Multitool.org Forum
Tool Talk => Gerber Tools => Topic started by: Jors on January 19, 2014, 05:28:36 PM
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I bought a Gerber dime for a keychain pocket tool.
I bought the black one and I was really inpressed with this little gadget.
The box opener and the knife blade really impressed me.
Only until here.
The pliers folded when attempting to cut a paper fastener (the Leatherman Squirt P4 Can!).
Today I tried to cut a simple cable tie without success. even after 5 attempts. The blades folded next to each other with the cable tie in between.
What a disappointment.
Needless to say I am retiring this..............
This was my first experience with Gerber and my last.
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None of my buissness, but you could give maybe a second chance, if it happens! :think:
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You should try an MP600 from Gerber before you give them the boot.
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You should try an MP600 from Gerber before you give them the boot.
+1! :tu: or maybe even a Freehand, for if i remember well Jors likes the beefy sized tools, i remember his reviews of the larger LMs! :multi:
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I haven't had any failures as bad as Jors, but it does feel like the steel used in the Dime (and the Splice, and the Vise, and the Octane, and the Crucial) is thinner and flimsier than it ought to be. :-\
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I agree Bob. They definitely don't stand up like other such tools from other manufacturers.
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They are also half the price of the Squirt line as well.;) Keep in mind that, while I am a Gerber fan, I do prefer the Squirts myself, I just want to acknowledge that they've likely had to make some compromises to keep that price point down.
I still think the Dime is a decent tool for what you pay for it, but I also think there are better offerings from Gerber as well, the MP600 and MP400 being my top choices.
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I wish the Dime would stop being produced. :whistle:
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Go with a squirt! LM P4 has been on my keychain for years now and still going strong.
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You should try an MP600 from Gerber before you give them the boot.
+1 I was ready to completely ignore Gerber after I broke a Suspension while playing with it in a store. But I got an MP450 in a trade here, then a 600, then another 600, and a 400, and a Strata, and an Octane, and a..... ;) Give an MP a shot before disregarding Gerber completely. They are excellent tools that have quite a following for a reason.
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I had the same problem. Here's a link to my thread on 'Bad wire cutters on Dime?'
http://forum.multitool.org/gerber-tools/bad-wire-cutters-on-dime/
There's also a partial solution in that thread. Maybe give it a read and see if the fix helps.
Otherwise, I completely agree with you. The wire cutters, as they come out of the box, are pretty terrible.
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I was starting to think that the Dime was good competitor to LM's Squirts but after I watched a video of the pliers, more specifically the cutters, failing so bad I changed my mind very quickly.
I really wish, from the deepest corners of my ribosomes, that Gerber could address this issues. There is something about it that really makes me want one, but a better and improved one.
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I wanted to consider the Dime a failure after the cutter issue, but honestly, fixing it is only an annoyance. Once fixed, they're still not as good as a Squirt, but are miles better than the dinky cutter on the pliers of a 91mm Victorinox, and I don't hear people screaming over how pathetic those cutters are. The Vic's will never cut 12-gauge wire. The Dime's will, if maybe not able to handle it long-term. For all I know, maybe even the Squirt would fail long-term from the strain of cutting 12-gauge wire, although it feels a lot more solid than the Dime doing it.
And I wouldn't trust ANY of them to cut coathanger, or a nail, so you just have to draw the line somewhere for any tool, and know it's limitations.
The weak wire cutters are nowhere near a deal-breaker for me with the Dime, but do drop it below the Squirt in one area of functionality.
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SolomonKane79
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+1! :tu: or maybe even a Freehand, for if i remember well Jors likes the beefy sized tools, i remember his reviews of the larger LMs! :multi:
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You remember right. I like the great ones. Currently I am liking the Recharge. I purchased the Charge TTi and added the rebar pliers head to it. Awesome tool. I aqm not carrying it 24/7 currently, but in my backpack. I am currently handicapped after a series of surgery operations on my legs. Another reason is that I first check out regarding our new dangerous weapons act. As a Police officer that will probably never a problem as our new act even make provision for carrying a knife.item to protect yourself, which is a legal act.
I am very disappointed and will see if maybe I can mod the pliers to have no side play on my mini milling machine. There is a big play in the pliers and as the problem link showed, mine is also completely blunt. Maybe if I can flare the axle a bit to tighten it up I will give it a second chance. Or maybe I will consider another small size tool. However the squirt did not disappoint me.
The scissors also disappointed me as it is cutting the wrong way around. It is a left handed scissors.
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SolomonKane79, I have given it some thought. I am working on some cure in my head. I have an idea on how to rectify the Pliers.
I just need a proper pliers or I have to add an awl in it's place.
I will take photographs and post if successful.
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The Dime is a MT I really wanted to like, but part of the backspring broke (the one on the package opener, though it still worked... just opened way too far) almost immediately after I got the thing, and it didn't take long for the spring on the scissors to break off too. I never had much issue with the pliers but I also didn't use them for much other than some adjustments on health care equipment.
If the Dime were tougher, it'd be the perfect keychain tool for me. As it is, the Gerber I like is the Pro Scout.
Dem
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The Dime is a MT I really wanted to like, but part of the backspring broke
The scissor spring broke on Mrs. Powernoodle's PS4 after almost no usage, so I don't think that any of these micro MTs are really built to last. In my view, the PS4 and Dime are both more akin to last ditch, very light use, pocket convenience items - especially the cutters and the pliers. But really the whole tool. Good for snipping a loose thread, pulling a vehicle circuit breaker or opening a box, but that's about it. I still carry a PS4 on a daily basis (for the pliers, mainly), but I have pretty low expectations for any MT that weighs 2 ounces. The Dime's cutters are almost useless (unless you sharpen them up like Lynn did), and the springs on both of these tools almost commit suicide for no reason. But alas, I can't stop carrying the dang thing.
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The scissor spring broke on Mrs. Powernoodle's PS4 after almost no usage,
I think at least a dozen of us here had the same problem. ::)
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The scissor spring broke on Mrs. Powernoodle's PS4 after almost no usage,
I think at least a dozen of us here had the same problem. ::)
And this is why I don't use the Dime...
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I returned the PS4 when I bought it. It is nowhere as tough as the previous generation. The P4, S4 were much more durable, in my experience anyway. Still have a P4 on my keys going strong after 3 yrs now.
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The scissor spring broke on Mrs. Powernoodle's PS4 after almost no usage,
I think at least a dozen of us here had the same problem. ::)
And this is why I don't use the Dime...
You don't use the Gerber Dime cause the scissors spring on the Leatherman Squirt PS4 breaks easily? :think:
Where's the logic in that? :P
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The scissor spring broke on Mrs. Powernoodle's PS4 after almost no usage,
I think at least a dozen of us here had the same problem. ::)
And this is why I don't use the Dime...
You don't use the Gerber Dime cause the scissors spring on the Leatherman Squirt PS4 breaks easily? :think:
Where's the logic in that? :P
Shoot, I read "Mrs. Powernoodle's Dime" instead of "Mrs. Powernoodle's PS4". :facepalm:
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I'm another one who WANTS to like the Dime, it's a cool looking little piece of kit, BUT it inspires zero confidence in me.
It could have been so good but it feels like a cheap knock-off of something else. I live in hope of the day I find the "good" tool that the Dime is a Chinese knock-off of. ::)
The pivots on mine a nail breaking tight and the package opener blade sits so low you could miss even seeing the nail nick for it. I actually have to take the tweezers out and use the tab end of them to open it if I want the package opener, which isn't very often because the grind is backwards (or for a leftie)
As far as the flat blade driver and file/2D Philips. Both so short they are useless, there is room for one or other and making them a usable tool, but not both. And then the file has the keyring in the way so you can't even use it on your nails (or pretty much anything else)
Every time I post in a thread about the Dime, my loathing for it grows another notch.
Okay it was only cheap, but I would have rather put the 20bux toward a slab of beer, something I could enjoy using.
Maybe I could gift it to someone who I know would appreciate the thought, but will throw it in a drawer and never use it. Best use I've thought of for it yet.
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The problems many of us had with the dime were posted in a thread a while back.
Mine is now used only when I travel (good tool selection and I do not care if it is confiscated), after being hit a bit with a hammer to tighten the pivots.
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I just need a proper pliers or I have to add an awl in it's place.
I meant to say: "I just need a proper scissors or I have to add an awl in it's place". The scissors mon the tool is for left hand use only.
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me too ... :)
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I almost bought a Dime, but having read this and similar posts, I decided not to.
Amazing -- reading something this board actually preventing me from spending money. Then again, I'll probably just use the cash to buy a different MT.
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I'm actually a fan of the Dime and overall I find it a better tool than the PS4
Knife blade - Dime wins. Nice shape and properly ground. None of that scale snagging chisel grind that kept troubling me on my PS4s
Pliers - PS4 wins (but see note below). Stronger and more refined head, and backsprings are better supported
Bottle opener - Dime wins - No contest!
File - PS4 wins - No contest!
Scissors - no real preference, both a bit limited and prone to premature failure
Drivers - no real preference, both a bit limited but work in a pinch
Package Opener - Dime
Tweezers - Dime
Aesthetics - Dime
Price - Dime
NOTE: Although the PS4 wins on pliers, I do very little in the way of wire cutting, and as such the Dime's pliers have never been a failing for me. They've always done what I've asked of them, and it sounds that a little work will improve the cutters anyway, so I'm more than happy with them. I have also had more quality issues on PS4s than I have on Dimes.
Additional Note:
At the last UK meet, I was moaning about the PS4 and Cupboard was moaning about the Dime. He proposed a straight swap, and I took his slightly gritty Dime in return for my PS4 whose blade got caught up on the scales, and which had bald spots on the file. We BOTH felt that we had got the better part of the deal by far, and that the other guy had gotten the smelly end of the stick. About as perfect as a trade gets really :D
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Stop it, man. You're just trying to make me spend more money...
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IMO the last good mini keychain pliers made was the P4. I tried and did not like the PS4 or Dime.
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Additional Note:
At the last UK meet, I was moaning about the PS4 and Cupboard was moaning about the Dime. He proposed a straight swap, and I took his slightly gritty Dime in return for my PS4 whose blade got caught up on the scales, and which had bald spots on the file. We BOTH felt that we had got the better part of the deal by far, and that the other guy had gotten the smelly end of the stick. About as perfect as a trade gets really :D
It was a P4 actually :)
The Dime's blade is a nice shape but I could never get it to hold an edge and you could see the metal coming off it as you sharpened it. The pliers were flimsy and the wire cutter suck.
The bottle opener is good but it's not like I had any particular shortage of them and the Squirt's does the job.
The Phillips driver has the bottle opener in the way which hampers its use, and the file is completely pointless. Sure the file on the Squirt that I traded might not be a good eample of a Squirt file but it's still a million times less terrible than the Dime's.
Package opener: OK so the Squirt doesn't have one, but there's nothing wrong with using the blade. I can at least get the Squirt blade open without breaking a nail.
Tweezers: hmm. IMO the pliers are small enough you don't really need tweezers, the Squirt's are certainly good enough. That said, my favourite Squirts (the older ones) do have tweezers. I didn't have any problem with the Dime tweezers that I remember but then I never really needed them.
Aesthetics: People complain about the Juice's handle being uneven, well the Dime's are in a different league. Just look at it! And the glossy scales look tacky and cheap to me. This is one area I prefer the PS5 to the P4 actually, but they're both smart and symmetrical.
Price: The Dime is quite substantially cheaper. It's also massively worse, so less good value IMO.
So yes, I traded away a tool I couldn't have given as a gift because I wouldn't have been happy to carry it myself, and got in return a Squirt P4 which I think is one of the best of the Squirts. The small Victorinox 58mm scissors are better than the PS4 and Dime scissors, and I think a 58mm SAK with a P4 makes a pretty good combination.
*stir stir stir*
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P4 is the best of the keychain pliers IMO. I tried a PS4 and it was a downgrade. It wasnt for me and it went back to the store. If I can ever get Vic pliers on a rambler thats the only thing that will bump the P4 off my keychain.
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I like the Dime as well and have had no issues with it. I did find the tools a bit hard to deploy but with use they got easier. I ended up going with my LM PS4 because it fit in my Skinth better and gifted the Dime to a friend.
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I got a black dime as one of my birthday presents,i like its looks and time will tell otherwise,although the package cutter is very stiff and i broke a nail :facepalm: hopefully it will loosen with use :tu: its on my keychain and will replace my old alox classic clone that has worked out well for me for a few years,im not overly rough on my keychain mt's other than they get wet alot,so time will tell :tu:
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I've been carrying the dime for about a month now and I honestly really like it for the most part. The blade came dull and the scissors pretty much suck but for a tool of its size I'm pretty happy with it.
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I prefer the PS4 to the Dime (due to fit and finish, size, etc.) but inexplicably have been carrying a Dime instead of the PS4 for several months. So maybe I actually prefer the Dime and won't admit it.
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I prefer the PS4 to the Dime (due to fit and finish, size, etc.) but inexplicably have been carrying a Dime instead of the PS4 for several months. So maybe I actually prefer the Dime and won't admit it.
Sounds like you are in denial to me mate. :D
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It's good in a utilitarian sort of way. The quality isn't comparable to any leatherman I've handled, but on the flip side it's a tool you're likely to actually use. I've used the fine pliers tips to hold things I was grinding with a dremel, I certainly wouldn't do that with a Leatherman.