Loose tools on a new Rebar!

[Mercury]

Saying the Rebar isn't good after having a bad one is a little shortsighted.  I understand first impressions are usually a big deal, but you have only dealt with one unit, whereas EVERYONE else here has been happy with theirs, at least as far as quality goes.  It might not be everyone's favorite, and it does have it's shortcomings, but I believe the majority here is more on the right track.  Try the Rebar out again, and if it's a dud the second time then you might have a better foot to stand on when claiming it isn't one of LM's better tools.

[Monrogue]

Saying the Rebar isn't good after having a bad one is a little shortsighted.  I understand first impressions are usually a big deal, but you have only dealt with one unit, whereas EVERYONE else here has been happy with theirs, at least as far as quality goes.  It might not be everyone's favorite, and it does have it's shortcomings, but I believe the majority here is more on the right track.  Try the Rebar out again, and if it's a dud the second time then you might have a better foot to stand on when claiming it isn't one of LM's better tools.

+1

[mikekoz]

      It looks like some people, like myself, got a Rebar with loose tools. Maybe some of them slipped by quality control without being properly adjusted. Several people on this thread have stated that the Rebar is not a quality tool, or it is not as good as it should be, but nobody can say why!  Has anybody ever used one for a period of time and had it fall apart? Is the knife dull? Have the pliers broke? I have not used mine yet, but it appears solid like my other Leathermans.

[Top-Gear-24]

... Several people on this thread have stated that the Rebar is not a quality tool, or it is not as good as it should be, but nobody can say why!  Has anybody ever used one for a period of time and had it fall apart? Is the knife dull? Have the pliers broke? I have not used mine yet, but it appears solid like my other Leathermans.

I was very excited about the Rebar and got myself one on the first day they were available in the local store, being a huge fan of the ST300 I thought the Rebar would give me a smaller alternative for the "bulky" ST300.  So I think I can say I really liked the concept of the Rebar and bought it with the intention of using it for EDC.   

After two days of just looking at it and taking pictures this happened ...




You can read the complete story here.

I must say I really liked it, untill it fell apart on me, and the second one I got had the problem with the handles being way of.  Anyway, I already told my story in another topic, so I won't start again here.

[Monrogue]

I also got one in its early run/batch and the handles were uneven, so I sent it back and got another one that was just right.  It sounds like a lot of these issues were during it's initial batch based on other reviews I've read at various places.  The Rebar I have has served me well in the 8 months I've had it, but I also don't really put my MTs/SAKs through much that would be considered abuse or hard use anyway, not to mention the fact that I haven't carried that exclusively as I carry other MTs as well.  I will admit that my first impression was that the knives seemed a bit thin, but they've done anything I've asked of them   It seems very solid overall to me, especially the pliers.  I've gripped and squeezed them with some considerable force just out of curiousity, and they don't flex anything like other MTs I've tried this on

[sawman]

I feel bad for those who received a bad one.  I must say that for the prices LM charge, everything should be close to Vic quality, and I'm sure it's possible, you they just need to run their company properly.  Maybe Tim LM should tour the Vic factory and take down a few notes and come back and fix LM.

[Monrogue]

I feel bad for those who received a bad one.  I must say that for the prices LM charge, everything should be close to Vic quality, and I'm sure it's possible, you they just need to run their company properly.  Maybe Tim LM should tour the Vic factory and take down a few notes and come back and fix LM.

My first Rebar was fine as well, but I'm just too anal about the handles and couldn't get past it.  However, since you mentioned Vic, I had the same handle unevenness with my Spirit.  I sent it back (Amazon) and got another that had the same problem, just not as bad as the previous one.  Then some time later, I ordered one for a facilities guy here at work and it had the same issue.  I've heard of others with this issue as well.  It bugs me, but it's not worth any more hassle to try to get it fixed. 

[Syph007]

Actually now that you mention it, one of the rivets on mine was not fully peened as well, and I had to finish the job.  The rivet that holds the part on in top gears pic above that fell off.  Thats more quality control issues, but I hope they have sorted it by now.

I havent used mine much, so now I think I'll give it a good work out and go over to make sure its all solid.  The problem with too many MTs is that they cant all be daily users.

[Monrogue]

Actually now that you mention it, one of the rivets on mine was not fully peened as well, and I had to finish the job.  The rivet that holds the part on in top gears pic above that fell off.  Thats more quality control issues, but I hope they have sorted it by now.

I havent used mine much, so now I think I'll give it a good work out and go over to make sure its all solid.  The problem with too many MTs is that they cant all be daily users.

Exactly.  I don't use mine heavily anyway, and since I have 3 primary full size MTs to rotate through for EDC, none of them are really abused in any way and haven't been truly put to the test.  But I do fiddle with them plenty and the Rebar gives me the impression that it could handle some abuse if necessary.

[Kingcollin]

leatherman makes the best multi tools. i dont care what anyone says. i just personally am not a fan of the rebar.

[captain spaulding]

My Rebar also came with a slight problem like the OP. All the tools on one side are loose and all the tools on the other side are tight. I debated sending it back, but at this point it's not worth the hassle to send it back to possibly get another in the same condition. With that said I still really enjoy my Rebar.

[mikekoz]

My Rebar also came with a slight problem like the OP. All the tools on one side are loose and all the tools on the other side are tight. I debated sending it back, but at this point it's not worth the hassle to send it back to possibly get another in the same condition. With that said I still really enjoy my Rebar.

    Were you able to adjust the tool to fix it?

[captain spaulding]

I did not even try to adjust it as I did not wan't to mar up the bolts in case I have to send it in to Leatherman. I did not wan't them to think I took it apart. If it gets worse I will most likely send it in.

[mikekoz]

... Several people on this thread have stated that the Rebar is not a quality tool, or it is not as good as it should be, but nobody can say why!  Has anybody ever used one for a period of time and had it fall apart? Is the knife dull? Have the pliers broke? I have not used mine yet, but it appears solid like my other Leathermans.

I was very excited about the Rebar and got myself one on the first day they were available in the local store, being a huge fan of the ST300 I thought the Rebar would give me a smaller alternative for the "bulky" ST300.  So I think I can say I really liked the concept of the Rebar and bought it with the intention of using it for EDC.   

After two days of just looking at it and taking pictures this happened ...




You can read the complete story here.

I must say I really liked it, untill it fell apart on me, and the second one I got had the problem with the handles being way of.  Anyway, I already told my story in another topic, so I won't start again here.

    Hmmmm...now that is disturbing! Mine seems to be OK, but that does not exactly make one confident it will hold up over time. Hopefully yours was just a fluke! 

[gustophersmob]

I feel bad for those who received a bad one.  I must say that for the prices LM charge, everything should be close to Vic quality, and I'm sure it's possible, you they just need to run their company properly.  Maybe Tim LM should tour the Vic factory and take down a few notes and come back and fix LM.

My first Rebar was fine as well, but I'm just too anal about the handles and couldn't get past it.  However, since you mentioned Vic, I had the same handle unevenness with my Spirit.  I sent it back (Amazon) and got another that had the same problem, just not as bad as the previous one.  Then some time later, I ordered one for a facilities guy here at work and it had the same issue.  I've heard of others with this issue as well.  It bugs me, but it's not worth any more hassle to try to get it fixed.

IIRC, the Spirit handles are always slightly "misaligned" due to the way they are designed.  I use misaligned in quotes, as it seems to me to be a by-product of how the handles are assembled.

As I don't have my Spirit in front of me, I may be mis-remembering, though.

Even though I didn't keep it, the Rebar was the first LM that made me seriously consider keeping it.  I still may pick up one now that they are so cheap on Amazon.  The main attraction to me is that it was the first LM that I could get the tools deployed without breaking nails, or using another tool to get them out.  I've wanted to like the wave style tools, but the stubby drivers are a non-starter for me.  Now, the Rebar philips in a Wave, that would be

[Monrogue]

I feel bad for those who received a bad one.  I must say that for the prices LM charge, everything should be close to Vic quality, and I'm sure it's possible, you they just need to run their company properly.  Maybe Tim LM should tour the Vic factory and take down a few notes and come back and fix LM.

My first Rebar was fine as well, but I'm just too anal about the handles and couldn't get past it.  However, since you mentioned Vic, I had the same handle unevenness with my Spirit.  I sent it back (Amazon) and got another that had the same problem, just not as bad as the previous one.  Then some time later, I ordered one for a facilities guy here at work and it had the same issue.  I've heard of others with this issue as well.  It bugs me, but it's not worth any more hassle to try to get it fixed.

IIRC, the Spirit handles are always slightly "misaligned" due to the way they are designed.  I use misaligned in quotes, as it seems to me to be a by-product of how the handles are assembled.

As I don't have my Spirit in front of me, I may be mis-remembering, though.

Even though I didn't keep it, the Rebar was the first LM that made me seriously consider keeping it.  I still may pick up one now that they are so cheap on Amazon.  The main attraction to me is that it was the first LM that I could get the tools deployed without breaking nails, or using another tool to get them out.  I've wanted to like the wave style tools, but the stubby drivers are a non-starter for me.  Now, the Rebar philips in a Wave, that would be

Well that would explain why I've yet to see a Spirit with evenly aligned handles.  It doesn't seem to affect anything, but it's just a visual annoyance to me.  The tools on my Rebar are somewhat tight in that they do the clumping thing, but I think that may be intentionally designed anyway.  There are no nail breakers though.  Considering how cheap they are now (almost makes me wish I'd waited a few months to get mine) I think you should give the Rebar another shot

[detron]

OK,  so I bought a Rebar a week or two ago, and I love it, but I have barely used it and the pliers are much looser than any other Leatherman I have.  With the tool open, I can hold one handle and as I slowly lean it the pliers will open and as I lean it back, they close.  super loose

[detron]

This might back up what I am trying to say

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

[Philby]

I don't like loose tools! It's dangerous to have sharp edges slipping out. Loose pliers I do like! When your using tight pliers one handed, you have to grip the top handle with your thumb and prize the bottom handle open with the back of your fingers. With loose pliers just relax the fingers the bottom handle opens and re-grab ( if this makes sense). It's why I like the gerber mp600, very usable loose pliers. 

[sawman]

I don't like loose tools! It's dangerous to have sharp edges slipping out. Loose pliers I do like! When your using tight pliers one handed, you have to grip the top handle with your thumb and prize the bottom handle open with the back of your fingers. With loose pliers just relax the fingers the bottom handle opens and re-grab ( if this makes sense). It's why I like the gerber mp600, very usable loose pliers.

I also like the mp600. It's one of Gerber's best products 

[Monrogue]

I don't like loose tools! It's dangerous to have sharp edges slipping out. Loose pliers I do like! When your using tight pliers one handed, you have to grip the top handle with your thumb and prize the bottom handle open with the back of your fingers. With loose pliers just relax the fingers the bottom handle opens and re-grab ( if this makes sense). It's why I like the gerber mp600, very usable loose pliers.

My Rebar's pliers are loose like this, and that's also the way I prefer it.  As you said, tighter pliers are more difficult to work with.  My PSTII pliers are also loose like this, as is my Spirit's and Charge AL's.  My other MTs' pliers aren't quite as loose, but not unbearably tight either.  However, my Rebar's tools are all tight and secure, which is good.

[Mercury]

I prefer my pliers to open like that.  I spend time working new tools just to get them that way.  A plier pivot that allows that type of movement out of the box is ideal.  For me at least.  Now if it allows side to side play, then that means they didn't peen the rivet to it's tolerance and it's a defect.