Spirit owners club

[vcxz]

Now I have owned the Spirit for about a month and I thought I might talk a little about it...


The whole package is nice! I also like the way Victorinox (as opposed to LM) pack their
products in small boxes that easily can be given as gifts.



I thought the leather sheath was very nice. It smells good too! The only gripe I had was
that the Victorinox logo plate had been mounted slightly skewed...



Before Buying the tool I had heard how shiny it was. I was kind of dissappointed when the
metal sort of looked recycled... And all scratched up beneath the polish...



The pliers looked very nice. I was a bit surprised at how blunt they were. But the good thing
is that it adds to the quality of the thing. I have been cutting some hard wire with it too. And
there doesn't seem to be much wear yet. I only wish Victorinox had made the entire cutting
part out of hard metal. The way it is now I can hardly cut through the thick wire of a fence....
Also there is some play in the whole tool when closed. This is due to the hinge in the pliers!



The locks work very well and give you a sense of safety. However, they do have one
problem: they feel a bit tacky. Pulling them down doesn't feel very satisfying in a tactile sort
of way.



I like that the knife blade has serrations. It makes it much more useful for cutting things like rope.
 What I don't like about the blade is that it seems to get blunt very fast. I have barely used it and
it can't cut through paper... Perhaps it is the fault of the chisel grind?  I like that the blade is sheep
foot. It means I will cut myself less and if I loose it on my feet I will not get hurt!



One thing I have been missing a lot is a small screwdriver for repairing glasses and the like. Surely
one could make a variation of the one that fits in the corckscrew of the other knives to fit into the
big empty space shown in this picture!



I have a split opinion on the scissors. On the one hand they have been made stronger by being
shorter and using a different spring. But on the other hand the small cutting area will not allow
you to cut paper fast, or thicker stuff.



Have others noticed that the swisstool spirit always opens the same way? First the handle
that covers the logo comes away. Then the other one unfolds. When closing the tool the
case is the opposite!



It was a dissappointment to find that most of the big tools were so undersized. The saw,
 for instance, had one tooth less than the Farmers saw. Even though the swisstool is more
than a centimeter longer!



The main blade was ditto. I am sure there is a way for victorinox to come around this!



After applying a decent amount of torque the phillips driver kind of seems worn out.
I wish they had used a harder steel there!
Another major problem is that when I use the tool as a screwdriver the opposite handle of
the one that holds the tools gets used for leverage. This causes the handle to flex and perhaps
reduces its lifetime...

[cliosguy]

good points there mate and welcome to the club

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Excellent review mate

[heavy handed]

RE :your point about the scratches mine came like that too, and i was a little grumpy cos i thought it was second hand. but after carrying it to work, i have added my own character to it, and i dont notice the blemishes. 

super review mate,  hope the spirit serves you well.

[DaveK]

Good review that, and it fits in with my view of the Spirit's good and bad points. A good tool, that could have been great, but for a couple of annoying things that you know Vic could put right* easily if they chose to.

A good point about the packaging too. Leatherman do seem to be able to make smaller boxes when it suits them (I have a few Juice-sized and Micra/Squirt-sized yellow boxes, but the most common size they use (for the Kick, Fuse, Blast, Wave, Charge, Core, Surge etc) is ridiculously large - I'm sure they could save a fortune by making them smaller!

*I say "put right", but I appreciate that they may not actually think it's wrong (e.g. the phillips driver) .

[Styerman]

Deffinately Vic should take a leaf out of the tool industry's book and bead or vapour blast the last 3/8" of all drivers . To be fair , even top quality dedicated phillips drivers ( Kline , Snap On etc. ) , don't seem to have a long happy service life . This is why I have gone to Snap On 1/4" hex drivers , with either Mac or Snap On anti camout bits for heavier/more demanding operations .

Multi's are like pistols , as the Marine Corps says , " Your world has truly gone to smurf if you are reduced to fighting with a pistol !". I often think many of us expect speSmurfpillst performance , from the general practitioners of the tool world .

Chris

[Dunc]

Great review mate .Thanks guys for keeping this thread going while I was gone 



Dunc

[Neil]

Deffinately Vic should take a leaf out of the tool industry's book and bead or vapour blast the last 3/8" of all drivers . To be fair , even top quality dedicated phillips drivers ( Kline , Snap On etc. ) , don't seem to have a long happy service life . This is why I have gone to Snap On 1/4" hex drivers , with either Mac or Snap On anti camout bits for heavier/more demanding operations .

Multi's are like pistols , as the Marine Corps says , " Your world has truly gone to Colorful Enunciation if you are reduced to fighting with a pistol !". I often think many of us expect speSmurfpillst performance , from the general practitioners of the tool world .

Chris

Well put, though I think we should blame the likes of LM and Vic. for making their tools so good that we're lead into that way of thinking.

[vcxz]

Thanks for your comments!!
Today I accidentally cut some rope that turned out to be metal wire!
Now my main blade is pretty much useless because it is so dull! And I am afraid of sharpening it myself (with a standard sharpening stone) without any proper knowledge...
Do any of you have any idea how to sharpen the serrations on the blade? Or can you recommend any sharpening kit that
even a newbie can use? What angle is the blade sharpened to?

[Benner]

The Spyderco Sharpmaker works well on those serrations.

[AHB]

The Spyderco Sharpmaker works well on those serrations.

Sharpmaker vs. Lansky Sharpning system.
Which one is the best.?   

[Benner]

I only have a Sharpmaker so can't comment I'm afraid.

[AHB]

I only have a Sharpmaker so can't comment I'm afraid.

Maybe I'll start a new thread tomorrow.. (with a Poll )

[665ae]

Maybe I'll start a new thread tomorrow.. (with a Poll )

Mint Chocolate Chip

[David Bowen]

Thanks to Gadget Guy I am back in the spirit club!

[Bill.H]

Multi's are like pistols , as the Marine Corps says , " Your world has truly gone to Colorful Enunciation if you are reduced to fighting with a pistol !". I often think many of us expect speSmurfpillst performance , from the general practitioners of the tool world .

   Very well said!

[Styerman]

As a fella that owns , Sharpmakers , and a Lansky , and about every other sharpening gizzy out there , I much prefer the Sharpmaker . It's quick , clean , and versatile .

I guess the distilled essence of my experience with multi's is that they are best restricted to minor emergency situations , but they are a great comfort and convienience in our daily rounds . Worth carrying , but do not compare too well with dedicated tools .

Chris

[AHB]

As a fella that owns , Sharpmakers , and a Lansky , and about every other sharpening gizzy out there , I much prefer the Sharpmaker . It's quick , clean , and versatile .

I guess the distilled essence of my experience with multi's is that they are best restricted to minor emergency situations , but they are a great comfort and convienience in our daily rounds . Worth carrying , but do not compare too well with dedicated tools .

Chris

Dang, No need for a poll now... 
Thanks, Styerman..
I'll keep my eye out for a sharpmaker when I need something besides the Gerber diamond file..  

[sappyg]

when you compair the spirit to any other MT it wins hands down.

[andrea.from.roma]

Greetings from Roma, Italia!

Andrea (owner and user of a Victorinox Spirit)

[Benner]

when you compair the spirit to any other MT it wins hands down.

What if you want a ruler?  Wouldn't win then would it. 

I don't think there is any tool that compared to others "wins hands down".  Every one has their pro's and cons.

[GraysonK]

Greetings from Roma, Italia!

Andrea (owner and user of a Victorinox Spirit)

(Image removed from quote.)

Welcome to MT.O!  

[cliosguy]

Greetings from Roma, Italia!

Andrea (owner and user of a Victorinox Spirit)

(Image removed from quote.)

Welcome to MT.O!  

+1

[Nutznboltz]

when you compair the spirit to any other MT it wins hands down.

Those are fight'n words.  

[Styerman]

It's the best multi I've ever schleped around . In over 20 years of packing multi's , I've never used one for measuring , no biggie for me .

Chris

[Benner]

It's the best multi I've ever schleped around . In over 20 years of packing multi's , I've never used one for measuring , no biggie for me .

Chris

I was making a point that that was a simple example of how "compare the spirit to any other MT it wins hands down" wasn't exactly true.  Every tool has it's shortfalls IMO.

[Nutznboltz]

It's the best multi I've ever schleped around . In over 20 years of packing multi's , I've never used one for measuring , no biggie for me .

Chris

I comes down to what you need from your multi tool which determines if it is the best or not.  Everyone is different, I actually use the ruler on my multi's alot.  In a maintenance shop everyone carries around a scale, we're always checking the length of something.  The Spirit is a top notch multi, but one of the reasons mine sits in the toolbox at home is the lack of a ruler.

[WH867]

when you compair the spirit to any other MT it wins hands down.

You forgot a word.  It should read .   when you compair the spirit to any other VICTORINOX MT it wins hands down.  Now that I would agree with. 

But the way you put it .     

[Neil]

Greetings from Roma, Italia!

Andrea (owner and user of a Victorinox Spirit)

(Image removed from quote.)

Welcome to the forum 

[Freudian Frog]

Welcome andrea.from.roma!

As for rulers on a multi... I disagree with 'em. Carry yer own god flabbin' one, it's not even flat?! C'MON.
Rulers don't take up any space... and using a clunky multi ruler is just... #%(*%)@#$! C'MON!