Leatherman Wave; is it the best of the category?

B

BOrrell

Joined
Oct 23, 2008
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Carried and used an original Leatherman for many years; liked the idea of the locking tools so when my wife wanted to get me something for my birthday I suggested/bought a Wave, Hadn't even thought about any other brand but..... I use the Wave just about daily, it is on my belt whenever I am out in the yard, etc. Shortly after getting it the Phillip's driver got loose and would interfere with closing/opening; then the flat bladed screwdriver got very hard to open you really had to want to use it. I could live with those things because it is so damned handy otherwise but yesterday while using the pliers to work with some wire fencing one side of the pliers broke off! Now I know of the 25 year warranty and am confident Leatherman will honor that but my confidence in the product is shaken. Are these problems common to the Wave? And is there a better choice/brand to carry and use? Have handled others but have not been impressed but haven't used them; right now I dug out the old original Leatherman and using it. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks
 
In my opinion, Wave is the best value option. There are premium versions (very nice I might add) of the wave with a nicer knife steel and handles but I EDC a better knife anyways so it doesn't matter much to me . Altogether, I think the Wave is the standard that Leatherman has set. And a very high standard too.
 
I can't speak specifically to the Wave... mine was stolen after I'd had it a very short time. I've never had any real problems with any of my leathermans.
I have used and abused my Charge and my old Super far more than any others and never saw any problems.

Sam
 
Of course, the pliers should not have broken under ordinary use, but the jaws are cast, not forged. AFAIK, so are those on all current muti-tools. Cast steel is strong, but forged pliers are superior in that regard. There are, after all, still good reasons to use dedicated tools.

How long have you owned your Wave and what do you usually do with it? I don't know much of anything about metallurgy, but is it possible that frequent stresses at the high end of tolerance can weaken materials?
 
It sounds like you might have just gotten a bad set! I dont think that is the norm by any means! :)
 
I have never used my Wave that hard (on a regular basis) but have worked with heavy gauge barbed wire. Only cut one strand at a time.
I broke the pliers on a PS Squirt and LM sent a new one within a week. Those pliers broke removing a metal brad from a cardboard box.
Maybe the "cast jaws" are the LM tools "glass jaws".
 
I like the Charge, it is very similar to the Wave. I carry a Juice in my EDC, and carry the Charge when I think I might have to do something heavier duty.
 
If the original leatherman works for you, why not just keep using it?

My wave works fine, i dont use it much but i trust it enough to keep it in my truck. You might want to take a look at the leatherman rebar and the juice too, they are compact like the original
 
Would that happen with a Super Tool 300 or are all the plier's heads cast and not meant to use very hard?
 
sir_mike said:
Would that happen with a Super Tool 300 or are all the plier's heads cast and not meant to use very hard?
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Oh, they can be used very hard. I saw a photo of someone standing on the handle of a Charge that had been set up in a special jig to cut a good size nail. That would have been an order of magnitude more force than could be applied by any hand, either human or gorilla. In the case of OP, the breakage was probably due to a defective casting, which sometimes happens, but it usually takes more of a grip than any of us can apply to break even some of those.

Since 1996, a fair number of pliers based Leathermen have come in and out of my rotation, currently Super Tool 300, Charge TTi, Rebar, Juice S2 and Style PS. Within their size capabilities, I have full confidence in any of them to perform whatever work needs done.
 
znapschatz said:
Oh, they can be used very hard. I saw a photo of someone standing on the handle of a Charge that had been set up in a special jig to cut a good size nail. That would have been an order of magnitude more force than could be applied by any hand, either human or gorilla. In the case of OP, the breakage was probably due to a defective casting, which sometimes happens, but it usually takes more of a grip than any of us can apply to break even some of those.

Since 1996, a fair number of pliers based Leathermen have come in and out of my rotation, currently Super Tool 300, Charge TTi, Rebar, Juice S2 and Style PS. Within their size capabilities, I have full confidence in any of them to perform whatever work needs done.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I did state in an earlier post that I think he just got a bad one! It happens with anything manufactured. :D
 
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