a half inch by a sixteenth inch steel band that is used to hold thinkgs banded together like 2x4's bundled together and brick held together stacked up

If that helps any

Y'know, metal banding:


(Image removed from quote.)

Thanks Bob  . Most of the time stuff I have come across is a nylon type of banding , not metal  even the cement steel reinforced retaining wall sleepers we got that weigh 120-140kg each was banded with non metal banding 

Yeah metal bands are being used less and less here as well but they still put them on certain things

Thanks guys for all the positives about the review

I don't know if I have any more tools that aren't already reviewed now If I get any more different tools I'll try and write some more

Plus if you guys have anything to add about these make sure and say because we want it to be as thorough as possible

Nice review there on some unique tools 

Yet another variation of this tool is the Red Devil Painter's Multitool. Same shear jaws, with some unique "scraper" and "prybar" blades.

More info: https://wiki.multitool.org/tiki-index.php?page=Red+Devil+Painters+Multitool

Yet another variation thanks Bob

  Wonder what the notch in the shears is for

and hey they fit more than 4 tools in that one

Great review Ponch,and I really like the Red Devil multi Bob.

Notch in the shears would be useful for stripping coax cable, but I don’t see how that’s relevant for a painter’s tool. Or now scissors are useful in a painters tool. Still, it’s neat. I want one of these scissors based tools.

Charles.

Head's up to anyone trying to find the Red Devil painter's multi tool, I've noticed some individuals do not know Bear and Son made this tool.  Managed to find this on eBay with the sheath, albeit this was used.   While this is certainly a cool and useful tool, none of the components of this unit lock and unless you are cutting wire, that notch is more of a hindrance than useful in my experience.  Great pair of scissors though.

Not sure when this happened, yet the Bear and Sons 157GT Bear Jaws Gardener Multi-Tool was discontinued and while there still are some distributors carrying this, it's only a matter of time potentially before the 157SM might also be discontinued.  Knife Center claims this to be discontinued and I do not see this unit available on Bear and Son's website.