- Joined
- Aug 23, 2004
- Messages
- 382
Nowadays, it seems as if the basic design of plier-type multi tools has pretty much been established. No matter which company makes the tool, or what special features or implements are included, the basic layout is all the same; a pair of folding pliers which fold up into their own handles, with blades or screwdrivers or scissors (or whatever) that also fold up into those same two handles. Its a layout thats hard to beat.
But this wasnt so clear ten or fifteen years ago. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the multi tool craze was just starting to take hold, dozens of major manufacturers were scrambling to get competing designs out onto the market. Soon after, two distinctly different design philosophies could be noted. One style was the folding plier type described above, led by such major players as Leatherman, Gerber, SOG, and Victorinox.
The second style was more SAK-like, with an integral set of non-folding pliers. One handle of the plier is solid, sometimes doubling as a pry bar or hex driver. The other handle of the plier is actually the body of the tool itself, which is then packed with various knives, screwdrivers, blades, and other implements. Up until a few years ago, this group was strongly represented by such notables as the SOG ToolClip, two models from Wenger, two models from Al Mar, and a number of different offerings from Kutmaster.
It appears to me as if this solid handle (for lack of a better name) style of multi tool is pretty much fading away, beat out in todays marketplace by the more capable folding plier type multi tool.
Ironically, many of the old multi tools that were around in the decades before there was Leatherman were also solid handle style designs. Packing a bunch of features into one handy package, they were considerably more capable than an ordinary jack knife. These days, the one most often encountered is shown below:
Made in France and brought to United States by the importing firm of Seaboard Steel Company, the Pocket Tool Kit was available via mail order to sportsmen and handymen across the country. Priced at just $10.95 plus the price of a stamp in 1952, these early multi tools could handle quite a variety of tasks for you. There were at least two variations:
Construction of the implement blades and tool itself is quite beefy. I would not hesitate to put the pliers up against any similar-size pair of pliers in my garage tool box. The jaws are spring-loaded, pivoting open each time the user relaxes his grip. A small catch swings up to lock the plier handle down when not in use. Jaw serrations are substantial, and soft-wire nippers and a hard-wire cutting notch is included. An overall length of 5-1/2 fills your hand quite nicely.
For implements, the Seaboard Steel Pocket Tool Kit also came equipped with a clip point knife blade, an awl blade, and a combination cap lifter / screwdriver / file blade. Capable as it was, however, the middle-of-the-20th-century electrician might have instead preferred this variation:
The Lelectric plier tool, also made in France, appears to be almost identical to the Seaboard Steel tool. Other than the different logo, the plier head and body of the tool are the same. Included implement blades however, are not. While both tools have the same clip point knife blade, the Lelectric is outfitted with a screw awl in place of the Seaboards triangle awl. The most significant difference though, is the Lelectrics combination blade. It has a cap lifter, no file serrations, a wire stripper, and a series of wire gauge sizing notches running down its length. Notch sizes range from 20 gauge on up to 9 gauge wire.
For those orchardmen or gardeners among us, the craftsmen in France provided this interesting variation. On this tool, the body remains the same, but the plier jaws have been replaced with a set of razor sharp pruning shears. A hawk-bill pruning knife is now the main blade, and a drop point knife replaces the combination blade. The triangle awl remains, while the hard-wire cutting notch is done away with completely.
Produced before stainless steel was widely available to the knife making industry, all of my examples are nickel plated for corrosion resistance. I have also seen photos of a two more variations with a black oxide or Parkerized finish. Other subtle differences that I am aware of is an Lelectric model imported and marked with the Hoffritz (of New York) logo, as well as a version that substitutes the combination blade for a coarse-toothed saw blade.
All-in-all, these tools were very well made and would have been a real asset in their day.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery they say, and I have a couple more early multi tools that appear to be closely patterned after these early vintage French plier knives.
But... .. ..lets save them for a future chapter.
~Bob
But this wasnt so clear ten or fifteen years ago. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the multi tool craze was just starting to take hold, dozens of major manufacturers were scrambling to get competing designs out onto the market. Soon after, two distinctly different design philosophies could be noted. One style was the folding plier type described above, led by such major players as Leatherman, Gerber, SOG, and Victorinox.
The second style was more SAK-like, with an integral set of non-folding pliers. One handle of the plier is solid, sometimes doubling as a pry bar or hex driver. The other handle of the plier is actually the body of the tool itself, which is then packed with various knives, screwdrivers, blades, and other implements. Up until a few years ago, this group was strongly represented by such notables as the SOG ToolClip, two models from Wenger, two models from Al Mar, and a number of different offerings from Kutmaster.
It appears to me as if this solid handle (for lack of a better name) style of multi tool is pretty much fading away, beat out in todays marketplace by the more capable folding plier type multi tool.
Ironically, many of the old multi tools that were around in the decades before there was Leatherman were also solid handle style designs. Packing a bunch of features into one handy package, they were considerably more capable than an ordinary jack knife. These days, the one most often encountered is shown below:
Made in France and brought to United States by the importing firm of Seaboard Steel Company, the Pocket Tool Kit was available via mail order to sportsmen and handymen across the country. Priced at just $10.95 plus the price of a stamp in 1952, these early multi tools could handle quite a variety of tasks for you. There were at least two variations:
Construction of the implement blades and tool itself is quite beefy. I would not hesitate to put the pliers up against any similar-size pair of pliers in my garage tool box. The jaws are spring-loaded, pivoting open each time the user relaxes his grip. A small catch swings up to lock the plier handle down when not in use. Jaw serrations are substantial, and soft-wire nippers and a hard-wire cutting notch is included. An overall length of 5-1/2 fills your hand quite nicely.
For implements, the Seaboard Steel Pocket Tool Kit also came equipped with a clip point knife blade, an awl blade, and a combination cap lifter / screwdriver / file blade. Capable as it was, however, the middle-of-the-20th-century electrician might have instead preferred this variation:
The Lelectric plier tool, also made in France, appears to be almost identical to the Seaboard Steel tool. Other than the different logo, the plier head and body of the tool are the same. Included implement blades however, are not. While both tools have the same clip point knife blade, the Lelectric is outfitted with a screw awl in place of the Seaboards triangle awl. The most significant difference though, is the Lelectrics combination blade. It has a cap lifter, no file serrations, a wire stripper, and a series of wire gauge sizing notches running down its length. Notch sizes range from 20 gauge on up to 9 gauge wire.
For those orchardmen or gardeners among us, the craftsmen in France provided this interesting variation. On this tool, the body remains the same, but the plier jaws have been replaced with a set of razor sharp pruning shears. A hawk-bill pruning knife is now the main blade, and a drop point knife replaces the combination blade. The triangle awl remains, while the hard-wire cutting notch is done away with completely.
Produced before stainless steel was widely available to the knife making industry, all of my examples are nickel plated for corrosion resistance. I have also seen photos of a two more variations with a black oxide or Parkerized finish. Other subtle differences that I am aware of is an Lelectric model imported and marked with the Hoffritz (of New York) logo, as well as a version that substitutes the combination blade for a coarse-toothed saw blade.
All-in-all, these tools were very well made and would have been a real asset in their day.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery they say, and I have a couple more early multi tools that appear to be closely patterned after these early vintage French plier knives.
But... .. ..lets save them for a future chapter.
~Bob
) I am now going to have a go at finding some of the older ones too
