Bladeless multitool

C

Ccnati

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Feb 16, 2014
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I'm looking for a quality multitool that I can use at school. I find many times in my technical theater class that a knife or multitool would be nice. I would try for one of the tiny leathermans but I think one if the larger ones would work better. I would prefer something fairly comfortable in the pocket as I would carry it all day and a sheath on my belt might raise eyebrows.
 
Ccnati said:
I'm looking for a quality multitool that I can use at school. I find many times in my technical theater class that a knife or multitool would be nice. I would try for one of the tiny leathermans but I think one if the larger ones would work better. I would prefer something fairly comfortable in the pocket as I would carry it all day and a sheath on my belt might raise eyebrows.
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Where are you likely to raise eyebrows? Guys I know working theater tech (stagehands) routinely belt carry multi-tools without incident or comment anywhere. I've carried one for several decades in all sorts of social situations, and the only comment I ever got was from someone who said he was inspired to do the same. To your point, however; a Wave or Charge carries well with a pocket clip. Without a clip, I can't think of any in a useful size that feel comfortable in a pocket.
 
Either a discontinued Bladeless Fuse (hard to get) or wait a bit for a Leap, it was shown as a prototype last month and should be out sometime this year. Other than that, only one I know of is a Style PS and it's a pretty small tool. Another option might be a SOG Powerlock and customize the tool loadout to remove the blade. Of course you can always go with something like a Rebar or Juice and just dremel off the blade.
 
znapschatz said:
Where are you likely to raise eyebrows? Guys I know working theater tech (stagehands) routinely belt carry multi-tools without incident or comment anywhere. I've carried one for several decades in all sorts of social situations, and the only comment I ever got was from someone who said he was inspired to do the same. To your point, however; a Wave or Charge carries well with a pocket clip. Without a clip, I can't think of any in a useful size that feel comfortable in a pocket.
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Considering I'm in high school, it would be a hassle if a teacher who want my tech teacher saw it and I had to explain to administration and the SRO that it doesn't have a blade.
 
deblade it, let them know your going to bring it in or if you can bring it in to show them it has no blade, then show them if they say you can.
then ask if you can carry a pair of safety scissors incase you need to cut string rope or paper.... it was so much easier when I was a kid, teachers would ask if any of us had a pocket knife so they could use it then they would give it back or they would have us do it for them.....
 
Does the powerlock work with the blade(s) out or do you have to put something in their place? Also, does anyone know if the powerlock work nice for back pocket carry or pocket carry?
 
You can get a shim kit for the power-lock (or at least you used to) from SOG for a couple bucks, and then you can just adjust it to suit. I bought a few extra bit and pieces, and then modified a few for stage use.

I cut down the can-opener to be a tweaker, and shaved the bottle opener to fit recessed screws better.

The power-lock is pretty heavy for pocket carry though. I would recommend a small crescent wrench (4 inch) with your name on it.

I don't do much theater work anymore, more corporate stuff, but the tools I use most are the tiny screwdriver, wrench, and pliers. I would think that the most cost effective thing for you would just be a couple regular tools.

What is your specialty that you are looking at?
 
Considering it is a high school class, most of the grade is done with set building and such, however I am personally one of the few who are being taught on the sound board as well as set production.
 
if you want to get into audio, a good long thin common screw-driver is tops for setting pot-switches on things like wireless mics, and for setting dip-switches on some gear (but much less common in the audio world) And if you want to continue on in the industry, the tools one carries are as important for credibility as ones resume, so owning a good quality multi-tool will be very good later on (or even if you just do community theater stuff outside of school) But for now, if its tools you are needing, get just those tools for now, and worry about multi-tools down the track. Cheaper, less hassle, no pain if you loose them.

If you do want to go with a multi though, I would go with the SOG, you may find you need to belt carry it, but at least you will have the tools you want, and can put the blades back later. With nearly anything else, you'll just have a tool you need to replace later. I just looked, and it seems like you can blade swap with the paratool and the pocket powerplier as well. so those are good options as well.
 
It's pretty easy to customize the tool load in a SOG powerlock, SOG sells all the bits you need. I would opt for the saw, file, V-cutter and scissors as the "long" tools. With a bit more effort you can also customize the tools in the old style Leatherman and Gerber multi-tools. Buy 2 or 3 used ones and "lego" away. OTOH, a 5" needle nose Visegrip, a small compact 6-in-1 or 1/4" insert bit screwdriver, and the little technicians 4-in-1 screwdriver (from CountyComm) will be less expensive and easier to explain to the PTB
 
I think then the SOG pocket plier would be the ticket. three tools to a side, and while you won't be doing blade swaps every day, once you get the hang of lining it up and adjusting the shims, its not hard. The advantage is the V-cutter gives you a cutting edge that should be okay pretty much anywhere.
 
You could look for a used Juice here. On my S2, the blade is covered over by the can-opener/lifter tool. Meaning, you have to open the latter to even access the blade. This COULD withstand a cursory exam by a NKP administrator. However, very easy to defang the blade into a de-facto pry-bar, and still have it be useful to you. Plus, it's every bit as compact as a small SAK, and very pocket-friendly.
 
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