This thread is intended to be somewhat of a guide for working on a WaveI have a 2nd generation Wave that was in poor to fair shape. It was dirty, the plier tips were broken, the serrated blade was worn out, the edge of the PE blade was in rough shape, and eye glasses bit was broken.
I could have sent it in to Leatherman and probably received a Wave+. But I already have a Wave+, and I had the cap crimper plier head from a Charge ALX that I made into a couple of knives. Not to mention a number of leftover parts from other mods. So, I decided to rehabilitate the 2nd gen Wave instead of sending it in.
First, I soaked the MT overnight in soapy water. Then I set about disassembling the MT so I could deal with the rust I saw in the handle and so I could swap out some of the parts. Here are the tools I used (tweezers, 2 screwdrivers with T10 security Torx bits, and pliers):
I also used a propane torch to heat up the pivot screws so that the Loctite (helps to keep the screws from loosening) would soften. Many people use an soldering iron for the same purpose. I took care not to overheat the metal, which would cause it to discolor.
Then I removed the pivot screws that hold the plier head and outer tools to the handle:
Note that there are phosphor bronze washers between the outer tools and the frame:
This is what you should have once the plier head and outer tools are disassembled:
Next, I disassembled the inside tools from the handle. Once again, I used my propane torch to soften the Loctite. Some care must be taken when removing these screws. The half that forms the pivot bolt is flattened on opposite sides. The interior hole of the washers that go between the tools match the bolts.
This arrangement restricts the bolt half from rotating. Forcing it to rotate will make it hard to remove the bolt. Therefore, locate the half with the exterior threads. They are on the sides with the saw and the file.
Here are the parts after disassembly:
I soaked all the part in Rust-Oleum Rust Dissolver for approximately 45 minutes. Then I rinsed all of the parts well and used a nylon brush in my rotary tool to remove any stubborn spots and grime.
Then I used 320, 400, and 600 grit sand paper to remove most of the scratches from the frame.
As I mention in the beginning, the serrated blade was worn out. So I took a serrated blade from one of several Ozark Trail Multiforces I have dissaembled/modified and slightly modified it so that it would work in the Wave frame. Then I started reassembly using the cap crimper plier head:
At this point I took some time to work on the esge of the PE blade. Using the 80, 200, and 6000 grit belts for my WorkSharp sharpener, I was able to remove all of the chips and make the blade sharp.
Finally, I reassembled the tools in the other ends of the handles, using the tweezers to manipulate the fitted washers onto the pivot screw bolt:
There are 3 fitted washers total. They go between each pair of tools.
Once reassembled, I adjusted the tightness of the pivot screws so that all tools could be extracted but would not flop open.
And here is the Wave completely reassembled:
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