Gerber Crucial

damota · **Reply #30 on:** August 20, 2009, 02:07:49 PM

Quote from: J-sews on August 01, 2009, 04:43:20 AM

Ahh, very good idea sir! And the carabiner on the Crucial is a bit thick too, so I'll bet a clever person could get two blades in it's place.

Rather disappointed to find the carabiner does not lock so any other tool you try to fit in there is going to flap about. What I have decided to do is remove the thumb stud and attach a stud straight through so it can then open either hand or cut the carabiner off at the bottom and at the top just after the second rivet hole in the blade and pin both the blade and whats left of the carabiner (might need a spacer) to use the carabiner left over as a thumb stud just for me (left handed). If you see what I mean.

If I end up with the first option I will just make a washer out of the cut down carabiner.

Dave

Just an after thought any one who thinks the Crucial is a copy of the Skelitool, its the only choice if you want to use standard bits and have a tool that looks like a knife but has the ability of holding and picking things up. It also looks like a knife when closed the Skelitool looks like a small ornimental multitool however you look at it. In fact its nearest rival for me would be the Buck X-tract but although the blade is that bit better the plastic scales put me off.
The other daftd thing I think Gerber have done is produce 2 versions with just a colour difference I would have bought both if one had a straight edge and the other a serated.

David Bowen · **Reply #31 on:** August 20, 2009, 06:22:08 PM

I like it, I don't use it as much as the skeletool. Yes I do think it's a rip off of the skeletool I think though it's hard to make a minimalistic tool and have it not look like the skeletool. Yes the pliers are weak compared to the skeletool and the carabineer on the skeletool is better designed and oriented than on the crucial. I do think Gerber really did try with this one and I give them credit, it's not perfect but it's a pretty good tool. If I had the will power I would put the pliers on the crucial and on the x-tract and pin them against each other, wonder who would win. The blade steel on the x-tract is better, Buck's heat treatment is always great and I am sure the 420HC they use is better than Gerber's mystery steel. The crucial can use Gerber's proprietary bit adapter to use regular bits, not easily but it can. I really like the crucial, just wish it was a stronger tool.