Leatherman Corrosion Resistance?

[Nephron44]

Hello!

I have a few Leatherman multitools (MUT, Skeletool, Wave, Sidekick, and Raptor). And I am wondering how resistant to corrosion they are. Has anyone had one rust? What did it take for it to rust? Should I be concerned about using it for daily use while working outdoors?

Thanks!

 

[Franciscomv]

In my experience, they get superficial rust rather easily, mostly because of the beadblasted/sandblasted finish on most of them. I polish mine a bit with either fine steel wool or 1200/1500 sandpaper and some light oil and that seems to fix the issue. My Victorinox multitools (which come almost mirror polished from the factory) are more resistant to corrosion.

 

[tacticalgearlover]

^this, I've kept mine wet for a week straight in the woods and only gotten superficial rust, keep em cleaned up, dry them off and oil once and a while and you'll have no issues.

 

[EricV]

Depends on the model as some of them come with more of a polish than others. Having used leatherman's on and around a river for years I've never experienced more than surface rust. We even had a dive team bring up an old surge that had fallen in years ago and it was still usable, though pretty crusty. Leatherman did swap the surge out for a replacement when it was sent in with a few others for repair (4 guys and each of us carried 1 or 2, so we shipped 3 in and all were fixed up or replaced). Great company.