leatherman knives

whitty

whitty

Dealer / Materials Provider
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Aug 25, 2005
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Curious plenty of people carry Leatherman multi tools but does anyone carry a Leatherman knife. I just bought a Leatherman Crater and am pretty impressed. Why are they not discussed on the forum more often? Any opinions would be nice to hear.

Whitty
 
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I don't get it. What's a crater?

And to answer your first question, yes all members of bladeforums carries knives.
 
I changed the wording of the original post so it will make more sense. The Crater is a relatively new knife from Leatherman.
 
whitty said:
Curious plenty of people carry Leatherman multi tools but does anyone carry a Leatherman knife. I just bought a Leatherman Crater and am pretty impressed. Why are they not discussed on the forum more often? Any opinions would be nice to hear.

Whitty
Click to expand...

Was wondering about that, myself. Maybe they are too new on the market for much buzz to have circulated.

What impresses you about this Leatherman knife? May we have feedback from yourself, one of the few known owners of a Crater? :D
 
The knife seems to do well with holding a sharp edge. It is 420HC Steel with a PE. It has a phillips head and flat head screwdriver and a retractable carabiner/bottle opener. With all of that it is not much thicker than my Scallion. The pocket clip seems a little cheap and it sits too far out of the pocket for my taste. So far I have been carrying it in my back pocket beside my wallet and it has been comfortable. It has a blade launcher on the back that takes a little getting used to but works pretty well. The lock on it seems pretty tight with no blade play. When you open it you hear the lock snap in place. The handle seems to fit in my hands pretty nicely. It has a glass filled nylon handle that seems pretty strong but flexes when squeezed tightly (I am not sure if this is part of the design).

I bought it as an impulse buy at a local outdoor store and have been pleasantly pleased. The one shocker to me is according to Leathermans website, their products are made in the USA, but there is not one thing on the knife stating where it is made. It may have been on the packaging but I tossed it.

I like the knife but have not used it long enough to make statements towards its overall quality and durability. I was curious if anyone else had.

Whitty
 
The Expanse series is similar only with stainless steel for part of the handle and 154CM blades. That will be the one I will get at some point.
 
I have a C307; and...well, I like their multi-tools better. It worked okay for a few days, then got loose, and when I tightened it up it would not "launch" with the blade launcher. After several tinkering sessions, I finally got it adjusted right, but now it's a little loose again. (noticeable side-to-side blade play.) It's a nice little beater in my opinion, but I won't go out of my way to buy any more unless quality improves.

That being said, their MT's are still top-notch.

thx - cpr
 
I also got a c307x for a week. I also found it lose a sloppy. It was like a Skeletool without pliers and a bit heavier. So I returned the knife and got me a little c300 without any bells and whistles. And I like it a lot. So light but yet so sturdy. No play what so ever. The blade-launcher is great!
I will probably buy a Expanse e33L when I find it.

http://www.leatherman.com/knives/retired-knives/c300-c301.aspx
 
Where have you guys been? There is a multi tool subforum and they are dicussed VERY VERY often over there.

edit: ooopppppsss yeah mis read the first post.

On another note, Leatherman makes alright knives imo, but i prefer traditional knives in the first place. but i knew a maintenance foreman who used nothing but a c3xx series knife.
 
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Well personally, I like leatherman for their multitools not for their knives. If I wanted to carry a knife it would be spyderco, benchmade, boker... :]
 
I have a Leatherman Charge TTi, which I keep hidden in my internal frame pack or BOB, and a Leatherman Micra, which is fixed on my keychain.

I find both to be excellent and functional multitools, but the grind on the TTi's main S30V blade was a bit obtuse for my taste, and required modification and thinning out.

Leatherman makes a pretty good product.

:thumbup:
 
Thank you lava lamp. That information was very useful. I will throw it in the truck as a back up if needed.

Whitty
 
Leatherman knives are reputed to be only so-so. Some of the multitools, the Charge Ti series, do have premium steels like 154CM and S30V, but only on the plain edge blade. The serrated edges and other tools are all 420HC.

You can find a pretty good review here.

lm_cw_3blades_comp1-sm.jpg
 
I used to EDC a C301. The size, shape and edge were good. I wish the blade was more resistant to spotting- I have no problem with patina on carbon, but brown speckling on cared for stainless does not suit my fancy. MFG quality was fine. I could manipulate the flipper just fine. Some folks can't- sometimes it takes practice. I did really like the profile of the serrations. After I bought my BM Pika, I basically stopped using the 301. After about a year of non-use I sold it.
 
Can anyone compare the Leatherman 154CM steel to the same steel from a reputable manufacturer like benchmade etc? How does it perform in comparison? What good/bad about it?

Thanks for any help!
 
eebowler said:
Can anyone compare the Leatherman 154CM steel to the same steel from a reputable manufacturer like benchmade etc? How does it perform in comparison? What good/bad about it?

Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...

I have an e305x (combo 154CM blade small folder with blade launcher, since superseded). It is light weight (which has it's good and bad aspects), has an ok blade launcher (but the adjustment between 'too much blade play' and 'too tight to launch' is a narrow band...), has a carabiner bottle opener (which gets a daily workout and catches the cap as you take it off). I have a 5 series (same steel) with the interchangeable screw driver - it is a serviceable knife blade but found that model insufficiently sturdy given its bulk and the screwdriver-bit 'onboard storage' is not particularly secure.

e305x Measurements:
3.9 in | 9.9 cm (closed)
2.8 in | 7.1 cm (blade length)
3.9 oz | 111 g

I do not have another knife-manufacturer's blade in 154CM to compare it with but the LM 154CM blade steel holds a keen edge well, it is a thin blade and a good slicer. For me it holds an edge almost as well as VG10 and S30V. I have not had major issues with the edge being brittle (I did put a small chip on it by dropping it onto marble :eek:, but with some work on a diamond hone it came up ok). Sharpens easily with ChrOxide strop or ceramic stone etc. :thumbup:

Not my favourite knife BUT I do carry it a LOT as a beater, it hasn't failed me in any light-use tasks, the bottle opener is handy and I hope that an LEO may let it pass as a multitool with a short blade... :foot:

Hope that helps!
 
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