The 10 Deadly Sins of Multi-tool Design

[ReamerPunch]

This popped in my feed again:


Our favorite knife reviewer talks about things knife designers do that range from questionable to unforgivable.
I trust most will agree with Nick's points. And yet, designers do not seem to take the hint.

Some points of that list apply to multi-tools as well, though they are often forgiven, as the blade is only a part of a multi-tool. An important part, but one we are willing to overlook in favour of others.

So, in true ReamerPunch fashion, I was inspired to make a list, check it twice, and write a novel explaining it.


The 10 Deadly Sins of Multi-tool Design


1. Wasted space
Thick washers, gaps, tools shorter than they could be. This irritates me. It is not common in higher-end tools, thankfully. Still, whenever I see a washer the width of an implement, I die a little inside. Why not add four or so implements more? Or make existing implements thicker, like the Phillips? Or eliminate the wasted space and make the tool thinner? Not to mention that all that space will attract more crud over time.


2. Lack of testing before release
Handle splay, ergonomics, can openers that cannot open cans, bad files, scissors that cannot even cut paper, ect. Everything seems more and more rushed. Was this production step dropped? Lack of testing is so common it is frustrating. And the beauty of it is that it will be present in every single unit of a multi-tool model.


3. Lack of Quality Control
Screws stripped or even falling out, unfinished edges, scuff marks, oho blades that are impossible to open with one hand, burrs and rolls along the blade edge, even cracks in the steel. Even in high-end tools, quality control seems to have taken a hit. And along come decisions you do not want to take. Do you attempt to fix the issue, possibly making it worse or voiding the warranty? Do you send it back and hope for the best?


4. Using materials unsuitable for tools
Too soft steel for blades, drivers ect. It is understandable to have non-premium materials. The rare tools that feature premium materials are rather expensive. Still, the minimum we expect is tool grade steel for tools. What good is a Phillips that will deform after a couple of screws? What good is a blade that cannot take an edge? What good is a corkscrew that is not robust enough to drill into a cork? Why are your replaceable wire-cutters so brittle, Gerber?
You'd think that with all the advances in steel for pocket-knives, we'd have that spill into multi-tool territory. Nope.


5. Dubious design choices/Alleged user demand/Marketing fluff
Combo blades, no retention, fish scalers, glass breaker at sub-optimal location, a dozen flatheads with no other functions. The list goes on and on, and yet again, designers do not seem to take the hint. Nine out of ten people criticize the combo blade of the Wingman, Signal, Free P2 ect. Why are we still stuck with these? Three flatheads and two Phillips drivers on the Bucktool? Really, Buck?


6. Careless design
Blade tip accessible through cut-outs, blades prone to unfolding, spring-loaded pliers releasing in your pocket, can openers that create shrapnel. This goes beyond dubious design choices or even quality control. You put a combo edge blade on it, fine. You missed the uneven bevel, ok. Those are not issues that can directly injure a user.


7. Not listening to feedback
Kind of an extension to No. 2, or even all other points on this list. If you release a multi-tool, people will criticize it, and among the nit-picks, you will get a few suggestions that will be common among users, that will improve the design, durability, safety, versatility or even price of the tool. Listening to feedback and improving the multi-tool with updated versions will not only improve sales of it. It will also reinforce the company's reputation, inspire confidence among users and potential buyers, promote pride of ownership. It will establish the brand as one that is open to suggestions, that respects its products and wants to improve them, that respects its customers and is willing to change things to better accommodate their needs.
This is especially true in regards to mods. There are hundreds of mods for multi-tools. Often, people have decided on what to modify before even having bought the tool. And some mods to certain tools are so common, the manufacturer might as well adopt them.


8. Hubris
Promoting a tool as the top of the line, that will replace the current best seller, only to be terrible and discontinued shortly afterwards. Sorry, Buck. The BuckTool is terrible. Sorry, Gerber. The Legend did not knock-out the Wave after all, and I can only imagine how much Tim Leatherman laughed when they first gave him a Flik, telling him it was Gerber's answer to the Wave.
Aggressive marketing can be effective, no doubt. However, it can also be a double-edged sword. You will get people's attention, but some may be skeptical, and scrutinize your claims, and you'd better hope the tool lives up to the hype.
This is a childish approach to marketing and arguably the laziest. If your tool is any good, show us. Let it stand on its own merits.
I will bundle shortsightedness with hubris. Not being able to recognize true innovation that will define an industry, ignoring it, only to then try to catch up. I am talking about Tim Leatherman's idea of a pair of folding pliers, with other implements in the handles, which was pitched to multiple tool manufacturers, only to be rejected.


9. Being stingy with accessories and replaceable parts
If your multi-tool features replaceable wire-cutters, at least sell them separately, if not including a spare pair in the box. If it features something removable, it may get lost. If no replacements are in the box, have them available somewhere. Will spares increase price? Fine. I will pay a few more dollars for them. Leatherman did this with the Free series, but at least they avoided the angry mob with pitchforks, by quickly including the clip with the P4. NexTool does not offer wire-cutters for the Flagship Pro, or ferro rods for the 5024. Grand Harvest does not offer wire-cutters for the K6. What's the point of something being replaceable if there are no replacement parts readily available?


10. Not actually making them
Just slapping their brand on something, regardless of how cheap it is. You've probably seen identical multi-tools being sold under multiple brands. This is sadly common even with well-known brands that does not manufacture multi-tools. Their other products are trusted world-wide, and yet, they just thought it would be ok to just put their brand on a cheap tool, mark up the price, and call it a day. Usually, the tool suffers from multiple issues of this list, and yet, it never matters. The generic tools under a dozen brands still exist.

[Barry Rowland]

Well done

[ElevenBlade]

#5 is an interesting one in my mind.

It stems from an estimation of need... Either one way or another.

Though I don't need or even prefer a combo blade, I'm not totally opposed to having one on a multitool. I'd even started a thread for that https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,85419.0.html .  I quite liked the Leatherman PST-II. If the knife isn't your most-used tool, it might do the job... And the more tools you have for poking, snipping, nicking, opening, and tearing, less you need the blade. So a 2-in-1 can be a space saver.  As you mention, Leatherman has incorporated the combo edge into their design quite deliberately.  Most of us might think it's a terrible decision, but I can't help but think it's well supported.... Whether it's from focus groups or product sales.  Maybe it's also inexperience - how teenage Me thought serrations were a good thing.

On the other hand ... It's the overabundance of screwdrivers that moved me away from Leatherman multiools.  Similarly, it seems a corporate decision has driven this  in part, as according to a Leatherman engineer, users snapping the midsize flat SD when prying had prompted them to make some changes in design (one of which seemed to be a large SD that's too thick to SD with.

And then there's the fish scalers and the glass breakers.  It seems that when they need to be competitive they often have to go with the idea that 14 tools is better than 13, and glass breakers will save a life one day.   

We have to remember that most people aren't like us.  They base their decisions on the number of functions listed on the package, or indeed how aggressive the blade appears to be in the photograph.

Sin #5 perhaps, somewhat similar to gluttony... is a matter of appearing more useful than something really is.

[nate j]

Good list!

#2, #3, #4, & #9 are the ones that speak to me the most.

Regarding #2 & #3, it seems I've lost count of the number of times I've been shaking my head, wondering, "Did anyone actually test a prototype of this tool before they rushed it into production?" and or "Did anyone inspect this before it left the factory?"

Regarding #4 & #9, they just seem like such "well duh" things.  If a screwdriver is going to last, it needs to be significantly harder than screws.  If you make a tool that has removable or replaceable parts, you need to offer spares/replacements for sale.  Yet, we continue to see companies fall short on these points.

[cody6268]

Really good overview, and I agree with all the criticisms.

#3. This is why I no longer buy anything I know Bear and Son made; and a third party didn't QC (which all Moore Maker undergo their own QC by MM). Their quality is so shotty. I have decent knives, I have crappy knives, and I have knives that are so bad, they have injured me in use. Especially when they're one of the small handful of American companies still producing traditional knives; I wish they'd step up quality control. Especially when you'd think that the Griffeys would step down; and have their accounts manager, Wally Gardener (the former Schrade USA CEO) take the reins and try to get quality up to what Schrades were prior to 2004.


#4. I wish there would be an increase of using tool steels for plier heads. The steels used for blades (except for D2) aren't often well suited to the drivers or pliers. Good files are made from much different steels and processes than blades.

#7. Partially, see #4. I've been calling for tool steel pliers and drivers for ages. The price of D2 is coming down a lot, so why not use it more?   I'm not the only one who has suggested Vic use a different plastic for handles.   Also, I'm not the only one who wishes they'd start messing with different steels.  And, even my Granddad understood my criticism of Gerber's mismarketing of the Center Drive. Unlike all other knife brands, it was the first I ever saw in a mass-market magazine. I mean, every one of their comparisons were invalid. The Center-Drive was compared to the Wave in blade length (which the more comparable Surge has a huge blade!) and the MUT when both Surge and Wave would be better comparisons. But, I do own a Center Drive and quite like it for what it is; and I DO NOT compare it to my other tools.

#8. I think pretty much everyone but Gerber, Kershaw, SOG, and Schrade seriously should have tried better when they designed a competitor to the tool they originally turned down (Mr. Crunch; later refined into the PST). Case especially sucked with the Fixxit. I hate that ugly little cheap-made heavy plastic brick with a tiny knife blade and two screwdriver bits literally robbed from a 4-in-1 reversible screwdriver. And I guess they thought they could market this ugly piece of crap because it had the Case name. Heck, they even sold it as a Zippo for longer than Case did (and my Granddad has one a supplier for the mining company he worked for gave him (branded with the company name), and I thought the design was stupid as an 11-year-old).


#10. We've seen this repeatedly. Whether it be "Camillus" and Les Stroud; or Gerber and Bear Grylls; or even that line of knives Utica made licensing the name. Usually, they result in cheap smurf with some guy's name on it; and a huge price tag attached due to likely a huge royalty fee.   Yet, we've seen what can be done when they actually do have real input on the design. For example; the Ueli Steck line by Wenger; or the recent Kabar R. Lee Ermey-designed "Gunny Knife" were all designed in full by these individuals.  I've even seen tons of knives sold by the new "Camillus and new "Schrade" that was just "any old cheap tat" with their name applied. I saw a two-blade penknife for $10 some years back that was sold as Camillus. Two months later, found the same knife branded Ozark Trail at Wally World for $5. Schrade uses a TON of generic MT designs; and I've seen several Schrade patterns under the Elk Ridge name for usually half what they are as Schrades.  And, I think Buck's "Remingtons" are the most insanely overpriced there are. Bear and Camillus had reasonably priced, USA made offerings when they had the Remington license a few decades after Remington quit the knife business. 

I will defend, however, companies that really don't do knives that contract reputable makers. For example, Moore Maker is made by Bear and Son, Canal Street Cutlery, and Utica (they have some Channellock made hand tools as well) and formerly Queen and Camillus Cutlery Co. as well. Schrade and Camillus made most Craftsman knives for 70 years; and Craftsman also contracted Kershaw.  I like the USA-made and Japan-made Klein Tools knives. But, when you take cheap tat from the Orient, double the price, and slap your name on it, that's my big problem.

And don't get me started about the insanely overpriced Snap-On knives. WHether it's cheap tat, a Gerber, or a Kershaw, it seems to almost always be about 50-100 percent more than the regular model.

[Etherealicer]

Hey there not so fast... I do like Nick but it is only #3 behind Advanced Knife Bro and Cedric & Ada Outdoors...

[Vidar]

It is easy to agree with most of that list. Number 5 might to some degree be a design or buyers choice - a flat driver without other functions should be less clumpy and or stronger than a flat driver with other duties as well. Kind of the classical trade off of multi-tools vs specialized tools but for single implements.

I could add a point on my own:

11. Pliers cutter design. Multi-tools typically have pliers with cutters working like scissors with overlapping blades. This does not provide optimal support for the cutting edge which makes them more vulnerable to damage, and when damaged the pliers will tend to get stuck. Compare that to normal pliers with cutters where that kind of design is never used even on the cheapest of cutters. (Replaceable cutters help fix the issue every time it shows up - but it doesn't solve the core cause or problem).

Overall I think there are at least three reasons for these issues:

1. Price and cost considerations. Most multi-tools are made to a price point and a perceived place in the market. In addition some companies slaps on a quite healthy profit margin too. There are lots of parts and assembly on multi-tools so making everything right will be expensive. One can rightfully fear that a high quality multi-tool would be priced totally out of the mass market. On the other hand I do think some multi-tools deliver amazing value for money.

A common product rule of thumb is that the production cost is around 1:4 to 1:10 of the price the end consumer pays. Thus if we pay USD 100 for a tool it likely cost in the region of USD 10 to 25 to make. From that perspective some tools offer great value for money.

2. The gadget and gift market factors. I believe many multi-tools are primarily made as gadgets and not for actual use. To me that would help explain many multi-tools apparent focus on lots of useless functions at the expense of quality and proper working functions.

3. Marketing. In part an extension of the above in the sense that more functions ticks more boxes and is seemingly better. But in addition marketing often seem less focused on actual functions or use, but rather tries to appeal to aspirations, feelings and lifestyle. Being prepared for anything, survival, being handy and so on. Marketing of multi-tools often seem to invoke those regardless of the actual capabilities the multi-tool in question. (Some multi-tools are of course actually handy and very useful - but many fall short. The marketing seems to be the same regardless).

4. They make money and get away with it? The incentive to change or improve the products might not feel very urgent. One can wonder if it sometimes goes the other way instead with checking how low on can go on quality and cost before taking a hit in the market. Or just short term brand name exploitation - selling turds on brand name value until brand is worthless.

(Edit: added 4).

[Aloha]

Good conversation 

[Poncho65]

 

[ToolJoe]

I'd like to see more MT's with replaceable cutters.

[Valkie]

Quite valid argument there.

But someone has come up with the design, perhaps someone who is working from feedback.

It would be nice if the manufacturers would put reasoning behind some designs.

One particular point that strikes home, the Wingman.
Probably the worst knife design yet.
Its too short, it could easily be nearly a centimeter longer.
The serrations are never used by me and its the only knife I own with them incorporated into the blade.
A broader, longer nice clean edged blade would be preferable.

I'm considering making my own blade and replacing the one on my wingman.
It would be great if an aftermarket blade was available.

Never the less, we all have our own preferences and feelings.
There will always be a compromise.
I have many knives and many tools, not one of them I consider perfect.

But they mostly all come damn close.

[King_Gorilla]

 

Great list!

#5  is what really speaks to me. 

I feel like in the last few years Gerber and Leatherman have tried their best to appear to offer new innovative products each year but often opt to simply cut their MTs in half and make "knife versions" of the same tools.  Or they will change the color options that are available for well received tools or knives from prior years.  This tells me that they are eager to give us something while keeping their costs down.  This makes it All-The-More frustrating that we never get a new Signal with a PE blade.  If they did, I would buy a second Signal without hesitation!  It drives me crazy!!!   

[Marcellus]

Great read.

Its  not often you can include Hubris into a list of negatives,  especially for an inanimate object..( yeah I know he was talking about the manufacturer)

Still liked  the Greek mythology reference.

[ThundahBeagle]

I am another who really agrees with most of your list but takes polite umbrage with section 5.

Personally, I like the combo blade. It is the very nature of a multi tool that if you could only have one blade, it could be half this and half that. Sure it's harder to sharpen the serrated part, but it's also harder to dull it.

Flathead screwdrivers...well, a very small one for fine work, a medium one for typical work and, although rare, those large flatheads are still good for older door hinge screws and work on car radiator worm gear clamps. So to me, they gotta stay. Make them permanent, non bit drivers. Go ahead. They are thin and dont take up much more than a washer's worth of space anyway.

What I hate more bits that can fall out.

But if you HAD to have removable bits, Torx would be the one these days. I wouldn't mind seeing a Torx 10 added. Also you could swap it out with a 10, 15, or 20...the most common sizes.

[ThundahBeagle]

Great list!

#5  is what really speaks to me. 

I feel like in the last few years Gerber and Leatherman have tried their best to appear to offer new innovative products each year but often opt to simply cut their MTs in half and make "knife versions" of the same tools.  Or they will change the color options that are available for well received tools or knives from prior years.  This tells me that they are eager to give us something while keeping their costs down.  This makes it All-The-More frustrating that we never get a new Signal with a PE blade.  If they did, I would buy a second Signal without hesitation!  It drives me crazy!!!   

Agree and disagree.

AGREE that the companies want to give us something new and at the same time dont want to stay too far from a formula for success and want to keep costs down. Sometimes I think we get too much choice, but that's the way of the marketplace, I guess.

DISAGREE that the Signal should have to have a plain edge version. It is an emergency survival tool. Having the tip end plain allows for skinning, having the choil or hilt end serrated allows for better cutting of rope and such. I dont own a Signal, but seriously am considering putting one in my hiking bag

[ElevenBlade]

Agree and disagree.

AGREE that the companies want to give us something new and at the same time dont want to stay too far from a formula for success and want to keep costs down. Sometimes I think we get too much choice, but that's the way of the marketplace, I guess.

DISAGREE that the Signal should have to have a plain edge version. It is an emergency survival tool. Having the tip end plain allows for skinning, having the choil or hilt end serrated allows for better cutting of rope and such. I dont own a Signal, but seriously am considering putting one in my hiking bag

Agree with your disagreement  partially serrated blades have their place in certain situations, and outdoor emergency or backup is one of them.   Nothing on the Signal is meant to be a primary tool (case in point the soft but sparky ferro rod).  One thing I didn't like about carrying a full sized MT into the woods was actually the separate serrated and plain edge knives. 
I got my start with partially serrated folders, and prefer those over a fully serrated blade in the woods.  (and when I do go serrated, I go sheepsfoot)

Meet me at the Combo Edge Cooperative thread TB   

[electro]

Flathead screwdrivers...well, a very small one for fine work, a medium one for typical work and, although rare, those large flatheads are still good for older door hinge screws and work on car radiator worm gear clamps. So to me, they gotta stay. Make them permanent, non bit drivers. Go ahead. They are thin and dont take up much more than a washer's worth of space anyway.

A flathead which takes only a washer space and made with 420 steel will eventually deform and render useless. I'm totally in for one permanent medium flathead if they make it from tool steel. Till then, bit adapter is far superior as it allows many possibilities and replacements if you lost bits.

[Sea Monster]

I don't really disagree with any particular point - but many of these sins are not Multitool specific.

Next time you're in the Breakfast Cereal aisle, or picking up a new pair of underdacks, or patrolling a seasonal "pop up store", have a think on the list and see how much is done (or not done) in the name of producing and consuming product.

[ThundahBeagle]

A flathead which takes only a washer space and made with 420 steel will eventually deform and render useless. I'm totally in for one permanent medium flathead if they make it from tool steel. Till then, bit adapter is far superior as it allows many possibilities and replacements if you lost bits.

Ill have to respectfully disagree with you there sir. Not "only a washer space." But "not much more than" a washer space. Havent had any trouble with my multitool screwdrivers spontaneously or even eventually randomly deforming. Only trouble I've had with them is knowingly pushing beyond limits,  and that's not trouble with the tool.

I dont disagree about using tool steel, though. That'd be nice.

A tool is useless if you dont have it. If I'm using a bit, and trying to reach downward to something in an engine bay, and that bit ever slides out (?due to lost or broken spring retention?) and into something it shouldnt, or even onto the ground and I have to stop what im doing to go searching for it - its damn near useless to me. Personally I wouldnt mind seeing the top one or 2 most popular torx on a Leatherman. But to me that was the charm of the original PST, PST2 and even original Wave...nothing to drop and lose. This is the tool you use when nothing else is at hand. Why build into it the possibility that something will get lost?

Anyway, that's just me. Meanwhile I love my Surge and it uses Leatherman bits. But I DID suffer a broken spring and lost a bit or 2 before ordering a replacement spring and bits. And I'm ways wondering when its gonna happen next

[Jim the Brave]

Nice list, I agree with most points.

I am a SAK fan, and they have skirted some of the issues mentioned, but sometimes they're guilty of wasted space, and wasted opportunities, too.

One thing I would like more of is tools and knives you can easily take apart and put back together (not held together by rivets). I've had some knives held together with screws, and it's good as long as they lock up good and don't come out.

I would like it to be highly customizable (at home). IE, more like the logic of AR rifles--buy the frame(s) and build in all the features you want. Even aftermarket components from other manufacturers, if you so choose. Why can't it be more like an Erector or Lego system? "Hey, Daddy, look what I made today. A tool that helps you do _____ !"

[Syncop8r]

1. Wasted space
Thick washers, gaps, tools shorter than they could be. This irritates me. It is not common in higher-end tools, thankfully. Still, whenever I see a washer the width of an implement, I die a little inside. Why not add four or so implements more? Or make existing implements thicker, like the Phillips? Or eliminate the wasted space and make the tool thinner? Not to mention that all that space will attract more crud over time.

But on the positive side this gives scope for modding (for those who enjoy it and not just as a necessity). 

5. Dubious design choices/Alleged user demand/Marketing fluff
Combo blades, no retention, fish scalers, glass breaker at sub-optimal location, a dozen flatheads with no other functions. The list goes on and on, and yet again, designers do not seem to take the hint. Nine out of ten people criticize the combo blade of the Wingman, Signal, Free P2 ect. Why are we still stuck with these? Three flatheads and two Phillips drivers on the Bucktool? Really, Buck?

Flathead screwdrivers...well, a very small one for fine work, a medium one for typical work and, although rare, those large flatheads are still good for older door hinge screws and work on car radiator worm gear clamps. So to me, they gotta stay. Make them permanent, non bit drivers. Go ahead. They are thin and dont take up much more than a washer's worth of space anyway.

I added a flat driver to my Surge.   I prefer them to bits.

[pipedreams]

The more screwdrivers the better.

[ReamerPunch]

6. Careless design
Blade tip accessible through cut-outs, blades prone to unfolding, spring-loaded pliers releasing in your pocket, can openers that create shrapnel. This goes beyond dubious design choices or even quality control. You put a combo edge blade on it, fine. You missed the uneven bevel, ok. Those are not issues that can directly injure a user.

Well, what do you know...

[Syncop8r]