Skeletool release 1-15-08

They arrived today and the first notice after cutting them out of the bubble packs was how rough and crudely made they are... Hard to open and such and not a good layout for my lefty wife.

But other tools from Leatherman, I first thought were not real smooth and had corners here and there but I would buff them out and all was well!

But she likes her's and I like mine. I proceeded to the WD40 and will work on the fluff and buff when it gets warm in my frozen shop... again. It's 14 deg F. here.

I'm pretty sure this one will be my,"go to tool" as it snaps on my belt loop and removes easily, for me. I love quick and E Z access to my tools. That Carbiner, though unattractive is a great idea.

The weight of my New Wave may keep it in the safe since this Skeletool is so light in the pocket or on the loop.

I'm wishing they had used a little longer blade on the knife... Still it will be fine for my use, once accustomed to it.

It's a great idea and can be improved on significantly, in my view.....

Would I buy again?

Oh Sure!:D
 
BTW, I forgot to tell you that the Wave Screwdriver tips fit the Skeletool.... One objection on the Skeletool is you get a double ended Phillips and a double ended flat. So! Being in a creative mood I retreived my Wave and robbed the combo Phillips/Flat and in snapped it into the Skeletool.... WAAA LAA!

My wifey wants her's like that too. But I have to purchase them as there are no others in my Wave tip kit....How bad is that?

The Driver doesn't fold into the knife body on the Skeletool and I tried real hard to make it do so by pressing on the tip lock. So beware you don't break a fingernail or such.

Just my playing with the Skeletool w/WD40 has loosened it up significantly. Typical Leatherman.

The pliers are smallish but I think they will be ok as I've already pulled one contrary nose hair and a and pinched my finger once by folding the knife stupidly. No damage just enough pinch to tell you it's a folding tool that's tight until broken in and lubed.

I have hands that can handle a Glock 21 easy enough but love a Kel Tec P-ll. So I would say it will fit most average to large hands. Those with huge hands will have problems.

Time will tell how strong the pliers will be and I know the driver tips are softer than I like and would endorse the change to the standard 1/4 drive tips.

The knife opens and closes fine....I just am not a fan of a liner lock knife. As for the smallness mentioned above... I'm used to EDC a CS Voyager with Six inch blade....???!

If you have any questions or ideas let me know.:thumbup:
 
Thank you for your post! I've been wondering what to expect. It's a bummer about the rough/crude fit and finish. I have a few questions about the weird (in my opinion) bit driver arrangement. Since the bit driver doesn't fold into the handle, is the bit likely to fall out when using the pliers? Are the pliers awkward to grip because the bit driver sticks out? Also what's your opinion about the bit driver only being accessible when the handle is open?
 
The bit can't fall out as there is a tiny notch in the bit's shaft and what appears to be the folder release is a spring loaded detent that locks the bits securely.

The spare bit is held securely within the handle assembly of the tool.

IF you have the wrong bit in, (flat bit with sharp corners) yes you could gouge the heal of your hand. My wife noticed this on hers right away. She has chubby hands with short fingers.

No problems with the handle open for the screwdriver part for me. You can actually open the handles half way and have a 90 deg torque on the bit,,,,, but I fear the bit wouldn't hold up to such torque.

One thing I did notice while just playing around with the tool... If there's a chance your pliers will slip off what ever you are holding, you could get a nasty pinch on the side of your thumb so be aware....

I think once bit a person will keep the thumb away from this area.... Saying that, it sounds worse than it is... it's almost natural to hold the thumb high enough to escape the bite. Just and observation here and others may never have a problem.

Rough finish and fit is to me typical of most of Leatherman tools under the hundred dollar mark. But they are rugged and will do the job very well and with a little buffing and lube will work out well and last for years, unless abused. I think I've broken only a couple pliers down through the years and warranty took care of them just fine.

I have a Supertool, retired; Sideclip, semi-retired; Original Wave, retired; 2 New Waves, Yep I lost the first one, bought another, then found the original a day before the new one arrived...Who would know?! And a coupe or so of their folding knives which I never use because they don't have pliers.

I've written Tim about his political practices and I just know he listened to every word....???:jerkit:

But he makes a good product and I use them daily... sometimes not so easy with them either.

99% of the time I use a Leatherman, I have the other hand full of something and need a one hand operation. So I require a one hand tool. And something that locks the tool in place as I don't enjoy a tool folding on my fingers. EVER! (Knife,pliers,driver)

I don't think the Skeletool would stand up to the likes of the New Wave or the larger tools in a field like Maintenance Tech or such but as an EDC
it should be fine. I think that's the design purpose of it anyway.

Hope this helps some. Lemme know

FF:)
 
My Skeletool arrived today. Curiously, an "artificially flavored coffee house drink mix" was included with my order. :D

skeletoolpluscaffeine.jpg
 
I got one of those too. Since I don't do but Coffee, black, I didn't pay attention to it and may have pitched it with the shipping box. Enjoy...
 
FolderFan said:
I got one of those too. Since I don't do but Coffee, black, I didn't pay attention to it and may have pitched it with the shipping box. Enjoy...
Click to expand...

I drink espresso without milk so I tossed it as well. I would have preferred a Leatherman hat or t-shirt! ;)
 
supratentorial said:
...I've been staring at the photos on equipped since Doug Ritter posted his review last summer.

http://www.equipped.org/ORSummer2007.htm (near the bottom of the page)

At 5 oz the Skeletool is significantly lighter than the 8.2 oz. Charge TTI. Doug says it's also significantly thinner than the Charge so it should be more comfortable for pocket carry. But I don't think that the difference in size is as great as the difference in the variety and selection of tools. I'd definitely miss the diamond coated file that's on the Charge but I'd be glad to say goodbye to the small bit driver (I've yet to use it). I'd probably never use the carabineer on the Skeletool. I'm also not sure I'd like having to use the bit driver with the handle fully open. In my opinion, the PST, PST II, and SideClip are still hard to beat in terms of small size and large utility...
Click to expand...

After 24 hours with the Skeletool my opinion hasn't changed much. I have similar gripes to those that have been mentioned by others but I have a slightly more negative opinion about the Skeletool because of them. I don't find it particularly comfortable to use the bit driver with the handles fully open or with the handles at 90 degrees. I won't use the carabiner since I'd prefer to have it clipped to my pocket than dangling around. And the curved end of the carabiner isn't a particularly good grip for the pliers. Neither is the bit driver which forms the end of the other handle.

I do like the shape of the Skeletool's blade much more than the long slender blade on the Charge. But like others, I also wish the plain edge was available in 154CM.

The Skeletool is a nice size for pocket carry but it lacks the range of tools present in other multi-tools such as the Charge or even the PSTII. I do like the idea of a slimmed down Leatherman Charge but I don't like several aspects of the Skeletool's design. I'd like to see Leatherman release a Skeletool 2.0 with a folding bit driver and no carabiner.
 
Thanks for the first hand impressions, guys. I have been on the fence regarding the skeletool for awhile now. After hearing that there is the typical post-2004 leatherman fit/finish issues, and that it is not as comfortable to hold as I had hoped, I'm going to put this puppy on the back burner for a bit. If they released a plain edged Skeletool CX, then I might be more tempted to pick it up. A premium blade steel in a compact tool might just be perfect for my EDC needs. As it stands, the skeletool doesn't seem to do much for me.

I'll stick with my byrdrench for the time being. I wouldn't even think about the skeletool if the byrd had wire cutters on it. We'll see, I have sworn I wouldn't get certain tools before...yet they some how find their way into my collection;)
 
I'm not that impressed, the clip seems a little small and I'm a little concerned it might fall out of my pocket, also I'm a lefty and it seems geared toward righties. I sure wish my good old SideClip had locking tools!!!
 
Hey, Folder Fan,

What's your means of operating the skeletool one-handed? Is that easy or not or don't know yet?

(I carried my original leatherman for years before I figured out that once loosened up I could flip it like a butterfly knife.)
 
Full Tang said:
(I carried my original leatherman for years before I figured out that once loosened up I could flip it like a butterfly knife.)
Click to expand...

OTOH, about 12 years ago when I first became aware of plier based multitools, it was the butterfly flip that sold me on a Leatherman PST.
Since then, several more LTs have joined the inventory. On occasion, though, it still gets use, mostly as a tool, but sometimes for boredom relief. I like to haul it out just to play balisong :D .

Although I'm the kind of neurotic who chronically suffers buyer's remorse (OH, WHY did I ever spring for the Veeblefetzer IV instead of a Modicater Plus, or the other way around :rolleyes:), this was among few purchases I never regretted. Come to think of it, that includes most of my Leathermen (not all.)
 
Yeah, I thought I was the only one who was doing that till I "Googled" "Leatherman" on YouTube and found a pilot(?) doing it with a Leatherman SuperTool. :cool: I have to admit he is better than I am. I've never attempted the "spin" he does in the second half of the video. To save you some embarrassment, I'll post the link to it here. (quite a bit of what comes up when you Google "leatherman" is pornographic) Or just Google "Leatherman Tricks" on YouTube.

The Real Leatherman Tricks
 
just ordered five basic and five cx skeletools,hopefully they arrive before the official leatherman distributor has their´s ;)
 
Skeletool has been my EDC for a couple weeks now with daily use. I use the clip for pocket carry and the Carbiner for snapping onto my belt loop. Six of one, 1/2 dozen of the other, of the two carries.

I'm not real thrilled with the knife blade and when I remove it from my pocket I have to search for the blade. I don't like that part.

It's real tight still and most of the time I try to open the tool from the wrong end. Ok so I'm a slow learner that's packed a Wave and Sideclip for years.

I like the weight, Carbiner,pliers are ok and was able to span a bonnet nut on an angle stop. But the tool wasn't long enough to leverage the nut. I've used the Phillips and flat drivers enough to cause premature wear. Those bits are a bit soft.

Remember to remove the bit or have the Phillips end out or you will get a hole in the heal of your hand.

Do I like it over all. Yes, I do and my Wife uses her's daily, as well. I may go back to the Wave in a couple weeks but It now seems so heavy. And I'm retired so I don't do the heavy duty use now a days.

And it attracts attention when ever someone see's me using it.
 
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