Dave455
Well-known member
The concept of basically a pocket knife, but incorporating pliers or similar, is not new.
The British Special Operations Executive used these Sheffield made knives during the war, and they in turn, were based on a similar Sheffield pattern dating from the previous century.
When the now famous Leatherman tool was introduced I wasn’t convinced. I knew something of tools, and knew that cast pliers were always going to be a bit second rate. I knew something of knives too, and didn’t rate the quality of the knife blade that highly.
One thing that Leatherman did get right was the size. The SOE knives, as an SOE officer of my Fathers circle pointed out, were far too big for regular carry. Leatherman tools were little bigger than a pocket knife, and that was important.
In the end, I seldom carried mine.
I ended up working as a pilot on big old turboprop airliners, and carried long nose pliers to access the fuel dipsticks, together with a reversible screwdriver. Despite the limitations of the tools however, all the engineers carried Leathermans. You could remove a couple of screws, or change a bulb without needing to get more tools, or more importantly, book out tools.
When Victorinox introduced their multitool I thought this was more like it. They were big and hefty.
And tools were much higher quality.
I had to have one, and used it for a couple of years.
The problem of course, much like the SOE knives, was that the tool was far too big and heavy.
Too big for a pocket it lived in my flight bag, until a change to a less maintenance intensive aircraft, and a desire to reduce the weight I was carrying around, led me to replace it with a small bit driver.
However, things change.
Victorinox introduced their “Spirit” tool, and I ended up owning a rental property that needed maintenance.
This time round I totally “got it”.
If I was simply decorating, this tool was just enough to unscrew a light switch or pull out a tack.
Having elderly tenants, I found I could do about 30% of the “maintenance” just with this.
And of course being all stainless was a winner too. If it (and I) got wet it didn’t matter. If I spilled a bit of paint on it, I could clean it off without damage.
And this time round we were back to pocket knife dimensions too.
Finally, I saw that one of the newer Leatherman tools went back, pretty much, to the original design, but with a few improvements.
The tools are still not as good as the Victorinox, but Leatherman have kept the price under control. For me this is a winner, as I think the size and bulk are just a bit more pocketable than the Spirit, although the two see equal “jacket time”.
After several decades deliberation, I’m voting “Aye” to multitools, but would be interested to hear others experiences.
For me, it’s all about capability while remaining compact, but I know of others who find tools such as the Leatherman Surge, with it’s interchangeable saw, to be invaluable.
The British Special Operations Executive used these Sheffield made knives during the war, and they in turn, were based on a similar Sheffield pattern dating from the previous century.
When the now famous Leatherman tool was introduced I wasn’t convinced. I knew something of tools, and knew that cast pliers were always going to be a bit second rate. I knew something of knives too, and didn’t rate the quality of the knife blade that highly.
One thing that Leatherman did get right was the size. The SOE knives, as an SOE officer of my Fathers circle pointed out, were far too big for regular carry. Leatherman tools were little bigger than a pocket knife, and that was important.
In the end, I seldom carried mine.
I ended up working as a pilot on big old turboprop airliners, and carried long nose pliers to access the fuel dipsticks, together with a reversible screwdriver. Despite the limitations of the tools however, all the engineers carried Leathermans. You could remove a couple of screws, or change a bulb without needing to get more tools, or more importantly, book out tools.
When Victorinox introduced their multitool I thought this was more like it. They were big and hefty.
And tools were much higher quality.
I had to have one, and used it for a couple of years.
The problem of course, much like the SOE knives, was that the tool was far too big and heavy.
Too big for a pocket it lived in my flight bag, until a change to a less maintenance intensive aircraft, and a desire to reduce the weight I was carrying around, led me to replace it with a small bit driver.
However, things change.
Victorinox introduced their “Spirit” tool, and I ended up owning a rental property that needed maintenance.
This time round I totally “got it”.
If I was simply decorating, this tool was just enough to unscrew a light switch or pull out a tack.
Having elderly tenants, I found I could do about 30% of the “maintenance” just with this.
And of course being all stainless was a winner too. If it (and I) got wet it didn’t matter. If I spilled a bit of paint on it, I could clean it off without damage.
And this time round we were back to pocket knife dimensions too.
Finally, I saw that one of the newer Leatherman tools went back, pretty much, to the original design, but with a few improvements.
The tools are still not as good as the Victorinox, but Leatherman have kept the price under control. For me this is a winner, as I think the size and bulk are just a bit more pocketable than the Spirit, although the two see equal “jacket time”.
After several decades deliberation, I’m voting “Aye” to multitools, but would be interested to hear others experiences.
For me, it’s all about capability while remaining compact, but I know of others who find tools such as the Leatherman Surge, with it’s interchangeable saw, to be invaluable.
remains, to this day, more handy than Weathermen. 
️