My Ultimate Tool !!

Perfectionist · Oct 3, 2004

I have designed my own ideal EDC multitool well Ive drawn a bunch of diagrams on paper as an attempt !!

Mixed a few ideas from all the other tool manufacturers and come up with some ingenious

new ones on making things adjustable to purpose without extra bits being carried also added a few functions which are just another use of the same blade ! (I like keeping my fingernails tidy

)

Size (approx LM Wave/Charge)

100mm Long
32 mm Wide
21 mm Thick (is that too big ?)

Features

10 blades Differing thicknesses with 6 blades on left side, 4 on right side
Thick (3mm) Outer Casing for internal and removable tools

All Locking Blades - both at 90 and 180 degrees
One Handed Opening Main Blade - using stud not hole
One Handed Flip Opening Pliers
Compound Leverage Pliers
Spring Loaded Pliers
Replaceable Wire Cutters for Pliers
RATCHETING Bit Driver
GLOWING - Tritium Capsules embodied into casing

Tools

Pliers Head
- Blunt Head Pliers
- Regular Pliers
- Angled Pliers (adjustable hinge on the base)
- Nail Extractor
- Wire Cutters
- Hard Wire Cutters
- Crimper

Blade 1
- Main Clip Point Blade
- Cutting Hook (on the back edge)

Blade 2
- Curved Serrated Knife
- Belt Cutter (as above!)
- Wood Saw (on the back edge)

Blade 3
- Large Scissors (spring loaded)
- Nail Cleaner

Blade 4
- Cross Cut File
- Metal Saw (on the edge)
- Fine Detail File (on other edge)
- Diamond File (on the back)
- Blade Sharpener (file can be removed from tool to touch up the knife etc)
- Nail File

Blade 5
- Philips 0 & 1 & 2 & 3 Drive (yes all on one blade ingenious adjustable head ! )

Blade 6
- Flat Head Driver 3mm-7mm (again, yes all on one blade ingenious adjustable head ! )

Blade 7
- Can Opener
- Bottle Opener
- Cap Lifter
- Wire Scraper ?
- Wire Bender ?

Blade 8
- Heavy Duty Chisel
- Strong Crate Opener
- Scraper
- Wire Stripper (adjustable)

Blade 9
- Adjustable Wrench
- Sharp Awl (on tip of wrench)
- Punch
- Scribe

Blade 10
- Ratcheting Bit Driver (will take normal size bits

)

Contained Within Outer Body

- LCD Panel with Time, Temperature, Altitude etc (watch battery powered - strong perspex covering glass panel to prevent damage)
- Ruler (Inches & Cm's)
- Light Hammer (extra strong area on edge of body)
- Small Flashlight (Tiny watch battery powered LED)
- Lighter (Piezo Electric with tiny fuel supply)
- Compass (12mm wide, liquid filled)
- Magnifying Glass (small, sliding out from within case so wont get scratched)
- Mini Spirit Level

- Tiny Phillips Head Driver
- Tiny Flat Head Driver (on back end)
- Blunt Sewing Needle (hole in Flat Head driver)

- Tweezers
- Tooth Pick (on back end)

- Pen (Fisher Space Pen Type Refill only)
- Straight Pin (on back of pen, with safety cover ! )

- Quick Release Lanyard Attachment
- Removable Belt Clip

Any Comments/Criticisms !!

I went for Blunt headed pliers as I find them more useful than the needle nose variety on most Multis and it gives a bit more room inside the tool for the other blades

Would having the back edge of the 2 knives used as a Cutting Hook/Saw cause any problems I often put pressure on the back of a blade when cutting !

The Wire Stripper is all enclosed and cuts down all around the wire to strip properly not the usual sharpened indent on a blade !

The mechanism on the adjustable Drivers and the Ratchet is quite neat but might reduce the amount of force I can put on them same with the angled head hinge on the pliers

The Lighter fluid is safely contained and will not leak !!
And there is a safety on the ignite button so I can't accidentally set fire to my pants !!

Ive been reading about new plastic compound materials which have the strength of steel but are a fraction of the weight, so hopefully it won't be too heavy although it might be a bit too thick ??

Anyway Im only dreaming and doodling !!

Copyright 2004 by "Perfectionist"

......thanks Bob

Fool4Blades · Oct 5, 2004

Sounds Pretty Good Perfectionist!! Any idea how much it would weigh? Sounds like pocket carry is all but ruled out, but it looks like you have a good idea on building a Multi that would handle just about ANY job! Maybe that is how Tim Leatherman got started? Keep up the Good Work!

Binford · Oct 5, 2004

I'd buy it - it sounds great to me! I'm guessing you would be looking for Vic style/quality manufacturing?

Nowhere · Oct 10, 2004

Can we see some of your diagrams?

It sounds like a real pain to fit all of those tools, and still have the necessary sturdiness.

bquinlan · Oct 24, 2004

I'd be interested in seeing the details too. It sounds pretty cool! I'm particularly interested in your mechanisms for adjustable screwdriver heads.

Two caveats:
1) If you think you might someday license these ideas to anyone do not post them here.
2) Even if #1 does not apply make sure that everything you post includes a copyright notice!

--Bob Q

Perfectionist · Oct 25, 2004

bquinlan said:
I'd be interested in seeing the details too. It sounds pretty cool! I'm particularly interested in your mechanisms for adjustable screwdriver heads.

Two caveats:
1) If you think you might someday license these ideas to anyone do not post them here.
2) Even if #1 does not apply make sure that everything you post includes a copyright notice!

--Bob Q

Hi Bob

How does someone go about copyrighting and licensing.... isnt that something only big, powerful and very rich companies can do ???

Maybe I should just send Leatherman all my "drawings" and hope some of my ideas are actually useful and not laughed at and thrown in the garbage !

PS - Have reviewed my design to make it smaller now so more EDC....

THIS IS COPYRIGHT !!

Size

100mm Long - same as Charge
34 mm Wide - same as Swisstool
18mm Thick - same as Charge

8 blades Differing thicknesses with 5 blades on left side, 3 on right side
Thick (3mm) Outer Casing for internal and removable tools

Features 68 "tools" in total

Bodieism · Oct 25, 2004

The only thing I can think of that might not be so good about this design is how well would the LCD screen and other electronic parts hold up if the tool was being used as a hammer and if the wood saw was on the back side of the serrated blade wouldn't that be dangerous while you were sawing if your hand slipped down to the back and slit open your hand on the serrated blade (as long as you payed close attention that would probably be fine though. Over all is sounds like a great tool and I'd probably buy one if such a tool became available. I would like to see some of the diagrams myself but that might not be a good idea if you are serious about seeking a patent or someone interested in building your design because someone could easily steal it and claim it as their own. I'm not really positive about this but I thought in order to license or patent an idea you actually had to have a working proto-type and I'm pretty sure any average joe can get a patent providing they have a working proto-type but I'm not sure of the cost involved.

bquinlan · Oct 25, 2004

Perfectionist said:
How does someone go about copyrighting and licensing.... isnt that something only big, powerful and very rich companies can do ???

Patents are very complicated and very expensive. Copyrights are simple and free. They are intended to protect different kinds of things, but at this stage a copyright notice will probably be sufficient.

I am not a lawyer or any kind of expert on intellectual property, so keep in mind that this information may be worth exactly what you're paying for it.

To establish a copyright on any written material you have created, including drawings and diagrams, simply include a copyright notice as part of the document. The format is "Copyright <year> by <your name>". The special C-in-a-circle symbol can be used in front of or in place of the word "Copyright", but it is not required. So if I wanted to copyright this message (which I do not) I would simply add a line like this:

Copyright 2004 by Bob Quinlan

The other thing to bear in mind is that establishing a copyright or patent does not provide any magical protection against being ripped off. Basically they just give you a better chance of winning in court if anyone tries and you decide to sue them.

Given how simple it is to include a copyright notice it seems like a good idea.

--Bob Q

bquinlan · Oct 25, 2004

Perfectionist said:
Maybe I should just send Leatherman all my "drawings" and hope some of my ideas are actually useful and not laughed at and thrown in the garbage !

Some companies are entirely honorable and can be trusted to acknowledge your ownership of the designs even if you have no legal standing to enforce that. Others will rip you off without a second thought. I would guess that Leatherman is one of the former.

And I would still love to see your drawings. If you're willing to share, stick on a copyright notice, run 'em through your scanner, and post away. If you don't have a place to host pictures on-line email them to me and I take care of it. This sounds like a very interesting gadget!

--Bob Q

Perfectionist · Oct 25, 2004

Bodieism said:
The only thing I can think of that might not be so good about this design is how well would the LCD screen and other electronic parts hold up if the tool was being used as a hammer and if the wood saw was on the back side of the serrated blade wouldn't that be dangerous while you were sawing if your hand slipped down to the back and slit open your hand on the serrated blade.

Hi Bob and thanks for the advice - duely acted upon !

Yup that double sided blade would be dangerous !! Could keep the back of the blade blank leaving off either the serrated blade or saw but its hard to decide which blade to lose !!

I did think that the same is true of any blade though, front or back facing - if your hand slips you get badly cut, if this tool existed (

) I would use this feature very carefully or not at all !!

The LCD screen I envisaged to be made of a type of "bullet-proof" material, as would much of the tool itself, however the outer casing with all the gadgets is pure guesswork !! I dont know if there would be enough space to fit the electronics and batteries, I'm sure that its only a matter of time though until something like it would be viable.

The biggest problem I reckon is all the extras built into the case - it would mean most of the casing would be hollow making the whole tool not sturdy enough for heavy use (unless NASA comes up with a new "uber-alloy" or something!). Maybe two versions would be better - one with all the extras (for gadgetaholics and office-warriors!) and one with just the basic fucntions for the serious users....

Wishful thinking is a great way to kill time !!