Gerber Armbar Owners Club

[McStitchy]

 

[Wessaen]

After waiting for 27 days for my order to ship (plenty of time to read the reviews) I cancelled my order for the Armbar Drive. As annoying as it was for the CS reps to continually tell me to just to wait another few days I guess I now have to thank them for saving me money.

Oh well. Like many others here I guess I'll wait for 2.0 to come out in another year or two. Or just buy it on the cheap from evilbay if it flops.

-Wes.

[SirVicaLot]

Wow, 27 days is a long time to wait for the tool to ship 

[smiller43147]

Looks like they just showed up on Drop (formerly Massdrop): https://drop.com/buy/gerber-armbar-cork-and-drive-multitools?utm_placement=0&referer=GVYAK5&mode=guest_open&utm_campaign=Automated%20Daily%20Promotional%202020-03-08&utm_source=SparkPost&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Daily%20Promotional&utm_content=1583663703139.297840189730347480974542

[Kev D]

My Armbar Drive arrived yesterday.  Initial impression, I like the blade, back spring is far too weak on the other tool side and the scissors are rubbish.  Its impossible to cut even paper with the end of the scissors and you can only use the back 10mm of them near the pivot.  The fixed blade on the scissors has way to much curve on it so I think with a slight tweak it will improve them. If not a small set of victorinox might fit.

Pics to follow along with a usage review after I've carried and used it for a while.  I need to test the screwdriver to see how easy it is to snap shut on fingers.

[magentus]

 

Seems a shame that such a good idea and tool set has been poorly executed

[SirVicaLot]

Looking forward to your thoughts about it, Kev 

[Max Stone]

Thanks for the feedback Kev - I wonder just how many of the design weaknesses could be addressed by modding? 

You could then post it back to Gerber to show them what they should have built... 

[Happy Gilmore]

Thanks for the feedback Kev - I wonder just how many of the design weaknesses could be addressed by modding? 

You could then post it back to Gerber to show them what they should have built... 

For me the one thing I cant easily mod away are the scissors, and not having a lock on the awl/driver is a big issue. But then again Its possible that the scissors are exchangeable with the plier based varieties?

[Poncho65]

Seems a shame that such a good idea and tool set has been poorly executed

  I was really wanting one of these and if they make a 2.0 I will wait for that

[ElevenBlade]

For me the one thing I cant easily mod away are the scissors, and not having a lock on the awl/driver is a big issue. But then again Its possible that the scissors are exchangeable with the plier based varieties?

With a minimalist tool set, I would need the scissors to be in better shape - so that's disappointing.  What the use of buying a tool when you have to mod most of it.   

[SirVicaLot]

  With a little bit more R&D this could have been great. What I don‘t get are the scissors. Gerber is part of Fiskars after all. 

[magentus]

With a little bit more R&D this could have been great. What I don‘t get are the scissors. Gerber is part of Fiskars after all. 

It's crazy making isn't it? The Fiskars scissors are great - why not just bung them in the Armbar?

[SirVicaLot]

It's crazy making isn't it? The Fiskars scissors are great - why not just bung them in the Armbar?

No idea. Maybe downsizing them is not that easy. But then, even the scissors on the Suspension are better than the ones on the Armbar 

[magentus]

Heinnie Haynes are asking 55 quid for the Armbar in their newsletter!   

[Kev D]

Heinnie Haynes are asking 55 quid for the Armbar in their newsletter!   

Robbing gits, they are 39.99 on Amazon

[Kev D]

I've barely carried mine, I am working from home now because the company I work for wants to limit the potential impact of coronavirus, so it has sat on my mantle gathering dust.

[magentus]

Shirley you have more opportunity to put it to use at home Kev?

Stuff needs prying, bottles need opening, make some holes in stuff! 

[SirVicaLot]

 

[McStitchy]

Who's that Shirley I'm wondering 

... especially in that context...

[ChopperCharles]

Without a pocket clip, this seems like a huge miss. Collapsing tools is not good either... but without a clip, what's the point?

Charles.

[SirVicaLot]

I think a pocket clip or similar solution could be attached somehow. I don't think they thought it needed one, as it is kinda small and light. 

[gadgetman7]

I think they should make a variant that gets rid of the knife entirely and replaces the awl with some type of can opener.  Make all the tools lock and sell it as TSA friendly. A lot of people carry a separate folder anyway and you’d have two markets available. The James Brand is doing something similar but at a much higher price point.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Max Stone]

Sadly I expect this product will fade away and we’re unlikely to see a version 2 or further variations. Interest on the forum has completely died. One of those ‘almost there’ products that needed just a bit more field testing and refining before they committed to production. 

[magentus]

Sadly I expect this product will fade away and we’re unlikely to see a version 2 or further variations. Interest on the forum has completely died. One of those ‘almost there’ products that needed just a bit more field testing and refining before they committed to production. 

Tantalisingly close - great looking little tool, just not quite there in practice

[NetsNJ]

I wonder if the original prototypes had a good detent on the tools, and something for smurfed up in scaling production, or if Gerber really just didn't give a smurf.

Also, I can't be too hard on them.  Leatherman apparently never bothered squeezing the pliers on their $140 multitools.

Max Stone put it perfectly.  "My interest had evaporated".

[Mcfal12]

 

QC down across the board.

[ChopperCharles]

I dunno guys. I have like seven MP600s and MP400s, a Diesel, an NXT, and an original suspension, and not a single pair of those scissors can cut paracord. Every victorinox 91mm I have can, even the used and abused knives. The only Gerber tool I have that can cut paracord in one snip is the teeny little knife with slide-out jewelers drivers and a slide-out knife. Keystyle maybe? That one can cut it in one snip, but it takes enough pressure that my thumb hurts. They are Fiskars branded scissors in that tool. None of the rest are. But the design is the same, so I don't get it. How hard is it to make good scissors? Victorinox did it. Wenger did it. Gerber did it once at least.

Charles.

[ElevenBlade]

I dunno guys. I have like seven MP600s and MP400s, a Diesel, an NXT, and an original suspension, and not a single pair of those scissors can cut paracord. Every victorinox 91mm I have can, even the used and abused knives. The only Gerber tool I have that can cut paracord in one snip is the teeny little knife with slide-out jewelers drivers and a slide-out knife. Keystyle maybe? That one can cut it in one snip, but it takes enough pressure that my thumb hurts. They are Fiskars branded scissors in that tool. None of the rest are. But the design is the same, so I don't get it. How hard is it to make good scissors? Victorinox did it. Wenger did it. Gerber did it once at least.

Charles.

I don't know either - I wonder why Fiskars scissors aren't so good here.
Do you have the Splice... is that just as unimpressive?

[ChopperCharles]

Well, maybe I solved it a little. The keystyle scissors drag against each other significantly the whole way through the scissor stroke. None of the MP600 scissors do. If I hold the keystyle scissors up to a strong light, and have the scissors closed with my thumb, I cannot see light between the blades. For every other gerber scissor, I can see light between the blades.

So for smurfs and giggles, I got out a cheapie multitool with the same kind of scissors, which *look* like MP600 scissors, and actually cut just a hair better. And I put them in a vise, holding the scissors at the pivot. Then I tapped the blades with the flat side of a ball-peen hammer. I tapped them such that the blades would press against each other as the scissors cut.

And.... it worked. Sorta. I tapped too much, and initially the scissors would snag in the closed position. But after working them for about 5 minutes they wore down or loosened up, and now those same scissors can cut paracord. It still takes some force, but they work significantly better now. I tried it on a $10 multitool first... and was pleased. So then I tried the same thing on one of my favorite tools, which also happens to have some of the worst scissors. The Ruike LD51. And it worked there too! I had to be a lot more careful with the Ruike, because the backspring action on the scissors is pretty weak. But those scissors can cut paracord in one snip now. Before this they just bent the paracord between the blades. 

Basically, it's cheap and easy to make straight scissor blades. But to machine or bend in a slight curve to the blades, which is just enough to make for super precise scissors but not enough to overcome the force of the spring with drag, is I'm guessing a lot more difficult or expensive to do on a mass-production scale.

But then again, Victorinox has it down.

Charles.