Yup, this is the best multitool there is for $15. If there's a better one, I haven't seen it. The Bahco is very similar to Bear & Sons multitools, and if the Bahco weren't made in China, I'd swear it was made by Bear.
The tool is 4-1/4" long when closed, and 3/4" thick. Everything is stainless steel. The handles are very comfortable, and are rolled sheet metal. There are no sharp corners on them. Whether the tool is open or closed, there's no flex in the handles. When the pliers are being squeezed, they flex a little; very similar to the Bear tools. Hmm...
One side of the handles has the Bahco logo machined in; the other has centimeter-marked graduations with millimeters between them in 1mm increments. The pivots are held together with hex screws, so you can adjust the multitool as needed, or replace parts.
The pliers are made very nicely, and come evenly shaped and ground. They're standard size for most multitools in this size range; think Leatherman PST. The pliers are spring-loaded; the spring is located under the plier head, and it can be easily removed (and replaced) if you wish. The pliers open to 1-5/8" at the tip, 7/8" in the bolt-grabbing portion, and 3/16" in the wire cutters. The entire plier head works as it should. I've cut about a dozen wire coat hangers because this is often where most cheap multitools fail first: either the plier head will loosen up, the wire cutters will deform, or both. None of those happened with the Bahco.
The other tools are accessed without opening the pliers; they're outside accessible. Similar to... Bear?
The handle with the Bahco logo has the following tools, in this order: knife blade, awl, can opener, 3/16" flathead screwdriver, file. They all open with a nail nick.
The knife is plain edge and clip point, measuring 2-1/2" long and a hair under 1/8" thick. It's full flat ground. Blade steel isn't mentioned, but I assume it's 420HC or 440A. It came dull, but took a razor-sharp edge quickly. It held the edge about as well as Leatherman's 420HC.
The next tool is the awl. It's 1-1/2" long with 7/8" of it sharpened. It's ground on one side only, and came dull. It sharpened up nicely. It's just a hair over 1/16" thick.
Next s the can opener. It's standard size, and was dull. A quick sharpening made it open can easily, but it did dull after two cans. It's just under 1/8" thick.
The 3/16" flathead screwdriver is up next. It's only 1-3/8" long, so use it for tight spaces. It's actually ground nicely; the corners are sharp, and it tapers to fit most screws.
The file is the last tool on this side of the handle. It's 2-5/8" long and just over 1/16" thick. The file is single-cut on one side and double-cut on the other, with the underside single-cut for sawing through metal. It works very well, and doesn't clog easily. The tip is squared, so I guess you could use it as a flathead screwdriver is you find a screw that's 3/16" or larger with a 1/16" groove.
At this point, I should also mention that the tools have steel spacers in between them. This makes opening them smoother, but they still clump together while opening. Also, it's easy to adjust the pivots so nothing has side-to-side play.
The other side of the handles have the following tools, in this order: corkscrew, lanyard attachment, Phillips screwdriver, eyeglass screwdriver, and serrated blade.
The corkscrew is an anomaly for a multitool of this size, but it works fine. It opens in a T-handle shape, about 1/3 down the handle. It opens to 2-1/4" long, and it will work with a Victorinox eyeglass screwdriver. When closed, it sticks out past the handle, making insertion and extraction from the sheath a bit tricky since each groove snags on the sheath.
The lanyard attachment is a flat piece of metal, 1/16" thick with a 3/16" diameter hole in it. It's only 3/8" long, so I use it as a light-duty pry bar, and it works fine for that.
Next is the Phillips screwdriver. It's three-dimensional, and sized for a #1 screw. It's nice and stiff, at 1/8" thick. It measures 1-3/8" long.
The next tool is the eyeglass screwdriver, which is a 1/16" flathead driver. It's 1-1/4" long and works as it should, but it needed to be ground better, as the corners were rounded.
The last tool is the serrated blade. It's just under 1/8" thick, sheepsfoot shape, and 2-5/8" long with a 2-1/2" long chisel-ground cutting edge. The serrations aren't very good for rope or webbing, as they grab it more than cut it. It appears to be the same serration pattern as Spyderco knives, but not done as well as Spyderco. The last 1/4" of the blade is left plain-edged.
The sheath is the last thing to discuss. It's cheap nylon, and seems like it was meant for a lower-quality tool. It has the Bahco logo on it, and closes with a low-quality Velcro-like material. The inside has this weird plastic lining on it, and it feels like a sandwich bag inside. The sheath attaches to your belt with a spring clip, which works okay. As I mentioned earlier, the corkscrew makes getting the tool in and out of the sheath difficult, so a different sheath is almost necessary.
In all, this has got to be the best $15 multitool out there. Even more surprising because it's made in China. This isn't the typical made-in-China tool you find by Sheffield or Taylor; it's a quality tool.
EDIT: I see the price is up to $22 now. I'm not sure I'd buy it for that price, but here's the link...
http://www.amazon.com/Snap-on-MTT86...id=1374728035&sr=8-1&keywords=bahco+multitool
The tool is 4-1/4" long when closed, and 3/4" thick. Everything is stainless steel. The handles are very comfortable, and are rolled sheet metal. There are no sharp corners on them. Whether the tool is open or closed, there's no flex in the handles. When the pliers are being squeezed, they flex a little; very similar to the Bear tools. Hmm...
One side of the handles has the Bahco logo machined in; the other has centimeter-marked graduations with millimeters between them in 1mm increments. The pivots are held together with hex screws, so you can adjust the multitool as needed, or replace parts.
The pliers are made very nicely, and come evenly shaped and ground. They're standard size for most multitools in this size range; think Leatherman PST. The pliers are spring-loaded; the spring is located under the plier head, and it can be easily removed (and replaced) if you wish. The pliers open to 1-5/8" at the tip, 7/8" in the bolt-grabbing portion, and 3/16" in the wire cutters. The entire plier head works as it should. I've cut about a dozen wire coat hangers because this is often where most cheap multitools fail first: either the plier head will loosen up, the wire cutters will deform, or both. None of those happened with the Bahco.
The other tools are accessed without opening the pliers; they're outside accessible. Similar to... Bear?
The handle with the Bahco logo has the following tools, in this order: knife blade, awl, can opener, 3/16" flathead screwdriver, file. They all open with a nail nick.
The knife is plain edge and clip point, measuring 2-1/2" long and a hair under 1/8" thick. It's full flat ground. Blade steel isn't mentioned, but I assume it's 420HC or 440A. It came dull, but took a razor-sharp edge quickly. It held the edge about as well as Leatherman's 420HC.
The next tool is the awl. It's 1-1/2" long with 7/8" of it sharpened. It's ground on one side only, and came dull. It sharpened up nicely. It's just a hair over 1/16" thick.
Next s the can opener. It's standard size, and was dull. A quick sharpening made it open can easily, but it did dull after two cans. It's just under 1/8" thick.
The 3/16" flathead screwdriver is up next. It's only 1-3/8" long, so use it for tight spaces. It's actually ground nicely; the corners are sharp, and it tapers to fit most screws.
The file is the last tool on this side of the handle. It's 2-5/8" long and just over 1/16" thick. The file is single-cut on one side and double-cut on the other, with the underside single-cut for sawing through metal. It works very well, and doesn't clog easily. The tip is squared, so I guess you could use it as a flathead screwdriver is you find a screw that's 3/16" or larger with a 1/16" groove.
At this point, I should also mention that the tools have steel spacers in between them. This makes opening them smoother, but they still clump together while opening. Also, it's easy to adjust the pivots so nothing has side-to-side play.
The other side of the handles have the following tools, in this order: corkscrew, lanyard attachment, Phillips screwdriver, eyeglass screwdriver, and serrated blade.
The corkscrew is an anomaly for a multitool of this size, but it works fine. It opens in a T-handle shape, about 1/3 down the handle. It opens to 2-1/4" long, and it will work with a Victorinox eyeglass screwdriver. When closed, it sticks out past the handle, making insertion and extraction from the sheath a bit tricky since each groove snags on the sheath.
The lanyard attachment is a flat piece of metal, 1/16" thick with a 3/16" diameter hole in it. It's only 3/8" long, so I use it as a light-duty pry bar, and it works fine for that.
Next is the Phillips screwdriver. It's three-dimensional, and sized for a #1 screw. It's nice and stiff, at 1/8" thick. It measures 1-3/8" long.
The next tool is the eyeglass screwdriver, which is a 1/16" flathead driver. It's 1-1/4" long and works as it should, but it needed to be ground better, as the corners were rounded.
The last tool is the serrated blade. It's just under 1/8" thick, sheepsfoot shape, and 2-5/8" long with a 2-1/2" long chisel-ground cutting edge. The serrations aren't very good for rope or webbing, as they grab it more than cut it. It appears to be the same serration pattern as Spyderco knives, but not done as well as Spyderco. The last 1/4" of the blade is left plain-edged.
The sheath is the last thing to discuss. It's cheap nylon, and seems like it was meant for a lower-quality tool. It has the Bahco logo on it, and closes with a low-quality Velcro-like material. The inside has this weird plastic lining on it, and it feels like a sandwich bag inside. The sheath attaches to your belt with a spring clip, which works okay. As I mentioned earlier, the corkscrew makes getting the tool in and out of the sheath difficult, so a different sheath is almost necessary.
In all, this has got to be the best $15 multitool out there. Even more surprising because it's made in China. This isn't the typical made-in-China tool you find by Sheffield or Taylor; it's a quality tool.
EDIT: I see the price is up to $22 now. I'm not sure I'd buy it for that price, but here's the link...
http://www.amazon.com/Snap-on-MTT86...id=1374728035&sr=8-1&keywords=bahco+multitool
Last edited: