High-end Multi-Tools

sailfish

sailfish

Joined
Jan 1, 2019
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The prevalence and market viability of high-end knives is a given, especially for anyone who frequents this site. But one thing I've noticed that has never caught on is high-end or custom plier-based multi-tools. One might thank their generally more purely utilitarian image and likely customer base for this, but the fact that things like $200 pocket prybars have a market disproves this in my opinion. Is or has such a thing been produced that I am unaware of? Or is the Swiss Tool still the pinnacle of prestige when it comes to multi-tools? Is there a market for a CRK or Hinderer-par plier multi-tool?
 
sailfish said:
but the fact that things like $200 pocket prybars have a market disproves this in my opinion
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To the contrary. A contractor or mechanic will carry utilitarian tools - relatively cheap knives, for instance. They will also use a good flathead screwdriver as a pry tool, not a titanium machined pry tool with built in bottle opener.
For them a multitool saves a trip to the tool box.
The market for edc pry bars goes beyond that, including gear fetishists. The market goes from the practical to the fanciful. Hence pry tools from $3 to hundreds.
 
Victorinox has made and still makes several fancy editions (even in silver) that are more sexpensive and are mainly for collectors. Leatherman does that too, with some models. There have been attempts by some other makers to make fancy multitools in the past but the names escape me.
 
It's margins and startup cost. Consider how long LM has been in the game and how comparatively few platforms they have. They have more now, but they had to work up to get to be the market leader before they could take that risk. Vic still only has a very few, they are very good, but they expect to be selling them for well over a decade, not something that someone rolling chunks of Ti through a CnC really needs to care about. There is a market, but the market is not big enough to justify it when most guys who want to customize a multi-tool have no worries about taking a grinder to the blades they need to modify.
GOAT is trying to do what SOG did, I have a SOG, it takes several hours to get the tools well set up, and the SOG locks, GOAT does not. Really neither here nor there as the GOAT uses a different system, I hope the best for them, but I think they have just shown how big that market is.
 
As a mechanic I carry a sog. The extra force on the pliers is real. I bought about a dozen different models and I wear a fullsize Sog powergrip everyday. I also keep a sog mini in my truck bag. I also carry a countycomm 8" ti eod prybar everyday. I use that way more than I thought I would. The ti is nice since it doesn't rust or weigh much. It rides horizontal at 12:30 for a left-hand pull.
 
It might be the locality as for popularity but I know a lot of people that don’t like multi tools or sak. They prefer using specialized tools from a toolbox rather than a multi tool. A high end multi tool probably wouldn’t even register for them. I know the TI models and some of the special editions that LM has are around $180 base price and the kits are around $260 and that’s a bit high for me. I think I paid $80 for my wave and $119 for the signal and that’s about my limit.

As for myself I like using my LM Wave at work and it saves me a lot of trips to the toolbox and at least 50% of the time it does what I need it to do. Around the farm and ranch and outdoors stuff I use a LM Signal that is very handy.

I’m sure there are some who would like high end multi tool’s with all the whistles and bells with premium steel blades and such but most of the people I know that do use multi tool’s are more inclined to buy the plain ordinary models that are going to be used and beat up. They just want functionality and performance not elaborate and expensive.
 
For me the most important tool is the plyers and the wire cutter/stripper. The more force the better. I loved the spring open lethermans but the sog plyers have substantially more force. The least used tool is the plain blade. The file, saw, and serrated are nice features. The only thing I don't like is the geometry of the Phillips on mine. It's to wide to fast almost like a p2.5 instead of a 2. I think I paid $65 for it back in the day and have been using it for at least 5 years. The tip of one needle nose lost about an 1/8" so they got ground a bit. Other than that they have been great. I'm not familiar with the goat setup but I can't see spending more than a $100 on a good multitool. I would have to love every aspect of it and it would have to have some pretty special features. I can't honestly give an example of one that would make me consider $200
 
SomebodySomewhere said:
Lock as in the tools aren’t easily removable once placed? Because my understanding is that all the tools on the GOAT lock open. (Again, not sure exactly what you mean.) There’s a video showing them swapping tools within 10 seconds.

I think it’s about the platform. You’ll be able to have all kinds of specialized tools and materials with a GOAT. One-offs and limited runs where price is barely an object. It isn’t my world, but there are people out there.
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Lock as in locking open for use, I didn't see any locking mechanism apart from a simple spring-tab which is common in older tools.
It also remains to be seen how robust their connector is to twisting, as if they are not tolerant of being bent at all, that could limit its long-term utility. Also, what the wear characteristics are in those pieces will have a big impact on tolerance stacking, and what the tools age like. The main reason that the SOG is such a pain to set up is that you need to get the stack within a pretty narrow tolerance, so its a lot of adjusting shims and making sure the stack order is not interfering with the plier head. My Vic is extremely tool dense, but you can tell how much design work went into it, and thus the price.
Price is always an object, it's where the price is paid that is different. A pocket toy Ti prybar is expensive because the manufacturing is expensive, whereas the old Ti Widgy bars were "cheap" when they were made because they were made in volume, using cheap methods, however they had to put in a lot at the beginning to get them made, and I have not seen any for sale in a while (but I've not looked). LM plier jaws are cheap because they know that they will run those molds for years. If GOAT is going to rely on designing low production rate tools for niche uses, then those are going to be expensive, and have to compete against other, more specialized individual tools. Again, SOG has tried this and their range of tools is really quite small, mostly focusing on other screw driver sizes and military specific sorts of things. Scales don't impact the overall durability, so that doesn't bother me, but I'm just not inventive enough to see what other tools they may think they can add. I'm not sure how big they think that corner of the multitool market is.
 
I owned a SwissTool for awhile and found it to be very well fitted and finished. So much so that I was almost afraid to use it - it seemed like more of a work of art than a daily use tool. It sat in my safe while I used the heck out of my Leatherman and Gerber tools and finally I sold it. I have a hard time justifying an expensive anything that I don't/won't use for whatever reason.
 
sailfish said:
One might thank their generally more purely utilitarian image and likely customer base for this, but the fact that things like $200 pocket prybars have a market disproves this in my opinion.
Click to expand...
I think the big difference is that those custom fancy bottle opener things are a much easier item to carry for the sole purpose of Instagram pictures.
A multitool is generally big enough that a lot of people won't carry one they aren't going to use.
 
SomebodySomewhere said:
I’ve been following this since the start and am genuinely amazed by the fact that they made it here. It seemed really improbable but looks like they’re delivering.
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Same here. I've been following this since very early on and I had low expectations. I still think the thing looks butt ugly, but it actually seems pretty solid so far. Much better than I was expecting.
 
It looks like some sharp corners when it comes to bearing down on the plyers.

Eta: watched some of the review, Yeah that looks painful. Like really old school cut into your hand Leatherman.
 
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