Leatherman tragedy

[rocket scientist]

Like many of you out there I rely on my Leatherman every day at some point to do any number of tasks. Probably the the most useful item you could own, apart from a beer fridge!
About 3 weeks ago tradgedy struck when the main hinge frame broke, rendering the pliers and locking mechanism useless.:BigCry:
As it happened I was at an expo that week, and asked a knife dealer if it could be fixed. He said return it to the importer ( Zen Imports ) for repair.
Did Leatherman back their lifetime warranty?

2 weeks later, parcel arrives:- Brand new Leatherman Wave and pouch. :D:BigThumb:

Thats product support for you. Do the other brands do likewise?

[djam1]

Great service eh
I have done this on a few occasions with the same result

Excellent

[cartm58]

what is sad that due to hoons who have endangered our society by carrying weapons have made the nany state pass laws making it illegal to carry on your person pocket knives and bladed tools like leathermen.

On some construction resource project sites its illegal to carry them in car or tool box on site under site OSH rulings due to fear of cut injuries ruining the site injury safety record and hence the OSh manager bonus pool.

[rick130]

Had a set of SOG Power Pliers for many years, and had the pliers jaw break one day crimping some copper tube. (I'd abused them for years, cutting fencing wire, etc) SOG PowerLock (http://sogknives.com/store/S60.html)

Returned them to the importer (Nioa Trading ??) for repair and asked for a bolt/screw pivot kit to be supplied at my expense, and a new pouch as the cordura one had worn through.
They were repaired, including the screw kit for nix, plus a spare set of pivot screws and a small nominal charge for a new leather genuine SOG pouch.

One day left them on the back of the Defender and drove off down the road....:(

[rick130]

what is sad that due to hoons who have endangered our society by carrying weapons have made the nany state pass laws making it illegal to carry on your person pocket knives and bladed tools like leathermen.

<snip>.

It's perfectly legal for Tradespeople and farmers/farm workers, etc to carry bladed tools while going about their normal work in NSW.
About six months after the knife carrying legislation was first introduced into NSW, I was walking along a street in Penrith with the SOG hanging off the hip and two beat coppers just walked past and nodded, then about twenty metres up the road grabbed and frisked a young bloke and found a knife. :D

Everyone carries a knife on them in the bush, anyway. Just walk down the street of any country town and every second bloke is carrying.
Hell, as I sit here writing this I have a small 3" lockblade hanging off the belt of my shorts. I don't walk out the door without it.

[crump]

we had a guy on a road camp i was working on once stroll off into the scrub to commune with nature and whilst he was squatting his brand new Leatherman fell out of his shorts pocket and into his errr.. deposit.:eek: He flicks it out of the crap with a stick, leaves it there and comes back into camp to fetch his waterbottle to wash it off with, trouble was he couldnt remember where he had been, its still out there somewhere.:D

[Reads90]

Wow have to use mmy leatherman wave more as i was always worried about breaking it :) Now i won't worry so much

[Reads90]

what is sad that due to hoons who have endangered our society by carrying weapons have made the nany state pass laws making it illegal to carry on your person pocket knives and bladed tools like leathermen.

On some construction resource project sites its illegal to carry them in car or tool box on site under site OSH rulings due to fear of cut injuries ruining the site injury safety record and hence the OSh manager bonus pool.

I am a carpet fitter and floor layer by trade so perfectly legal for me to carry a knife around :):):)

[matbor]

I prefer this one !! :p

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/03/138.jpg

[matbor]

actually i like this one better...

http://media.popularmechanics.com/images/leatherman-skeletool-blade.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/03/137.jpg

[Furymax]

You will normally not be charged if you carry a pocket knife (size within reason) or leatherman so long as it is not concealed and you have a reasonable excuse.

The charge if you have it in your pocket is - carrying a concealed regulated weapon. And if you don't have an adequate reason for carrying it - carrying a regulated weapon without reasonable excuse.

Having said this though it is up to the police officers discretion as to what is reasonable, so if he/she doesn't like you then you will be likely to get a charge.

Enjoy
FURY

[Bushwanderer]

Hi All,
From when the law came in I have continued to carry my Swiss Army knife. If I am charged, I will defend it in court.

Best Wishes,

[Thommo]

I am a self confessed "geardo" and quite proud of all my knives, multitools, torches and other "gadgets". I frequent many knife, torch and back pack forums and always willing to trade tales on knives, multitools etc :D
I import most of my gear and seldom have any issues getting past customs even after making full declarations therefore these items are legal to possess and if you are using them for intended purpose and without criminal intent. THEN NO GENERAL STATE LAWS can prevent you from using them. Local bylaws, rules and regulation etc may prevent carriage into certain places but can not be a blanket rule. Heck I am only a barrack room lawyer but I am willing put my knife where my mouth is!

I have and always will have a leatherman, SAK, Gerber, CRKT or similar in my possession. (Except when flying but there are some bits of survival kit which are now allowed to be carried, there is even some multitools that are designed to meet carry on requirements). I had to "check" my wave the other day when going into a court house but got it back from security on exit no problems or questions asked.

I have regularly interacted with Police etc in all States and at various levels and NEVER been questioned or challenged other than for someone to borrow my multitool. Its all about common sense (sometimes lacking in our legal system).

Most of the places that one can not carry a knife (late night pubs and clubs in the city) I would not want to go anyway :confused: The day I am challenged or prevented from carrying a multitool or SAK as an EDC then I am afraid I will be leaving this fair country of ours :(

Had a few beers the other night at both the Prairie and Blinman pubs :) and I recon 1/2 the patrons had a multitool or knife visible hanging of their belts.
Heaven forbid if the Knife Nazis :twisted: had searched my pockets or vehicle and found the mother lode of my survival gear!

Perhaps I am a criminal but I just don't know it yet :angel:

[CraigE]

what is sad that due to hoons who have endangered our society by carrying weapons have made the nany state pass laws making it illegal to carry on your person pocket knives and bladed tools like leathermen.

On some construction resource project sites its illegal to carry them in car or tool box on site under site OSH rulings due to fear of cut injuries ruining the site injury safety record and hence the OSh manager bonus pool.
It is not illegal to carry one, it is illegal to carry one without lawful excuse. I have discussed this with the constabulary in a few states. What also differs is mine is carried in a holster in clear view, I also carry a rope rescue knife. Quite legal as they are a requirement for my work.
:D

[CraigE]

The Gerber is a much better tool. I have the luxury of being bought both.
The Gerber has much better action.

AND NO I DID NOT SAY GERBIL:o:o

[Thommo]

Take it from me as a owner of numerous knives and multitools, there is NO better than one another amongst the top end of multitools.

With the various different models made by the top end multitool manufacturers L/man, Gerber, SOG, Vic'x etc it is imperative that the user selects the tool that best suits their needs & budget.

As a general rule most Gerber's have more robust pliers that are better for general heavy engineering tasks whilst many L/mans have pliers better suited for electrical and more detailed work. Of course there are a host of various models with a zillion other features that one must consider.

Bottom line, spend the money on quality (which all the genuine "name" manufactures are producing now days, with some good deals to be had).

My personal favourites are:
Multitool: The Leatherman Wave. (I have 3 x L/mans, 2 x Gerber's, 1 x SOG and 1 x Vic'x).
Folding knife: The CRKT- M21 (closely followed by my "Bench mades" which have some nice blades, I would not wish to count all my folding knives).
Survival knife: The Tool logic SL Pro Fire Steel (The new model that I have not seen available in Oz yet).
Fixed Blade: A good old fashion "Buck" M9, just a rugged large blade that will split logs, dig holes, cut wire but not real flash for skinning and gutting.

Once again I must stress no one can say one is better than another.
The Hunter will disagree with the trapper, who will disagree with the fisherman who will disagree with the soldier who will disagree with the 4 x 4 guy who will disagree with the electrical geek and so on.............

Any one want to talk Knives, Torches & Backpacks please PM me :cool:

Thommo
Youth is waisted on the young

[100I]

He he he I gotta ask, do you attend any meetings, get up and say 'I'm Thommo and I have knives'?
That's quite a collection.

[Thommo]

A very good point you have raised their 100I.

One has to pick their audience when talking Knives (guns etc).
I would hope that we have many outdoors type enthusiasts on this forum who are not likely to jump to the conclusion (as per the wider and uninformed community) that all knife owners are evil dooers.

But I do take your point, being a "geardo" is a bit like some of the LR owners here who for some, one LR is not enough or the must have every accessory members amongst us, I am sure most of you are a "little bit guilty" of some indulgence. You would be surprised at the number of knife enthusiasts out there (I am just a general "geardo" into survival equipment and backpacking).

Yes I am guilty, I like bright torches, sharp knives and thirsty V8's any one else like to join! (the few vices my wife allows) :burnrubber:

[abaddonxi]

Didn't used to think I was a knife nut, then I started counting.

3 Leathermen, half a dozen Swiss Army, one Spyderco, Grandad's knife, big stupid knife I made myself and never used.

Then there are the kitchen knives, I gave away a dozen last year because the drawer was getting full.

I've got a mate flying up from Hobart tonight.

I asked him if he could bring up his sharpener, the knives are getting blunt.:p

Nah thanks, I'm fine, just looking for a Wusthof 20cm deep blade chopping knife.

Cheers
Simon

[GregTD5]

Any one else have a instant liking for Thommo?

In my line of work (pilot) we all carry a good Leatherman and LED torch.

Must say I have a few knives and torches around the home and car.

Greg

[Sprint]

Yes I am guilty, I like bright torches, sharp knives and thirsty V8's any one else like to join! (the few vices my wife allows) :burnrubber: can i add guns to that list?

[Mikes defender]

I carry my "classic leather man" everywere while working.. I refer to it as the "lazyman tool" its the tool you use when you can't be bothered with getting the correct tool from your box. I alway giggle when people refer to swiss army knifes and lazymans as wepons, how on earth could you draw the it at any kind of speed? it takes me five minutes to figure out witch fingernail is long enough to open the blade, hehe

[RobHay]

we had a guy on a road camp i was working on once stroll off into the scrub to commune with nature and whilst he was squatting his brand new Leatherman fell out of his shorts pocket and into his errr.. deposit.:eek: He flicks it out of the crap with a stick, leaves it there and comes back into camp to fetch his waterbottle to wash it off with, trouble was he couldnt remember where he had been, its still out there somewhere.:D


CRUMP!......Have you got a GPS reference for the camp?;)

[rocket scientist]

I am a self confessed "geardo" and quite proud of all my knives, multitools, torches and other "gadgets". I frequent many knife, torch and back pack forums and always willing to trade tales on knives, multitools etc :D
I import most of my gear and seldom have any issues getting past customs even after making full declarations therefore these items are legal to possess and if you are using them for intended purpose and without criminal intent. THEN NO GENERAL STATE LAWS can prevent you from using them. Local bylaws, rules and regulation etc may prevent carriage into certain places but can not be a blanket rule. Heck I am only a barrack room lawyer but I am willing put my knife where my mouth is!

I have and always will have a leatherman, SAK, Gerber, CRKT or similar in my possession. (Except when flying but there are some bits of survival kit which are now allowed to be carried, there is even some multitools that are designed to meet carry on requirements). I had to "check" my wave the other day when going into a court house but got it back from security on exit no problems or questions asked.

I have regularly interacted with Police etc in all States and at various levels and NEVER been questioned or challenged other than for someone to borrow my multitool. Its all about common sense (sometimes lacking in our legal system).

Most of the places that one can not carry a knife (late night pubs and clubs in the city) I would not want to go anyway :confused: The day I am challenged or prevented from carrying a multitool or SAK as an EDC then I am afraid I will be leaving this fair country of ours :(

Had a few beers the other night at both the Prairie and Blinman pubs :) and I recon 1/2 the patrons had a multitool or knife visible hanging of their belts.
Heaven forbid if the Knife Nazis :twisted: had searched my pockets or vehicle and found the mother lode of my survival gear!

Perhaps I am a criminal but I just don't know it yet :angel:

I'm with you Thommo.
The sooner more people wake up to the fact this country is being ruined by lawyers & insurance companies the sooner we can move on.

[CraigE]

OK My list at present, not counting past knives :
1 x leatherman Wave
1 x Leatherman Super Tool 200
1 x Gerber Legend Tool with Mini Tool Kit
3 x Eickhorn Solingen PRT Rescue Knives
4 x Eickhorn Solingen PRT1 Resccue Knives Rounded End
6 Assorted Rescue Knives (do not have brands and models on me as are at home, but include CMC etc)
4 x Swiss Army Knives of varying degree
2 x Victorinox Swiss Army Style Knives
Complete set of Victorinox Chefs Knives
1 good fishing knife - brand escapes me at present
Assorted dive knives.
A dozen or so assorted other knives of no brand or no known brand and varying quality.
Pluse all generic blades, knives etc in the shed and kitchen.

The Gerber Legend goes with me everywhere out of work and is my personal choice, I find more robust and easier to use than the Leatherman. The Leatherman is with me at work. Hardly ever use the swiss army knives anymore. The kids mainly use them.

[MickS]

Always have an orange or an apple with you - that way, when asked, you use your leatherman/gerber/sog/multitool for cutting fruit - perfectly reasonable and lawful ;)

[Utemad]

Is there an online shop for getting these multitools cheaper?

All this talk of multitools reminds me that mine is MIA as of last week. I remember bringing it into the house but the rest is a mystery (lives in the glovebox).

[JamesH]

For years I was a SOG Paratool man and thought Leatherman's were like the Troopy of multi-tools, too numerous, but as I learned that, as Thommo wisely said, it is different strokes for different folks.

At the time I preferred the SOG because the blades opened from inside the handle and when you used the pliers, (which could work at various angles to the handle), it was easier on the hands. I did not like the way the blades and tools did not lock into position.

Years later, I took a look at a mate's Leatherman Wave and was converted, I like the way they had addressed the handle comfort issue and how the tools locked in position when opening. Also it had the tiny optical screw-driver. Ended up getting a Blast which had all the things I wanted but was cheaper not having a few things i didn't need.

At my work I am in contact with theatre techies, the Lighting dudes prefer Gerbers as they are easier to open one handed while hanging on up in the gods. Different people different needs. Just working in an office i find myself using it often. Other people who laugh at my "geardoness" always ask to borrow it too.

Carry my Leatherman with me 80% of the time, and it seems like it is always the 20%, when usually because it's on the pair of pants I'm not wearing, that i don't have it that's the time I'll need it.

[rick130]

I really miss the old Power Pliers, (they seemed beefier/tougher than an equivalent Leatherman, and the pliers generated more power), they were easy to 'flick' open, but I don't miss the lack of blade locking !!!

SOG have addressed this a couple of years back now, and the blades lock, but they've dropped the blunt jaw pliers, which I really, really liked.
I notice Gerber have some blunt jaw pliers, possibly a replacement for my old Power Pliers ? (my b/day is in 3 weeks :D)

[rick130]

BTW, are there any problems from a customs point of view re importing a bladed multi-tool from OS ?

[penno]

leatherman have made good tools since Adam, You have some saw work to do and you have forgotten your square,try this you are looking for a 90 degree to line up a window frame open your Leatherman and it forms a 90 degree angle, it works.

[Thommo]

I have brought in about a dozen knives in the last 12-24 months with no problems.

I had some problems bringing in a Buck M9 Bayonet but after I quoted customs their own rules regarding definition of a Bayonet to them they conceded defeat. (go figure?) I recon the CRKT M-21 is by far a more dangerous knife (if you have criminal intents) and that got in no questions asked??? (If you are familiar with the action of the M-21 you will know what I mean SSSSSH!)

I found the trick is to declare everything truthfully and know the rules and regulations, which are fairly liberal I must admit.

Remember with the free trade agreement we have with the US, you can bring in up to $1000 worth of goods (not in commercial quantities) every couple of months and NOT pay any duties.

Don't be greedy, ensure sender declares actual items and there are NO problems. If you get greedy or get caught telling porky pies and go on their radar they will hound you forever (some of my colleagues have found out the expensive way).


Go price a CRKT or Leatherman etc in Australia either on line or in store then check out the prices ex USA. I can get 3 x knives delivered to my door including shipping for the same price. I would love to support Ozzy retailers but I can't justify the mark up most of the time. Although I must admit "Snowys" usually have some good prices (they appear to be passing on the benifits of the OZ-US dollar to the customer unlike many others) and if I am in a hurry for something I will purchase locally from them.


Thommo
Youth is waisted on the Young

[RoverOne]

BTW, are there any problems from a customs point of view re importing a bladed multi-tool from OS ?

I've bought numerous knives from O/S including axes, though luggage on planes & over the internet and to date never had one problem (I used to import for the company I worked for also, have lots of great free samples never seen in Australian retailers, even a few not kosha :D).

Plenty of parcels opened with customs tape reapplied but all delivered by Australia Post.

I have around 150 odd knives, all good brands my favourite multi tool is the Schrade Tool, so far the only one without some problem it has laminated plier jaws. The majority of my knife collection are Puma knives.

The one I wear daily around the farm is an ex army army pocketknife with bakealite grips made in 1940 in Sheffield, an extremly tough knife.

All knife nuts should do a week in Seki City in Japan the cuttlery capital of Japan home of the Samuri Sword, just don't mention the war.

[Tango51]

I've bought numerous knives from O/S including axes, though luggage on planes & over the internet and to date never had one problem (I used to import for the company I worked for also, have lots of great free samples never seen in Australian retailers, even a few not kosha :D).

Plenty of parcels opened with customs tape reapplied but all delivered by Australia Post.

I have around 150 odd knives, all good brands my favourite multi tool is the Schrade Tool, so far the only one without some problem it has laminated plier jaws. The majority of my knife collection are Puma knives.

The one I wear daily around the farm is an ex army army pocketknife with bakealite grips made in 1940 in Sheffield, an extremly tough knife.

All knife nuts should do a week in Seki City in Japan the cuttlery capital of Japan home of the Samuri Sword, just don't mention the war.

Hey Bryce, I did the Seki thing in Gifu and couldn't agree more.
It was fascinating, very generous hosts and amazing stuff to see.
I carried a favourite knife all the way there, a Japanese knife that had broken and the craftsmen worked it into a new shape, gratis!
I bought them a case of Kirin and now I have a treasured momento.
Some serious collectors from all over, and all were very warm!
Bryce is right, do it if you get the chance!
Tango