I am a Leatherman tool user from their beginning. I have one of the original models and it's built like a brick s**thouse and has endured a whole lot of abuse from me. It holds it's edge and sharpens quickly. Even the leather case is still in very good condition. that's what I expect from Leatherman.
Recently, had Skeletool which I broke the plier jaw while bending some wire. I was kind of astonished as the wire was the kind used in political campaign yard signs, stiff, but not that challenging. Got smacked in the head as the broken jaw flew by.
Since I need robust pliers in my multitool, I opted for the beefier Rebar and breaking with tradition, I got it in black.
I am rather underwhelmed. The knife, serrated knife and saw blades are nothing like the quality of my 30 y/o original, they are more like stamped steel as is the handles. The blade width of each is thinner and flexes some. I wonder if they are robust enough for the abuse I have in store? I saw down small trees to clear shooting lanes while deer hunting and the saw blade is not that stiff.
Finally, as I manipulated the tool, the black rubbed off. To be clear the tool did not lose the color, I guess just this is just excess overspray. Not bad, more like newspaper ink smudges you get, but really?
The original Leatherman I recall fondly as works of art and everything about them was both well crafted and Rambo approved tough. A couple of them and you could live off the land and defend against a platoon of cops in ...
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