leatherman wave comfort mods

[Sneed]

I personally find the biggest difference between a multitool and a full size tool is comfort. The quality of the leatherman blades is reasonable, but I just can't quite grip onto it like a full size pocket knife or file. One thing that always bugged me about the leatherman wave is how the knife and saturated blade extend past the frame, resulting in a very jagged grip. My initially fix for this are wooden grips that match the profile of the blades. I found that this seriously improves the comfort of the exterior tools, but it still isn't quite there.

I would like to find lower profile blades that I wouldn't need to modify. My first thought being the earlier gen wave with the lower profile blades. Any way, I thought I would ask for opinions here before I take a bench grinder to a 100$ tool or expensive ebay parts.

I'm also interested what people think about the topic of comfort/usability in general, and perhaps suggestions about better alternatives (rebar, charge, free?).

tldr: I am too much of a wuss to hold a chunk of stainless, and want low profile blades that don't hurt my soft delicate baby hands.

My apologies if there is already a thread on this topic or I am posting on the wrong board.

[RF52]

The Charge would not feel any different as the design is pretty much the same, Rebar or Supertool 300 would be the best choice for comfort I think. Have not had my hands on any of the Free series though.

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[Sneed]

Rebar or Supertool 300 would be the best choice for comfort I think.

Yeah I was thinking that too, but my concern is that the pliers are less comfortable. The accessibility is also much worse on the rebar.

I think my next move will be to buy a slim non-leatherman bade and dremel in the corect profile. I am honestly just being lazy and trying to find someone who has already done the hard work.

[RF52]

The edges on the handles are rounded so they are not bad for plier use, but the access to the other tools are a bit more cumbersome than the wave.

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[Poncho65]

Welcome to   Sneed I haven't had the same problem using the pliers in comfort but if it works for you that is awesome 

[kottskrapa]

This is actually quite interesting topic not only design wise but a lot of philosophical questions arise and in my mind it boils down to how we think about compromise, objects and adaptations.

I have not had this problem my self and if it was me I would either sell the tool and get something different, the victorinox spirit is really good in many ways including ergonomics so you might want to look at that, not the same grip in the drivers due to victorinox polished tools but I thing that I'm my self are willing to compromise with.

If you really like the wave and it's components, then why not take it to the grinder? As you say, it's a 100 dollar tool and that's a lot of money and why have such a expensive tool that don't work as you want. But I like to mod things as close to what I like as possible.

I just got of a night shift and my rambling might not make any sense at all and I might go back and ad something but in the end it's your tool and it should work for you, a multitool are made to work good for as many people as possible and are perfect for a few but for some, like you that have a problem with the ergonomics I would fix it to be as close to your liking as possible.

And if you do, don't forget pictures really liked the wood inplements

[It's not failure if you learn something from it]

[Sneed]

how we think about compromise, objects and adaptations.

Certainly. There is an opportunity cost to everything, and everyone has different priorities. That is fundamentally the struggle with such minimalist tools, and many other things.

[Max Stone]

Wave is hands-down one of the most comfortable MTs - Free is a disaster with hot spots everywhere in comparison (yes - I still love my LM collection). Unfortunately all MTs are compromises, so there's a limit to what the designers can engineer to balance comfort against ease-of-use and functionality (and still come up with new ideas to sell new models). If I was looking for a way to improve comfort when using the fold out tools, maybe a neoprene sleeve could be an option  It could be flattened and stuffed inside a sheath with the Wave, and rolled over the handles once the desired tool was deployed, if I was planning some extended use. Just an idea - would need testing...easy to get a sheet of say 3mm neoprene, run a zig-zag seam to make a tube and try it out. 

[Syncop8r]

Signal?

[Sam Lim]

I have this. Donor outside blades from a OG ST.

[Sneed]

Wow that looks really nicely done. How much modification did it take to get those blades to fit? What effect does the flush fit have on the 'grip-ability'/comfort when using the exterior tools?

[Sam Lim]

Wow that looks really nicely done. How much modification did it take to get those blades to fit? What effect does the flush fit have on the 'grip-ability'/comfort when using the exterior tools?

Thanks!  The blades' pivots on the ST have plenty of material to work with. You will have to enlarge the hole and grind the bottom to engage the liner correctly. Just do it slow. Comfort level is very good on this as the scales are all rounded off.

[Max Stone]

Sam that is a beautiful mod - but you have just a little more experience than most of us mortals 

[Sam Lim]

Sam that is a beautiful mod - but you have just a little more experience than most of us mortals 

  I also happen to break a teeny weeny bit more stuff than most.

[Ansor]

I love my Wave, but now, I EDC a Free P4. Waiting for the ShapeWays Bit Holder