Multitool blades

[Hickory n steel]

On a multitool ( a multitool is pliers or scissors based a scout type knife like a Vic isn't a multitool ) do you use the blade much at all ?

I will on occasion use the blade on my trusty leatherman fuse for beater tasks if a utility knife or bench knife is not within reach, but beyond that I prefer to use a dedicated knife.

When I need to cut something a pair of pliers is the last thing that comes to mind.

 

[Pomsbz]

The 154CM blade on my Charge is a great beater blade for hard work.

 

[GIRLYmann]

whenever i need to carry a pen knife disreetly;
i sometimes turn to an old japanese sog knives micro clip tool.
https://wiki.multitool.org/tiki-index.php?page=Micro+ToolClip
(there is a new updated version, btw)

in the open, there is no mistaking it as a "Knife"

 

[comis]

I choose I carry mine and use it, but I think the right answer probably is 'it depends'. If I were carrying a plier based MT, then it's heavy enough that it probably will be my sole carry and I will use the blade on it whenever I need to.
But with a SAK, it's light weight enough that I could carry another dedicated knife and probably still be lighter than carrying just a plier-based MT.

 

[jackknife]

I went with once in a while.

I carry my Leatherman squirt often, but its used mostly for the heavier duty crew driver and small pliers/wire cutters. If I need a knife, then thats what my Vic executive is for. My executive with two knife blades and scissors and a weird little serrated edge tool is my cutter. My squirt is my dirty work tool.

I do love the chisel grind of the squirt, enough that it inspired me to try the Vic garden/florist knife. I totally fell in LOVE with that little slicer and dicer. The little Leatherman is good for yard work, house work, and general handy hubby work on honey-do jobs. I never would have guessed that a small pliers would be so darn handy.

 

[Lee D]

Disregard

 

[guy g]

I use my Sidekick mostly for the pliers.

 

[allenC]

I often carry my Leatherman Wave, and one of the best features are the one-handed serrated and plain-edge blades.

 

[yablanowitz]

I've carried a Wave (original, not the New) every day since sometime back in the 80s, and while I have used the knife blades at times, it isn't what I reach for when I need to cut something. It's more like "If I already have it in hand when a cut needs to be made, I might use it." The saw and file on the other hand get used a lot.

 

[tiguy7]

My Multitool doesn't have a blade. Because the thing is put together with screws, I can add tools and/or a blade as required.View attachment 1344349

 

[CSG]

I also have a couple of original Waves (one in the glovebox of my daily driver and one in the console of my camping van). However, I also carry a fixed blade and folder in each rig so I only use the blades on the Wave kind of like yablonowitz does. Normally, if I need to cut something I'll use one of the knives. If I have the Wave out for something else, that's about the only time I use its blades.

I will say, if I daily carried a Wave in its pouch on my belt, I don't think I'd feel the need to carry one of the pocket clip folders I always carry. But in my world, I carry a little SAK (Executive, formally Ambassador) and a Bugout or Mini-Presidio (kind of like a mid-size Griptilian). The tools on the Executive get almost all the use for my daily needs. I almost never have a need to use the larger blade of the folder I carry in the opposite pocket.

 

[AndreLinoge]

If I've had to get the Gerber out then I will use the knife on it 90% of the time if I need it for the work for which the multitool was selected. Usually a hose, wire, or other compound repair on some inconveniently placed machinery guts, so making new contortions to get to my knife is usually a no-go. Usually nothing severe, maybe stripping wire, removing tangled rope or string, or squaring up a hose end.
It also makes it easier to keep track of your stuff if you only had the one tool in your hand while you were inside whatever machine you crawled into or under or whatever.

 

[22-rimfire]

The only time I would use the knife blade on a pliers based multi-tool is if I forget my pocket knife. To date, it hasn't happened (but it could).

If I was going out of town for a day or two and forget a knife, I would not feel good about it but I could live. I would have the little Ps4 Squirt (tiny blade) on my key chain and a SOG PowerPint (two blades > serrated and plain) in my pickup if I drove myself. It isn't like a smartphone which for most is the lifeline to the rest of the world if you aren't on your computer. Of course, a smartphone is a computer. Considering this, I think I need to stick a SAK inside my pickup. It is not like I only have one.

If I'm working, I'll have alternate knives with me in my carry bag as well as a full sized multi-tool (SOG or Vic brand).

 

[Hickory n steel]

The only time I would use the knife blade on a pliers based multi-tool is if I forget my pocket knife. To date, it hasn't happened (but it could).

If I was going out of town for a day or two and forget a knife, I would not feel good about it but I could live. I would have the little Ps4 Squirt (tiny blade) on my key chain and a SOG PowerPint (two blades > serrated and plain) in my pickup if I drove myself. It isn't like a smartphone which for most is the lifeline to the rest of the world if you aren't on your computer. Of course, a smartphone is a computer. Considering this, I think I need to stick a SAK inside my pickup. It is not like I only have one.

If I'm working, I'll have alternate knives with me in my carry bag as well as a full sized multi-tool (SOG or Vic brand).

If I forgot a knife I would have to buy one, that's how little I think of a multitool blade as a knife.

 

[22-rimfire]

I might well do the same thing. I just don't think to use a blade on a pliers-based multi-tool. Frankly I would rather have other tools than the blade on them, even God forbid.... a scissors.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

I use mine a lot. I can probably get by with just the blade on my MT, but I prefer to use a stand alone knife.

I am absolutely smitten with the spear point blade of the Leatherman P4.

 

[powernoodle]

My usual carry includes a Cold Steel XL of some flavor, plus a Swisstool Spirit or LM Rebar, a Victorinox Explorer and a small Workpro utility knife for cardboard. Its not like I need all of this stuff, but it makes me feel good and occasionally saves the day.

But with these different options, I almost never use the blade on my Spirit or another MT I might be carrying. But a person could get by just fine with nothing but an MT for the most part. That person would be better prepared than 99% of the people you see on the street.

Were I to use the blade on an MT, I would have to carry one like the Swisstool or Wave with the blades on the outside of the tool.

Victorinox Swisstool.