New Swisstool, Not Impressed

Y

yerscattergun

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Ordered a black oxide Swisstool off Amazon and after receiving it today will
be sending it back. First off, their is play in the pliers which I find
unacceptable. My Gerber MP600 pliers are tight and so are the Leathermans I have. They will just loosen with use and eventually wont be able to cut thin wire.

Second, the tools are impossible to pull out if you don't have girl fingernails.
I can reach in to get the knives but the others are impossible. Bad,
unergonomic design, IMHO. They need to get out of the 90's.

Third, the black oxide finish is uneven. One side is shiny, while the others are a matte black.

It does seem like a heavy duty design and in theory the outside accessible tools are a great idea but not if you cant pull them out!!!!:jerkit:

IMHO, overrated design. They need to see what SOG and Leatherman are
doing to move into modern times....
 
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Sounds like you got a dud. The Swisstools I've had have been equal to and in some ways better than the LMs I've had.
 
Don't blame you for sending it back. Sounds very unacceptable.

I rarely see any negative comments about the Swisstool, and have one that I like a lot. Not going to try and rank it vs. LM or SOG, but its up there.
I'd suggest trying another one.....maybe a non-coated version.

It's possible you got one someone else had messed with and messed up.
That's one of the few negatives about dealing with Amazon. I don't believe they inspect things like knives that are returned to them.
On the plus side, if you used super-saver, it didn't cost you anything for shipping or the return.

Also, with Amazon, I only buy knives that are labeled "Ships from and sold by Amazon".
 
I think you had bad luck. I got two SwissTools, both non-coated, and got no problems with them. Took a SwissTool RS with me this year on a camping trip and I like it. IMO the fit and finish is better than on my Leatherman multitools. It is a bit heavier than the Charge or Wave, but the multitool worked great for me. It doesn't have one hand opening blades, but I carry a fixed blade anyway when I'm camping, so for me it's in the camping rotation.

If I were you, I would send this multitool back for replacement by a new one.
 
I've never had a problem opening all the tools on a Swisstool, even with my nails bitten down to nothing. The oxide coating on the Vic stuff frankly sucks, I would stick with the regular finish.
 
I collect SAK's,i have 50 plus but also have 6+Leathermans, while i like my Leatherman's i generally find the fit and finish of Victorinox to be superior.
I think its most likely you got a dud or one that had been returned already.
That being said i agree with you that on the full-sized Swisstool "the tools are impossible to pull out if you don't have girl fingernails".
I love my Swisstool X but never carry/use it because of the above stated problem.
However The Swisstool Spirit solves that problem as the nail-nicks are all raised out from the frame and easily accessible. The Spirit has the most easily accessible tools of any multi-tool i've tried.
You should try a Spirit before you think of writing off Victorinox multi-tools.
 
Do any of your Swisstools have play in the pliers? I tried the cutter and it works but
the play in the pliers came as a shock because Leathermans are tight out of the box...


I don't plan on writing off Vic at all, maybe I'll try a Spirit X.

tholiver, thanks for the info on the nail nicks, I wasn't aware of that.
 
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The pliers on my Swisstool and Swisstool Spirit have absolutely no play.
The Spirit X is highly recommended. My Spirit has been my edc of choice for a couple of years now!
:)
 
I have three Spirits , 0 pliers play . Minor play has been seen in some Swisstools ( not in my two ) , but doesn't appear to get worse in use . Implement quality is far higher that in Leatherman or more especially SOG tools .

Sounds like you got a dud , Caveat , I've never tried a black oxide tool . I'm a tradesman , and keep my fingernails short , never any issues with opening implements .

Chris
 
I went to pick up a Spirit at Fry's Electronics for $59.95. Wow, you guys aren't kidding! The thing is a work of art!
The only one they had had the butter knife which I don't care for, but the price was right.

There is no play at all in the pliers or other tools, and the nail nicks are much easier to
get than on the Swisstool. I might keep the Swisstool just because I've heard the black ones
are being phased out. The wire cutter still works on miniature staples even with the play
in the pivot.
 
I just checked my SwissTool X - every tool opens as smooth as silk, my thumbnail is short but not chewed right down, no problems getting it into the nail nicks. Mine was 2nd hand though, so it may have already had all the tools worked in a little to make their opening smoother & easier.
The pliers have a faint trace of play, barely noticeable but there none the less. I am not bothered by it and it has gotten no worse in the time I've had it.
Mine is a standard silver finish, I have no experience with Victorinox black oxide finished tools.
 
Gadgetaholic said:
I just checked my SwissTool X - every tool opens as smooth as silk, my thumbnail is short but not chewed right down, no problems getting it into the nail nicks. Mine was 2nd hand though, so it may have already had all the tools worked in a little to make their opening smoother & easier.
The pliers have a faint trace of play, barely noticeable but there none the less. I am not bothered by it and it has gotten no worse in the time I've had it.
Mine is a standard silver finish, I have no experience with Victorinox black oxide finished tools.
Click to expand...

Workmanship was great, but my problem with the original Swisstool was not that I couldn't get a thumbnail into the nail nick, but that the springs were stiff enough to cause my nail bed some stress. Usually, if i were pulling out implements often enough, I would end my work sessions with an aching thumb. It was especially challenging under wet conditions with softened nails, clubby fingers in the cold, and forget about using it with gloves on. The Spirit is much better in those respects, but still needs bare hands to open blades and tools.

After giving the Swisstools a trial, I went back to my Leathermen, which implements can be used under all those conditions and without need to remove gloves. Much as I admire the Swisstool virtues, I believe Leatherman tools are more practical for actual work.
 
znapschatz said:
Workmanship was great, but my problem with the original Swisstool was not that I couldn't get a thumbnail into the nail nick, but that the springs were stiff enough to cause my nail bed some stress.
Click to expand...

Mine is definitely not like that, it is no stiffer to open tools on my SwissTool than on any of my SAKs. My Leatherman Wave on the other hand is VERY hard to open the internal tools on and they all open together in a 'clump'. The only tools I could open on that with gloves on would be the plain or serrated blades, all the rest definitely require bare hands, if you carry a separate knife then the only tools you don't need the Wave for are the ones you can open with gloves on. So far, after 10 years of carrying the Wave I am not regretting switching to the SwissTool - it does seem that not everyone has the same experience though.
 
Gadgetaholic said:
Mine is definitely not like that, it is no stiffer to open tools on my SwissTool than on any of my SAKs. My Leatherman Wave on the other hand is VERY hard to open the internal tools on and they all open together in a 'clump'. The only tools I could open on that with gloves on would be the plain or serrated blades, all the rest definitely require bare hands, if you carry a separate knife then the only tools you don't need the Wave for are the ones you can open with gloves on. So far, after 10 years of carrying the Wave I am not regretting switching to the SwissTool - it does seem that not everyone has the same experience though.
Click to expand...

No kidding! :eek: Sometimes I wonder if it is even useful to trade information, since there is so much variety in experiences with these things.

If you have had your Wave 10 years, I am assuming it is the older model.
My experiences began with a "clumpy" original Super Tool, which I actually liked (or at least got used to) because I could pull out all the implements, make my selection, and push the rest back. Apparently, that was preferred by enough users so that the current ST 300 provides blades that come out individually while the other implements come up in a bunch; the best of both systems, I guess. However, both it and my Charge Tti, after a bit of break-in, allow most implements to be lifted with the flat of my thumb or wearing gloves, neither of these possible with the Vics.

Other reasons I prefer Leathermen is the bit system that allows for a lot of versatility in a compact format, sharp cut screwdrivers in sizes that better fit the screw heads I seem to encounter, true needle nose pliers that open wider, and a few other features that are useful to me but maybe not that much to others, and I'm sure versa vicey by Swisstool owners. To each his own.

After my trial period with the Swisstool, I gave it to my brother, who loves it. Go figure. :)
 
znapschatz said:
No kidding! :eek: Sometimes I wonder if it is even useful to trade information, since there is so much variety in experiences with these things.

If you have had your Wave 10 years, I am assuming it is the older model.
Click to expand...

Yep, it is the older model - no bit driver. I should point out that the SwissTool not having a bit driver isn't an issue to me because when I have my multi-tool I ALWAYS have my Cybertool 34 on me as well which has a very good bit driver. The situation is a little different if you carry a different SAK or if you only carry the multi-tool and nothing else. The situation is also different if your typical day requires you to perform different tasks than what I do. This is definitely not a 'one size fits all' thing - different SAKs & different multi-tools provide for different needs.
 
I've never cared for the can/bottle opener on any of my LMs.I much prefer the individual can and bottle opener on my Spirit X.Also the knife blade on the Spirit X is sweet.Much better than on the original Spirit,in my opinion.The fit and finish on my Spirit X is stellar.
 
After years of having Leathermans, I just got my first Vic multi-tool last week; a spirit x. I have to say, I'm blown away by the quality, the design, the fit and finish...the whole thing. I wish I would have purchased one of these years ago. I've always been a fan of Vic products, but these are on a different level.
 
Nice thread. As mentioned in a former post, I already have two SwissTools and it looks like I need to get one of the Spirit's too. :)
 
I noticed the tools on my swisstool rs are quite hard to get most of them out. Now for the spirit I have the "on the road tour" edition on its way here as I type this, :thumbup:
 
I switch to the LM300 from the Swisstool due to issues getting the tools out. Other than that, it was a solid, well made tool.
 
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