The Wingman has been shot down!

[Gareth]

Octane is pretty close in terms of size and tools, even has a pocket clip, though lacks the scissors.  Not sure it is going to be any more rust resistant though.

[Syph007]

I can't say all leathermans rust either.  I can only speak from my experience.  I own about 10 of them total, but have only ever EDC'd 3 of them, the skeletool CX, Juice S2, Wave.  The juice and wave both developed rust, the skeletool never did.  I work in an office so my EDC environment is far from harsh.   

I still like leathermans though, and what I might try next is to do a mirror polish on all the parts of my wave I can and try EDCing it again to see if that helps.

[Gareth]

I have to say that I've never had any issues with rusting LM's either, and I've never exactly 'babied' my tools.  The neglect and outright abuse by original Supertool went through is pretty embarrassing in hindsight.  

[Gryffin]

Maybe a good suggestion would be to give all Leatherman multi tools a spray of Birchwood Casey Sheath gun oil as a good rust preventative going forward. Works on gun barrels, why not the Wingman?

I think that would be good practice for any tool exposed to harsh conditions. Multitools are especially problematic because of all the moving parts and tight spaces between, perfect places for corrosion to develop.

Maybe that's why I haven't had rust problems with mine, I keep all the joints well lubricated, not just when it feels like they need it. That's how I was taught to keep slipjoint knives properly maintained, now it's just habit.

Remember, what's commonly called "stainless steel" is actually "corrosion resistant steel," in fact back in my aerospace days it was referred to as CReS, not stainless. Under the right circumstances, any steel can corrode, that's just how iron-based alloys roll.

[Chako]

It definitely depends on where you live as well. I live in the Great Lakes region and never  had any issues with rust on any MT.

[Mercury]

I just get so sick of seeing Leatherman bashed by users here saying "Leatherman's rust, shoulda bought a Vic".  That's akin to saying "A gerber pinched me once, I'll never buy another".

I'm with Merc. I've carried just about every multitool in christendom at one time or another, and have never seen red rust like that on ANY Leatherman. The closest I got was the first time I took my PST fishing in salt water, where it was repeatedly wetted with salt water (disgorging hooks, cutting bait, snipping line), then backed dry in the sun. And even then, it didn't rust red, it got a white oxidation instead, and a dark staining that I never got rid of.

I know the Wingman is a budget priced tool, but that kid of rust tells me there's carbon steel in those pivots somewhere, and if true, that would be disappointing.

Def, I appreciate your unique circumstances. Maybe something in TiNi or other coating would be a good idea.

I agree- I don't want to perpetuate the rumor that Leathermans rust, but the fact is, this Leatherman did rust.  However, it was also under fairly wet conditions.  Does that make it ok?  Not for my needs.  Does that mean it could happen to someone else?  Yes.  Does that mean it will happen to everyone else?  Not necessarily.

As for a new vest tool, I will think about it but the Wingman will probably ride with me for another day or two simply because I have been far too busy at work to stop and consider other options.  I have just finished three sixteen hour days in a row, and I'm off to do what will hopefully only be eight hours or so...  Def's brain is mushier than usual right now... oh yeah, and it's raining...

Def

My thoughts exactly.  Again, sorry your tool rusted Boss, but it's good info for the MT community regardless.  Now we know the Wingman can't really handle an extreme Salty/wet environment. 

[chris777]

Wow those first 2 pics look like you sat it in a puddle and left it for a few weeks to rot.

Unfortunately LM just seems to be going downhill in the quality department.

My first genuine LM was the original wave which was impressive comparted to the gerber and knock off I had previouslly owned.

then I got a juice and was disapointed in the file.

I recently came across some old school PST's and have been frankly shocked at the craftsmanship. ther files are amazing. I love the diamond files don't get me wrong, but those original pst files are things of beauty. I got a busted one and was given a beat up bent blast as a warrantly replacement, and of course the file on that is dissapointing.

Given the market of killing the throwaway knock offs , I'm not surprised they went with cheap steel, but like many other companies do, I question whether or not the few cents they saved going that cheap, might have been better spent on better quality steel, and a couple of bucks higher price tag.

Then again they do have the full warranty, and maybe that was their thinking. 

[Mercury]

I agree with the PST files, the ones on all of my PST's were top notch.  And coming from me that is good, I own about 30 files for specific purposes(a few years in a machine shop you begin to accumulate them) and I am very critical of them.  My Charge has a great file, but for a second cut or single cut file, the most precise I've seen was on a 98 PST. 

That's one thing about the Rebar that disappointed me.  While the cut on the file is very aggressive and it removes metal well, the file itself is very thin and flexes too easily, and the shape of the file is simply illogical.  I can see no reason to make it that shape other than to match the profile of the saw, which also could have done with a better profile.  The file and saw on the blast were great in terms of length and profile. 

[turnsouth]

Why do I keep thinking of this...



 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I don't know. The Wingman didn't break my heart- in fact I really didn't care for it. I preferred the Sidekick overall and only carried the Wingman for the scissors. 

Def

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

[Gareth]

So the question is; if the Wingman isn't suitable, what are you going to carry in stead?

[sawman]

So the question is; if the Wingman isn't suitable, what are you going to carry in stead?

A chainsaw 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm really not certain yet.  I've been running around so much over the last few days that I haven't even taken the Wingman out of my vest yet.  I think I may try the Octane, but I usually like to keep it handy for a lightweight EDC when I'm in shorts, plus I'd probably miss the scissors.  The Freestyle and Skeletool are out for largely the same reasons, although I suppose that scissors may not be that important since I usually have my Compact witrh me as well.

As much as I hate to add fuel to the Leatherman VS Vic debate I think a Spirit would be my only real option.  I may try a Pocket Power Plier ot Paratool though.

Def

[scrappy]

Why not a wave, Def?
I guess utah is prime realestate for multitools. I have never had a leatherman rust on me. and I have even gone swimming with one.  Pretty dry here.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I only have one Wave and it's an older one.  I might consider a 2004 Wave but I have to wonder about whether or not I want to stick another Leatherman into the line of fire like that.  I might be a bit more upset if a better quality tool rusted like that- not to say a higher end Leatherman would rust mind you, just wondering whether I want to risk another one or switch to another tool entirely.

Def

[AimlessWanderer]

... not fuelling the Leatherman vs dihydrogen oxide arguement ...  ... I think a Wave would suffer, purely due to your working environment. So would an Octane though or any other "normal" tool probably. Favourites I'd have thought would be coated tools or highly polished ones .... which you might need to use with wet hands  I can see why the Zilla worked out for you

I'm interested to find out what you end up with 

[turnsouth]

... I think a Wave would suffer, purely due to your working environment.

I also think that the Wave would suffer greatly in this environment.

As much as I hate to add fuel to the Leatherman VS Vic debate I think a Spirit would be my only real option.

I was thinking the Spirit might be the right choice also, but it must taken into consideration that one of the few things known to harm a Vic is putting it away wet and salty...

[Dunc]

Thats bad luck Grant  I have a nice story along these lines but will give full details in a separate thread but it involves a lost knife that was at the bottom of a bag of wet rope for nine months.

At work I carry a wave on my belt but it gets covered up with clothing in the rain but I carry a Vic 111mm on my lifejacket in all weathers with no rust problems at all.

Dunc

[mtool78]

Would be nice to see how it looks if you would diassemble it and wipe the rust of with some cloth and oil - what I'm after is to check if it's mostly aesthetic thing or is there a more serious damage done or starting to happen.

[Mercury]

I have to agree that a Wave probably isn't the right choice either.  There aren't many tools that can handle that kind of weather.

[Gryffin]

I wonder, if Leatherman did a run of one of their more popular tools in H-1, specifically for hostile environments, what they would sell 'em for? 

[Dunc]

A multitool made out of H-1 would be good if your not worried about scratches as you only have to look at it and its covered in them lol

Heres a link to my thread on some serious rust resistance http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,38051.0.html

[Grant Lamontagne]

Would be nice to see how it looks if you would diassemble it and wipe the rust of with some cloth and oil - what I'm after is to check if it's mostly aesthetic thing or is there a more serious damage done or starting to happen.

At this point it's a surface rust thing but if you look at the photos of the blade you can see that there are spots of corrosion that aren't near an edge, corner etc.  That kind of rust is eating away at metal.  If I clean it off now (which I am planning to do in the very near future) it will leave some scars on the blade which will be visible forever but won't affect the function.  If I don't do anything about it the rust will eventually eat through the blade like it was an old fender.

As for the rest of it, the tools are most likely OK but the pivots are where most of the rust is coming from and I'd hate to be putting pressure on a screwdriver or something some time and have the weakened pivot give way.  That happened to me once with a SAK knockoff and it wasn't fun or pretty.

Def

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

[mtool78]

...but the pivots are where most of the rust is coming from and I'd hate to be putting pressure on a screwdriver or something some time and have the weakened pivot give way. 

Yep. My guess would be that there is some problem with two different steel types which causes corrosion for a part that works as a anode - would be nice to see which one is that part.

[Accujohn]

Just let the oxidation spread, then heat it up until the rusty color turns black then sell it as a tactical;)

[Mercury]

Just let the oxidation spread, then heat it up until the rusty color turns black then sell it as a tactical;)

 


Good to see you AJ.

[ScrewsBeatRivets]

I've taken apart and reassembled almost every single model of Leatherman. Personally, I can tell why the price point on the Wingman/Sidekicks are so cheap. They're Leatherman quality, but only just.

• The front pieces (that have the Wingman/Leatherman logo), are super thin pieces of metal.
  The washers are NOT keyed like in the Wave/Charge/and even Blasts
  There aren't washers between all the functions
  There's a plastic washer (not that big a deal)
  For some reason, the polish is not nearly as good as on their other tools. It bothers me.

That said, the spring loaded pliers are awesome.

[Dunc]

I didn't realise there was any plastic washers in there , I know there's a bronze/brass type washer under the one handed blades like the wave . Where are the plastic ones located ?

[Dunc]

Grant any news yet on the Wingmans replacement ? I'm really interested to know if this level of corrosion is specific to the Wingman/sidekick platform or would there be similar results with the rest of the Leatherman range in the conditions you are using them in.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Not yet Dunc- it has basically come down to either the SOG Power Plier, Gerber Octane or the SwissTool Spirit.  The Spirit or the SOG are going to need my last eClipse attached to them though, and I hate to use it and realize hoe much I wish I'd used it on something else! 

The Octane is in the Jeep now- it'll probably be the next test subject.  As for the Wingman, it hasn't been cleaned yet- I'll probably put it aside in a drawer at home with some desiccant so the rust doesn't continue to develop so that it's fresh for comparison shots when/if the next candidate goes down.

Def