Micra at 8 months. Update.

[LoopCutter]

Sorry, the reference prices would be dollars.
It is my understanding that quoting prices is not advised on this forum.

 

[mnblade]

... I miss the idea of having the small pliers right in pocket ... I really did find use for the little pliers every day, sometimes a couple times a day.

I agree totally. Those little pliers come in right handy! Very under-rated. Oh, and congratulations on the move; and good luck in the house hunt. Be sure to get something with enough room that we can all come visit Uncle jackknife!

 

[Nap]

After a tumultuous two months, I am now in Texas.

Getting the house in Maryland ready for sale, painting and doing small repairs, the micra was shoved aside a bit by the squirt. Taking plastic molly bolts out of walls, spackling holes, and taking stuff apart for packing the small pliers were like a third hand. They were big enough for small hex nuts, and the outside screw drivers were handy. On the road, the squirt was in pocket while herding a lumbering yellow Penkse rental truck down the road. On arriving in Texas, we just unloaded the truck in a storage unit and we're living with Karens sister in her place here in Georgetown while we house hunt.

Now, being stable for a while, the micra is back in pocket, but I find that I miss the idea of having the small pliers right in pocket. During the upheaval of the move, I really did find use for the little pliers every day, sometimes a couple times a day. Now, maybe not so much, but it was a little habit forming. I still like the tool set on the mcra for the better screw drivers, and slightly more compact size.

So, while immersed in the chaos of moving, the squirt seemed a better edc, but now in Texas, the micra as snuck back in the pocket. We feel slightly schizophrenic on the issue!

Thanks for posting a follow-up!

It's definitely interesting that even our most informed, well thought-out opinions frequently go out the window once actually tested in real life. Like when the screwdrivers on any small Leatherman turn out to be next to useless, or that pliers are handier than you might think. You adapt to the tools you carry, too—how do you remove zip ties, for instance?

 

[mnblade]

Zip ties are cake, even the bigger ones. Slide a small, sharp blade in and apply steady pressure. In time, POP! Cut 'em with the pen blade on my Case peanut all the time.

 

[Getahl]

Zip ties are cake, even the bigger ones. Slide a small, sharp blade in and apply steady pressure. In time, POP! Cut 'em with my Case peanut all the time.

I've done this with a Christy knife, and it's the thinnest blade I own. Alternatively, nail clippers work well when dikes are unavailable.

 

[jackknife]

Zip ties are cake, even the bigger ones. Slide a small, sharp blade in and apply steady pressure. In time, POP! Cut 'em with my Case peanut all the time.

This^^^^^^

I too have used a Christy and it works well. A zip tie just needs a thin cutting edge applied to a part of it with steady force and it gives away. Any thin sharp blade will do if your technique is right.

 

[znapschatz]

Thanks for posting a follow-up!

It's definitely interesting that even our most informed, well thought-out opinions frequently go out the window once actually tested in real life. Like when the screwdrivers on any small Leatherman turn out to be next to useless, or that pliers are handier than you might think. You adapt to the tools you carry, too—how do you remove zip ties, for instance?

???Not sure I understand this. There are size considerations, of course, but for close to 20 years, I have been using all three Micra screwdrivers quite often on varieties of screw heads. They work just fine, and the drivers are still in good condition. Although the only times I carry a Squirt is when I might need the pliers, if by chance I come across a screw that needs tightening/loosening, the drivers are usually up to it. What has been your experience?

 

[Nap]

???Not sure I understand this. There are size considerations, of course, but for close to 20 years, I have been using all three Micra screwdrivers quite often on varieties of screw heads. They work just fine, and the drivers are still in good condition. Although the only times I carry a Squirt is when I might need the pliers, if by chance I come across a screw that needs tightening/loosening, the drivers are usually up to it. What has been your experience?

Sorry, I meant the ones on the Squirt and Style lines. The Micra is the exception (as well as being the topic of the thread), so my bad for the extremely poor editing.

As for the zip tie illustration, my point was that, depending on the tools you've come to depend on most, you might prefer to pop them with a knife, shim them with an awl, cut them with scissors, snap them with the cutters of your plier tool, twist the head off with the pliers themselves, or employ any number of other methods.

 

[Flint Hills]

22RF, I regularly cut wire, flashing and large zip ties with my Micra. Closer to shop shears.

Note: I buy mine bulk and used and in bad shape. I've learned to repeen the center pivot, carefully straighten the blades and to sharpen the blade (DMT credit card stones are ideal for this). I can usually return them to pis cutting wrapping paper and cutting dangling thread.

This gives me the recklessness to abuse my Micra with impunity. And that is when it starts to impress me.

If you're doing a lot that demands small pliers, the PS4 works just fine.

Could you please go into detail about how exactly you repeen the pivots, sharpen the blades, etc. A walk through of your Micra rehab?

I got a lot of 5, one cuts extremely well, two cut just ok and the other two hardly cut at all. I'm enjoying the one that cuts quite a bit. I've tried the Squirt PS4, I do like it but I just rarely need pliers and the scissors on it are pitiful. I use scissors tons though, so the Micra (or maybe a Squirt S4?) make more sense for me it seems.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Flint Hills]

Just because this thread needs more pics.

 

[znapschatz]

Could you please go into detail about how exactly you repeen the pivots, sharpen the blades, etc. A walk through of your Micra rehab?

I got a lot of 5, one cuts extremely well, two cut just ok and the other two hardly cut at all. I'm enjoying the one that cuts quite a bit. I've tried the Squirt PS4, I do like it but I just rarely need pliers and the scissors on it are pitiful. I use scissors tons though, so the Micra (or maybe a Squirt S4?) make more sense for me it seems.

Thanks in advance!

There is a difference in the cutting qualities of the Squirt and Micra. My wife has an S4 that she likes just fine, but the scissors are distinctly inferior to those on the Micra. I tried other S4s, and all were much the same. Of course, the sampling is small, so not conclusive, but my hunch is that Micras in general outcut Squirts.

 

[jackknife]

There is a difference in the cutting qualities of the Squirt and Micra. My wife has an S4 that she likes just fine, but the scissors are distinctly inferior to those on the Micra. I tried other S4s, and all were much the same. Of course, the sampling is small, so not conclusive, but my hunch is that Micras in general outcut Squirts.

Yes, thje scissors on a micra are far more sturdy for real world cutting of a wide variety of materials. The squirt scissors are more like the scissors on a Vic Classic, light duty for hangnails and threads, and an odd mustache or nose hair. The micra scissors are more for canvas, zip ties, rubber gaskets and such. Good general use scissors vs light duty trimming scissors.

 

[bld522]

Yep. I love the scissors in my Micra. I use them all the time. They're why I bought a Micra in the first place.

 

[pinnah]

Could you please go into detail about how exactly you repeen the pivots, sharpen the blades, etc. A walk through of your Micra rehab?

I do 2 things to adjust the cutting. The first is to tighten the pivot and the second is to bend the scissor blades. To tighten the pivot, I place a bolt in a vice, put a spacer on the vice to hold the Micra level while the pivot rest on the bolt and then use another bolt to peen the pivot. Better too loose than too tight but too too loose and the scissors won't cut cleanly.

The second step is to bend the scissor blades with a pair of pliers. I test the scissors by cutting free hanging thread starting near the pivot and moving towards the tips. I note the point on the blade where the thread first starts to fold instead of cut. I then bend the blade ever so slightly just back from that point on the pivot side. I repeat this process until the blades will cut free hanging thread all the way to the tip.

Two notes on this... First, adjust the blades after I sharpen them. Second, I had to be willing to wreck a few Micras getting a feel for bending the blades. Like most mechanical things, I have to be willing to bust things to fix them.

For sharpening, I use a DMT Credit Card sharpening stone. They are very, very thin, which allows me to hold the scissors open and then get nearly the full length of the bevel on the stone. I match the angle of my hold to match the bevel and then sharpen like I would with knife blade. If I raise a burr, I deburr by laying the flat side of the blade on the stone and use gentle strokes to clean it up. If the blade has a nasty ding in it from cutting wire or metal, I may have to work the flat side more agressively to deal with the bulge.

Hope this helps.

 

[Blues]

I've been carrying a Micra in my watch pocket or in a cargo pocket for close to 15 years. It is an essential part of my pocket carry.

 

[znapschatz]

Yes, thje scissors on a micra are far more sturdy for real world cutting of a wide variety of materials. The squirt scissors are more like the scissors on a Vic Classic, light duty for hangnails and threads, and an odd mustache or nose hair. The micra scissors are more for canvas, zip ties, rubber gaskets and such. Good general use scissors vs light duty trimming scissors.

Took me a while to understand what you were commenting on, then I realized that nowadays, Squirt means PS4. That's the one with the teeny scissors, but the Squirt I was referring to was the discontinued S4. I had two of them, the first because I thought it might be a good alternate for the Micra and the second by mistake (I thought I was buying something else, my oopsie .) Although the other implements were more or less okay, the same size scissors on either one could not cut as well as those on the Micra. While I was able to get clean cuts on tissue paper or cloth with the Micra, neither Squirt could manage, and were even dicey on paper.
So it wouldn't be a total loss, I gave one to my wife, and fortunately, it works for her. They seem to do a job on thicker, harder stuff, like her toenails, but she also uses it to clip coupons and for other paper cutting. I might try Pinnah's technique on the other S4 and see if it improves the scissors action.

 

[upnorth]

Interesting thread and I am rethinking the small multis, with a key chain carry in mind. I really doubt that I would ever buy a small multi with its primary tool being scissors. I have zero use for scissors. But what the hey, views change.

 

[jackknife]

Interesting thread and I am rethinking the small multis, with a key chain carry in mind. I really doubt that I would ever buy a small multi with its primary tool being scissors. I have zero use for scissors. But what the hey, views change.

It's okay to rethink things. Sometimes we end up with a better position afterward.

Having settled on a house on the 20th of November, we're gradually moving in while doing some work on it before we clutter it up with our furniture. Small repairs here and there, painting, some contractors putting in hardwood floors after tearing up all the old carpet. The squirt has been back in my pocket for such things as pulling old plastic molly's out of the wall, and other things that fingers can't quite manage. The outside opening blade has been handy for zipping open big bags of Dow Corning insulation that is going into the attic. The screw drivers have been handy for all kinds of things, including driving screws.

The small keychain size mulitools have proven their worth to me, and I was a die hard non believer, until Dave (pinnah) introduced me to the micra. If an anti Leatherman person like me can be convinced, they must have something going for them.

 

[LoopCutter]

I have been using my new Micra for almost 2 months and it works well for me. The small screw driver blades have saved me many steps to return to truck retrieving a small blade to tighten a wire clamp. Also, yesterday sighting a red dot its blade was perfect for the task saving another 200 yards of strides.
The scissors are handy and the blade does fine cutting coupons on the dotted lines.
Just having trouble remembering which blade is where without peaking before folding it out.

 

[mnblade]

The small keychain size mulitools have proven their worth to me, and I was a die hard non believer, until Dave (pinnah) introduced me to the micra. If an anti Leatherman person like me can be convinced, they must have something going for them.

Nice endorsement! Leatherman should put that on the box.