Charge TTI & New Wave serrated blade comparison (and a couple gripes)

[Crouton]

I recently bought a Charge TTi and I was expecting a lot from this tool.  For the premium price over the New Wave I was expecting fit and finish improvements and I must say that initially I was disappointed.  Overall I can say that the fit and finish on the Wave meets or exceeds that on the Charge.
The fit and finish on the Titanium scales itself seems to not be on par with that of the rest of the tool.

I have since warmed up to the TTi but I am posting two pictures of things I wasn't happy with.

One is a picture comparing the serrated knife blade on the Charge (top) with the serrated knife blade on the New Wave (bottom).  The blade facets appear to have been buffed completely out on the Charge.  This is unfortunate because I truly love the design of the New Wave blade.  I checked a friends Charge TTi and his has the facets, as well as pics on the net.  I think either mine has a quality issue or Leatherman has redesigned this blade on newer units (This I doubt), or I was sold a modded TTi (I bought this new from an Ebay seller).  This was the single most upsetting thing about the TTi for me, however the guthook for me is the single most compelling reason to purchase the TTi over a New Wave.  With the guthook you can safely and quickly open boxes.  In my line of work (Medical Electronics) I am constantly opening equipment boxes, and this makes it a snap. The Titanium does not add to the tools functionality, and I have never had an issue keeping my New Wave Standard Knife blade sharp so the S30V doesn't add value for me other than the Wow factor of the better steel.  Multitool.org is the only place I know where people even know what S30v is

The other picture demonstrates a gripe I have with the Titanium Scales on the TTi.  Overall I don't feel the quality assurance is up to par on the scales.  Sure, they look neat, but they just don't seem to be as well thought out as the rest of the tool.  The rim around the scale does not seem to be a uniform width around the scale, and mine has an area that has a spot that is larger than the rest of the line.  Also notice the thickness of the border around the screws on the top scale and the bottom, there are annoying differences for me.

Maybe I am being too picky, but it is simply much harder to find a defect in any of the 4 New Waves I own than on the Charge.  Despite that I do like this tool, and I do intend to try and find another one, used this time.

[DaveK]

The blade on that TTi doesn't look right to me at all.

In the picture, are the serrations facing us, or are they on the other side? It kind of looks like they're missing, but it could just be the picture I guess. Mine has the shaped top edge too, like the Wave.

As for the scales, mine look very different in the area you've highlighted. It's hard to tell from the picture but is there actually a depression in the Ti, or is it just scratched? I'm tempted to say that it looks damaged.

The scales are as I describe on my TTi and my XTi. The blade is as i describe on my TTi, two XTis and 2 ALXs, so yours definitely seems to be the odd one out.

Was it a well established ebay seller you got this from? I'm wondering if it's a refurb job. What are the datecodes in the handles?

[Poncho65]

Sorry to here it Crouton I don't own a Charge but I do have the New Wave and really love it I too would be disappointed if I found problems with a tool that expensive Hope you get everything sorted

[Rob]

Weird.  I just pulled my display TTi out and looked at it and it's not like that.  Then I popped open a few boxes to check out my back stock and they are all fine as well.  I'd say send the tool to LM and get a replacement.

[Leatherman123]

I recently bought a TTi; and the saw blade had a ton of up and down play.. LM really needs to have a thorough QC department.

[Nikos]

Makes you wonder what happens to your tools when sent in for repair...

<rant>
The edge of the 154CM blade on my Ti had chipped a couple of years ago, sent it to the local LM rep and they sent me back another tool. This procedure took two weeks and a two thirds of the price of the Ti back then. However, the tool I received was not the one I had sent them; it was a completely different tool, with scratch marks on the blade, rust and muck between the drivers, and worked in backsprings for the plier head (meaning the tool would flip open if held at an angle). I sent an email to LM explaining the situation and contacted the LM rep; they said that the tool they sent me was brand new!!!  I took some photos, sent them to LM, got back with the local rep... I ended up sending the "new" tool in, shipping charges on me of course...  , and then went and picked up the new tool in fear they would send me another "new" one. In the end, this whole back and forth thing costed me about half the price of the Ti. Unacceptable... The thing is, I know that LM are up to their word in the States... It just seems that the local guys may not always live up to people's expectations...
</rant>

[Crouton]

I want to say that although I ranted a bit in this post I love Leatherman products and quality, I'm just miffed that my TTi didn't meet my expectations.  When I looked again tonight at the pic of the scale you can see that the letters on the Leatherman logo actually get thicker from left to right.  It's as if the Titanium stock was bowed when it was ground down, and the letters are actually shallower and thicker in that area.  The scale on the opposite side doesn't have this issue at all.

DAVE K.  Was it a well established ebay seller you got this from? I'm wondering if it's a refurb job. What are the datecodes in the handles?

It was an ebay power seller by the name of poor_fish.  Date codes in the handle are 0208 on both sides.  I sent them a message so I'll see what they say.  Then I will get in touch with Leatherman and see what they say.

Thanks for the info guys.

[Crouton]

I ended up returning the defective TTi to the Ebay Seller and I bought another one from another Ebay seller and the one I received was perfect.  I can't find any quality issues with it.

[Mr. Whippy]

Unless it was a forgery, I would think that sending it back to Leatherman would have sorted this out as well.  Glad to hear you finally ended up with a satisfactory product. 

[Poncho65]

Glad to hear you got the problem resolved

[J-sews]

Good news

[MultiMat]

Here are some pics of my second hand TTi I got from Ebay , it looks new but it too has some QC issues 
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll287/multimat426/Navitool%20TTi/S6302271.jpg[/img]]
                                                                             Serrated blade lock up a bit out                                                                    
                   
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll287/multimat426/Navitool%20TTi/S6302270.jpg[/img]]
                                                                               Saw blade lock up a bit out too                                                                   
                 
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll287/multimat426/Navitool%20TTi/S6302272.jpg[/img]]
                                                                                    File end rubs against the handle on closing                                                                              

[Magic Bus]

That doesen't look too good    I wonder if this happened with earlier models such as the old style Wave?

[Tinnie]

Darn...mat

The file rubbing issue is common in a lot of the Charges sadly...well both of mine

How's the lock up on the blades and others....any play like vertical or side to side play at all mate.....those ones are the ones that scare me

[MultiMat]

Darn...mat

The file rubbing issue is common in a lot of the Charges sadly...well both of mine

How's the lock up on the blades and others....any play like vertical or side to side play at all mate.....those ones are the ones that scare me

The other 2 lock up fine(plain blade + File) the problem ones have no movement & would be easy enough too rectify with a bit of sanding. So I am not worried , if I had paid top dollar though I would be annoyed .

[Crouton]

Actually both the file and the saw rub on mine.  The file more so than the saw, but the blades lock very well and they slide out easily with one finger.  Overall it isn't perfect but I love this one.

As far as sending it back to Leatherman, in retrospect I believe I should have.  When I emailed the Ebay seller I got it from and told them of the issues I had with it they offered to give me a replacement for it and they even paid return shipping.  However when they got the TTi they said they couldn't find quality issues with it despite my printed pictures of the affected areas.  They also stated they couldn't find any Charge TTi multis in their stock that were "significantly different" than mine so they refunded me my money and canceled the Ebay transaction.

I just picked another seller and got one that was to my liking. 

Ultimately it would have been better to go through Leatherman so at least they would be aware of the issue, but all is well that ends well.