R.I.P Leatherman Squirt

[coolhand68]

My guess is that their small tool lines likely end up needing warranty work more than the full size tools. This cuts into profits and eats up time. The accountants probably crunched the numbers and recommended they discontinue models that get returned for repair most often.

 

[Guy McVer]

My guess is that their small tool lines likely end up needing warranty work more than the full size tools. This cuts into profits and eats up time. The accountants probably crunched the numbers and recommended they discontinue models that get returned for repair most often.

Then why do they still have the Style PS, which has the same pliers and the same scissors as the Squirt PS4?

 

[Daedric Panther]

I’m half tempted to go on eBay and try to find one while they’re still available for relatively cheap. i carried one as a backup to my BM for a while until it got lost on a trip to the river. I suspect beer was involved.

 

[Guy McVer]

I’m half tempted to go on eBay and try to find one while they’re still available for relatively cheap.

I wouldn't be in a hurry. The squirt has apparently been out of production for a while now and they really haven't become terribly expensive or hard to find in all that time. There were so many of them made that they're never going to become rare. The only rare ones are the torx screw pivot models that were manufactured before they switched back to using riveted pivots. They only made those for a few months. The ES4 are also a lot less common (the ones with wire stripping pliers) and tend to go for a higher price, but that's it. Unless you are specifically looking for one of those, I wouldn't worry about it. You can take your time and try to find the best deal.

 

[Bomberman123]

Okay, but you really don't need to use power tools. When I made my custom Leatherman Juices, I replaced the riveted pivots with 1/8 inch barrel pivots from knifekits, and I had to enlarge the holes in the Juice to make the pivots fit. I just used sandpaper. It only took several minutes of sanding per hole. All I did was roll the sandpaper up and clamp the parts into a bench vise. Then I sanded the inside of each hole with the rolled up sandpaper until the pivot would fit through easily. It was pretty simple.

Anyway, that's how I did it, but do whatever works best for you.

When I talked to a guy from knifekits about the pivots not fitting, he said this was pretty common and that they were still within an acceptable deviation from 1/8th of an inch. When I looked at what other people who had used those pivots were saying, a lot of them had a similar issue in getting them to fit. They seem to be just a tiny bit too wide.

Have fun!

Quick update, I have replaced the rivet with pivot and screw in my black one. You was right, the pivot is a little larger than the holes and was not fitting. However, instead of sanded holes, i chose to sanded the pivot, which is not bad at all.

I still having the blue ones to replace the rivet.

Btw, the screw in original torx version is much shorter than the screw I ordered from knife_kits.

 

[Guy McVer]

instead of sanded holes, i chose to sanded the pivot, which is not bad at all.

The main reason I avoided that was concern about ruining the pivot by decreasing the strength of the pivot or causing irregularities in the roundness of the outside. ... I hope this doesn't cause any issues for you later.

Btw, the screw in original torx version is much shorter than the screw I ordered from knife_kits.

You can order them from any vendor in different lengths and with different heads and different alloys, just as long as the threading is the same. I went with phillips screws in stainless from a separate retailer. The screws that came from knifekits were a little too soft for me, and I prefer phillips head screws because I won't ever need to worry about finding a torx bit.

 

[Mikael W]

I have done with the mod on scissor spring.
1. Bought a drill bit set with diamond coated.

2. Drill a hole on the scissor body, not easy and it cost me a whole evening but finally I finished.

The hole is here as I expected

3. Insert a Vic 58mm hairspring to the hole and modify the spring to the shape that I need ( Need to use grinder to grind spring a little bit to fold the scissor without any struggle)

4. Finally, put a few AB glue so the spring is fixed and the job has been done. With the AB glue fixed, the hairspring will stay concrete in the hole and won't be drop.

This was very helpful! I bought one of those SAK springs, cut it and soldered it in place. I used StayBrite solder. My Squirt is now back again.

 

[Bomberman123]

This was very helpful! I bought one of those SAK springs, cut it and soldered it in place. I used StayBrite solder. My Squirt is now back again.

Congrat mate, happy that the tips help you to get yout squirt back.
I found another way to replace the scissor spring with a binder clipper.

 

[Mikael W]

Bomberman123, another good idea!
I don't have a Squirt with torx pivot screws, so instead I went with soldering.

It's a sad thing that the Squirt was discontinued, but it has opened up the market for other brands like Nextool/Olight and Gerber. I have got an Otacle P1 as an alternative to the Squirt. So far I think it's ok, but it's 1oz more weight. Not a problem, but I for one would like to see an upgraded Squirt.

 

[Bomberman123]

Bomberman123, another good idea!
I don't have a Squirt with torx pivot screws, so instead I went with soldering.

It's a sad thing that the Squirt was discontinued, but it has opened up the market for other brands like Nextool/Olight and Gerber. I have got an Otacle P1 as an alternative to the Squirt. So far I think it's ok, but it's 1oz more weight. Not a problem, but I for one would like to see an upgraded Squirt.

Soldering is a good idea if you cannot destroy the rivet and replace with pivot and screws bro.
I bought a nextool mini sailor (~olight otacle p1) to compare and in my experience, that alternative is bigger than suqirt ps4 in both size and weight. I feel it was a little bit uncomfortable when using the mini sailer as keychain multitool especially when i used to have a squirt ps4 in my pocket ( more lightweight)

 

[Mikael W]

Soldering is a good idea if you cannot destroy the rivet and replace with pivot and screws bro.
I bought a nextool mini sailor (~olight otacle p1) to compare and in my experience, that alternative is bigger than suqirt ps4 in both size and weight. I feel it was a little bit uncomfortable when using the mini sailer as keychain multitool especially when i used to have a squirt ps4 in my pocket ( more lightweight)

Yes the Nextool/ Otacle P1's are too big for the keychain. I don't carry anything but keys on the keychain anyway, so not a problem for me. I have found the P1 to be a working alternative to the Ps4. More weight yes, but not too much for pocket carry. As the availability of the Ps4 is limted to the secondhand market, I have retired it from EDC. So far I have found use for all the tools on the P1, except the lanyard ring. The canopener works as a paintscraper and in reopening zipties without destroying them. The simcard pin works for remowing pocketlint and dirtparticles. The pliers are in constant use and so are the scissors as well. The knifeblade has got my own edge and now hold an edge better than out of the box. The screwdrivers are also to my liking and the overall fit & finish is on par with the Ps4. It has to be said: The P1 is a very good alternative to the Ps4!

 

[Guy McVer]

Yes the Nextool/ Otacle P1's are too big for the keychain.

To be fair, I think the Squirt is too big for the keychain too. It's too fat. The Style PS on the other hand is almost perfect for keychain carry. I say "almost" because it is a little heavy. But that doesn't stop me from carrying one on my keys every day. It's sad that they discontinued it too. If it came down to the scissor spring issue, then they could have simply replaced the scissors with a different tool like I did on mine. Then they could've kept selling them without worrying about warranty claims from broken scissor springs.

 

[Mikael W]

To be fair, I think the Squirt is too big for the keychain too. It's too fat. The Style PS on the other hand is almost perfect for keychain carry. I say "almost" because it is a little heavy. But that doesn't stop me from carrying one on my keys every day. It's sad that they discontinued it too. If it came down to the scissor spring issue, then they could have simply replaced the scissors with a different tool like I did on mine. Then they could've kept selling them without worrying about warranty claims from broken scissor springs.

I could never warm up on the Style type of MT's. I held one in hand when getting my first Ps4 and to this day no regrets. Keychain carry has never been a thing for me. I prefer to use a MT without a set of keys dangling in the rear. It seems like the LM company has left the idea of small MT's as a whole, leaving that market to their competitors. So be it, but I still like their products and recently got their hommage to their roots, the Bond. I carried the PST in the 1980'ies until the Supertool and later the Charge.was released. Today I think they are too costly to replace if lost and went back to basic with the Bond. The PST's did a great job back then and they became very popular among my friends. So for light duty I go with the Otacle P1 and for more demanding tasks, it's the Bond. The Charge stays in the toolbox these days.

 

[gentleman_edc]

I like the Utica mini-master USA made. About as light as a a multi_tool can be.

 

[Bomberman123]

le PS on the other hand is almost perfect for keychain carry. I say "almost" because it is a little heavy. But that doesn't stop me from carrying one on my keys every day. It's sad that they discontinued it too. If it came down to the scissor spring issue, then they could have simply replaced the scissors with a different tool like I did on mine. Then they

Well I found another solution for spring issue, that's 3d print spring. I'm printing a few to see if that can survive for a long time. If anyone interest, this is the link

I could never warm up on the Style type of MT's. I held one in hand when getting my first Ps4 and to this day no regrets. Keychain carry has never been a thing for me. I prefer to use a MT without a set of keys dangling in the rear. It seems like the LM company has left the idea of small MT's as a whole, leaving that market to their competitors. So be it, but I still like their products and recently got their hommage to their roots, the Bond. I carried the PST in the 1980'ies until the Supertool and later the Charge.was released. Today I think they are too costly to replace if lost and went back to basic with the Bond. The PST's did a great job back then and they became very popular among my friends. So for light duty I go with the Otacle P1 and for more demanding tasks, it's the Bond. The Charge stays in the toolbox these days.

The reason why ltm left small tool segment due to the cost. As I know, the working hour required to make a mini tool = heavy tool. However, price for mini tool is much lower than heavy tool. Beside, the warranty cost for ps4 and style ps is huge. That's why ltm cease the keychain segment. The only model still in production is Micra, which price has been increased to 50$.

 

[Mikael W]

Well I found another solution for spring issue, that's 3d print spring. I'm printing a few to see if that can survive for a long time. If anyone interest, this is the link

The reason why ltm left small tool segment due to the cost. As I know, the working hour required to make a mini tool = heavy tool. However, price for mini tool is much lower than heavy tool. Beside, the warranty cost for ps4 and style ps is huge. That's why ltm cease the keychain segment. The only model still in production is Micra, which price has been increased to 50$.

I have to say that You show a lot of creative solutions to the spring problem. Very impressing!
The lack of needlenose pliers on the Micra is a dealbreaker IMO. An upgraded version of the LM MiniTool would have been nice. A Mini Bond perhaps? I would buy one even if the cost would be twice the price of the Otacle P1.

 

[Guy McVer]

I could never warm up on the Style type of MT's. I held one in hand when getting my first Ps4 and to this day no regrets. Keychain carry has never been a thing for me. I prefer to use a MT without a set of keys dangling in the rear.

You can instantly unclip the Style PS from your keys because it uses a built in carabiner clip...

Well I found another solution for spring issue, that's 3d print spring. I'm printing a few to see if that can survive for a long time.

Nice.

 

[Mikael W]

"You can instantly unclip the Style PS from your keys because it uses a built in carabiner clip..."

Yes and I'm fully aware of this feature, but it just isn't for me.

 

[Bomberman123]

I have to say that You show a lot of creative solutions to the spring problem. Very impressing!
The lack of needlenose pliers on the Micra is a dealbreaker IMO. An upgraded version of the LM MiniTool would have been nice. A Mini Bond perhaps? I would buy one even if the cost would be twice the price of the Otacle P1.

Maybe, in the future they may sell a limited edition of micra with needlenose pliers and the price is very high.
If nextool may improve their mini sailor, I believe that keychain segment with plier based will belong to them.

And as many people wish, if vic can produce a squirt ps4, that absolute a best seller keychain tool ever.

 

[Mikael W]

Maybe, in the future they may sell a limited edition of micra with needlenose pliers and the price is very high.
If nextool may improve their mini sailor, I believe that keychain segment with plier based will belong to them.

And as many people wish, if vic can produce a squirt ps4, that absolute a best seller keychain tool ever.

Yes I agree on all points and a VIC or LM would be great, to balance the competition with Nextool.