Leatherman QC Fails

[enki_ck]

I'd love to take a saw and chop open a faulty plier head to see whats going on in there. 

The assembly after that might be a bit tricky though.

[Syph007]

I'd love to take a saw and chop open a faulty plier head to see whats going on in there. 

The assembly after that might be a bit tricky though.

LOL its a one way peek.

[hennypenny]

Another QC fail on the latest Wave. The file and particularly the saw are now lying much deeper in the handles making them more difficult to get out. This is unacceptable for a new model. Apparently they have changed to a new press which has resulted in deeper handles. This should have been spotted and corrected before allowing to pass QC. I am thinking of cutting a small piece from a plastic clip and placing it inside the handle to prevent the saw going too deep, so I can easily get to the notch.
The date codes are now on the side.

[Metropolicity]

Another QC fail on the latest Wave. The file and particularly the saw are now lying much deeper in the handles making them more difficult to get out. This is unacceptable for a new model. Apparently they have changed to a new press which has resulted in deeper handles. This should have been spotted and corrected before allowing to pass QC. I am thinking of cutting a small piece from a plastic clip and placing it inside the handle to prevent the saw going too deep, so I can easily get to the notch.
The date codes are now on the side.

Hmmmm deeper handles may mean the rebar head can sit on the chassis along with the scissors. *think*

[AHB]

Another QC fail on the latest Wave. The file and particularly the saw are now lying much deeper in the handles making them more difficult to get out. This is unacceptable for a new model. Apparently they have changed to a new press which has resulted in deeper handles. This should have been spotted and corrected before allowing to pass QC. I am thinking of cutting a small piece from a plastic clip and placing it inside the handle to prevent the saw going too deep, so I can easily get to the notch.
The date codes are now on the side.

[Hint]Just stop biting your nails[/Hint]


 

[Mercury]

I've seen this issue with the Wave before.  I don't think it's deeper handles, as that would be a major revision requiring new stamping dies.  I believe the stops on the underside of the file and saw are being ground off too short.  At least my file on my last wave had that issue, causing the nail nick in the file to be well below it's opening.

[nuphoria]

Another QC fail on the latest Wave. The file and particularly the saw are now lying much deeper in the handles making them more difficult to get out. This is unacceptable for a new model. Apparently they have changed to a new press which has resulted in deeper handles. This should have been spotted and corrected before allowing to pass QC. I am thinking of cutting a small piece from a plastic clip and placing it inside the handle to prevent the saw going too deep, so I can easily get to the notch.
The date codes are now on the side.

Hmmmm deeper handles may mean the rebar head can sit on the chassis along with the scissors. *think*

Love your thinking

[Metropolicity]

Another QC fail on the latest Wave. The file and particularly the saw are now lying much deeper in the handles making them more difficult to get out. This is unacceptable for a new model. Apparently they have changed to a new press which has resulted in deeper handles. This should have been spotted and corrected before allowing to pass QC. I am thinking of cutting a small piece from a plastic clip and placing it inside the handle to prevent the saw going too deep, so I can easily get to the notch.
The date codes are now on the side.

Hmmmm deeper handles may mean the rebar head can sit on the chassis along with the scissors. *think*

Love your thinking

This means buying a new wave. Where to find a 2013 one for a good price.

[baja820]

When did they switch dies? My Jan. 2013 is the same as my 2012 wave..... well the frame is the same anyway.

[Dunc]

My date code is 0313 and its stamped on the inside wall of the handle.

[Maxintheuk]

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,45441.0.html

[Aped38]

The diamond file on my new Charge AL is rubbing on the inside of the handle, causing the black finish to be rubbed off. Is that acceptable?

[enki_ck]

It's pretty standard. A lot of Waves/Charges suffer from that. The liner lock pushes the file outward towards the scale and sometimes it rubs against the handle. That's why my first question in the thread about the new design changes on the Waves was if they switched sides of the file.

Some pics would help to see if it's worse than usual though.

[BigMatt]

Ok guys, just to wrap it up.
I have an unusuall problem with my LM Rebar which make it a real pain to use, there is a YT video few posts back.
I got a response from Leatherman UK:

"Hi Matt
I have spoken to our technician about your tool. He does remember your particular tool due to the fact that he was off on the day it arrived. It was put to one side for him to look at as nothing wrong could be found with it. He also found no fault. We watched your video and the problem is that you would not normally clench the tool shut without anything in the pliers. When something is grasped it will not lock up. The Rebar is completely within Leatherman specifications therefore there is nothing we can do to improve it for you. I am sorry that you are not happy with your Leatherman but unfortunately we are unable to modify it. "

And one more this week, again Whitby (I asked them what they think about my video and can they fix it maybe even for a fee):

Hi Matt,
Thank you for your email & I apologise for the delay in my reply, I’ve been away on holiday for the last week & I don’t think this was picked up by any of my colleagues.
I have spoken to our technician with regards to your Rebar & he confirmed that he tested this tool & that the pliers & blade fell within Leatherman’s specifications & therefore would not be covered under the warranty. We regret that as this is a new model we do not currently have spare parts for the Rebar so we would not be able to replace them for you at cost either. We would advise using some lubricant such as WD40, CRC, 3-in-One or vegetable oil on the pivot areas for the knife & pliers & these should loosen up with use.

Everybody is entitled to his own opinion...
Now the real flower. After two weeks of emailing Leatherman US (warranty and sales) with this:

"Hi there.
Could you have a look at this video:
http://www.youtube...
I would like to know your opinion on this issue. Apparently there is quite few rebars like that out there (there is a thread about this on multitool org) and we are curious what is your opinion. You might also take it as a fedback/field test from your devoted customers :-)
Kind regards"

Till this day I had no response what so ever...
I have been selling Leatherman along with it's service to anybody. Friends, family, coworkers, bushcraftuk, knives.pl, tactical.pl and few other forums. Each single contact with them over the last 10 years was mindblowing excellent.
Apparently you are a valued customer until you start asking uncomfortable questions... And over a stupid Rebar?
I will still use lm stuff, but butterflies in my chest have been replaced by a deep "sigh"...

[3rdpig]

I just got a new Rebar yesterday and it has none of the problems mentioned here, the pliers don't lock up like BigMatt's, the tools aren't loose and the little spring inside isn't loose.  However, when closed the halves don't line up very well, they're about 1/8" off. 

Every single Juice I've owned, and I've owned about 5, have had the same problem with the halves not lining up when closed.  I sent the first Juice back after another problem with it occurred and they sent me a replacement that didn't line up either, so since then I haven't bothered. 

Yea, it would be nice to see Vic QC come to Leatherman, or at least a step in that direction.

That being said, I really like the Rebar.

[Sazabi]

I just got a new Rebar yesterday and it has none of the problems mentioned here, the pliers don't lock up like BigMatt's, the tools aren't loose and the little spring inside isn't loose.  However, when closed the halves don't line up very well, they're about 1/8" off. 

Every single Juice I've owned, and I've owned about 5, have had the same problem with the halves not lining up when closed.  I sent the first Juice back after another problem with it occurred and they sent me a replacement that didn't line up either, so since then I haven't bothered. 

Yea, it would be nice to see Vic QC come to Leatherman, or at least a step in that direction.

That being said, I really like the Rebar.

For Juices, only the Kf4 has symmetrically thick halves; all other models have different thicknesses to the sides, which might make it appear not lined up.

[Metropolicity]

For Juices, only the Kf4 has symmetrically thick halves; all other models have different thicknesses to the sides, which might make it appear not lined up.

I believe the xe6 is even too, but the corkscrew makes it feel uneven.

[AimlessWanderer]

For Juices, only the Kf4 has symmetrically thick halves; all other models have different thicknesses to the sides, which might make it appear not lined up.

I believe the xe6 is even too, but the corkscrew makes it feel uneven.

  ... I can't remember as it's been a while since I let my XE6 go, but the CS4 if definitely uneven, and I thought the file and serrated blade was the same thickness, which would mean the XE6 has the same offset, This is unless they compensated for it at the factory, in which case why not do it with them all?

[Metropolicity]

For Juices, only the Kf4 has symmetrically thick halves; all other models have different thicknesses to the sides, which might make it appear not lined up.

I believe the xe6 is even too, but the corkscrew makes it feel uneven.

  ... I can't remember as it's been a while since I let my XE6 go, but the CS4 if definitely uneven, and I thought the file and serrated blade was the same thickness, which would mean the XE6 has the same offset, This is unless they compensated for it at the factory, in which case why not do it with them all?

It's all about the awl or the can opener, that offsets the handles. Drives me nuts.

I'll never use a 'factory' Juice again...ahem.

[enki_ck]

[3rdpig]

For Juices, only the Kf4 has symmetrically thick halves; all other models have different thicknesses to the sides, which might make it appear not lined up.

True, and I can live with that, but even then you'd think they'd halfway line up, either one side of each half, or the smaller half sitting in the middle of the bigger one.  But it's never like that.  But it's not a big deal, specially on the Juice. 

The Rebar shouldn't be this far off though.  But I'm willing to live with it since it's otherwise perfect.

I'm betting it's a simple matter of loosening the nuts on the pliers end, repositioning the handles and then tightening the nuts back up.  Simple that is if I had a tool to fit the knurled nuts, or was willing to go out to the garage on a 110 degree day and make one.  But I don't and I won't.   

[bounding star]

Rise old thread! RISE!!
Ok, my file won't lock in on my wave. On closer inspection, the bump on the outside of the liner lock is half worn off from about 2 days of use from when I first got the wave new. Not only that, but the small hole in the file that the ball fits into to keep it locked in is far to small to fit the ball, so my file will open up whenever my wave is moved fast enough. Now I'm assuming the design of the hole and the ball are intentionally like that, but i cannot see how that is supposed to work, and the ball was pretty much ground like it is now from when i opened the box. the pictures are taken at pretty much the same distance so it should give you an idea of how much smaller the hole is.

[JAfromMn]

Surge blade play
Ps4 sloppy tools

[Mercury]

Rise old thread! RISE!!
Ok, my file won't lock in on my wave. On closer inspection, the bump on the outside of the liner lock is half worn off from about 2 days of use from when I first got the wave new. Not only that, but the small hole in the file that the ball fits into to keep it locked in is far to small to fit the ball, so my file will open up whenever my wave is moved fast enough. Now I'm assuming the design of the hole and the ball are intentionally like that, but i cannot see how that is supposed to work, and the ball was pretty much ground like it is now from when i opened the box. the pictures are taken at pretty much the same distance so it should give you an idea of how much smaller the hole is.

This problem is exactly why the Wave and I never got along well.

[pingu]

Rise old thread! RISE!!
Ok, my file won't lock in on my wave. On closer inspection, the bump on the outside of the liner lock is half worn off from about 2 days of use from when I first got the wave new. Not only that, but the small hole in the file that the ball fits into to keep it locked in is far to small to fit the ball, so my file will open up whenever my wave is moved fast enough. Now I'm assuming the design of the hole and the ball are intentionally like that, but i cannot see how that is supposed to work, and the ball was pretty much ground like it is now from when i opened the box. the pictures are taken at pretty much the same distance so it should give you an idea of how much smaller the hole is.

Both the file and saw on my Wave have similarly "small" depressions compared with the bump OD.  The saw is retained closed, my file is now reversed in a knife slot.  Can't say I noticed a retention issue NIB.   I have a LM opener tool in the other knife slot.  I ground a depression of a similar OD to the bump and it closes with quite a satisfying click and the liner lock sits flush with the tool face.  Planning on grinding larger depressions all round when some tooling arrives.

I'm baffled whether the small depressions are by design or a QC fail.

[pingu]

I was studying my Wave bit changer while considering this post...

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=57011


I have added a 3D Phillips to my Wave but retained the bit changer and normally have the #0/#3 bit from the Bit Adapter kit installed.

http://www.leatherman.com/931012.html

I noticed the spring was not engaging the bit with #0 deployed (OK the other way).  Then I noticed some weirdness at the #3 end.  Can't be intended as not shown on the LM pic.    If I'd noticed this on receipt I'd have returned it to Amazon.

[bounding star]

Just got a new Style CS, the nice little holes in the blade were missing. Not a real problem, but i liked those holes...

[dks]

assuming that this was an one-off and they have not just changed the way they make the blades it may be of interest to collectors.

[zoidberg]

Just got a new Style CS, the nice little holes in the blade were missing. Not a real problem, but i liked those holes...
(Image removed from quote.)

Could you please post a pic that shows the nail nick side of the blade.

[enki_ck]

Just got a new Style CS, the nice little holes in the blade were missing. Not a real problem, but i liked those holes...
(Image removed from quote.)

Could you please post a pic that shows the nail nick side of the blade.

Yup, interested to see it too. You tried to link to your dropbox, but as the picture isn't in your public folder we can't see it without your password. Try moving it to the public folder or using Photobucket or attaching the picture to your post in the reply window +Attachments and other options