"Bond. Leatherman Bond."

EngrSorenson said:
I’m fine with inside tools because I like the asthetic of having a neat, clean package when it’s closed. Yeah, it’s a little more difficult to open up the tools, but I carry a slip joint always so I’ve got a faster blade at the ready if I need it.

tool accessibility isnt a concern for SAKs, so I guess if I needed “on demand” tools that’d be the way I’d go. Just pocket some pliers.

If I’m using a leatherman things have either gone sideways in a remote location, or I’m too lazy to get to a tool box. Either way personally I think that extra step to open doesn’t matter much.

here’s a thought- I’m guessing most of us carry another knife in tandem with a leatherman. What if they did away with the blades altogether, and came up with another tool for a small package?
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I'd don't find it that slow either, screws and such can wait an extra second as can the things I cut with my little two handed pocket knives.

I say I'd be fine if the blade was gone because I don't carry a multitool as a knife , but I like knowing theres a blade I can use on rare cutting tasks I wouldn't use my pocket knife for.
I haven't needed the blade on my bond yet and probably won't more than a handful of times this year, but it's there if I do.
 
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315 said:
For me, I would be totally fine with that. But I’m guessing there are a lot of people that may have a multitool lying around or being carried that don’t regularly carry knives, and the blade appeals to them. I would think perhaps we would be in the minority on that aspect.
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I would really like a knifeless Leatherman as I never use the knife of the Leatherman and it would be a great tool for traveling by air.
 
So, I picked up a Leatherman Bond off of the exchange last week. It arrived yesterday and I am overall happy with it. I have one grip with the blade coming up when I open the handle. I was concerned that it might bite me down the road. I took the blade side apart and changed the blade to a serrated blade and I swapped the Philips to a charge bit holder. This way I can use the ratcheting bit driver I am planning to order down the road. So, let me know what you think. Forgot to add, my date stamps are 1020 & 0121.



 
Personally I like the #2 it has, but I would not hate the bit holder.

My blade has not been a problem for me but that is a good solution.

Btw it is rumored that leatherman might be dealing with the blade concerns right now, because the bond is currently unavailable on their site.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Personally I like the #2 it has, but I would not hate the bit holder.

My blade has not been a problem for me but that is a good solution.

Btw it is rumored that leatherman might be dealing with the blade concerns right now, because the bond is currently unavailable on their site.
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Before I swapped blades, I did try tightening the pivot screw. I was fortunate to have some spare parts on hand, so that is why I did the swap. If I had to go out and purchase another multi tool or parts, I would not have modded the tool. The blade is from a rebar and the bit holder is from a wave. I think it is a bonus that you can rob the Leatherman parts bin to make the tool how you like it. Just make sure to have some extra spacer washers on hand. If I had a pair of scissors from the wave I would have added that to the file side by swapping out the lanyard ring and one of the slotted screw drivers.

I am glad to hear that Leatherman is looking into the blade issue with the Bond. For a $40.00 multi tool they have done a fantastic job. They really put a lot of thought into it.

JonesE
 
JonesE said:
Before I swapped blades, I did try tightening the pivot screw. I was fortunate to have some spare parts on hand, so that is why I did the swap. If I had to go out and purchase another multi tool or parts, I would not have modded the tool. The blade is from a rebar and the bit holder is from a wave. I think it is a bonus that you can rob the Leatherman parts bin to make the tool how you like it. Just make sure to have some extra spacer washers on hand. If I had a pair of scissors from the wave I would have added that to the file side by swapping out the lanyard ring and one of the slotted screw drivers.

I am glad to hear that Leatherman is looking into the blade issue with the Bond. For a $40.00 multi tool they have done a fantastic job. They really put a lot of thought into it.

JonesE
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I was told that you couldn't just tighten the pivot due to the way it was designed for easy opening, but I'm pretty sure that was just assumption.
I'm glad to know that whoever said this was right.

Do you have the special pivot wrench ?
I have had success in the past using my squirt pliers when I wanted to disassemble one, but it's really had not to mess up the screw head a little.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I was told that you couldn't just tighten the pivot due to the way it was designed for easy opening, but I'm pretty sure that was just assumption.
I'm glad to know that whoever said this was right.

Do you have the special pivot wrench ?
I have had success in the past using my squirt pliers when I wanted to disassemble one, but it's really had not to mess up the screw head a little.
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For the pivot wrenches I got them from a guy on the big auction site. If memory serves, I believe it was Loki Mobile and he is out of Russia. Just use the search term Leatherman wrenches and it should pop up. I also grabbed the wrenches that work on Gerber and SOG Multitools at the same time. The nice thing about the wrenches are they don’t damage the pivot bolts and scratch up the tool body. The Leatherman wrenches are shaped like the X in the photo. My past method of using vise grips to repair a tool would chew up the pivot bolt heads. If you ever work on older Waves or Charge multi tool you will need PLS10 and T10H bits.

 
I didn't realise the bit holder would fit into it. Colour me interested just based on that. I'd also be interested in whether the eyeglass screwdriver might fit instead of the flat head screwdriver if you already have the bit driver. Would make a far better overall urban carry. I can't get past the blade though. Having it so high up on the handle when in use is very awkward when cutting stuff on a flat surface.
 
Just finished the last of the mods to my Leatherman Bond this weekend. I filed back and smoothed out the transition from the rolled handle to the non rolled portion where the pliers attach to the handle. The little nubs would dig into my hand. On Friday, the clip, bit adapter, and accessory sheath arrived. So, I installed the clip. Never had a clip on a multi tool before, so I am not really sure how I feel,about that yet. Normally, they would ride in a belt sheath, but I guess it is good to have options.



 
The Bond is a great modern day rendition of the original PST. I highly recommend. As some others have already said the blade issue everyone talks about isn’t a problem as long as you are aware of it and handle accordingly.
 
dmattaponi said:
The Bond is a great modern day rendition of the original PST. I highly recommend. As some others have already said the blade issue everyone talks about isn’t a problem as long as you are aware of it and handle accordingly.
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Indeed, my PST has that same blade issue. The Bond's design is faithful to the PST in that regard.
 
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dmattaponi said:
The Bond is a great modern day rendition of the original PST. I highly recommend. As some others have already said the blade issue everyone talks about isn’t a problem as long as you are aware of it and handle accordingly.
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I'm certainly not worried about it myself.
 
I may get one of these to replace my worn out rebar so I can finally send it in to Leatherman for a refresh, I just don’t want to be without my rebar that long, but this will fill the void nicely.

Looks the the blade issue is really a non-issue to me.
 
The Bond is a great pocketable multitool with the pocket clip. Add a Victorinox Compact for the outside opening blade and awesome scissors in a small package, and you have a great multitool combo.
 
Having started with a Sidekick as my first multitool, I kind of got used to having a knife blade and a wood saw as main cutting tools. So I ordered a Rebar saw blade from Ebay and swapped it for the Bond's file.
 
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