Leatherman Free Series

[Sea Monster]

I suspect the file will be, as we say in the cinema industry "universally panned"

I'm very interested to see the awl/screwdriver in action - It seems unworkable to me - I can use my Swiss awls to ream out small bits of timber or plastic. I feel that with the "screwdriver tip" this concept will be limited in use, but perhaps the side of it will act as a bit of a "blade saver" for unsavoury tasks...

To address AW's question, just on marketing pictures alone - I would consider the K4 or K2 (or maybe a T4) "theoretically" as a carry - but since I can buy a freestyle + style, or even a Skeletool + that Skeletool knife thing for less, I'd be unlikely to on function alone.

If, big *If*, the blade and handle ergonomics were particularly good - on par with dedicated knife making competitors, I might spring for it - or I might not.

I recently handled a Ruike knife, and though it was only for a bit of a fiddle, I was pretty impressed - and their range of multifunctional knives is pretty decent, and much more price competitive than LM.

https://ruikeknives.ca/product-category/multi-functional-knives/

[gerleatherberman]

Deja Vu.

[Monrogue]

+1 on both.

+2

[gerleatherberman]

Hi MUltitool.org followers,

I just received my Free P4 today. So it is still a little early to do a review of the tool. I will stick to initial observations instead.

Starting with the pliers. They seem to be of the same quality and strength class as you would find in the surge. Any flex I found was in the handle when squeezing. I detected no flex in the jaws or pivot. Opening the handless and the pliers click into place with a satisfying click. There is a notch in which the pliers click into when opened. I will be keeping an eye on this area. I do like the pivot bolts for the plier heads and wish they would have used a similar set up for the individual tools.

The handles are nice and comfortable with a nice radiused edge. I do like the texture on the raised panel and I think many of you will like it. One comment on the individual tool release is that it will dig into the meat of your hand if you are squeezing the handle hard.

Moving on to the individual tools. The main non serrated blade is easy to open. It has a nice hollow grind with good length. The scissors are good, but prefer the Surge scissors to these. The Philips and Large Flat Head Screwdriver are nice as well. On the other side is the saw which is good. The serrated blade with a tanto type point to match the saw. Initial impression of the serrated blade is that I would have preferred a full size file to this. Your mileage may vary if you use a serrated blade a lot. Can opener is good and no complaints there. The awl does double duty as a small Flat Head Screwdriver. I would have preferred a awl like the surge. The medium Flat Head Screwdriver has CM and an inch rule later etch on it. The file is small and is limited due to size constraints due to the placement Leatherman chose for it. I had no issue with using the lock. I found the individual tools easy to deploy.

The biggest thing with the new tool will be developing muscle memory to easily deploy all the tools. I would say overall I am happy with the new P4 and look forward to using it in the coming weeks and months ahead.

Please note: these are my initial observations after just receiving my new P4.

JonesE

Awesome information, JonesE!

Welcome to the MT madhouse! Heck of a way to begin a membership. 

[aussieman]

In this video our Russian friend measures the width as

P2 = 15.8mm
P4 = 17.1mm

That can’t be right can it? You can’t do a blade plus spacer in 1.3mm 

See 19m:21s 

[gerleatherberman]

In this video our Russian friend measures the width as

P2 = 15.8mm
P4 = 17.1mm

That can’t be right can it? You can’t do a blade plus spacer in 1.3mm 

See 19m:21s 

Don't know about the thickness stuff yet, but those things look like the fit & finish is outstanding. Possibly superior to the SwissTools.

[Gareth]

In this video our Russian friend measures the width as

P2 = 15.8mm
P4 = 17.1mm

That can’t be right can it? You can’t do a blade plus spacer in 1.3mm 

See 19m:21s 

Not unless the P2 has some extra padding that can be removed perhaps?   

[glkllnpg]

Received my LM Free P4 Friday (4/19). came in a new (to me) styled box and included a Leatherman logo sticker. I was secretly hoping for an added bonus to commemorate the new Free line of tools ie a tin box, a fancy certificate, a tee-shirt, etc, but will have to be satisfied with the sticker. When it came to slicing through the small plastic seal on the retail box, I just couldn't do it. This one goes into the collection a virgin. Ordered a second P4 tonight - hopefully it arrives as quickly as the first.

[gerleatherberman]

 
We need answers! Let the next one be a virgin! Tear it apart! 

J/K of course. Maybe.

[an0nemus]

Hi MUltitool.org followers,

I just received my Free P4 today. So it is still a little early to do a review of the tool. I will stick to initial observations instead.

Starting with the pliers. They seem to be of the same quality and strength class as you would find in the surge. Any flex I found was in the handle when squeezing. I detected no flex in the jaws or pivot. Opening the handless and the pliers click into place with a satisfying click. There is a notch in which the pliers click into when opened. I will be keeping an eye on this area. I do like the pivot bolts for the plier heads and wish they would have used a similar set up for the individual tools.

The handles are nice and comfortable with a nice radiused edge. I do like the texture on the raised panel and I think many of you will like it. One comment on the individual tool release is that it will dig into the meat of your hand if you are squeezing the handle hard.

Moving on to the individual tools. The main non serrated blade is easy to open. It has a nice hollow grind with good length. The scissors are good, but prefer the Surge scissors to these. The Philips and Large Flat Head Screwdriver are nice as well. On the other side is the saw which is good. The serrated blade with a tanto type point to match the saw. Initial impression of the serrated blade is that I would have preferred a full size file to this. Your mileage may vary if you use a serrated blade a lot. Can opener is good and no complaints there. The awl does double duty as a small Flat Head Screwdriver. I would have preferred a awl like the surge. The medium Flat Head Screwdriver has CM and an inch rule later etch on it. The file is small and is limited due to size constraints due to the placement Leatherman chose for it. I had no issue with using the lock. I found the individual tools easy to deploy.

The biggest thing with the new tool will be developing muscle memory to easily deploy all the tools. I would say overall I am happy with the new P4 and look forward to using it in the coming weeks and months ahead.

Please note: these are my initial observations after just receiving my new P4.

JonesE

Thanks for your initial impressions.

I saw this in my Facebook feed a few days ago. Is your Free as wiggly as this these handles?

[gerleatherberman]

That is an inherent problem with most MTs with outboard tools. See the Spirit does the dance just as nicely.




The opening for the pliers to sink into removes a lot of structural strength. But, that said, it doesn't usually impede the function. I have beaten on a Gerber Suspension NXT(in addition to the Spirit) pretty hard and the flexing hasn't been a real problem.

[NetsNJ]

Don't understand all the negativity, I think these tools look pretty sweet. 

Fidget factor looks even better than a Swisstool.

The small file is a bummer though.  Would rather have a long file in exchange for scissors or serrated blade. 

One pet peeves is the shape of the saw on the p4.  It looks like the cutting edge could have been longer given the corner on top.  But maybe there is a reason structurally for this that I can't see.

Will wait a while for price to drop though. 

[Top-Gear-24]

That is an inherent problem with most MTs with outboard tools. See the Spirit does the dance just as nicely.




The opening for the pliers to sink into removes a lot of structural strength. But, that said, it doesn't usually impede the function. I have beaten on a Gerber Suspension NXT(in addition to the Spirit) pretty hard and the flexing hasn't been a real problem.

The YouTube clips showing the handle play like that are usually the worst cases.  I mean, none of my Spirits flex like that, and my Swisstools seem to have even less flex.  Same goes for handle flex on my ST300 and Rebar, seen some terrifying stuff on the net but in reality things were never as bad as that.

So I'm guessing (hoping) that video of the P4 was also one of the extreme cases, if you know what I mean.

[JonesE]

So I went and checked my P4 for the handle flex that was shown it the video that was posted. Yes, mine does have flex but I must say the person that was doing the video must be really trying to emphasis the flex. I n normal day to day use you won’t experience this this this degree. Keep in mind the handle is held in place by the screws that hold in pliers and the individual tools. The handles are 2 pieces. This contributes to the flex. The wave and surge for example has the stamped handle and has much less flex.

Thanks for all the warm welcome guys.

JonesE

[Poncho65]

If you want to start putting your feedback in this thread it may be a good place to keep all the info

https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,81316.0.html

Also thanks for more feedback about your one, Jones

[gerleatherberman]

The YouTube clips showing the handle play like that are usually the worst cases.  I mean, none of my Spirits flex like that, and my Swisstools seem to have even less flex.  Same goes for handle flex on my ST300 and Rebar, seen some terrifying stuff on the net but in reality things were never as bad as that.

So I'm guessing (hoping) that video of the P4 was also one of the extreme cases, if you know what I mean.

Sorry, T-G. I should have mentioned that the Spirit clip is mine. And I only posted it, because I can make all four of my SwissTools wiggle like that. But, as I said, that kind of movement doesn't mean anything negative for real-world use. The guy doing that to his Free was probably trying pretty hard to make it do that, possibly for trolling reasons. I can't imagine that being easy if the screws were optimally tightened.
And that being the case, I should add that any MT can be flexed like that with enough hand strength. MTs with outboard tools are just easier to do it to.

[gregpost]

A third party seller called netrush has put the Leatherman P2 and P4 on Amazon for order.

[Monrogue]

A third party seller called netrush has put the Leatherman P2 and P4 on Amazon for order.

That’s where I ordered my P2

[gerleatherberman]

I would have had my Free tools by now if I had waited to order on Amazon.
Leatherman's UPS shipping is always slow as smurf.

[genevabuck]

I would have had my Free tools by now if I had waited to order on Amazon.
Leatherman's UPS shipping is always slow as smurf.

Yes it is. The one thing that I don’t get about LM is that you can get their tools cheaper and faster from their distributors. You would think that there would be an advantage to cutting out the middle man.

My P4 has apparently arrived. On my home to open the mail.

[gerleatherberman]

Yes it is. The one thing that I don’t get about LM is that you can get their tools cheaper and faster from their distributors. You would think that there would be an advantage to cutting out the middle man.

My P4 has apparently arrived. On my home to open the mail.

Indeed. I only bought mine on LM's site, because I randomly woke up too early that morning at 4am and ordered them half-asleep. 

 
Can't wait to see what you think about it. 

[parnass]

...The one thing that I don’t get about LM is that you can get their tools cheaper and faster from their distributors. You would think that there would be an advantage to cutting out the middle man.  ...

Manufacturers don't want to undercut their dealers.  Otherwise, they would have difficulty finding dealers to sell their products.

[gadgetman7]

I unexpectedly received a P4 as a gift today. I’ll post my impressions in the other thread but I’ll say I’m not all that impressed with the current setup however this could be a fantastic tool. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AimlessWanderer]

So as to not mess up the other thread, I'll put this here.

Looks like the Free is much better than the scrooges presumed(with no intention of buying) and asserted. 



With all of the positive comments and reviews out there so far, we can already see the Free P2/P4 are far better than the haters want them to be. Personally, I am eagerly waiting for mine to arrive now.

Really? Anyone who doesn't want to buy one is a scrooge, and wants it to be bad? Behave! 

So far ONE of my concerns has been alleviated, and it doesn't appear the scissors are stowed with the spring under tension. It looks like it's more like the Wingman scissors, and the spring is only under tension when the scissors are locked out. I'm happy that concern was unwarranted.

I don't want it to be bad. I don't want users to struggle to access recessed screws. I don't want the main gripping radius interrupted. I don't want people injuring themself when the pry/tool package opener slips in use, or because the awls pops out of the handle because they gripped it wrong.

I'm not a scrooge because I don't want to buy a VERY expensive tool which has what I consider design weaknesses. Disposable income aside, I buy tools which I consider will give me an advantage over other tools I hope to improve on. If the new tool doesn't give me said advantage, and the old one looks better, I'll share why I think that.

I'm not a hater. Neither are the others in this thread who are unimpressed. I own almost as many Leatherman tools as Gerbers. In this thread, I have highlighted where earlier Leatherman tools have an advantage over this one, and stood in defence of the Wingman when others criticised it. Many people who don't like this tool, are otherwise long term supporters of the company. Most of them probably own more LMs than I do.

You call me out for criticising the tool, and then bad mouth those who don't like what you like  I absolutely respect your views on the tool GLBM, even if I don't agree with them  and genuinely hope you are happy with your purchase. It's not for me, and I'll not be buying (it's not bad BECAUSE I'm not buying), but that doesn't make me, or anyone else, a bad person 

[gerleatherberman]

I never claimed anyone was a bad person for making assertions. What gets me so heated sometimes is the relentless reasoning of why something is bad, without any intention of buying/using one. Asserting why something isn't good is fine, but doing so many many many many many times, with each time being nearly identical to the previous, is frustrating to me. I hope it doesn't feel disrespectful on my part. It is definitely not meant to be so.

[Top-Gear-24]

Since we, the ones that don't own a Free (or haven't ordered one yet) are not allowed in the other topic I'll say what's on my mind in this one ...

Some people are taking their love for the Leatherman brand way too serious and are, maybe unintentionally, being rude at whoever even dares to show some criticism on the brand or one of its tools.  I've only seen this happen here on one or two other occasions in the past, and both times with the same brand.

It has to be the first time that I know here at MTO that you're only allowed to join a conversation if you can "prove" that you own that specific tool, and that you're not allowed to show your opinion or doubts on a tool design without owning the tool. And once all negative opinions are filtered out, it's time to say "With all of the positive comments and reviews out there so far, we can already see the Free P2/P4 are far better than the haters want them to be".

Really ?  Haters ?

I don't see any haters here, never have ...  But I do see a specific fan base getting a bit too fanatical at times (in my view).

The way I see it, some of the biggest Leatherman fans live outside the U.S., because not many people in the U.S. would pay what we have to cough up here.  And even with the insane prices I still own a lot of them, after having spend so much cash on one of my favorite brands (Yes, I'm a huge Leatherman fan, always have, always will) it hurts to be called a hater (not in person, but it could be implied to anyone who had something negative to say here ...)

It's not my intention to heat things up here, I just wanted to share my concerns about this and I hope the mods can step in and clear the air a bit ...

Greetings,

Eric "TG-24"

Edit: Just noticed that somebody else already said what I wanted to say (and he did a better job than me  ).  That's what you get when you have to translate stuff in your mind before you can write it down ... too late ... 

[AimlessWanderer]

What gets me so heated sometimes is the relentless reasoning of why something is bad, without any intention of buying/using one.

  If someone (or in this case, many people) feel the need to be so vociferous about a tool, why would they have any intention of buying or using it

I do understand your position to some extent. The forum has at times been awash with people saying the Dime is an atrocious waste of metal, when they in many cases never owned one. I've had one on my keys since they were released, and it's not faltered once, whereas my Style PS has been replaced twice, and I refuse to send it back in a third time. That's their view though, and they're no less entitled to share that, than I am to say "mine's been great"

For what it's worth, my views on the Free line have evolved. How secure the closed retention is, was a late concern for me. I now feel that the non-plier tools may be a very worthwhile thing to try for fans of locking blades who want a few extra features, and seem to offer better value for money. I still won't be buying those, but only because I don't carry locking folders (I reach for a fixed blade instead), and not due to anything brand related 

I hope I shouldn't in your view be excluded from every discussing the tool again, because i've already said bad thing about it. I look forward to hearing your views when yours arrives 

[McStitchy]

Sorry gerleatherberman,
I did raise an eyebrow slightly for a millisecond when I read your comment in the other thread.
I don't take it personally 

Gadgetman7 made a very nice review there and apart from the pliers and the scissors I do not see any improvement to the Wave or Surge that would convince me yet (personally).

It appears that the tools can open when the pliers snap closed. I'd rather not have that new magnet-tool-opening feature then.

And I must add that I simply cannot afford buying one to just try it out myself. Instead I will keep monitoring yours and others comments and maybe start saving for Christmas 

I highly value your thoughts on your P4 when you have it 

[SteveC]

Let's make one thing clear , anyone can post in any thread here on MTO. 

[gerleatherberman]

I want to apologize for my agitation in regards to all of this. I got caught up in wanting something new to be really good. I cannot justify my childish behavior, and will not try.