How important are scissors to you?

[greenbear]

I am probably in the minority on this one, but I am NOT a fan of scissors on multitools.  I don't like trying to work small scissors that are attached to an 8 oz brick of steel.  90% of the time I would prefer to use the knife to cut almost anything. 

I am the same as you, quite happy to use the knife blade. I fact this carries over to my choices with multitools, for instance I have a SwissTool but deliberately bought the version with the serrated blade rather than the scissors 

[Frenchephaistos]

The scissors are not the main tool I use, but having them comes in handy. Not everyone in the office is at ease with my use of a knife for small tasks, but scissors are people friendly (even though it is just two knives bolted together).
Not essential, but the reason why I prefer the PST2 to the PST and carry the former.
Much more useful to me than those bottle/can openers IMHO. 

[fullbreakfast]

The main pliers-based MTs I carry are the Rebar and the butter blade Vic Spirit. The latter has scissors which are very good for some things, but not as good as SAK scissors for general use. I rarely get them out.

Life has a way of proving me wrong. The Spirit scissors have short but strong blades that do not open very wide, like mini snips. What they are mostly good for is cutting tougher materials, like cable ties. I sometimes think this may have been a deliberate choice on the part of the designers at Victorinox, recognising many will carry a Spirit alongside a SAK, to provide scissors that are best suited for different uses than the SAK scissors so that they are complementary rather than just a pure duplication.

This has just become relevant as my son, who is six, found a bag of cable ties in my office and has been having great fun discovering all the things he can do with them around the house. So I have been carrying the Spirit in pocket and using the scissors to free various items.

[nate j]

This has just become relevant as my son, who is six, found a bag of cable ties in my office and has been having great fun discovering all the things he can do with them around the house. So I have been carrying the Spirit in pocket and using the scissors to free various items.

You’re probably already aware of this, but I feel compelled to point out that cable ties are not good toys for children.  It’s too easy for them to get one tightened around a finger, etc.

[fullbreakfast]

You’re probably already aware of this, but I feel compelled to point out that cable ties are not good toys for children.  It’s too easy for them to get one tightened around a finger, etc.

Thanks for the thought - I am keeping an eye on him, but letting him learn through experimenting. Also none of them are long enough to go around his neck…

[BPRoberts]

I am probably in the minority on this one, but I am NOT a fan of scissors on multitools.  I don't like trying to work small scissors that are attached to an 8 oz brick of steel.  90% of the time I would prefer to use the knife to cut almost anything. 

There are exceptions.  Tiny keychain sized scissors have their place.  Also tools like the Leatherman Raptor that are scissor based tools.  I carry a leatherman Style PS4 on my keys.  It has a tiny pair of scissors but the tool it is connected to is also tiny.  I rarely use it, but I am glad to have it when I need it.  I used to carry a Gerber Solstice.  Now that thing was a good set of scissors.  Very powerful for it's tiny size.

That's a cool one, never seen it before. Thanks for sharing.

[nate j]

Thanks for the thought - I am keeping an eye on him, but letting him learn through experimenting. Also none of them are long enough to go around his neck…

[ThundahBeagle]

4o years ago, wanted to buy a Vic Explorer
They were out of stock so I "settled" for a Vic Super Tinker
Still have it
  And got an explorer
And a Leatherman micra
I like scissors for first aid, grooming, cutting paper and envelopes, packages
Do want a saw when in the outdoors - a necessity!  - so, best case scenario is a Huntsman or Fieldmaster
I now pair a Leatherman and Vic based on one having a saw, the other having scissors
And. Micra as backup

[Farmer X]

My scissors use has diminished over the years; I'm more likely to use a blade for general cutting tasks. But scissors still have many valid uses, such as trimming stray threads and ends of paracord projects. And knife blades are extremely ill-suited for grooming tasks. So scissors are of some importance to me, but I won't reject a multi on account of it not having scissors.

[King_Gorilla]

I am the same as you, quite happy to use the knife blade. I fact this carries over to my choices with multitools, for instance I have a SwissTool but deliberately bought the version with the serrated blade rather than the scissors 

Same for me.  It's not that I dislike the scissors, but since we are all in that endless journey to find the most effective design of the greatest MT ever made, I also let it influence my choices of the multitools that I buy.  If I could put another tool in that place over the scissors, I would usually rather have the other tool. 
Like with most modern Leatherman tools.  We generally seem to get the pliers, the little tools, and 4 large tools.  When I see them designing new tools where one of the big 4 outside tools is a pair of scissors, I can definitely see the use for them, but at the same time my mind is always thinking about what else could have been there instead. 


 

[aicolainen]

For me scissors are not a very important implement to include in a multitool.

On multitools that are typically carried for EDC and work I rather not have them.. I prefer a knife for most cutting tasks I run into on the fly and scissors usually aren't near by. And like already mentioned small scissors on large MTs are not a great user experience anyways. In that case I'll rather the space was used for something else.
A small MT would be even thinner without scissors, so for smaller ones I'll rather go thin and improve carry comfort.

I get it though, for normal people that probably buy maybe just one MT in their lifetime, it's a just-in-case-tool. And most of these normal people would probably find a MT with scissors a more convincing get-me-out-of-anything option than one without.

For us less normal people this philosophy doesn't always stack up.
We have a selection of tools and optimize by use case.
And this is where scissors enters the room for me.
While I find them next to pointless for EDC, there are use cases where I find them useful on a MT - or even as stand alone tools.

Outdoors: For many years I was that "normal" just in case person that carried my full size do-it MT no matter what I was doing or where I was going. The concept of UL backpacking was still unknown to me.
But as I fell into the EDC rabbit hole and got a new perspective on MTs, I had also started transitioning to more lightweight outdoor gear.
I've now ditched the full size MT for a more use case optimized modular system. So for any multi day hike, hunt, wild camping trip etc. I always carry a MT with scissors. Usually a Vic Compact. With it's combination of pin, tweezers and a good scissors it has come in handy in quite a few first aid situations. And now that I have good scissors I sometimes find them preferable over a knife when preparing or maintaining my fishing gear in the field.

Travel: I should say I now travel much less than before, but I still do some travel.
For the last 6+ years, a Rambler has been a permanent part of my travel dop kit (except when travelling with carry on only). On its own it adds some useful just in case capability, as well as the tweezers, nail file and scissors being nice to have for "emergency" grooming needs. When my itinerary allows for more capable tools, the Rambler is often a nice complimentary tool adding small flat, Phillips, tweezers and scissors that are less common on my other multi's.

I wish MT makers were more focused on use case driven tools instead of mostly pushing small tweaks of the same do-it-all recipes year after year. But I guess we would all just buy fewer tools if there was an easy way to solve our needs.

[nate j]

Also none of them are long enough to go around his neck…

Unless he figures out how to daisy chain them together?

[powernoodle]

Scissors are up there pretty high for me, after a blade and maybe above flat and phillips drivers.  I'm not a snob about most things SAK/MT related, but Victorinox scissors are the only ones I want.  At a minimum, I'll always have at least a 58mm on me to ensure that there is some scissor action available at all times.

[Brock O Lee]

I don't need scissors, and I don't carry them often, but they are useful to have around.

[Richard Zheng]

Scissors are my most used tool. Everything I carry has a pair.

I usually have a 58mm rambler on me, with a Spirit MXBS or an Arc as well. I use scissors more than any other tool, so how good they perform is easily the most important thing to me

[Huntsman]

The most used tool on my EDC - Usually a SAK, but sometimes PB based - Absolutely mandatory 

[fullbreakfast]

My current daily carry includes a butter blade Spirit, a 93mm Alox with scissors and a Swiss Card Classic. Giving me three pairs of Vic scissors, all different. I feel like this has my scissoring needs just about covered.

[Huntsman]

Sounds to me like you need to add a Companion X to that EDC set 

[Richard Zheng]

I think victorinox scissors are the gold standard. Really precise at the tip, fantastic cutting geometry, and the springs are not too strong

[fullbreakfast]

Sounds to me like you need to add a Companion X to that EDC set 

It’s actually one of the SAKs I most often EDC!  I do like having the scissors in such a thin handle, makes it very nimble in the hand.

[fullbreakfast]

I think victorinox scissors are the gold standard. Really precise at the tip, fantastic cutting geometry, and the springs are not too strong

 

Also, the ergonomics are great - that curved, smooth arm that is so easy on your thumb tip. Many other scissors you find on a MTs and SAK-a-likes are really uncomfortable to use in comparison, especially if you are doing a lot of cutting.

[Richard Zheng]

Also, the ergonomics are great - that curved, smooth arm that is so easy on your thumb tip. Many other scissors you find on a MTs and SAK-a-likes are really uncomfortable to use in comparison, especially if you are doing a lot of cutting.

Yea their scissors are super comfy, I've done a fair share of arts and crafts projects with one

[Lurker]

When I first got into multi-tools many years ago, scissors were a woman's tool. My tools needed pliers, knife blade and drivers. I bought my wife a SAK for her keychain, but I only owned Leatherman tools.

I them found the Swiss Army Spirit S, which got rid of the useless advisors for the serrated "butter blade." I didn't see any reason to have scissors waste any space on my tool when I had a knife blade.

However, I quickly found out that I use scissors about as often as the knife blade. Doing things like cutting string and cord cleanly, cutting tags off mine and my wife's shirts (even while being worn), trimming hair, cutting carpet fiber pulls (I have two rambunctious dogs), and any other cutting task that requires precision.

That is when I started buying SAKs and only ones with scissors. My most used SAKs are the Swiss Champ and Ranger. My most used Leathermans are the ARC and Surge–all have very good scissors. All get used often.

I am now a scissor convert. Ironically, I rarely use pliers and do not even consider them essential anymore.

[Huntsman]

Hey Mr Lurker,

Thanks for the post and Welcome - As a scissor essential guy myself of course I am with you.
I'd add trimming fingernails to your list - possibly my most used scissor application

And a fantastic compact LM tool with scissors is the PST II
- I am experimenting carrying this tool as my EDC 'SAK' at the moment!

[nate j]

When I first got into multi-tools many years ago, scissors were a woman's tool. My tools needed pliers, knife blade and drivers. I bought my wife a SAK for her keychain, but I only owned Leatherman tools.

I them found the Swiss Army Spirit S, which got rid of the useless advisors for the serrated "butter blade." I didn't see any reason to have scissors waste any space on my tool when I had a knife blade.

However, I quickly found out that I use scissors about as often as the knife blade. Doing things like cutting string and cord cleanly, cutting tags off mine and my wife's shirts (even while being worn), trimming hair, cutting carpet fiber pulls (I have two rambunctious dogs), and any other cutting task that requires precision.

That is when I started buying SAKs and only ones with scissors. My most used SAKs are the Swiss Champ and Ranger. My most used Leathermans are the ARC and Surge–all have very good scissors. All get used often.

I am now a scissor convert. Ironically, I rarely use pliers and do not even consider them essential anymore.

Yea, it’s funny how we sometimes think we don’t need that function, but then once we have it, we find all sorts of uses for it.

Or, conversely, we think we have to have this function, but objectively we rarely or never use it, and we don’t actually miss it when it’s gone.

[buggs]

Interesting question for me.  Regularly I only actually carry a Vic Classic.  It has scissors of course.  By me and others, this is by far the most used tool for a variety of tasks.  Where I work "knives" are largely a no-no - urban office space where everyone is really rather dependent on everyone else to do something for them.  Not many people I work with would have tools or be competent to do something beyond opening a box.  They'll look at a Wave and ask why you have a weapon?     The Classic is small enough to not make anyone fearful and incredibly useful. 

When I retire though, whoo, boy, watch out.  I'm going to strap a Buck 110 on one side of my hip, a Wave on the other side and throw a Benchmade into the pocket on a clip.   

And yeah, the Classic will still be on my keychain. 

[Valkie]

Personally, I would have to sy I use the scissors more often than the blade.
Every day I use it to cut open my medication sachet.
Tearing it seems to get the mixture all over the place, but simple scissors do the job easy.

I usually use my Victornox, they seem to cut best.
But the Leatherman does the job in a pinch.

They are also really handy in removing rogue mustach hairs that have a tendency to tickle my nose.
Victornox is best here as they are really accurate and dont catch the hairs, I hate ripping out a hair and crying from the pain.

The wife borrows them occasionally when a stray thread presents itself or something small needs to be cut.

So yeah, scissors are a must for me.

[Fireman]

I have a Rambler on my keyring mainly for the scissors.   I trim stray beard hairs, fishing line, and annoying small plastic ties at work.

Vic Scissors rule, but I like the larger (Surge) Leatherman scissors as well.  I am less enamored with small LM scissors.

[Grand_Banana]

Scissors are a must for me. Anytime I’m carrying a SAK or PBMT without scissors I realize how frequently I need them. I prefer 91mm SAK scissors or the Spirit snips to LM small scissors.

I trim mustache with only SAK scissors.